Leah Beasley knows the inner workings of the athletic departments at the University of Oklahoma and Mississippi State. She has worked closely with Zac Selmon, the newly named athletic director at State, for the last eight months at Oklahoma.
Leah Beasley, now at University of Oklahoma Credit: Mississippi State Athletics
Beasley says Mississippi State has hit a grand slam in the hiring of Selmon, who, at age 37, becomes Mississippi State’s first Black athletic director and the first at any of Mississippi’s three largest universities.
“I am so proud for Mississippi State and for Zac,” Beasley said from Norman, Okla., Friday, shortly after Selmon’s introductory press conference. “State people are going to love him. He is a relationship-based guy, as genuine as they come. He is really good at having a plan and sticking to it but an be nimble and flexible when the occasion calls for it. He’s ready for this.”
Beasley worked in the Mississippi State athletic department for nearly a decade before taking a job as associate executive athletic director at Oklahoma last April. She worked closely with Selmon in areas of communication, NIL (name, image and likeness), facilities and crisis management.
“You should see our Sooner athletics executive team messaging site today.” Beasley said. “The thing is filled with Mississippi State gifs and memes. Everybody is so happy for Zac.”
Mississippi State president Mark E. Keenum seemed more than happy. “…I think my focus during the interview process was how seamlessly Zac’s values of family, faith and character align with those of Mississippi State University,” Keenum said in introducing Selmon.
“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity and a professional journey that I’m ready to begin,” Selmon said. “I want to thank Dr. Keenum for his confidence in me. I’m grateful to my family for preparing me from an early age to work hard and trust in God. I have a deep and abiding respect for Mississippi State’s traditions and the role this university plays in taking care of what matters in this state and nation. My family and I are eager to join the Bulldog family.”
If the name Selmon sounds familiar to Mississippi Sports fans, it should. Zac Selmon is a son of Dewey Selmon and nephew Lucius and Lee Roy Selmon (the famous football Selmon brothers of Eufaula, Oklahoma.) Keenum said Zac Selmon “grew up with powerful examples of winning at the highest levels and doing so with a deep commitment to sportsmanship and scholarship. Winning and winning the right way is in Zac Selmon’s DNA.”
Although his father and uncles are Oklahoma football deity, Zac Selmon played his college football at Wake Forest. At Wake, Selmon not only became a four-year starter for the Demon Deacons, but a dean’s list scholar graduating in 2007 with a degree in religion and international studies. He also holds a 2010 OU master’s degree in education with an emphasis in intercollegiate athletics administration.
Before Oklahoma, Zac Selmon also worked as an associate athletic director at North Carolina. Said Keenum, “I am convinced that in Zac Selmon we found an outstanding leader with a servant’s heart – a leader who has extensive experience at two Power Five universities and who understands and shares our relentless commitment to achieving and maintaining excellence.”
Zac Selmon has learned from two of the most respected athletic directors in the business, Joe Castiglione at Oklahoma and Bubba Cunningham at North Carolina.
Nevertheless, as with any hire, there will be skeptics. With Zac Selmon, many might question his having never worked in the SEC or as the CEO of an athletics department. At Oklahoma, he was a member of the school’s executive leadership team as deputy director for external engagement and advancement.
Count Castigilione among Zac Selmon’s most avid boosters. “We are so thrilled for and proud of Zac Selmon,” Castiglione said. “What a spectacular hire by Dr. Keenum and Mississippi State University. It’s been a true privilege to have Zac on our staff from his beginnings as a graduate assistant to his current role as deputy AD. We know he will be a visionary leader for MSU and the SEC. He’s genuine and authentic and helps make everyone around him better.”
In his remarks, Keenum thanked Bracky Brett, who has served as interim athletic director since John Cohen departed for Auburn last November. In the interim, Brett and MSU has dealt with the death of celebrated football coach Mike Leach and the hiring of his replacement Zach Arnett.
Said Keenum, “The continued success MSU has enjoyed during the search would not have been possible without the steady hand, hard work and wisdom of Bracky Brett. Our university, our fan base, owes you a tremendous debt of gratitude.”
Brandon Presley, un demócrata que ha pasado los últimos 15 años regulando las empresas de servicios públicos en la Comisión de Servicios Públicos del estado, anunciará hoy que se postula para gobernador en 2023.
Presley se encuentra entre los demócratas más notables que se postularon para el cargo más alto del estado este siglo, y se espera que su candidatura inspire una de las campañas más costosas y amargas en la historia del estado.
El nativo de Nettleton, de 45 años, lanzará su campaña y se presentará a muchos habitantes de Mississippi esta semana con un video de tres minutos que incluye una crítica feroz del actual gobernador Tate Reeves, el republicano en su primer mandato que anunció la semana pasada que buscará reelección.
“Me postulo para gobernador porque sé que Mississippi puede hacerlo mejor”, dice Presley en el video. “Tenemos un estado lleno de gente buena pero políticos horribles, y eso incluye a nuestro gobernador. Tate Reeves es un hombre con cero condenas y máxima corrupción. Se cuida a sí mismo y a sus amigos ricos en lugar de a las personas que lo pusieron en el cargo. Y ha quedado atrapado en medio del mayor escándalo de corrupción pública en la historia del estado”.
Presley, cuya estrategia inicial de campaña se centrará en el creciente escándalo de asistencia social del estado y otra corrupción en Jackson, ha construido una marca modesta a lo largo de los años como un político centrado en prioridades apolíticas como expandir el acceso a Internet de alta velocidad en todo el estado y regular las tarifas que electricidad y las compañías de agua cobran a los habitantes de Mississippi.
Los asesores cercanos a Presley esperan que sus antecedentes, comportamiento e ideas atraigan a muchos habitantes de Mississippi. Pariente del legendario artista Elvis, Presley habla con un profundo acento sureño. Fue criado en un pequeño pueblo por una madre soltera que trabajaba en una fábrica mientras luchaba por pagar las facturas, y durante mucho tiempo se ha detenido en esas primeras lecciones de vida en su vida pública.
