Dr. Rick Austin is an American politician. He was a
Republican member of the
Georgia State House of Representatives
The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...
, and he represented the 10th District from January 12, 2009 until September 2011.
Previously, he was a member of the
Habersham County
Habersham County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,041. The county seat is Clarkesville. The county was created on December 15, 1817, and named for Colonel Jo ...
,
Georgia,
Board of Commissioners for three years. District 10 of the Georgia House of Representatives encompasses all of Habersham County and parts of
White County.
In the 2009 election, he ran unopposed in the general election.
Austin is a graduate of
Piedmont College,
Auburn University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
, and the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment.
...
, where he received his PhD in Biology in 1997. He is an associate
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
professor at
Piedmont College in
Demorest, Georgia, his hometown. In 2011 Austin attempted a bid for the
Georgia State Senate
The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia.
Legal provisions
The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia ...
District 50,
and ultimately lost.
Austin got into politics to reform
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
in Georgia. His wife, Jennifer, is a fifth grade teacher at Demorest Elementary.
Austin is a supporter of the
CRCT test as a requirement for students to pass their grade. In 2009, he supported a bill to force first and second grade students to take the CRCT to pass.
Austin is also a camp director for Piedmont College's bug camp. The camp exposes local children to the different insects that call Northeast Georgia their home.
In August 2013, Austin declared his intention to qualify for the position of mayor of the city of Demorest in the November elections. He cited an investigation by the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation into irregularities with the city's 2012 audit for his reasoning to run. He claims there is an excess of $200,000 missing money within the city government. Austin won the November 2013 election, and took oath in January 2014.
See also
*
List of Auburn University people
This list of notable Auburn University people includes alumni, faculty, and former students of Auburn University.
Each of the following alumni, faculty, and former students of Auburn University is presumed to be notable, receiving significant ...
References
External links
Georgia General Assembly - Rick Austin
Members of the Georgia House of Representatives
Living people
1966 births
Auburn University alumni
University of Mississippi alumni
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