A University of Georgia administrator has been named the interim president at Savannah State University.

Cheryl Davenport Dozier, associate provost and chief diversity officer at UGA, will take over May 9. She replaces Earl G. Yarbrough, whose contract was not renewed by the state Board of Regents in a Tuesday night vote.

Dozier will serve while the board conducts a national search for a new leader for the historically black public college in Savannah.

The day after Yarbrough's contract was not renewed, he was named a finalist for the president of Southern University's flagship campus in Baton Rouge, La. The board gave no reason for ending his contract, which started in 2007.

Tags: University of Georgia, UGA, Earl Yarbrough, Cheryl Davenport Dozier