Pero para librar una campaña ganadora en 2023, Presley tiene mucho trabajo por delante. Es un demócrata que se postula en Mississippi, uno de los electorados republicanos más confiables de la nación que se ha vuelto cada vez más resistente a los valores defendidos por muchos liberales modernos. El último demócrata en ganar la gobernación fue Ronnie Musgrove en 1999, y desde entonces el Partido Republicano ha reforzado su control sobre el complejo político del estado.
Aún así, Presley cree que tiene un caso convincente que presentar a todos los votantes de Mississippi, incluidos los republicanos. Un político moderado que se describe a sí mismo como pro-vida y pro-Segunda Enmienda, ha trabajado de cerca y con éxito con funcionarios republicanos. Como alcalde de Nettleton de 2001 a 2007, abogó por los recortes de impuestos y creó puestos de trabajo y, de manera infame, se pasó a votar por el republicano George W. Bush en las elecciones presidenciales de 2004. Varios republicanos de alto perfil han contribuido a su campaña en las últimas semanas, incluido un puñado de miembros del comité de finanzas de la campaña para gobernador de 2019 de Reeves.
A fines del año pasado, un partidario de Presley incluso imprimió calcomanías que decían: “Republicanos por Presley: ¡Vamos, Brandon!”. Docenas de simpatizantes solicitaron las calcomanías cuando Presley publicó una foto de la calcomanía en Facebook.
Pero mientras Presley busca el apoyo de los votantes independientes o de derecha, su tarea principal será apuntalar el apoyo de los demócratas leales de Mississippi, que tradicionalmente representan entre el 40% y el 45% del electorado del estado. Alrededor del 75% de la base de votantes demócratas del estado son negros, y Presley tendrá que hablarles y apelarles, un objetivo fallido para muchos demócratas blancos recientes en todo el estado.
Sin embargo, ayudando a su causa, Presley ha trabajado durante años para desarrollar relaciones con varios de los principales líderes demócratas negros del estado. Presley se ha vuelto particularmente cercano al representante estadounidense Bennie Thompson, el demócrata más poderoso del estado que cuenta con una red política de décadas y una gran influencia con los habitantes negros de Mississippi. Presley dice que su campaña contratará a varios agentes políticos dentro del círculo de Thompson.
Aunque otros candidatos tienen hasta el 1 de febrero para anunciar sus candidaturas, los políticos pronostican que Presley y Reeves se enfrentarán en las elecciones generales de noviembre. Aunque Reeves, el gobernador republicano de primer mandato, ha sido consistentemente considerado como uno de los gobernadores más impopulares de la nación, disfrutará de la plataforma de titularidad y la chequera de campaña históricamente abultada que la acompaña.
Tendrá acceso a un personal de campaña masivo con décadas de experiencia electoral en todo el estado y una sólida infraestructura del Partido Republicano de Mississippi ya construida y lista para funcionar. Y la base de apoyo más sólida de Reeves se encuentra a lo largo de la costa del golfo de Mississippi, un centro de población y geográficamente más alejado del territorio natal de Presley.
Presley, por otro lado, tendrá que gastar una cantidad considerable de dinero para aumentar la identificación de su nombre entre los habitantes de Mississippi todos los días, y particularmente en la costa, donde pocas personas están familiarizadas con su marca política. Si bien es probable que obtenga el apoyo de los demócratas nacionales y tenga millones de dólares para gastar, no se espera que iguale la destreza de recaudación de fondos de Reeves.
Pero en llamadas con asesores y amigos en los últimos días, Presley se ha centrado en la importancia de las elecciones de 2023 para el futuro del estado, no en la dura política del momento.
“Podemos construir un Mississippi donde luchemos contra la corrupción, no abrazarla”, dice Presley en el video del anuncio. “Donde recortamos impuestos, bajamos el costo de la atención médica y creamos buenos empleos. Un Mississippi donde finalmente nos enfocamos en el futuro, no en el pasado. Un Mississippi en el que lideremos con fuerza, coraje y verdadera columna vertebral.
Andrés Fuentes es periodista de FOX8-TV en Nueva Orleans y traductor de Mississippi Today. Antes de que el nativo de Nueva Orleans regresara, era periodista para WLOX-TV en Biloxi, Mississippi.
Las mujeres encarceladas están siendo trasladadas de la prisión de mujeres designada por el estado en el centro de Mississippi a una prisión anteriormente clausurada en el Delta a más de cien millas de distancia.
Casi 300 mujeres en el Centro Correccional Central Mississippi en Pearl han sido reubicadas en el Centro Correccional Delta en Greenwood. El Departamento Correccional de Mississippi planea trasladar a todas las mujeres a Delta Correctional antes del 1 de marzo.
El comisionado de correccionales de Mississippi, Burl Cain, dijo que el objetivo es llevarlos a un mejor ambiente con escuela, capacitación y tratamiento.
“Nos estábamos quedando sin camas para mujeres”, le dijo a Mississippi Today. “Entonces, al mudar 300 a Delta, ayudó a expandir la población. Se trata de camas y de cómo las usamos”.
La reubicación se produce meses después de que se informara a las mujeres sobre los planes del MDOC de trasladarlas de su antigua vivienda en 1A Yard en CMCF a 720, una unidad para hombres cerca de la parte trasera de la prisión. Algunos se opusieron a la decisión y escribieron cartas que circularon en la prisión y se entregaron a los senadores estatales con la ayuda de sus familias.
Otra razón para mudarse a Delta Correctional fue mantener separados a hombres y mujeres en CMCF.
Algunos activistas ven el traslado al Delta como perjudicial para las mujeres y sus familias.
Pauline Rogers, presidenta de la organización sin fines de lucro de reingreso religioso de la Fundación RECH, dijo que comenzó a recibir llamadas telefónicas antes del Día de Acción de Gracias de mujeres que fueron trasladadas a Delta Correctional.
