Thomas Layzell, the Commissioner of Higher Education, recently announced that the MSU presidential search was on hold until December. At that time, the search committee will essentially start from scratch. Speculation abounds over the reasons why the first search committee didn’t get the job done. Some say that different Institutions for Higher Learning board members had different ideas of what MSU’s new president should be. There are rumors about some influential alumni (read: heavy donors) who didn’t like any of the presidential finalists. There was a flap about state legislators (aka “the people who hold the purse strings”) who decided that they wanted to choose the president instead of the IHL.
All are interesting theories, but all distract attention from the most important question: How is the lack of a permanent president is going to affect MSU, both in the short and long-term?
The good news is that interim President Charles Lee’s tenure has gone better than anyone could’ve possibly expected. Despite budget cuts, tuition raises and a large number of faculty and staff retirements, Lee has been able to make moves that show MSU is looking forward despite the word “interim” being a part of his title.
Near-universal praise from faculty and staff for adeptly handling such difficult issues attests to that fact. To put it another way, it’s impressive when a sizeable number of MSU alumni in the Mississippi Legislature are signing petitions to make Lee the permanent president. Although those legislators might have overstepped their boundaries in making that endorsement, it’s still a compliment to the job Lee is doing.
The hirings of permanent deans for the School of Architecture, College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education are an example of long-term planning.
The deans are more likely to have an effect on students’ day-to-day lives as opposed to the president, who must deal with all facets of running MSU.
It is worth noting that all the new deans were hired internally. That is an encouraging sign that they are dedicated to MSU and will likely remain here for a long time. Given that the average tenure of most college administrators is roughly five years, people who have strong connections to a university and surrounding community are a rare find.
This is not to say that the outlook is completely rosy. Important administrative positions, namely the vice president of research, remain open. Some departments lost almost half their faculty due to a generous retirement package offered last summer to reduce headcount. Budget cuts are again looming in the spring unless Mississippi’s economy takes a radical turn for the better.
The lack of a permanent president exacerbates all of those problems. People who take administrative positions that report directly to the president want to know what kind of person they will be dealing with. The same goes for those taking jobs as tenure-track faculty and department chairs. Also, long-term budgetary planning, which could help alleviate the pain of cuts, is difficult to do when the president himself doesn’t know how much longer he will remain in his position.
Still, I would rather the IHL get the right kind of person than just hire someone to fill the position. I wasn’t privy to any information the board had on the finalists. Even after such a long and expensive processs, it is possible that a qualified candidate couldn’t be found. By delaying until December, actual hiring will take place in the spring, so more candidates will be able to apply for the position.
Obviously, the IHL has the best interests of MSU at heart. After all, the IHL president, Bryce Griffis, lives in Starkville and bleeds maroon and white. Five out of the twelve board member hold MSU degrees. Also, this is not the first time a presidential search was halted. It happened in 1995 when Alcorn State was choosing a leader. It also happened at MSU in 1976. James McComas was eventually chosen as the new president.
Given all that, I will give the IHL the benefit of the doubt. That being said, the second search needs to be successful. Even though the present leadership is doing a competent job, this a critical time in the life of this university.
This university is seeing record enrollment. New facilities are being built and new programs are starting. Meanwhile, Mississippi’s economy shows no signs of recovery, so money from the state is going to decrease. We need a stable leader to guide MSU through these tough times and position us to remain one of the top universities in the region.
Wilson Boyd is a senior economics major. Send comments to [email protected].