As incoming president Susan Herbst prepares to lead the state’s flagship university in one of the most tumultuous economic times in a generation, she has already begun building a strong foundation of support among the university community.

The day after the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees appointed Herbst, 48, as the University’s 15th president, those closest to the search spoke about how impressed they were with Herbst’s academic credentials, vision, and leadership experience. Several members of the 40-member search committee noted that the committee was unanimous in its support of Herbst as the most outstanding candidate among a field that exceeded 100.

“Susan Herbst was an outstanding candidate, among an incredibly talented pool,” said Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, professor of history and associate dean for the humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “She brings a wealth of administrative experience, intelligence, and fresh ideas, as well as an enthusiasm for UConn and its mission as a flagship public university. More important, however, there was an obvious widespread enthusiasm among search committee members for her candidacy. It is rare that so many people will have such universal agreement over a candidate. UConn is fortunate to have her as our president-designate.”

The search committee spent six months reviewing applications and interviewing candidates. Herbst, currently the executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer for The University System of Georgia, is the first woman named as president since UConn’s founding in 1881.

“I feel we have exactly the right person and the right candidate at the right time,” said Sally Reis, a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in the Neag School of Education. “As a researcher of gender and talented women, I think her appointment really makes a statement about our University’s talent and diversity.”

Reis, like several other members of the committee, said Herbst distinguished herself from the rest of the candidates from the start.

“From the minute she walked in, I think members of the search committee knew she was a strong candidate,” Reis said. “She is a person of very high personal integrity. She’s enthusiastic, energetic; she has a passion for her work. And in a way, I think she feels she’s coming home. She’s from the northeast.”

Herbst was born in New York City and raised in the town of Peekskill, N.Y. in the Hudson Valley. She will officially begin at UConn in July and will live on the Storrs campus in the president’s residence known as Oak Hill. In her current position in Georgia, Herbst leads 15 university presidents and oversees the academic missions of 35 public universities in the Peach State. The university system in which she works has more than 311,000 students, roughly 10,000 faculty members, and a budget of over $6 billion a year.

Search committee member, Anne Hiskes, an associate professor of philosophy and a member of the University Senate, said she was “absolutely delighted” with Herbst’s appointment.

“She understands the challenges facing public research institutions today, and brings a compelling vision of what it means to be an excellent public research university with respect to each mission of teaching, research, and service to the state of Connecticut,” said Hiskes, who currently serves as an interim associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “I believe that her energy, humanity, intelligence, and humor will be inspirational, particularly to our female students, faculty, and staff. I look forward to her time at UConn.”

Thomas Haggerty, president of the Undergraduate Student Government, said Herbst was definitely the most qualified candidate and he appreciated her “student-centered” approach.

“She answered all of my questions as I hoped she would,” Haggerty said Tuesday. “She is very genuine. She is someone I could see sitting down with a group of student leaders and working to resolve an issue. … She understands the complexity of our university and the issues facing students. She referenced underage drinking, that’s something I don’t think a lot of applicants would have even dared to mention. I’m looking forward to working with her.”

Herbst received her BA in political science from Duke University and her Ph.D. in communication theory and research from the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communications in Los Angeles. Herbst holds a faculty appointment as a professor of public policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology and is the author of many scholarly journal articles and books, including her most recent book about incivility in American politics, Rude Democracy, released in September.

Board of Trustees member Francis X. Archambault Jr. said Herbst’s people skills, knowledge, and experience in the political realm will be important as she works with Gov.-elect Dan Malloy and the legislature in expanding the University’s research portfolio, continuing progress on the UConn Health Center, and supporting the University’s mission.

“I think her background in political science is important,” Archambault said. “She understands government. She understands politics. She knows how to make things happen.”

Archambault praised Board of Trustees chairman Larry McHugh for steering the search committee through a long and time-consuming process.

“There was a particularly deep pool of candidates, their qualifications were strong, and the decisions were hard, but I think we got the most qualified candidate,” Archambault said. “Dr. Herbst has outstanding intellectual abilities and academic credentials. She has held many academic positions, and I think she’s well prepared for her role. … She’s very knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics, but she doesn’t try to dazzle you with her knowledge, and I think that too is a great trait.”

Herbst was previously provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at SUNY-Albany where she served as acting president for a year. She also served as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University.

Board of Trustees member Thomas D. Ritter, a Hartford lawyer and former Speaker of the House of Representatives in Connecticut, said Herbst’s outstanding leadership qualities, academic record, and personal skills impressed the search committee.

“We all felt very certain; we were unanimous across the board,” said Ritter.

“We really wanted someone who was personable, would get along with people and who would be a careful steward of taxpayers’ money,” he said. “[Dr. Herbst] is extremely hard-working. She has all the things we need to bring [UConn] to the next level.”