Search for 16th Mississippi State president under way

The search for the next president of Mississippi State University is under way and is expected to culminate in the announcement of a successor to Dr. Donald Zacharias at the October meeting of the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning. That meeting will take place on the university campus.

The nationwide search for the institution's 16th president is being conducted by a five-member committee of the Board of Trustees, chaired by Mississippi State graduate Carl Nicholson Jr. of Hattiesburg. Other committee members appointed by board president Marlin Ivey are Nan McGahey Baker of Winona, William Crawford of Meridian, Roy Klumb of Gulfport, and James Luvene of Oxford.

The board also named at its May meeting a 34-member Campus Advisory Committee, made up of faculty, staff, students, and alumni, to assist in reviewing the field of candidates and interviewing finalists for the position. The campus-based group is chaired by Dr. Marion (Mike) Couvillion, assistant professor of communication and the 1996-97 chair of the Faculty Senate.

Plans call for much of the search and screening work to take place during the summer, with on-campus interviews of a small number of finalists to take place early during the fall semester. Only the names of finalists will be made public.

The Board of Trustees has retained the services of Dallas-based consultant William Funk of Korn/Ferry International to assist in the search. He spent two days on campus on May 21 and 22, conducting a series of meetings with the Campus Advisory Committee and other faculty, staff, student, and community groups.

Korn/Ferry has 70 offices in 38 countries and is one of the largest retainer-based executive search firms. Funk, a Purdue University graduate, said he has personally assisted in more than 60 university presidential searches during the past 10 years, including those that led to the hiring of the current presidents at Clemson, Nebraska, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, and Missouri.

The Advisory Committee will make information about the progress of the search available on its World Wide Web site at http://msuinfo.ur.msstate.edu/ceo_search/.

Alumni and friends may contact the committee with names of prospective candidates or comments concerning the search by writing or calling committee chair Dr. Marion Couvillion at P.O. Drawer PF, Mississippi State, MS 39762, phone 662-325-3320, fax 662-325-3910, or e-mail mikec@comm.msstate.edu.

Other committee members are:

On campus: Dr. Leslie Bauman, professor, Physics and Astronomy, and 1997-98 chair, Faculty Senate; Dr. G. Euel Coats, professor, Plant and Soil Sciences, and 1997-98 vice chair, Faculty Senate; Dr. Linda Cornelious, associate professor, Technology and Education; Christy Criss, graphics technician, University Relations; Dr. Lesia Crumpton, assistant professor, Industrial Engineering; Patsy Douglas, STS+ coordinator and chair of the Professional and Support Staff Advisory Council; Michael David Garriga, president, Graduate Student Association; Dr. Frances Graham, Extension Housing Specialist; Dr. Paul Grimes, professor, Finance and Economics; Dr. John Marszalek, professor, History; John McRae, Dean, School of Architecture; Dr. Samuel Miller, assistant vice president, Student Affairs; Leah Norman, vice president, Business Affairs; Dr. Raygene Paige, State Program Leader, Family and Consumer Education, Cooperative Extension Service; Michael Richardson, president, Student Association; Dr. Randy Robinette, head, Wildlife and Fisheries; Dr. William Smyer, associate dean, Engineering; Dr. Don Trotter, director, Engineering Research Center; Dr. Vance Watson, director, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station; and Dr. Michael White, dean of students.

Off campus: Mike Booker, Bank of Mississippi, Jackson; Durr Boyles, Jackson, national president of the Alumni Association; James R. Carter, Carter Brothers Farms, Inc., Rolling Fork; Albert C. Clark, C.C. Clark, Inc., Starkville; Hassell Franklin, Franklin Corporation, Houston; Bryce Griffis, Sturgis Timber Co., Starkville; John Grisham, novelist, Oxford; Mickey Holliman, Furniture Brands International, Tupelo; F. (Buddy) Kahlmus, Deposit Guaranty National Bank, Meridian; Bobby Martin, The Peoples Bank, Ripley, and president, Mississippi State University Foundation; Don Mason, Mississippi Power Company, Gulfport; Tex Ritter, Attala Mills, Kosciusko; and Leo Seal, Hancock Banking Co., Gulfport.