BG
Senior Member
New president drawing game plan for Jackson State
Officials expecting record freshman enrollment in the fall
9:51 AM, Mar. 30, 2011
Written by
Elizabeth Crisp
Jackson State President Carolyn Meyers has spent the past two months shaping her vision for the university.
It includes attracting more students, building the university's reputation, garnering more alumni support and probably hiring some new faces, she told The Clarion-Ledger editorial board on Tuesday.
"It's not my desire to disrupt anything mid-stream," she said of coming in during the middle of the school year.
Instead, Meyers - who moved with ease from serious discussions on budget constraints to cheery banter on student innovation - likely will wait until the summer to make any major changes.
"I'm planning on doing this around the first of the fiscal year," she said.
In the meantime, Meyers has been holding listening sessions with different groups on campus and across the state.
"The quality of the programs impresses me and the fact they have done so much with so little," she said of her first impressions of JSU.
Meyers has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, serving most recently as president of Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va.
She holds engineering degrees from Howard University and Georgia Tech.
JSU leaders anticipate a record freshman class in the fall, based on applications.
With a current enrollment of about 8,700 students, Meyers said the university should have the capacity for more. "We could probably go to 10,000 and be comfortable," she said.
But that "comfortable" can easily become "constrained" if leaders don't find more money.
Lawmakers have yet to agree on a budget for the coming fiscal year, but the state has repeatedly slashed funding for higher education.
"Our focus is on excellence, and quality isn't free," Meyers said. "That's why we have to make some adjustments, do some consolidations, do some streamlining to ensure quality."
Representatives from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional accrediting body for Mississippi universities, will visit JSU in the coming weeks - another reason she wants to wait to make any major adjustments.
(Page 2 of 2)
Still, she hinted at what they could include - structure changes, efficiencies and new hires.
"As any new president, I want my own team," she said.
Aside from adjusting the university structure, Meyers said fundraising will be one of her key initiatives. "When I look at Jackson State and compare it to other universities, we should be more heavily supported privately than we are," she said.
Jackson State alumna Phyllis Sims of Tupelo said she hopes to work with Meyers to bring the university to new heights.
"The most important thing is to see Jackson State on the same plain as Ole Miss and Mississippi State," Sims said. "A lot of the work that's going to have to be done will be through the alumni."
Meyers said one of her biggest surprises coming to JSU was the number of alumni who donate to the university - or perhaps lack thereof. "We've got to engage our alumni," she said. "We've got to turn it around."
The university - founded in 1877 - has "tens of thousands of alumni," she said. "The membership in our alumni association is still only four digits - and in the low four digits," she said.
Aaron Thompson, a Jackson State alumnus, founded a group called Alumni in Motion to get more graduates to give back.
"There's only so much the university can do with state or federal support," he said. "There's always going to be a gap, and that's where we, as alumni, come in."
In the past, the problem has been getting alumni to recognize the need for support, he said. "The more we get that message out, we're going to have a better response," he said.
Still, she hinted at what they could include - structure changes, efficiencies and new hires.
"As any new president, I want my own team," she said.
Aside from adjusting the university structure, Meyers said fundraising will be one of her key initiatives. "When I look at Jackson State and compare it to other universities, we should be more heavily supported privately than we are," she said.
Jackson State alumna Phyllis Sims of Tupelo said she hopes to work with Meyers to bring the university to new heights.
"The most important thing is to see Jackson State on the same plain as Ole Miss and Mississippi State," Sims said. "A lot of the work that's going to have to be done will be through the alumni."
Meyers said one of her biggest surprises coming to JSU was the number of alumni who donate to the university - or perhaps lack thereof. "We've got to engage our alumni," she said. "We've got to turn it around."
The university - founded in 1877 - has "tens of thousands of alumni," she said. "The membership in our alumni association is still only four digits - and in the low four digits," she said.
http://www.clarionledger.com/articl...ackson-State?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Home|p
Officials expecting record freshman enrollment in the fall
9:51 AM, Mar. 30, 2011
Written by
Elizabeth Crisp
Jackson State President Carolyn Meyers has spent the past two months shaping her vision for the university.
It includes attracting more students, building the university's reputation, garnering more alumni support and probably hiring some new faces, she told The Clarion-Ledger editorial board on Tuesday.
"It's not my desire to disrupt anything mid-stream," she said of coming in during the middle of the school year.
Instead, Meyers - who moved with ease from serious discussions on budget constraints to cheery banter on student innovation - likely will wait until the summer to make any major changes.
"I'm planning on doing this around the first of the fiscal year," she said.
In the meantime, Meyers has been holding listening sessions with different groups on campus and across the state.
"The quality of the programs impresses me and the fact they have done so much with so little," she said of her first impressions of JSU.
Meyers has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, serving most recently as president of Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va.
