The Board of Regents, the 19-member governing body for the University System of Georgia, today elected new officers for 2016. The positions include chair and vice chair.

Regent Kessel Stelling Jr. was elected to a one-year term as the board’s chair. Stelling currently serves as vice chair.

“In the eight years I’ve served on the Board of Regents, there have been significant positive changes within the University System of Georgia, and I understand we must continue to evolve in order to keep college affordable and ultimately grow our economy by graduating more Georgians,” said Stelling. “I’ve been fortunate to learn from the excellent chairmen who have come before me, and I look forward to serving as chairman of this outstanding board.”

Stelling is the chairman and CEO of Synovus, a financial services company based in Columbus, Georgia with approximately $28 billion in assets. Synovus provides commercial and retail banking, investment, and mortgage services to customers in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee.

A Georgia native, Stelling is the chairman of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the University of Georgia Terry College of Business, and serves on the board of directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Financial Services Roundtable. He also served as chairman in 2008 of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

Stelling earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in banking and finance from the University of Georgia, and completed the Graduate School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University.

He and his wife, Carol, have two sons.

Regent C. Thomas Hopkins Jr., MD, was elected to a one-year term as the board’s vice chair.

“I’ve been honored to serve as a member of the Board of Regents since I was appointed in 2010, and I feel confident about the future of the University System with Kessel at the helm,” said Hopkins. “Our number one priority is to serve our students, which means keeping their best interests at the forefront of every decision we make, and I’m confident we will continue to do so.”

Hopkins is board certified in orthopaedic surgery and orthopaedic sports medicine, engaged in private practice in Griffin as a partner of OrthoGA. He served in the Air Force as a fighter squadron flight surgeon and orthopaedic surgeon.

Hopkins is past president of the Griffin Rotary Club, Georgia Orthopaedic Society, medical staff of Spalding Regional Hospital and serves on the boards of the United Bank Corporation and MAG Mutual Insurance Company.

He has served on the Georgia Health Strategies Council and Governor’s Physician Partnership. Hopkins earned a bachelor’s degree from Valdosta State University, attended the University of Georgia, and completed his medical degree and residency at Emory University.

He and his wife, Sara, have two children.