Los familiares de las mujeres encarceladas con las que ha hablado tampoco están contentos con la mudanza.
“Está empujando a las familias lejos y a las mujeres lejos de sus hijos”, dijo Rogers.
Para aquellos que están molestos por el cambio, Cain dijo que habrá un período de ajuste. A quienes llamaron, dijo que MDOC les explicó cómo la medida es para el beneficio de las mujeres y los planes para los programas y la educación en Delta Correctional.
Cuando visitó la prisión de Delta esta semana, Cain dijo que las mujeres pueden ver que MDOC se preocupa por enseñarles habilidades y oficios para ayudarlas cuando salen de prisión. También dijo que habló con mujeres que todavía están en CMCF y que parecen estar listas para la mudanza.
“Creo que es un orgullo que tengan su prisión y su propio lugar”, dijo Cain.
Los miembros de la familia también han dicho que a sus seres queridos encarcelados les han quitado artículos como la higiene personal, dijo Rogers.
Cain dijo que mientras los artículos estuvieran en la lista de artículos permitidos, podrían ser llevados a Delta Correctional. La cantina estará disponible para suministrar cualquier otro producto si fuera necesario, dijo.
Todas las prisiones MDOC tienen un proveedor médico en el sitio, pero si alguien necesita ser transportado a un hospital, el más cercano sería el Hospital Greenwood Leflore, que está a punto de cerrar.
Cain dijo que el acceso médico de las mujeres sería el mismo que el de los residentes de Greenwood. Unas 50 mujeres con problemas médicos que los servicios médicos de la prisión no podían manejar fueron trasladadas de regreso a CMCF, dijo.
Delta Correctional cerró en 2012 después de operar como una prisión privada. Reabrió como un centro de trabajo comunitario para alojar a personas en libertad condicional y en libertad condicional que violan los términos de supervisión bajo un programa de sanción alternativa, según un comunicado de prensa del MDOC de 2018.
Los servicios del centro de restitución y trabajo se reubicarán en otro lugar, dijo Cain. El personal del centro ahora trabaja en la prisión y él espera contratar gente del área de Greenwood, incluidas personas que puedan supervisar la programación de la prisión.
Cain tiene planes para Delta Correctional.
“Se centrará en el reingreso, las habilidades y el comercio, y estarán ocupados ya que pueden ir a la escuela”, dijo.
Se espera que los programas de artes culinarias y paisajismo, la capacitación en servicio de limpieza y un invernadero lleguen a Delta Correctional junto con el tratamiento de alcohol y drogas, clubes y servicios como una peluquería.
También habrá aire acondicionado, que Cain dijo que aún no está disponible en CMCF. La Penitenciaría del Estado de Mississippi en Parchman fue la primera prisión en tener aire acondicionado instalado el verano pasado.
Antes de que llegaran las mujeres, se reparó el techo de Delta Correctional y se actualizaron la cocina y las duchas, dijo Cain.
A pesar de los planes de lo que MDOC planea hacer en la prisión, a Rogers le preocupa que poner a las mujeres en un entorno angustiado como el Delta las alejará de recursos como programación, actividades y programas de tratamiento y acceso a esos recursos.
“Es difícil mover a una población sin nada”, dijo. “Los estás moviendo de todo a nada”.
Andrés Fuentes
Andrés Fuentes es periodista de FOX8-TV en Nueva Orleans y traductor de Mississippi Today. Antes de que el nativo de Nueva Orleans regresara, era periodista para WLOX-TV en Biloxi, Mississippi.
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi’s longest serving congressional delegate and only Democrat in Washington, endorsed Brandon Presley on Thursday — the same day Presley announced his candidacy for governor.
An endorsement from Thompson, who is selective about such moves, is notable. He sat out the 2019 governor’s race, when former Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood lost to now-Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican. Thompson’s direct endorsement typically carries weight with Black Democrats, who make up a majority of the state’s traditionally Democratic electorate.
Presley, a Democrat who has served as a public service commissioner since 2007, has developed a close working relationship with Thompson over the past several years. They’ve worked particularly closely together in recent weeks on finding solutions for the Jackson water crisis.
“Right now, our state is in desperate need of a leader who will put the people first and stamp out corruption, not embrace it,” Thompson said in a Thursday statement. “A leader who will be a partner in fixing the Jackson water crisis, not turn a blind eye to it. And someone that will lower the cost of healthcare and fight for a better education for all of our kids.”
Presley, who announced earlier Thursday that he is running for governor, is among the most notable Democrats to run for the state’s highest office this century, and his candidacy is expected to inspire one of the most expensive and bitter campaigns in state history.
The 45-year-old Nettleton native launched his gubernatorial campaign and introduced himself to many Mississippians this week with a three-minute video that includes a blistering critique of Reeves, the first-term Republican who announced last week he will seek reelection.
Advisers close to Presley hope his background, demeanor and ideas appeal to many Mississippians, not just Democrats. A relative of legendary performer Elvis, Presley speaks in a deep Southern drawl. He was raised in a small town by a single mother who worked in a factory while struggling to pay bills, and he has long dwelled on those early life lessons in his public life.
Presley believes he has a compelling case to make to every Mississippi voter, including Republicans. A political moderate who self describes as pro-life and pro-Second Amendment, he’s worked closely and successfully with GOP officials. As Nettleton mayor from 2001-2007, he championed tax cuts and brought in jobs and infamously crossed over to vote for Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. Several high-profile Republicans have given to his campaign in recent weeks, including a handful of members of Reeves’ 2019 gubernatorial campaign finance committee.
But while Presley courts support from independent or right-leaning voters, his principal task will be shoring up support from loyal Mississippi Democrats, who traditionally make up between 40-45% of the state’s electorate. About 75% of the state’s Democratic base of voters are Black, and Presley will have to speak to and appeal to them — a failed objective for many recent white statewide Democrats.
