‘Three strikes and you’re out’: Jackson State alums and lawmakers urge transparency with IHL board   ...Middle East

After Marcus Thompson’s resignation last week, Mississippi lawmakers and Jackson State University alumni are calling for more transparency and accountability from the state’s governing board that oversees and selects its college presidents. 

The Institutions of Higher Learning Board met in a closed door executive meeting for two hours last Wednesday to discuss a personnel matter regarding the job performance of an employee at the state’s largest historically Black university – the second time in three weeks the board did so. After the meeting, board officials told media there was nothing to report. 

IHL later released a statement saying Thompson resigned, but provided no information about what happened or why. Mississippi Today asked for a resignation letter but due to state public record laws it cannot be shared publicly. A spokesperson for the board said in an email statement they requested permission from Thompson to release his letter but the request was denied. 

Thompson’s departure officially marks the university’s third leadership turnover in ten years. It was deja vu for many who had watched the board let Thompson’s predecessor, Thomas Hudson, resign two years ago with no public explanation. 

The news came as a disappointment to JSU alumni, including Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson. Speaking about the repeated resignations creates a double-bind for JSU alums: It can bring unwanted, negative attention to the university, but staying silent could lead to IHL repeating the same mistakes.

“We got a lot of great things going on at Jackson State University,” Bell told Mississippi Today in a phone call this week. “It just speaks again to the need for transparency and accountability through the presidential selection process and IHL.” 

In 2020, Bell was one of 10 Democrats who introduced a bill to abolish IHL. The bill would have allowed the state’s eight public universities to appoint their own board of trustees to oversee the universities finances and executive leadership. The board is currently appointed by the governor with the advice-and-consent of the Senate.

If established, each 12-member board would include three representatives from the following groups associated with the respective university: members of college alumni association, student government and university faculty senate and state residents to serve a five-year term. It would have also established those boards to keep a detailed history of meeting minutes and vote history of potential candidates. 

The bill was tripled-referred, a rare legislative tactic used by House Speaker Philip Gunn at the time, to ensure the bill’s death. 

A dog and pony show

Mississippi Today reached out to Jackson State University National Alumni Association President Patrease Edwards for a comment. 

Leaders of the group did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication but shared a statement with other publications that in part asked alumni to only speak positively about the university. 

Mark Dawson, a lifetime member of JSU National Alumni Association, was one of many who sat on an open panel for the university’s presidential candidate process in spring 2023, which ultimately resulted in Thompson. 

Dawson said it did not seem like IHL took the panel’s feedback into account. Rather than using alumni on these panels as a “dog and pony show,” Dawson said, there’s a need for a “unified approach” for stakeholders and supporters of the university to be more involved in the search — so they can help IHL select a president who will last more than a couple years. 

“It’s about the opportunity to come together and get some things right,” Dawson said. “How can you have a vision for long-term stability for student housing, fundraising, academic programs and a new stadium when you have a new administration every few years. It needs to be corrected.” 

State Senate Minority Leader, Derrick T. Simmons said the board’s lack of diversity hurts JSU. The state’s 12-member board currently only includes one alumnus from a Mississippi HBCU. While the state’s population is majority African-American, JSU and other universities play a pivotal role in educating Black professionals, many of whom are Mississippi natives, Simmons added. 

“This underrepresentation raises concerns about equitable decision-making and inclusivity,” Simmons said. “By embracing these principles, the IHL can better serve all Mississippians, uphold the legacy of its educational institutions, and ensure a more equitable future for higher education in the state.” 

Sen. Hillman Frazier, D-Jackson, said he doesn’t have confidence with IHL when it comes to selecting the university’s presidents. In the last three presidential processes, the board has continued to overlook recommended resumes, stakeholders and supporters choices for president. 

Hudson’s predecessor, William Bynum, was gone after three years following his arrest in a prostitution sting at a Clinton hotel. Bynum was appointed Jackson State’s president in 2017 after serving as president of Mississippi Valley State University president for about four years. He was not a popular pick. The board’s announcement of his selection inspired several Black lawmakers to file a lawsuit to prevent his appointment. 

“They’ve wasted taxpayers and the JSU family’s time, energy and resources,” Frazier said. “Three strikes and you’re out. I have no confidence in this board and its commissioner.” 

A spokesperson for the board said the trustees have not held any formal discussions regarding a presidential search for Jackson State University.  

“The Board of Trustees is committed to a clear and transparent process,” a spokesperson for the board said in an email to Mississippi Today. 

IHL hired Thompson in November 2023 after Thomas Hudson. The board had placed Hudson on administrative leave, but did not share with the public the reason for the personnel issue that motivated its decision. 

When the board began its search a few months later, members of the JSU community asked the board to “stop hiring your friends.” The board conducted a national search, interviewing 79 applicants, but Thompson was the epitome of an internal hire having worked at IHL since 2009. 

Moving forward 

Denise Jones Gregory, former provost of vice president of academic affairs at JSU, shared a personal statement  on the university’s social media this weekend. 

“I ask for your patience, your partnership and most of all, your prayers as we move Jackson State University forward together,” Jones-Gregory said. 

Lisa Ross, a Jackson-area employment attorney and JSU alumnus, said IHL needs to better prepare the presidents to lead a complex organization like a university. She would know: Ross has repeatedly sued IHL and JSU on behalf of female administrators and faculty who have alleged gender discrimination in the workplace from male superiors.

Ross, who has sued over Thompson and Hudson’s appointments, noted neither man had led a university before IHL selected them. 

“It seems like they’re sending these people over there and they’re just letting these people go,” she said. “I don’t know if they gave Marcus the support that he needed.”

Ross cited something Thompson told her soon after he became president, that he had never read “To Survive and Thrive: The Quest for a True University.”

The memoir recounts John Peoples’ time leading Jackson State amid civil rights demonstrations and the 1970 shooting, as well as his relationships with the IHL board. Peoples is widely regarded as the university’s most renowned president.

“He did tell me ‘oh, I went out and bought the book,’ but you don’t even know the history of the university?” she said.

Going forward, the repeated resignations could make it hard for the state Legislature to invest in the university. It could also lead to a less qualified candidate pool, Frazier added. 

“This turnover is going to have a chilling effect on someone who wants to apply for the job,” he said. “It’s sabotaging the growth and reputation of my alma mater.”

Molly Minta contributed to this report.

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