A Letter from Dr. Ronald Mason regarding Southern University position


Well said, Tiger Pride but I doubt that this new position with the SU System will be Dr. Mason's last stop. I think he is simply padding his resume' for something bigger. Being president of Howard University is a much more attractive position than the leader of the SU System.
 

JSU/99 said:
The main factor was being over SU's system. He wouldn't have left JSU to be over the SU-Baton Rouge despite the advantages of Baton Rouge as a larger city. Well maybe he would've now, only because of how the "Jacobs State" debacle played out and he needed an escape plan. But Jackson as a city is primed for growth. Unlike SU which exists almost on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, JSU is THE school in Jackson. Our downtown area is rapidly developing and JSU is at the center of it all - literally and figuratively.

Truthfully, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who's sad about Mason leaving now. 3-4 years ago it was a different story. But I really believe he's gone as far as he can go at JSU. Most of his plans have come or are coming to fruition. It was all downhill from here. He had a great 10 year run - now its time for both sides to move on.
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Totally agree! :tup:
Best wishes to Mason!
 
JSU/99 said:
The main factor was being over SU's system. He wouldn't have left JSU to be over the SU-Baton Rouge despite the advantages of Baton Rouge as a larger city. Well maybe he would've now, only because of how the "Jacobs State" debacle played out and he needed an escape plan. But Jackson as a city is primed for growth. Unlike SU which exists almost on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, JSU is THE school in Jackson. Our downtown area is rapidly developing and JSU is at the center of it all - literally and figuratively.

Truthfully, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who's sad about Mason leaving now. 3-4 years ago it was a different story. But I really believe he's gone as far as he can go at JSU. Most of his plans have come or are coming to fruition. It was all downhill from here. He had a great 10 year run - now its time for both sides to move on.
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Wrong. SU is 10 mins or less away from Downtown BR. The development that is going on all through Baton Rouge makes Jackson look like a backyard. SU can and will pay him more than ya'll can, put him closer to his parents, and give him a wider range of resources to work with. Not to mention the endless possibilities he has by being over a system. Him and Lomotey will make a nice combination.
 
JSU/99 said:
The main factor was being over SU's system. He wouldn't have left JSU to be over the SU-Baton Rouge despite the advantages of Baton Rouge as a larger city. Well maybe he would've now, only because of how the "Jacobs State" debacle played out and he needed an escape plan. But Jackson as a city is primed for growth. Unlike SU which exists almost on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, JSU is THE school in Jackson. Our downtown area is rapidly developing and JSU is at the center of it all - literally and figuratively.

Truthfully, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who's sad about Mason leaving now. 3-4 years ago it was a different story. But I really believe he's gone as far as he can go at JSU. Most of his plans have come or are coming to fruition. It was all downhill from here. He had a great 10 year run - now its time for both sides to move on.
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Truth!
 
PsychoJag said:
Wrong. SU is 10 mins or less away from Downtown BR. The development that is going on all through Baton Rouge makes Jackson look like a backyard. SU can and will pay him more than ya'll can, put him closer to his parents, and give him a wider range of resources to work with. Not to mention the endless possibilities he has by being over a system. Him and Lomotey will make a nice combination.
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That's great for Baton Rouge! :tup: I wanna see both cities that are home to our HBCUs flourish.

Nobody is losing sleep over Mason's decision. Most of us wish him the best for his career and SU. And him moving closer to be with his daughter and parents is totally understandable.
 
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20100502/NEWS/5020360/Next-step-for-JSU-examined

Next step for JSU examined
Community eyes possible effects of Mason leaving post
Elizabeth Crisp • elizabeth.crisp@clarionledger.com • May 2, 2010

Names that have been mentioned include some of the most familiar JSU faces - former university President John Peoples, professor Leslie Burl McLemore, business dean Glenda Glover, former vice president Roy Deberry, and Betty Fletcher, who was interim leader before Mason was hired.

"The faculty, staff, students, alumni - they need to come together," said state Sen. Alice Harden, a JSU alumna. "Whoever they pick needs to be a very good unifier."

Mason has faced opposition in several areas during his tenure.

The most recent was a spat with alumni and students over an idea he floated to lawmakers about merging Mississippi's three historically black universities into a single school, dubbed "Jacobs State University."In 2008, he faced backlash over his push for "quick take" eminent domain authority, and last year he received a no-confidence vote from the Faculty Senate's executive committee.

Mason said he believed the vote of no confidence was a "sucker punch" and not representative of the whole faculty's feelings.

But he acknowledged his push for "quick take" legislation was a mistake and one of his biggest regrets. He was warned by then-Jackson Mayor Frank Melton that it would be unpopular.

"I really should have listened to the mayor, who said, 'All hell will break loose if you try this,' " Mason said. "It did."

Mason has attributed much of the exposure of his Jacobs State idea to Harden. During his interview with the Southern system board, he blamed a "local politician who decided to use it to get re-elected."

Harden wouldn't discuss the rift but said she wishes him the best.

"I'm happy for him," she said. "This is a step up for him as far as his career goes, so I hope that he is happy with his new assignment."
 
Yeah, Southern is not on the outskirts of the city, we are less than 10 minutes away from the downtown area. Everything is within driving distance from SU, so it is not like we are completely isolated away from things.
 