Thompson’s speedy endorsement could prove important to his 2023 chances.
“Mississippians deserve a leader who cares,” Thompson said in the statement. “That’s who Brandon Presley is, it’s exactly what he will do and why he has my support.”
Bill Waller Jr., expresidente del Tribunal Supremo e hijo de un exgobernador, está “considerando seriamente” desafiar al gobernador Tate Reeves en las primarias republicanas de 2023.
La entrada de Waller en la carrera por la gobernación sacudiría el entorno político del estado y establecería una revancha dramática de las primarias republicanas para gobernador de 2019, que Reeves ganó por ocho puntos después de una amarga segunda vuelta con el exjuez.
Waller le dijo a Mississippi Today el martes que ha estado sopesando una carrera durante varias semanas, hablando con familiares, amigos y asesores políticos. Descartó postularse como independiente, lo que varios políticos han sugerido que haga, y en su lugar se presentaría en las primarias del Partido Republicano de agosto.
“Estoy orando al respecto, estoy viendo quién más podría estar en la carrera y qué más podría pasar, pero creo que hay una necesidad crítica de un cambio de liderazgo en la cima”, dijo Waller. “En muchos sentidos, los problemas con los que me encontré en 2019 son más graves, más pronunciados ahora. Mucha gente en este estado está herida o frustrada, y la respuesta (del gobernador) simplemente no está ahí. Está socavando el tejido de este estado”.
Reeves, comenzando el último año de su primer mandato como gobernador, firmó el martes los documentos de calificación para la reelección y realizó una conferencia de prensa en la sede del Partido Republicano de Mississippi.
Reeves dijo que no había escuchado que Waller esté considerando otro desafío, pero se mostró desconcertado cuando se le preguntó al respecto, y señaló que en Estados Unidos “cualquiera puede postularse para cualquier cargo que quiera”. Dijo que está orgulloso de su historial como gobernador y ha logrado “éxitos históricos” a pesar de los desafíos de múltiples desastres naturales y la pandemia de COVID-19.
“I’m praying about it, I’m looking at who else might be in the race and what else might happen, but I think there’s a critical need for a change of leadership at the top,” Waller said. “In a lot of ways, the issues I ran on in 2019 are more dire, more pronounced now. So many people in this state are hurting or frustrated, and the response (from the governor) just isn’t there. It’s undermining the fabric of this state.”
“Seguiré luchando por las creencias conservadoras y seguiré luchando por los valores conservadores en los que creen los habitantes de Mississippi”, dijo Reeves. Repitió el viejo adagio político de que solo hay dos formas de postularse para un cargo, “con miedo o sin oposición”.
“Hay una razón por la que tengo 0 de 12 al correr sin oposición”, dijo Reeves. “Eso es porque no tengo miedo de asumir grandes cosas y hacer grandes cosas por la gente de nuestro estado. Cuando defiendes lo que es correcto y defiendes lo que crees, hay personas de izquierda a las que no necesariamente les gusta la dirección conservadora que hemos tomado en Mississippi en los últimos años. Estoy seguro de que tendremos oposición, y quienquiera que sea, hablaremos sobre nuestro récord y ese es un récord en el que estoy orgulloso de estar”.
Los candidatos para cargos estatales tienen como fecha límite el 1 de febrero para calificar para las elecciones de 2023.
La posible revancha primaria del Partido Republicano llamará la atención en todo el estado. Waller, quien anunció su candidatura para 2019 en el último momento y luchó contra una deficiencia de identificación de nombre fuera del área metropolitana de Jackson, forzó una segunda vuelta con Reeves en las primarias republicanas de agosto. Waller perdió esa segunda vuelta por 8 puntos, pero ganó 17 condados, incluida la mayoría de los condados metropolitanos y suburbanos del estado llenos de votantes republicanos más educados.
Waller también obligó a Reeves a gastar más de $7 millones para ganar las primarias, una cifra asombrosa que hizo que la candidatura de Reeves a las elecciones generales contra el formidable candidato demócrata Jim Hood fuera más difícil. Esa historia es importante, ya que quien gane las primarias republicanas de 2023 probablemente podría enfrentarse a otro fuerte retador demócrata, el antiguo comisionado de servicios públicos Brandon Presley, quien también está considerando postularse para gobernador este año.
“Puedo decirles esto, cualquier cosa que haga a continuación en mi carrera seguirá enfocándose en mejorar las vidas de los habitantes promedio de Mississippi que no pueden escribir un cheque de campaña de $1,000 y que necesitan funcionarios estatales con un verdadero valor para defenderlos. , sus familias y sus comunidades”, dijo Presley el martes cuando se le preguntó sobre sus planes para 2023.
“Puedo decirles esto, cualquier cosa que haga a continuación en mi carrera seguirá enfocándose en mejorar las vidas de los habitantes promedio de Mississippi que no pueden escribir un cheque de campaña de $ 1,000 y que necesitan funcionarios estatales con un verdadero valor para defenderlos. , sus familias y sus comunidades”, dijo Presley el martes cuando se le preguntó sobre sus planes para 2023.
Reeves pasó gran parte de las primarias de 2019 criticando a Waller como “demasiado liberal” para Mississippi. Pero Waller, un votante republicano desde hace mucho tiempo, obtuvo el respaldo en 2019 de varios exlíderes del Partido Republicano de Mississippi.
Waller apoya la expansión de Medicaid, que según los economistas brindaría atención médica a los pobres que trabajan en Mississippi y ayudaría a los hospitales en dificultades a mantener sus puertas abiertas. Reeves se opone con vehemencia a la medida y reitera, sin pruebas ni respaldo de investigación, que el estado no puede permitírselo.
Waller también habló abiertamente sobre el deseo de aumentar considerablemente el salario de los maestros y dijo que consideraría aumentar el segundo impuesto a la gasolina más antiguo del estado para ayudar a financiar las reparaciones necesarias en carreteras y puentes. Reeves bloqueó varios esfuerzos en sus ocho años como vicegobernador para aumentar el impuesto a la gasolina.
