Jackson State University alums are blowing up Mississippi lawmakers and the state’s college board inboxes with one clear message: Give us a fair and transparent president search. 

Thee 1877 Project launched an email campaign “For a Better JSU” this week asking faculty, students and supporters of the historically Black university to send e-letters to hold the Institutions of Higher Learning board responsible for the school’s last three picks for president and what it calls its failure to create an open and inclusive search for school leadership. The group is not affiliated with the JSU National Alumni Association. 

The effort comes after the announcement of former president Marcus Thompson’s resignation with no explanation. The news was a disappointment to many state lawmakers and alumni last month who felt whiplash from his departure, a familiar situation experienced with his predecessor, Thomas Hudson, who also resigned without explanation. Thompson’s resignation marked the university’s third leadership turnover in less than a decade. Hudson’s predecessor, William Bynum, also resigned following his arrest on a prostitution solicitation charge.

“For too long the leadership selection process at JSU has failed the institution and its stakeholders. It has bred instability, eroded public trust, damaged our university’s reputation and squandered taxpayer dollars,” the campaign’s website states. “These are not minor missteps— they are systemic failures. The process has lacked transparency, inclusivity and consistency that any respected academic institution should demand.” 

In a personalized email sent to IHL Commissioner Al Rankins and board members, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and several state House and Senate lawmakers including Chris Bell, Greg Holloway, Sollie Norwood, Grace Butler Washington, Rob Roberson and Dennis DeBar, the group urges the following:  

• A public acknowledgement and statement from board members addressing its failures of previous president search processes and lessons they have learned before the next national search 
• A national search of the university leadership of the “highest caliber” 
• A transparent president search and process that includes input from students, faculty, alumni and community members 

The group said its goal is to get 1,000 individuals to participate in the campaign before IHL’s next board meeting, June 19. As of Friday, 500 emails have been sent according to Mark Dawson, a spokesperson for the group. He said the group plans to expand its campaign in the coming weeks to include additional emails to officials such as State Auditor Shad White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. 

“We need to let them know this process they have in place is not good,” Dawson said. 

The campaign is also filling a void for alumni who are frustrated by JSUNAA’s silence and inaction. Many have begun to question the association’s role and its leadership when it comes to advocating for the university’s future. 

Last month, JSUNAA President Patrease Edwards, shared a statement asking alumni to refrain from public comment and speak positively about the university after Thompson’s departure. 

When rumors circulated that IHL had selected a new president and Edwards was asked to send a letter to alumni on the selection and reasons the board did not open up a candidate search this week, Edwards responded to those claims on social media. Her response was the first time alumni had heard from since her statement. She subsequently deleted her comment.

“Processes and procedures can be challenging for JSUNAA right now. It is not for us,” Dawson said. “We don’t want to brush things under the rug, you can’t fix anything that way. Now is the time to raise our voice, organize and partner with IHL to have an open dialogue so we can get this right.” 

Edwards told Mississippi Today the role of JSUNAA is to support the university and its students. She said she does not speak on personnel issues because that is beyond the association’s purview. 

When asked if the association had considered expanding its mission to acknowledge the questions alumni have posed of her leadership and inaction, Edwards said the association does advocate but alumni should join the national group as a way to support the university. By joining the association, it shows a true representation of the school’s alumni base “and speaks more volume than anything.” 

“We can be vocal on social media all we want but if we are not showing our financial support of our university through active membership in the National Alumni Association through ongoing consistent gifts to the university and to students and student programs, we will never be able to have a voice,” Edwards said. 

Despite what he described as the “aggressive silence and inaction” from the national association, Dawson said the group doesn’t see itself as overstepping. Rather it’s providing a true account to the history of the university and a platform for alumni and supporters’ demands. 

“[Jackson State] was founded twelve years after bondage. We have weathered through a long and troubled history of people trying to knock us down and we have survived despite the odds ,” he said. “Being quiet is not in our DNA. We’re rising  up yet again.”