BG said:
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20100502/NEWS/5020360/Next-step-for-JSU-examined

Next step for JSU examined
Community eyes possible effects of Mason leaving post
Elizabeth Crisp • elizabeth.crisp@clarionledger.com • May 2, 2010

Mason has attributed much of the exposure of his Jacobs State idea to Harden. During his interview with the Southern system board, he blamed a "local politician who decided to use it to get re-elected."
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Alice Harden is nothing but a "snake in the grass", always has been and always will be. :shame:
 
Tiger G said:
Alice Harden is nothing but a "snake in the grass", always has been and always will be. :shame:
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Maybe, but she doesn't need this issue to win re-election. She's not up till next year anyway. I don't know where Mason got that from.
 
number1 said:
Yeah, Southern is not on the outskirts of the city, we are less than 10 minutes away from the downtown area. Everything is within driving distance from SU, so it is not like we are completely isolated away from things.
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Yeah but my point is JSU is basically in downtown Jackson. A lot of the new downtown development in Jackson is happening in conjunction with JSU. BR is a bigger city, but JSU is better situated in Jackson than SU is in BR.
 
JSU/99 said:
Maybe, but she doesn't need this issue to win re-election. She's not up till next year anyway. I don't know where Mason got that from.
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I heard she pretty much admitted to being the person to leak his "proposal" at the JSU NAA Meeting in Jackson.

I wasn't there but from what I heard it was pretty interesting and both her and Mason spoke on the situation. In the end, she sounded like an idiot and he made sense.

Of course...someone was telling me what happened (he was there)!! :lol:

I just would like to know where are the $$$ from the Ayers settlement and what is she doing to make sure we receive all the funds.

Congrats and Good Luck to Dr. Mason!!
 
southsuburbs said:
I heard she pretty much admitted to being the person to leak his "proposal" at the JSU NAA Meeting in Jackson.

I wasn't there but from what I heard it was pretty interesting and both her and Mason spoke on the situation. In the end, she sounded like an idiot and he made sense.

Of course...someone was telling me what happened (he was there)!! :lol:

I just would like to know where are the $$$ from the Ayers settlement and what is she doing to make sure we receive all the funds.

Congrats and Good Luck to Dr. Mason!!
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Alice Harden also reportedly leaked Mason's proposal to the Clarion Ledger. :retard:
 

Here is a mugshot of the famous Alice Harden:

Alice_harden_LM.jpg
 
southsuburbs said:
Does she have any alternate plans for the future of JSU? Financially?

Has she proposed anything or does she not see any issues and think JSU (Valley and Alcorn) are okay?
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I have no idea. But I know Mason's proposal wasn't the right way to go. And I know it was dumb for him to be against HBCU mergers publically while putting forth proposals privately. This isn't about the validity of his proposal or the issues that it addressed. Its about how it was drafted, rolled out and defended. Mason must've been insane if he thought a proposal drafted by the JSU president calling for a merger of all HBCUs under an entirely new name wasn't going to come out. And he had to know what the consequences would be once it was made public. I'm not defending Harden so much as I'm perplexed by Mason's actions.and words. Whatever you think of Harden, you can't say she used this for re-election purposes. She's in a very safe district and she's not up until 2011 anyway.
 
Earle said:
Another reason for Ronald Mason's jump to Southern University could be that in 2007, he earned a salary package worth $305,000.00 at JSU, while Ralph Slaughter earned a salary package worth $436,000.00 at SU, highest among HBCUs at that time. Other reasons: SU is a university system that includes five campuses, each with its own chancellor, among which are SU-Baton Rouge, SU- New Orleans, SU-Shreveport, SU Law Center, and SU Agriculture Center. The five chancellors are each the equivalency of the JSU presidency. Southern has its own governing board which governs only SU's five campuses, while JSU is one of many seperate entities governed by the Mississippi College Board. Southern is historically and universally regarded as one of the more attractive HBCUs at which either to lead, to coach, or to matriculate, and is ummatched among SWAC institutions. Baton Rouge is one of the south's up and coming cities, listed as a leader in most economic activity catergories by several business magazines. Baton Rouge's metropolitan area population has mushroom to nearly 800,000, while the Jackson area metro population has seen much slower growth. Baton Rouge has a more attractive business climate and the better the business, the better the opportunity for local business dollars to flow to university cofers. In 2010, SU will have the highest admisisons standards among SWAC universities and among most other HBCUs in the south (not sure if that is a good thing).
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All of these components including being back home and having the highest selective admissions standards were factors for Mason taking the system position. As far as having the highest admissions standards - it will only hurt SU with enrollment - just a bit. I'd rather have a campus filled with 7,000 students with 2.5-3.0 GPAs any day. To be able to have a student body such as this and still maintain an enrollment number above 7,000 says a lot about the name brand of the institution. I don't know if you guys have noticed but Southern has inched up spots in the past few years in the U.S. News and World report listing of best black colleges - don't be surprised in a few years when we reach the top ten.

Forget what's happening in North Louisiana - Dillard, Xavier and everybody else out there better watch out because Mason and Lomotey are about to make some things happen. :D

Now, if SU can only get Gen. Russell Honore as chairman of our board. :read:
 
SU admissions will not be higher than Morehouse, Clark or Spelman. Therefore it want be the highest in the south.
 
CEE DOG said:
SU admissions will not be higher than Morehouse, Clark or Spelman. Therefore it want be the highest in the south.
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he said "AMONG MOST OTHERS IN THE SOUTH" not the highest in the south

if SU allow Mason to stick around he will do great things for SU.
hopefully the other individual presidents are ready for drastic change because its about to happen.
 
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