En la entrevista del 3 de enero con Mississippi Today, Waller mencionó otro tema clave que, según dijo, sería un enfoque en una posible candidatura para 2023: el creciente escándalo de bienestar social del estado. Reeves ha estado implicado en partes del escándalo, y enfrentó una avalancha de críticas de los votantes después de que su oficina despidió abruptamente al abogado que estaba investigando el alcance de los gastos indebidos.
“La corrupción es tan evidente y está fuera de control, y la mayoría de los habitantes de Mississippi que conozco están hartos”, dijo Waller. “El dinero destinado a niños afectados por la pobreza y otros que se desvían a compinches y amigos personales es indignante”.
“Corruption is so apparent and out of control, and most Mississippians I know are sick of it,” Waller said. “Money intended for poverty-stricken children and others being diverted to cronies and personal friends is outrageous.”
Reeves ha promocionado durante mucho tiempo su enfoque en el desarrollo económico y otras ganancias fiscales que dice que el estado ha logrado bajo sus décadas de liderazgo. Dijo que su enfoque en el gasto conservador y la política fiscal ha sido un éxito para el estado.
Pero Waller dijo el martes que se necesita hacer más.
“Tenemos la acería en el condado de Lowndes, y ese fue un gran anuncio”, dijo Waller. “Pero desafortunadamente, la gran mayoría del estado ha sido ignorada por una década o más. Muchas personas en la mayoría de las regiones del estado no pueden recordar la última vez que obtuvieron los beneficios de un anuncio económico como ese”.
Andrés Fuentes es periodista de FOX8-TV en Nueva Orleans y traductor de Mississippi Today. Antes de que el nativo de Nueva Orleans regresara, era periodista para WLOX-TV en Biloxi, Mississippi.
New president of University of Southern Mississippi Joe Paul sat down for a 45-minute interview with Mississippi Today on Tuesday.
Paul, who is serving a four-year term with an annual salary of $650,000, discussed his priorities — including enrollment, especially at USM Gulf Park; maintaining the university’s top-tier research status; and fundraising, along with the need to increase the number of diverse students and faculty. He also read a prepared statement about the university’s role in the welfare scandal.
Paul was joined by Jim Coll, the university’s chief communications officer.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Molly Minta: Can you talk about the university’s overall and current financial picture, particularly in the context of declining state appropriations in the last few decades?
Joe Paul, 11th President of The University of Southern Mississippi. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Joe Paul: And more recently, a slight downturn in enrollment. The good news is that the University of Southern Mississippi is in excellent fiscal health. … We have about $150 million in unrestricted reserves. …If a disaster struck, and there were no external funding, we can operate for 155 days, which is well beyond the standard. (Editor’s note: IHL’s recommended minimum is 90 days cash on hand.)
The final thing deals with what we call our debt-ratio coverage. We’ve got about $13 million dollars in annual debt that comes with bonds for construction. Our coverage rate is just below 2.0 and that basically means we have twice as much as we need to assure that we can pay our debts.
Minta: You brought up the slight downturn in enrollment. (Editor’s note: Enrollment declined by 4.4% this fall to 13,526 students, according to IHL). How does that affect the overall financial picture?
Paul: I began in higher education over 40 years ago, and at that time, state appropriations probably covered 70-to-80% of the (budget). . Today that’s almost flipped, so enrollment becomes critical.
Minta: Does it seem like it’s possible to advocate (for) increased funding for higher education from the Legislature? Or is it just a picture of turning to other sources of funding?
Paul: Not to be ambiguous, but I think the answer is both. … We’ve got to continue to advocate for adequate funding to create top-level academic opportunities for Mississippi residents. At the same time, we’ve got to be really creative in terms of budget management. You cannot tuition your way out of a drop in state appropriations or a drop in enrollment. … The way I view student recruitment and enrollment growth is … it’s strategy, it’s processes … how customer friendly you can be is critical. … (It’s also) investment. What are you going to invest in marketing? What are you going to invest in scholarships? What are you going to invest in personnel to do recruitment? The final part is effort.
We were encouraged that in spite of the demographic shift toward fewer high school graduates — and more high school graduates going into vocational and technical programs, which is not a bad thing for the state of Mississippi — that we did have a slight uptick in freshmen this fall. I’m also encouraged — because we really focused on the community colleges this fall — that we’ve got 300 more new transfer students enrolled for spring semester. That’s a double-digit percentage bump for us.
Paul: … I don’t spend a lot of time in the rearview mirror in terms of what has happened — except as that might inform us going forward. Another core part of my leadership strategy is that I truly believe that two of the greatest wastes of human energy and leadership are blaming and justifying.
… For us, we’ve got to refocus on South Mississippi. … We’re located in the part of the state where there’s the most people and where there’s the most dynamic growth, right? … There’s no valid reason that students should drive through Hattiesburg to go to school anywhere else in Mississippi — that’s our mantra.
We’ve got to make sure that what we offer is distinctive from other options, whether they’re in state and certainly out of state. … If you want the bells and whistles (of a large university), in terms of the quality of the faculty, being able to engage in research as an undergraduate, state-of-the-art facilities, major college athletics, fraternities and sororities, you name it, and yet you want a bit more personal attention? Southern Miss is a great choice for you.
Minta: Tom Duff, the current IHL board president, (has) talked about what makes the satellite campus on the Gulf Coast, USM Gulf Park, really valuable. … Does increasing enrollment at Gulf Park factor into this overall strategy that you just laid out? What sort of conversations or plans have been started in terms of revitalizing that campus?
Paul: Molly, absolutely it does. It’s not only a mandate for me from the IHL board, but it is critical.
