In the Henry Hunter Center on Monday, various campus groups will address the College Board Search Committee with their expectations for the next Mississippi State University president. The morning activities will begin with a breakfast and listening session with vice presidents and athletic department administrators.
Vice president of student affairs Bill Kibler will be present at the session and said he thinks there is a high level of interest for the issue of hiring a new university president.
“Our hope is that everyone will recognize that this is a one-shot opportunity to have interaction with those making this decision,” he said.
Kibler also said he hopes the input will be genuinely received and that the Board will use it to help find the next president.
“What we hope for is that all of the various constituents that represent the campus and the Starkville community are present so that the Board Search Committee gets to hear a wide variety of opinions,” he said.
Department of communication head John Forde said it is a great idea to have opportunities for input, and he plans to attend.
“It’s important for the IHL [Institutions of Higher Learning] to get feedback from a variety of groups and individuals that will work with the president and would be directly affected by the new president,” he said.
Vice president for development and alumni John Rush said the alumni would want to know how to be helpful in this process.
“What all parties will be looking for is a clear line of communication and an understanding of the qualities needed in a new president,” he said.
Rush also said it is important to have a president to have knowledge and appreciation of the role the alumni play in supporting the institution.
“Their support will range from financial support to the recruitment of new students to portraying a positive impression of the university, communities and their industry,” he said.
Students also will also have an opportunity to speak to the Board Search Committee at 4:30 p.m. Student Association President Braxton Coombs said student input is important.
“I want to encourage any student who has any interest in the next president of the university to attend this meeting so we can give the IHL Search Committee the input that is needed,” he said.
Coombs also said the SA executive officers and cabinet members will be in attendance at the listening session as well.
“I think it is important for the SA to be there in order to give a wide variety of views on what we would like to see,” Coombs said.
Fisheries and wildlife sciences professor Louis D’Abramo said in the last search the IHL did not address the needs of faculty members.
“For the listening session for the last search, they listened but did not hear,” he said. “As a result, the faculty needs were not addressed in the selection of the previous president.”
D’Abramo also gave some possible characteristics for the next president.
“We certainly want someone who has knowledge of land-grant institutions as well someone who has been involved with academia and sensitive to and understanding of the needs of the faculty,” he said.
Kibler said it is impossible to find a single person to meet all of the requirements suggested.
“There’s almost no such thing as a perfect presidential candidate,” he said.
IHL director of media relations Annie Mitchell said the Board wants to hear the qualities the Bulldog family wants in its next leader.
“Those qualities will be used to draft the position description and announcement,” she said.
Mitchell said since the first search at Mississippi State the Board has conducted two additional searches at Alcorn State University and at the University of Southern Mississippi.
“Both of those searches were very successful in terms of attracting quality candidates,” she said.