Jackson — The state College Board announced Monday that an official from a historically black college in Florida would be its choice to lead Mississippi Valley State University.
As the preferred choice, Donna Oliver will meet with faculty and staff at the historically black college in Itta Bena before the College Board gives final approval. Oliver, the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Fla., will be on campus Oct. 21 for interviews.
Mississippi Valley State has been without a permanent leader since July 2007, when former president Lester Newman resigned. He stepped down after the faculty criticized his leadership style and called for his dismissal.
The board didn’t name any of the top candidates until Monday. Its decision may disappoint some faculty and staff at the campus who had supported Interim President Roy C. Hudson, who’s led the university since Newman’s resignation. Hudson has been at Mississippi Valley since 1973.
Earline Anderson, president of Valley State’s Staff Council, said faculty and staff are willing to work with whomever the board chooses to move the campus forward.
“I just certainly hope that the board gives Mississippi Valley a fair chance and gives us someone who is capable of moving us to the next level,” Anderson said, hours before Oliver was named.
Moses Newsome, chairman of the university search advisory committee, said the university is “indebted” to Hudson for his leadership. But Newsome said issues related to faculty and the university foundation are some of the reasons Oliver was selected.
“Given what this particular person brought to the table, we thought it would be better to start anew,” Newsome said.
Anderson, who is director of promoting research and curriculum enhancement, said the university’s main challenge is finances.
“We’re forced to do a lot of things with less resources. Because of that financial burden, we face challenges in our recruiting process,” she said. “We can’t get some of the programs we would like to have because we don’t have the resources. The only way to increase enrollment is to have programs that students are interested in.”
Valley’s enrollment declined this semester to just under 3,000, a decrease of 2.7 percent.
In February 2007, then-president Newman was the target of a “no confidence” vote by the Faculty Senate. He then sought to sought to create a committee of faculty and administrators to improve communications and undertook a reorganization that saw many longtime staff members moved to other jobs. He resigned before the College Board approved the changes.
Vince Venturnini, head of the Valley State’s Department of Social Work, also there had been progress under Hudson’s tenure at interim president.
“The best thing has been that we have been at peace,” Venturnini said. “We’d had some very tumultuous years prior to the last president’s resignation.”
Before joining Edward Waters College, Oliver had a career in K-12 public education as a biology and chemistry teacher. She also was a college professor. She was named National Teacher of the Year in 1987.
She received her undergraduate degree at Elon College in North Carolina and a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina.
Local News
Oliver is board’s choice for MVSU president
- Local News
-
-
PAINTING HYDRANTS
Firefighters with Picayune Fire Department conduct regular maintenance on the city’s many fire hydrants, such as giving them a fresh coat of paint.
-
Two charged with making meth around kids
Two parents were arrested for allegedly making and possessing methamphetamine, while their children were in the home.
-
Unemployment rate down slightly
Pearl River County’s unemployment rate dropped slightly between March and April of this year.
-
PMHS GRADUATION
Picayune Memorial High School held its graduation ceremony Thursday night where the school’s valedictorian Jared Christopher Bates, left, and salutatorian Bryce Austin Warden gave their speeches.
-
POPLARVILLE GRADUATION
Poplarville High School held its graduation ceremony Thursday night where the school’s valedictorian Rebecca Starke, left, and salutatorian Meagan Whitworth gave their speeches to the graduating class, parents and friends.
-
Local man paralyzed by juvenile shooting
Medical personnel were teaching a local man how to swallow again on Saturday after his spinal cord was severed by a .22 caliber bullet, fired by one of three juveniles, on Thursday.
-
Potential bridge replacement fund shortage draws discussion
Despite a lengthy agenda for Pearl River County supervisors Wednesday the board handled many of the items with a straight up and down 5-0 vote.
-
Glade Woods dies
Funeral services for Earl Glade Woods , 75 of Picayune, are Monday at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Picayune. Woods passed away on Friday.
-
MHP on patrol for holiday
Even though there has been a remarkable reduction in the number of fatalities in Mississippi over the past seven years, last year’s Memorial Day Weekend was particularly deadly.
-
POLICE MEMORIAL
City employees were out at the Picayune Police Department memorial Thursday morning doing some upgrades to it.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