We’re the only dual-campus university in Mississippi, and (the) Mississippi Gulf Coast is a dynamic place. … When you talk about capacity and under-utilization (at Gulf Park), that is clearly a fact. … Let me be clear, my priorities are to grow enrollment overall, which means Hattiesburg, online and Gulf Park. … It’s not about that historical stuff about something we do at Gulf Park might hurt something in Hattiesburg. That is false logic. It’s not a part of what we’re about going forward.
So the overall strategy for growing Gulf Park comes down to this: Coastal academic programs for coastal people for coastal jobs. … What I want to do is focus programs on the Gulf Park campus that will lead to excellent job opportunities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. … You’re going to have people — we already do in hydrographic science — that would come there from all over the world.
The other thing that we must do is we’ve got to forge a stronger partnership with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. That community college is a juggernaut. …. And also for Pearl River Community College. I envision a time soon when Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College faculty can teach classes on our campus and where we, as needed, can go to the Harrison County campus and teach Southern Miss courses. …
Minta: … What is the university’s commitment to keep or increase general education on the coast?
Paul: Because our Gulf Park campus is a non-residential campus, we’ve got to measure what we offer in terms of academic programming by the market demand.
I guess the best short answer is … we’ve got to be really careful to make sure that we’re doing things that are scalable and have a return on investment so that we can grow the campus. If we expended all of our resources on general education programs with very low enrollment, we would not have the resources to expand these programs that are more relevant to the Gulf Coast.
Paul: Yeah. Molly, as you are well aware, from a legal standpoint it is an incredibly complex situation, right? And because the Southern Miss Athletic Foundation has now been named a party to the suit from DHS, I cannot comment because of pending litigation.
But I do want to say this: I’m deeply troubled by this. All of us are here. And anything that distracts us from our mission to serve the state of Mississippi concerns us gravely. And I’m committed to resolving this situation within legal limits as we move forward toward our goals and will remain relentless in our desire to reach an equitable resolution for all.
Minta: A lot of people were also unsatisfied with the statement on the welfare scandal. Many faculty and alumni … want the university to fully account for its role in the scandal; something like that would include a detailed timeline and who was involved. Is that something USM plans to do?
Paul: … We have complied with every request for information. All of that information is out there and accessible to our faculty and staff. And I understand and appreciate the point of view and have had a lot of conversations with faculty, collectively and individually, about it.
Minta: In terms of complying with every request for information, is that from the state of Mississippi, from reporters, from faculty?
Paul: Yes. (Editor’s note: USM officials have not responded to multiple questions from Mississippi Today about its November statement or the welfare funds it spent on perks for student athletes.)
Minta: Conservative lawmakers in Southern states are increasingly taking aim at tenure by linking the job protection to attacks against critical race theory. In Mississippi, past attempts in the Legislature to ban tenure have died in committee, but faculty want to know how you would respond to an effort from the state Legislature to ban tenure.
Paul: I believe absolutely that both academic freedom and the system of tenure are a cornerstone of what makes public higher education in the United States unique in all the world.
Our professors spend a great amount of their lives preparing themselves to become a PhD and a distinguished scholar and they have to have the unfettered ability to teach as they choose. And as president of Southern Miss, I will always defend that.
Minta: There has been a decline in the number of tenure-track faculty at USM from 2017 to 2021. There’s another view of attack on tenure as simply universities not filling those jobs or filling those jobs with adjunct professors. Faculty would like to know, would the university commit to increasing tenure-track positions?
Paul: I’m not privy to those numbers yet, Molly, and I don’t know if we have them–
Minta: They’re on IHL’s website.
Paul: This is a little bit speculative, because I wasn’t here, right, but it could be that a lot of that shift has to do with temporary budget constraints.
There are few things more important to this university than maintaining and enhancing our Carnegie (R1) designation.And, of course, our SACS accreditation. We cannot maintain and enhance that by creating a pattern of reducing tenure-track positions. … There is no movement afoot here to shift away from tenure-track and toward non-tenured instructors. This is a major research university, and we attract tenure-track professors who are great teachers and incredible scholars.
Can I talk more about the (R1 designation)? It’s prestigious. … But the prestige alone is not the value. … First, we’re a public university paid for by the taxpayers of Mississippi and (R1) designation allows us to create research, discovery, innovation that can lead to enhancing the quality of life and economic development in Mississippi. (R1) designation also allows us to recruit the best and brightest faculty from all over – not just the nation, but the world.
It’s critical that we maintain that (status) and that not only informs that question you had about tenure, but a lot of other questions you may have, such as compensation for graduate students. We’re in the first year of a three-year plan to enhance our graduate assistant stipends. (Editor’s note: The plan would increase stipends to $11,700 by fall 2024).
Minta: Another question about faculty that gets into a broader question about the university. Faculty are overwhelmingly white at USM.
Paul: Yes.
Minta: In 2021, there were just 52 Black faculty and 17 Hispanic faculty compared to 688 White faculty. Those are numbers from IHL.
Black students also make up 27% USM’s student body which is a higher percentage than its peer universities in Mississippi. It’s a higher rate among the predominantly white institutions in the state, but if you look at the overall demographics of … Mississippi, it’s still not equitable. Why aren’t Black students attending USM? Why aren’t Black faculty coming to teach at USM? What can the university better do to serve this community?
Paul: … I need to point out that in many ways, our student body is the most reflective in Mississippi, among research universities, of the population in our state, in terms of African American Mississippians, in terms of other kinds of areas … the ratio of in-state to out-of-state students would be another example.
That’s not to say that we’re good there, Molly, okay? Because my core belief is that as a state institution, we should reflect the population that we serve.
You sort of phrased the question like, what’s the problem? To me, it’s not, ‘what’s the problem?’ It’s, ‘what’s the opportunity?’ … I think the far more challenging, perplexing problem is how do we create a faculty that reflects the demographics of our current student body? That’s not a challenge unique to Southern Miss. … Currently, we are in a search for a new permanent provost and … the first conversation that I want to have with that person is around diversity, equity and inclusion. Specifically, how can we recruit and retain more non-white faculty members at Southern Miss? … We don’t have answers for you today.
