A ‘cloak of secrecy’: College board stays tight-lipped over JSU president search

By Candice Wilder | Originally published by Mississippi Today

The last time the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning board searched for a president for Jackson State University, the process drew criticism for a lack of transparency. 

IHL’s Board of Trustees discussed the matter in closed session, which meant the public could not observe or ask questions. They provided few details about the outcome of those closed-door meetings. Then in 2023, they conducted a national leadership search before selecting an internal hire, who had no experience running a university and they did not confirm whether he had applied for the job, to lead Jackson State.

Now, a year into the search for Jackson State’s next president, IHL will not answer Mississippi Today’s questions about the number of applications submitted for the role. 

Officials have completed a first round of interviews. They are supposed to invite the final candidates for interviews and meetings with stakeholders next week, according to a draft timeline for the search. But IHL officials would not confirm whether that will happen. 

The board has reneged on a promise of transparency and accountability, some alumni say. 

“The IHL board seemed to revert to its old ways of doing things,” said Mark Dawson, chairman of Thee 1877 Project, a small group of alums not affiliated with the national association who have been advocating for a transparent national leadership search. 

Sharolyn Love, a member of Thee 1877 Project, said she struggles between giving the IHL board grace and feeling cynical about the search process. 

“I want to believe they think they are being transparent, but it seems that they don’t know or understand that they aren’t being transparent,” Love said. “But, this seems to also be intentional.” 

In March, officials tasked with selecting and naming the next JSU president met in a two-day closed session to discuss candidates for first-round interviews. They did not announce the number of candidates who advanced to the next round of interviews. 

Officials also have not publicly announced second round interview plans or next steps. 

Mississippi Today reached out to Steven Cunningham, vice president of the IHL board and chair of the JSU president search committee, and IHL Commissioner Al Rankins. Rankins’ assistant and Gee Ogletree, the IHL board president, deferred to a statement from IHL spokesman John Sewell.

In that statement, Sewell said the trustees are “committed to a transparent and cooperative search process and has sought input and engagement from Jackson State University students, faculty, staff, and alumni.” 

“At the same time, it is critically important to respect the confidentiality related to all applicants for this position,” Sewell wrote. Sewell said the trustees have the goal to name the new president for Jackson State University by the end of spring semester, which is May 1.

The top job at Jackson State has been vacant since May 2025, when Marcus Thompson resigned without explanation less than two years into his tenure. He was the university’s third president in five years. Denise Jones Gregory, former provost and vice president of academic affairs, is serving as the interim president. She is also eligible to be JSU president.

For JSU’s current president search, the IHL board launched an online survey for alumni and stakeholders to submit comments, held community listening sessions and selected people to serve on a search advisory constituency to assist board members in the process. 

But members of that group have said they cannot speak publicly or discuss potential candidates because an IHL board policy prohibits it. 

JSU alumni and stakeholders have questioned the fairness of the president search process and accused IHL of forgoing its own policies and appointing internal hires as top leaders. IHL has used this provision to appoint Tracy Cook as president of Alcorn State University in 2024 and Joe Paul as president of the University of Southern Mississippi in 2022. 

To be this far along in the presidential search process and not know the number of candidates or finalists for the role “isn’t terribly unusual,” said Judith Wilde, a George Mason University professor who studies college presidential searches. College governing boards have a responsibility to balance their authority and create collaborative efforts with stakeholders when it comes to decision-making, she said. 

“The secrecy of these searches (does) violate a basic foundational tenet of universities, which is shared governance,” Wilde said. “It’s like the Wizard of Oz hiding behind the curtain.” 

Despite not knowing many details about the current JSU president search process, Thee 1877 Project will remain committed to its vision of advocating around student housing issues, funding and philanthropy, Dawson said. That includes supporting the new president. 

“We want to see the school not only survive but thrive,” Dawson said. “The lack of transparency in the presidential search process and the ability for alums or stakeholders to have a meaningful voice to reject candidates leads us to where we are now. We just have to hope for the best.” 

Tougaloo College, a private historically Black college in Jackson, recently completed a year-long president search. The schools’ board of trustees announced three finalists and brought them to campus for alumni, faculty and students to meet and vet.  

There’s no reason why Jackson State, a public university, “can’t do the same thing,” Love said.

“We as taxpayers want to know where our dollars are going as it relates to this search. There’s just this cloak of secrecy with the board.” 

This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article