Various Mississippi State University constituency groups will have the chance to address the next potential MSU president during interview sessions throughout Wednesday.
Preferred candidate Mark Keenum’s public interviews will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in various rooms of the Hunter Henry Center.
Shortly after the final interview session, the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning’s Board of Trustees will vote either to make Keenum the next MSU president or reopen the presidential search process.
Evaluation forms will be provided to session participants in order for the board to gauge campus reaction.
Vice president for student affairs Bill Kibler said IHL staff will supervise MSU data-entry staff as the evaluations are processed after each interview session.
“Shortly after the board begins their meeting, we will be able to provide them a summation of all the numerical rankings by question and group,” he said. “We also will provide a printed report with all of the comments.”
At 8 a.m., Keenum will have breakfast with the MSU vice presidents and athletic director Greg Byrne in the Shackouls Room of the Hunter Henry Center.
Kibler said he believes the collection of vice presidents will ask Keenum to address the main issues he faces if named the next MSU president.
“I’m sure he’ll address issues of communication and how he will plan to get up to speed as president,” Kibler said. “Overall, he will be talking about his own experiences and how they translate to success as president.”
One hour later, Keenum will meet with MSU deans, associate deans and department heads in the Parker Ballroom.
General staff members and the Alumni Association Board will respectively have the chance to address Keenum at 10 and 11 a.m. in the Parker Ballroom and the Shackouls Room.
Jimmy Abraham, executive director of alumni activities, said many alumni want Keenum to be accessible and visible to as many alumni as possible.
“Alumni want to hear his vision and how he plans to take our university to the next level,” he said. “He holds three degrees from State, has an understanding of the importance of a land-grant university and has extensive experience in dealing with outside constituents. We are excited about visiting with him on Wednesday.”
Following a luncheon with Bulldog Club Board members, Keenum will speak with the Faculty Senate and general faculty members in the Parker Ballroom.
At 2:10 p.m., MSU students will have the chance to address Keenum in the Parker Ballroom.
Student Association President Braxton Coombs said he encourages students who have any interest in the leadership of the university to attend the interview sessions.
“[Attendance] will give students an opportunity to meet Dr. Keenum and make sure that they feel as if he is the right choice for Mississippi State,” he said. “I would like for Dr. Keenum to express to students how he plans to become more engaged with the student body, what steps he is going to take to stay current with student interests . and how he plans to move Mississippi State forward.”
Coombs said students have approached him with concerns over Keenum’s higher education experience and the potential length of his tenure.
“I have had several students ask me ‘Will he be here for an extended period of time,’ and ‘Is Dr. Keenum capable of leading our university without much experience in higher education,'” he said. “Dr. Keenum has a great passion for Mississippi State University, and I believe that he is the type of leader that can bring our university together and continue to move us forward.”
At 3:10 p.m., Keenum will answer questions from the Starkville community and MSU alumni in the Parker Ballroom.
Ward 3 Alderman P.C. “Mac” McLaurin, Jr. said he hopes Keenum emphasizes plans to work closely on development projects of mutual interest between the city of Starkville and the university.
“I’ve always said the university is our Nissan [plant],” he said. “What is good for the university is good for the town.”
Following a 4:10 p.m. meeting with the MSU Foundation Board of Directors, the Board of Trustees will meet in the Hunter Henry Center Correro Conference Room to vote on Keenum’s presidential future. A press conference will be held afterward in the Parker Ballroom.
Most of the interviews with MSU preferred presidential candidate Mark Keenum will be made available for live streaming Wednesday at real.msstate.edu:8080/ramgen/broadcast/candidate2008.rm