West Georgia Technical College President Dr. Julie Post is pleased to announce that Kristen Buoy will be the new Vice President of Academic Affairs at WGTC.

Buoy was most recently the Dean of Health Sciences at Gwinnett Technical College. Her career in education started as an adjunct in the Allied Health science program. In 2011, she was hired as the program director to start a new Cardiovascular Technology program at the college. Carrying the program from inception to national programmatic accreditation; she worked in that program area until 2019 when she was promoted to Dean of Health Sciences. She has a special interest in student engagement, social learning and workforce education.

“Ms. Buoy brings with her a fresh, exciting perspective along with a wealth of technical education experience, healthcare programming, and educational leadership,” WGTC President Dr. Julie Post said. “I could not be more thrilled to welcome her to the WGTC family.”

Buoy is a graduate of Gwinnett Technical College and Oglethorpe University. She later earned her Masters of Education in Workforce Education from the University of Georgia. Prior to her educational career, she worked in medicine as a Registered Respiratory Therapist and a Registered Invasive Cardiac Specialist.

In the fall of 2014, Buoy was nominated for the Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction. She has served on committees for the Atlanta Science Fair and the GTC program reviews. She is a member of the American Association of Respiratory Care (AARC), the GA Society of Respiratory Care (GSRC), and the Alliance of Cardiovascular Professionals (ACVP). In addition, she serves as an advisory board member for two high schools in Gwinnett County and on the Healthcare Steering Committee for Alpharetta North Fulton Chamber of Commerce.

Buoy will begin her duties at West Georgia Tech on June 15.

“I am enthusiastic about the upward and reinvented direction Kristen will take the academic division of West Georgia Tech and excited about the impact her presence will have on the College,” Post said. “Today is an exciting day for West Georgia Technical College and the communities it serves!”

West Georgia Technical College, with campuses in Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Haralson and Troup counties and class sites in Heard and Meriwether counties, offers more than 120 associate degree, diploma and technical certificate programs of study. A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, West Georgia Tech is one of the largest of the state’s 22 technical colleges. For more information, please visit www.westgatech.edu.