John Scott Colley served as President of Berry College in Rome, GA from 1998 until 2006.  He led a strategic planning process that formed the basis for a successful $107M fund raising campaign which, in turn, made possible major improvements in college programs and facilities. During his presidency, the college built a 130,000 square foot science building, a 122-bed residence hall, a research dairy, and a covered equestrian center. Extensive renovations were made in three major classroom buildings, the student center, and four residence halls. During this period the college also opened its first alumni center. In partnership with a private foundation, he secured $30M, separate from the campaign, to renovate a group of picturesque but badly deteriorated dairy barns and transform them into a conference center.

Colley oversaw the establishment of a Center for Teaching Excellence, an Academic Support Center, a Rhetoric and Writing Program, a Council on Student Scholarship, and  the BITS (or Berry Information Technology Student) program. Roughly 45 BITS students a year complete A+ certification and serve as technical support for both faculty members and students.

Colley organized the first sabbatical program in college history, approved the ratification of a new faculty constitution, introduced a departmental chair system, increased support for faculty research, decreased the faculty student ratio from 1:15 to 1:12, and empowered the faculty for a significant role in college governance. Under his leadership, the Bonner Center for Community Service was established. Through programs such as the First Year Service Day and Athletes Bettering the Community, nearly every Berry student now takes part in community service programs and together contribute about 44,000 hours of community service each year in Rome and Floyd County.

Through membership in the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club, as President of United Way, and as a musician in the Northwest Georgia Winds, Colley has participated actively in community life. Beyond the local community, he has been a seminar leader for the Aspen Institute and the Wye Faculty Seminars whose board he chaired for several years. He was a member of the Commission on Women in Higher Education for the American Council on Education, was an elected member of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and served as president of the Georgia Association of Colleges.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Colley earned his B.A. from Randolph-Macon College (1964) and Ph.D. in English from the University of Chicago (1969). He spent 20 years at Vanderbilt University where he chaired the English Department and served as Associate Dean. Later, he was Provost at Hampden-Sydney College. Active as a scholar, Colley has published books on John Marston as well as Shakespeare’s Richard III.