The State College Board has named Vance Watson as the Interim President for Mississippi State University, according to a press release on the MSU Web site.College Board President L. Stacy Davidson announced the decision following the board’s regular monthly meeting today. Board members voted unanimously to appoint Watson.
“Dr. Watson is the perfect choice as Mississippi State’s interim leader,” Davidson said.
The announcement comes almost two weeks after MSU President Robert “Doc” Foglesong tendered his resignation. Foglesong’s reign lasted two years, making him the shortest-serving president in the history of the university other than the university’s second president in 1899.
Watson, who has served as MSU’s vice president for the division of agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine, is also the director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Last year, he was named director of MSU Extension and Outreach.
“I’m honored by the confidence the Board has shown in my abilities to lead the institution I’ve served for more than four decades,” Watson said. “I look forward to working closely with faculty, students, staff, alumni, and others in our state to keep Mississippi State moving forward.