Walking into Vance Watson’s office, the first thing one is bound to notice is the huge piece of cured ham wrapped in blue ribbon sitting on a table. It has been a fixture in his office since 2001. He has friendly blue eyes and a relaxed disposition. He laughed as he admitted he has recently learned how to text message. The Mississippi Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning unanimously named Watson as the interim president following the resignation of Mississippi State University President Robert “Doc” Foglesong.
IHL President L. Stacy Davidson said Watson is the perfect choice as Mississippi State’s interim leader.
Watson said he learned of his selection via telephone on the way back from a March College Board meeting in Jackson.
“It was total shock at first. Then a couple nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night, and I think the reality set in. It’s a huge responsibility,” he said. “Folks look to the president as a principle leader for the university, whether it’s the students, faculty, staff or alumni and friends.”
Provost Peter Rabideau described Watson as supportive, congenial and easy to work with.
“He has been at MSU for more than 40 years, and I think everyone who knows him has enjoyed their interactions with him,” Rabideau said. “He will provide the type of leadership that everyone will be comfortable with. He knows the university well and he knows the people well, and I think that will give him quite an advantage.”
Watson is dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, as well as vice president for the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine. He also holds the title of director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and received the title of director of MSU Extension and Outreach in 2007.
Watson, who received his bachelor’s degree from Southeast Missouri State University and a master’s from the University of Missouri, came to MSU in 1966 to work as an assistant professor and earn his doctorate in agronomy, now known as the plants and sciences department.
“It was the first department that offered a doctorate at MSU,” Watson said. “We came here expecting to be in Starkville for two or three years. I finished the degree, and they offered me a chance to stay on in an entry level role, and I’ve been here ever since.”
Watson said his main goal is to keep MSU as an engaged university that is involved throughout the state.
“Joanne [Watson’s wife] and I have decided to approach it in a way in which it will be a fun opportunity,” he said. “We want to be inclusive in what we do, and I think if we do that everything will work out at the end of the day.”
Watson said his leadership will center around respect and sincerity.
“I believe that every one of us, students alike, has something to contribute here,” he said. “The key, I think, in the leadership role is recognizing and respecting the opinions of others. You don’t always have to agree with the opinions, but you have to respect them.”
Watson said he wants students to realize he is a real, down-to-earth person just like them and may make mistakes in his new role, but he promises to own up to them and correct them when he does.
“Obviously I make mistakes everyday, but I hope that I’m big enough when I do to say ‘I made one and let’s try it again another way.’ As long as we approach it like that things will work out.”
Watson said in the time between his selection and the day he takes office he honored the fact that Foglesong was still president.
“I wanted the light shining on him for all the positive things he did,” he said.
After more than four decades serving MSU, Watson has been able to observe what does and doesn’t work at the university. He said he hopes to encourage a sense of unity and live up to the motto “One State, One Team.”
“I want to set an example where folks are proud to be part of it [the school],” he said. “The only things that matter at the end of the day are people. The students, staff and the faculty – that’s what it’s all about.