LORMAN — Alcorn State University’s next president must advocate for economic development in rural southwest Mississippi, boost enrollment, raise funds, inspire students to achieve their hopes and dreams, be familiar with the school’s rich history and, above all, stay.
Preferably for at least five years.
That was the message students, faculty, staff and alumni delivered to the Institutions of Higher Learning commissioner and five members of the Board of Trustees during listening sessions Monday on Alcorn State’s campus, the first step in the governing board’s search process for a new president at the oldest public historical Black land-grant institution in the U.S.
In the last 10 years, the historic university has seen seven acting and permanent presidents come and go, experiencing, as the school’s director of religious life put it, a “visionary whiplash” that is beginning to erode core qualities of the campus culture, like its homey, familial vibe.
“When I first got here 10 years ago, Alcorn was like a family, like a big porch,” said C.J. Rhodes. “In the last few years, that cultural-aspect piece has sort of been jeopardized in some way, so we need a person who can come in and ensure that that part is there.”