… I think traditionally what we’ve done in faculty recruitment is wait till they’re out there and let them come to you. When it comes to diversifying the faculty, my idea would be, why don’t we start to build relationships with a diverse pool of students while they’re pursuing their doctoral degrees at outstanding institutions? Another side of the equation is, what are we doing for diverse faculty members when they get here? How are we making sure that they are welcome?
Minta: Have you looked more at (how to diversify) the student body or more at specific strategies or types of outreach the university should be doing?
Paul: We have an incredibly strong program currently in terms of student life around diversity, equity, and inclusion. … Though the number of high school graduates is (going to be) decreasing in Mississippi, the diversity of those graduates is increasing. They’re more non-white each year, so the opportunity is there. We’re going to be more diverse.
Minta: Is it a matter of making the campus more welcoming or providing more scholarships or financial aid for non-white or Black students specifically?
Pau: It’s all of that. It’s making sure that you’ve got a diverse staff and student life. … Growing the diversity of faculty is a key to it. And it’s making sure (there is) diversity in terms of recruitment staff. Molly, it has to be more than words, you know?
Minta: The average faculty salary at USM during the 2020-21 school year was little over $70,000 and that is significantly less than the SREB average. The average staff member makes a little more than $47,000. How do you plan to meaningfully increase faculty and staff pay, keeping in mind that the percentage-base pay increases that are granted by the Legislature don’t keep pace with inflation or the increase in the cost of health insurance?
Paul: I think we’re about 80% of the SREB average in Mississippi in general.
I am strongly committed to increasing pay for faculty and staff, from professional staff to those hard-working folks that keep this place going every day. I don’t disagree that largely what the Legislature has been able to do — I’m grateful for it and extremely hopeful again this year — is that as they appropriate for increases, at least in our short-run economy, that inflation is outpacing that.
… There is no magic-wand solution to that. One of the things that can enable us to do that is … to create revenue through the increasing number of students that we can then commit to moving faculty salaries toward the SREB average.
Minta: Is there anything I haven’t asked about that you’d like to talk about?
Jim Coll, addressing Paul: Priority-wise, we’ve talked about a couple things, but you haven’t talked about private fundraising.
Paul: Yeah, I mean, I don’t know who I’ve got out there. So, there are a couple things I want to tell you.
I think the role of the president as a leader in higher education is critical. … I want to establish … a sense of being present and accessible to our students, our faculty, our staff, alumni and other constituents. The other side of it is that I absolutely believe that … you’ve got to earn the trust of those that you’ve been given the responsibility to lead. Trust is not given … it has to be earned every day by the relationship between what you say and what you commit to and what you do.
The other (piece) of the main agenda from me … is private philanthropy. One of my goals is to push us well beyond the $150 million goal that we have in our Capital Campaign. We rest at about $132 million now. Since I’ve been here in July, we’ve raised about $8 million. I want to push it well beyond that.
Minta: There was another question I wanted to ask. Last year, the student newspaper ran an article on how international students would like more support, particularly when it comes to finding housing and securing internships and scholarships. Have you been doing anything to address these concerns and if so, what?
Paul: I’m aware of that. I’ve got a working to-do list but, Molly, I’ve not been able to corral the folks yet to have that conversation. I think it’s critically important.
The number of international students ebbs and flows and right now. … But every student that comes to Southern Miss deserves … the full Southern Miss experience, not to be marginalized. And that certainly includes our international students.
Brandon Presley, a Democrat who has spent the past 15 years regulating utility companies on the state’s Public Service Commission, will announce today that he is running for governor in 2023.
Presley is among the most notable Democrats to run for the state’s highest office this century, and his candidacy is expected to inspire one of the most expensive and bitter campaigns in state history.
The 45-year-old Nettleton native will launch his campaign and introduce himself to many Mississippians this week with a three-minute video that includes a blistering critique of current Gov. Tate Reeves, the first-term Republican who announced last week he will seek reelection.
“I’m running for governor because I know Mississippi can do better,” Presley says in the video. “We’ve got a state filled with good people but horrible politicians — and that includes our governor. Tate Reeves is a man with zero conviction and maximum corruption. He looks out for himself and his rich friends instead of the people that put him into office. And he’s been caught in the middle of the largest public corruption scandal in state history.”
(Note: The Presley campaign released the campaign announcement video after this story published. Watch the video here.)
Presley, whose early campaign strategy will target the state’s sprawling welfare scandal and other corruption in Jackson, has built a modest brand over the years as a politician focused on apolitical priorities like expanding high speed internet access across the state and regulating the rates that electric and water companies charge Mississippians.
Advisers close to Presley hope his background, demeanor and ideas appeal to many Mississippians. A relative of legendary performer Elvis, Presley speaks in a deep Southern drawl. He was raised in a small town by a single mother who worked in a factory while struggling to pay bills, and he has long dwelled on those early life lessons in his public life.
But to wage a winning campaign in 2023, Presley has his work cut out for him. He’s a Democrat running in Mississippi, one of the most reliably Republican electorates in the nation that has grown ever resistant to values championed by many modern liberals. The last Democrat to win the governorship was Ronnie Musgrove in 1999, and the GOP has tightened its grip on the state’s political complex since.
Still, Presley believes he has a compelling case to make to every Mississippi voter, including Republicans. A political moderate who self describes as pro-life and pro-Second Amendment, he’s worked closely and successfully with GOP officials. As Nettleton mayor from 2001-2007, he championed tax cuts and brought in jobs and infamously crossed over to vote for Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. Several high-profile Republicans have given to his campaign in recent weeks, including a handful of members of Reeves’ 2019 gubernatorial campaign finance committee.
Late last year, a Presley supporter even printed out bumper stickers that read: “Republicans for Presley: Let’s go Brandon!” Dozens of supporters requested the stickers when Presley posted a photo of the sticker to Facebook.
