Ricardo Azziz led the merger that resulted in Georgia Regents University (now Augusta University), serving as founding president. Among other positions, he also served as president of Georgia Health Sciences University, leading the merger of various clinical entities to create the state's only public academic health system, and as senior executive withing the State University of New York (SUNY) system administration.  He is lead author of 'Critical Competencies for Leading Major Institutional Restructuring in Higher Education (aka Big Scary Change)' (TIAA Institute, 2023), 'Strategic Mergers in Higher Education' (JHU Press, 2019), and 'Mergers in Higher Education: A Proactive Strategy to a Better Future?' (TIAA Institute, 2017). He writes a regular column, 'Merger Watch', for Higher Ed Dive. He is also the lead author of the forthcoming book 'Leading Mergers and Institutional Restructuring in Higher Education' (JHU Press 2024). He directs the Center for Higher Education Mergers and Acquisitions at the Foundation for Research and Education Excellence, and is on the faculties of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University at Albany, SUNY.