University of Southern Mississippi students, faculty and alumni are unified in wanting a new school president who is an expert at fundraising and recruiting and who can advocate for all people on the campus.
Those were the main topics that came forward from a listening session sponsored by the state Institutions of Higher Learning, which is beginning it search to replace Rodney Bennett, Ph.D., who stepped down on July 15.
Joe Paul, Ph.D., took the reigns as interim president of Southern Miss on July 16. Earlier this year, Bennett announced his plans to step down from the university before the end of his contract.
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Nearly 200 people packed into what is ironically named Joe Paul Theater to make their thoughts known on how the IHL should proceed in replacing Bennett. The meeting was the first of four listening events scheduled by the IHL. Two were on the Hattiesburg campus Monday, while two will be in Long Beach in Tuesday.
More than half of the 20 people who spoke at Monday’s morning session made mention of Paul and his impact on the school just since he took over on July 16.
Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker and Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes, both Southern Miss graduates talked about how much morale had been lifted on the Hattiesburg campus since Paul took over.
Paul is well-known to the Southern Miss family. He served for 40 years as a University of Southern Mississippi student affairs administrator. Before becoming vice president for student affairs in February 1993, he held a variety of positions, including assistant director of student activities, assistant vice president and dean of student development. He also held faculty rank in USM’s College of Education and Psychology.
Missy Magee, a Southern Miss graduate, who has represented the 102nd district in the Mississippi House of Representatives since 2017, said that the hiring of this USM president is the most consequential in a generation.
“I believe Southern Miss is at a crossroads and I believe the next president will play a central role in charting the future of this institution,” Magee said. “The next president must realize that this city and this university cannot exist, as we know it, without the other. We must have a cooperative and respectful relationship between our city government and or university.”
USM’s student body president Ashley Langford echoed many of the speakers who believe that the next president should be an person who attended the Hattiesburg school and that Southern Miss should be a place the job candidate wants to be.
“Southern Miss should be a destination and not a layover,” Langford said. “The next person in this position should understand how special and unique this place is and be someone who can inspire the students and alumni.”
Rick Mattix, a USM alumnus, spoke of the need to be able to recruit students better than has been done in the past and that the school needs someone who can reach people, fund raise and still be able to keep an atmosphere of “fun” on campus.
“We have a great story to tell,” Mattix said. “We just need someone who can tell our story.”
Tom Duff, a member of the IHL and a Southern Miss alumnus said that in his eight years in the board, he has attended listening tours at every public institution except Mississippi State University, which has not replaced its president during that time.