ATLANTA — Shorter College’s new trustees met for the first time on Oct. 21 and elected retired Marietta pastor Nelson Price as chairman. The board affirmed the interim presidency of Harold E. Newman and pledged their continued support for him as they laid groundwork for the new administration.

Newman will continue in his role as lead administrator while a presidential search committee is formed to conduct a search. The college’s bylaws require that a presidential search be conducted before the hiring of a president, a college spokesman said. Newman was appointed to the position following the resignation of Ed Schrader in September 2004.

The board, meeting at Shorter’s North Atlanta campus, also elected Kevin Snodgrass of Rome as vice chair and Joy Battles of Silver Creek as secretary. Joining them on the board’s Executive Committee as members-at-large are Roger Willis of Lawrenceville, David Harper of Silver Creek, and Ken Watkins of Lawrenceville.

“Today’s meeting was an extremely positive one, and I am heartened by the cooperative spirit that I felt throughout the day,” Newman said. “With the legal dispute behind us, we are now able to focus on Shorter College’s future and on providing exceptional educational experiences for our students.

“I look forward to working with the entire board and with Dr. Price as chairman. His interest in and concern for Shorter College is evident, and he will be an asset to the institution during this crucial period.”

Price, pastor emeritus of Roswell Street Baptist Church, characterized the six-hour meeting as one of cordiality and cooperation between former and new board members. He announced that he will soon appoint a presidential search committee composed of faculty, trustees, and a student representative. Only trustees will affirm the recommendation of the search committee, he added.

The 30-member policy-making body was installed on Oct. 7 when DeKalb Superior Court Judge Daniel M. Coursey, Jr. returned the college to Georgia Baptists.

In signing the consent order, Coursey disbanded the college’s trustees elected as part of its reorganization for removal from the Georgia Baptist Convention. That movement began in November 2001 while Schrader was Shorter’s president.

The order signed by Coursey simultaneously installed a new board elected by the state convention at last year’s annual meeting.

The reorganization sought to sever the college’s 44-year ties to Georgia Baptists and place Shorter under a self-perpetuating board of trustees. Upon learning of the action in January 2002, the Georgia Baptist Convention, which had invested more than $26 million in the institution, immediately cut off funding.

The case had been in litigation ever since.

In addressing the board, Price charged the policy-making body with high goals of service to the academic community.

“Let us aspire to maintain the academic intregrity of the school in such a way as to make those associated proud of its scholarly standing,” he said in his opening comments.

Georgia Baptist Convention Executive Director J. Robert White, in addressing the group, noted that the meeting marked an historic day in the life of the college and the state convention.

“It is a time of new beginnings and great excitement Georgia Baptists are certainly pleased to have Shorter College back in our Baptist family. I anticipate excellent leadership by the new board, the administration, and the faculty.

“As has been the case from the late 1950s when we began our relationship, the Georgia Baptist Convention wants only the best for Shorter College.”