She holds engineering degrees from Howard University and Georgia Tech.
JSU leaders anticipate a record freshman class in the fall, based on applications.
With a current enrollment of about 8,700 students, Meyers said the university should have the capacity for more. "We could probably go to 10,000 and be comfortable," she said.
But that "comfortable" can easily become "constrained" if leaders don't find more money.
Lawmakers have yet to agree on a budget for the coming fiscal year, but the state has repeatedly slashed funding for higher education.
"Our focus is on excellence, and quality isn't free," Meyers said. "That's why we have to make some adjustments, do some consolidations, do some streamlining to ensure quality."
Representatives from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional accrediting body for Mississippi universities, will visit JSU in the coming weeks - another reason she wants to wait to make any major adjustments.
(Page 2 of 2)
Still, she hinted at what they could include - structure changes, efficiencies and new hires.
"As any new president, I want my own team," she said.
Aside from adjusting the university structure, Meyers said fundraising will be one of her key initiatives. "When I look at Jackson State and compare it to other universities, we should be more heavily supported privately than we are," she said.
Jackson State alumna Phyllis Sims of Tupelo said she hopes to work with Meyers to bring the university to new heights.
"The most important thing is to see Jackson State on the same plain as Ole Miss and Mississippi State," Sims said. "A lot of the work that's going to have to be done will be through the alumni."
Meyers said one of her biggest surprises coming to JSU was the number of alumni who donate to the university - or perhaps lack thereof. "We've got to engage our alumni," she said. "We've got to turn it around."
The university - founded in 1877 - has "tens of thousands of alumni," she said. "The membership in our alumni association is still only four digits - and in the low four digits," she said.
Aaron Thompson, a Jackson State alumnus, founded a group called Alumni in Motion to get more graduates to give back.
"There's only so much the university can do with state or federal support," he said. "There's always going to be a gap, and that's where we, as alumni, come in."
In the past, the problem has been getting alumni to recognize the need for support, he said. "The more we get that message out, we're going to have a better response," he said.
Still, she hinted at what they could include - structure changes, efficiencies and new hires.
"As any new president, I want my own team," she said.
Aside from adjusting the university structure, Meyers said fundraising will be one of her key initiatives. "When I look at Jackson State and compare it to other universities, we should be more heavily supported privately than we are," she said.
Jackson State alumna Phyllis Sims of Tupelo said she hopes to work with Meyers to bring the university to new heights.
"The most important thing is to see Jackson State on the same plain as Ole Miss and Mississippi State," Sims said. "A lot of the work that's going to have to be done will be through the alumni."
Meyers said one of her biggest surprises coming to JSU was the number of alumni who donate to the university - or perhaps lack thereof. "We've got to engage our alumni," she said. "We've got to turn it around."
The university - founded in 1877 - has "tens of thousands of alumni," she said. "The membership in our alumni association is still only four digits - and in the low four digits," she said.
http://www.clarionledger.com/articl...ackson-State?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Home|p
27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="omnitureAccountID=gpaper141,gntbcstglobal&pageContentCategory=VIDEONETWORK&pageContentSubcategory=VIDEONETWORK&marketName=Jackson, MS:clarionledger&revSciSeg=J06575_10304|D08734_70115|J06575_10465|D08734_70623|D08734_70103|D08734_72009|D08734_72021|D08734_72076|D08734_72077|D08734_72080|J06575_50081|J06575_50019|J06575_50021|J06575_50345|J06575_10486|J06575_10540|J06575_50418|J06575_50603|J06575_50642|J06575_50240|J06575_50709|J06575_50735|J06575_50761|J06575_50778&revSciZip=28376&revSciAge=1984&revSciGender=male&division=newspaper&SSTSCode=video/news&videoId=868175132001&playerID=46371347001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAACZcCqoE~,u-n8JUus6T6iyWfn0u6NPHiaX0w2tCbh&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="omnitureAccountID=gpaper141,gntbcstglobal&pageContentCategory=VIDEONETWORK&pageContentSubcategory=VIDEONETWORK&marketName=Jackson, MS:clarionledger&revSciSeg=J06575_10304|D08734_70115|J06575_10465|D08734_70623|D08734_70103|D08734_72009|D08734_72021|D08734_72076|D08734_72077|D08734_72080|J06575_50081|J06575_50019|J06575_50021|J06575_50345|J06575_10486|J06575_10540|J06575_50418|J06575_50603|J06575_50642|J06575_50240|J06575_50709|J06575_50735|J06575_50761|J06575_50778&revSciZip=28376&revSciAge=1984&revSciGender=male&division=newspaper&SSTSCode=video/news&videoId=868175132001&playerID=46371347001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAACZcCqoE~,u-n8JUus6T6iyWfn0u6NPHiaX0w2tCbh&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>