But while Presley courts support from independent or right-leaning voters, his principal task will be shoring up support from loyal Mississippi Democrats, who traditionally make up between 40-45% of the state’s electorate. About 75% of the state’s Democratic base of voters are Black, and Presley will have to speak to and appeal to them — a failed objective for many recent white statewide Democrats.
Helping his cause, though, Presley has worked for years to develop relationships with several of the state’s top Black Democratic leaders. Presley has become particularly close with U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the state’s most powerful Democrat boasting a decades-old political network and heavy influence with Black Mississippians. Presley says his campaign will hire several political operatives within Thompson’s circle.
Though other candidates have until Feb. 1 to announce their candidacies, politicos forecast Presley and Reeves will square off in the November general election. Though Reeves, the first-term Republican governor, has consistently polled as one of the most unpopular governors in the nation, he will enjoy the platform of incumbency and the historically fat campaign checkbook that comes along with it.
He’ll have access to a massive campaign staff with decades of statewide election experience and a robust Mississippi Republican Party infrastructure already built up and ready to roll. And Reeves’ strongest base of support is along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, a population center and geographically farthest from Presley’s home turf.
Presley, on the other hand, will have to spend considerable cash to increase his name ID among everyday Mississippians — and particularly on the Coast, where few people are familiar with his political brand. While he’ll likely earn the support of national Democrats and have millions of dollars to spend, he is not expected to match Reeves’ fundraising prowess.
But on calls with advisers and friends in recent days, Presley has been focused on the importance of the 2023 election for the future of the state — not the tough politics of the moment.
“We can build a Mississippi where we fight corruption, not embrace it,” Presley says in the announcement video. “Where we cut taxes, lower the cost of healthcare and create good jobs. A Mississippi where we finally focus on the future, not the past. A Mississippi where we lead with strength and courage and real backbone.
“And if you make me your governor, I promise you this: I’ll never forget who I am, where I came from or who sent me.”
Gov. Tate Reeves has issued a ban on TikTok for all state-issued phones and other devices in a letter sent to Mississippi agency heads.
“It’s no secret that the Chinese Communist Party is actively trying to steal U.S. intellectual property and Americans’ personal information,” Reeves said in a press release. “It’s a major threat to our national security and critical infrastructure, costs the U.S. economy hundreds of billions annually, and jeopardizes American jobs.”
A similar ban has been ordered on federal government issued devices.
Reeves’ directive said state employees must remove, delete, and uninstall all relevant applications from state-issued devices no later than January 31. The state’s technology department has been ordered to block access to TikTok from the state’s network. The ban applies to all devices except those being used for “bona fide law enforcement or public safety purposes.”
“Mississippi isn’t going to sit around waiting for the Chinese Communist Party to steal our state government data, and that’s why I issued this directive,” Reeves said. “It will help us better protect our state’s sensitive information and critical infrastructure.”
TikTok is owned by a company headquartered in Beijing. In a U.S. Senate hearing last fall, the company’s chief operating officer said when questioned that no one who “makes a strategic decision at this platform” is a member of the communist party, according to Forbes. Nonetheless, nearly two dozen states have enforced bans so far, according to the Washington Post. Concerns have been raised over the application’s tracking of user data and access and transfer of this data to the Chinese government.
A bill to allow removal of elected city officials that opponents said was aimed at Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba was tabled without a vote Wednesday after some heated debate on the House floor.
Rep. Shanda Yates, I-Jackson, moved to table her proposal at the request of the GOP House leadership after she fielded numerous questions on House Bill 370. The bill would have added municipal officials to a seldom-used 1950s law that allows for removal of elected county officials.
Yates faced repeated questions of whether the bill was aimed at Lumumba, who has clashed with the governor and faced criticism statewide over Jackson’s ongoing water system crisis. Yates repeatedly said her bill was not aimed at any one person, but simply to allow for removal of city officials for “willful failure or refusal to perform the duties of the office.”
“Everyone else from the governor on down is subject to some form of impeachment or removal except for municipal officials,” Yates said. “This is not rash or rushed. I’ve been working on it since this summer.”
Yates moved to table the measure, which could be brought up later for a vote. She said she hopes to bring it up again, and believes there are enough votes to pass it in the House.
Yates faced heated questions and debate on Wednesday. It was the first general bill taken up by the House in the 2023 session.
“This is about the mayor of Jackson, who has taken on the governor, and to allow the governor to appoint a three-judge panel to remove the mayor of Jackson, just so we’re clear on what’s being proposed,” said House Democratic Leader Robert Johnson III. “For 60 years, close to 70 years, it was fine not to have municipal officials in this, but after the water crisis and the federal government sending $600 million to the city of Jackson, now this is needed?”
Rep. Ed Blackmon, D-Canton, said, “We already have a process for accountability, it’s to stand for reelection every four years.”
Yates’ bill would add city officials to a law from the late 1950s that allows removal of county officials. It would first require 30% of voters to sign a petition calling for an official’s removal and send it to the governor. The governor would appoint a three-judge panel that would determine if the petition had merit, and if so, an election would be held for voters to decide whether the official should be removed.
If the official was removed, a special election would be held for a replacement, and the official who had been removed could not run for that seat again.
After the debate, Yates told reporters that she drafted the bill after constituents asked her whether there was a process by which city officials could be removed, and she researched and discovered there was not.
Yates said her research showed that the law has been used only twice to remove county officials, once in 1958 and once in 1998.
Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Charleston, during floor debate pointed out that the origin of the 1950s law was from Prohibition — to allow removal of sheriffs who were not enthusiastically enforcing laws against alcohol in some Mississippi counties.
Some lawmakers argued that since the law is old and has been scantly used, it should not be updated to include city elected officials.
“We also have the ability to impeach a governor, and we’ve only done that one time in our history,” Yates said. “Should we also remove the people’s ability to do that as well?”
