President Charles Lee recently chose William Kibler to fill MSU’s vice president of Student Affairs position after reviewing four final candidates in February.
Lee appointed a search committee to find suitable candidates for the position in early October.
Search committee head Ruth Prescott said she was also pleased with Lee’s final decision.
“(Kibler) is one of the most respected people in the student affairs field,” Prescott said. “That Mississippi State could attract someone of that caliber really says a lot for the university.”
Kibler is finishing his term as interim vice president for Student Affairs at Texas A&M University. He said he would probably start his new position at State in early June, but that his moving details are still being arranged.
“I will be arriving very close to the time of the new student orientation,” Kibler said. “So one of my first duties will be to greet the new students.”
Other items on his agenda include getting to know the student affairs staff and figuring out what the university needs from him.
“When I first arrive, I will essentially be going to school myself,” Kibler said.
Prescott said one thing that made Kibler stand out was the similarity between his job at TAMU and the open position at MSU.
“Bill is a seasoned administrator at a university very similar to Mississippi State-a Research-I, land grant institution,” Prescott said. “He has already had to handle issues that the person in this position will have to face.”
Lee said that once he reviewed the candidates, his decision was not very hard to make.
“He (Kibler) is known for being very involved with students on campus. He listens to students,” Lee said. “He also has a very strong interest in MSU, so the decision was not very hard at all.”
Kibler said that one of the things that made him so interested in Mississippi State was the “family atmosphere” that he noticed when he visited.
“I really sensed that for most people on campus MSU is a family rather than just a school or a place to work,” Kibler said. “The staff and students show loyalty and pride.”
“It was very important to us that we would be joining a family,” Kibler said.
Kibler brought his wife and their two adopted children with him when he visited the campus in February.
“We found everyone to be warm, hospitable and very welcoming,” Kibler said. “Mississippi State was the type of family atmosphere we were looking for.”
In addition to his youngest children, Austin, 7, and Grace, 4, Kibler and his wife Pamela also have four other children who are in their 20s.
Kibler said that although their older children will be staying in Texas, they are very supportive of his decision to move to Mississippi State.
“The thing we will probably miss most about Texas will be our four older children,” Kibler said. “We will also be having our first grandchild in August. Anything other than that though, MSU can offer us,” Kibler said.
“We will have plenty of reasons to visit as often as possible, but we will definitely be moving whole-heartedly to Mississippi,” Kibler added.
Kibler’s emphasis on family extends beyond his own family and his position in student affairs; he and his wife have been licensed foster/adoptive-parents in Texas since 1997.
Kibler said that once they have settle into their new home at Mississippi State they would like to become licensed in Mississippi as well.
“We would love to continue, but we want to make sure that we are settled in first,” Kibler said.
Kibler said he and his family are also active in the Lutheran church.
“We are very excited about finding a new church home and church family,” Kibler said.