Jackson State Alums donate over $2.5m to alma mater

 

The Jackson State University Alumni Association recently contributed more than $2.5 million to the university during an alumni reception last Thursday as part of the inauguration celebration of President Carolyn Meyers.  A late contribution pushed the initial $2,409,233.92 gift to $2,584,233.92.  

Pictured (from l to r) with Meyers (center) are: David Hoard, JSU VP for Institutional Advancement  and JSU National Alumni Association President Terry Woodard.   Meyers, who began work earlier this year, was officially installed during ceremonies on Friday.

JSU Professors Create Possible Prostate Cancer Treatment

A team of researchers at Jackson State University have created a possible treatment for prostate cancer using particles that are about 80,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

But their potential is massive, said Paresh Ray, who led JSU’s research team.

“The particles can be used in three ways: detecting the cancer cells, killing them and monitoring the treatment to see if it is working,” he said.

It’s that monitoring capacity in particular that is new, Paresh wrote in an article published recently in The Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Reading over an abstract of Ray’s report, Dr. Charles Pound, chief of urology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said, “This could be something that is so novel and exciting that they win the Nobel Prize.

Former NSU President is "preferred" candidate for JSU job

Carolyn Meyers, a past president of Norfolk State University, was named Monday as the preferred candidate for president of Jackson State University.

If formally named president, Meyers would be the first woman to lead Jackson State. Meyers must now attend a series of campus meetings, leading up to a final vote by the Mississippi College Board.

Former JSU President Ronald Mason left at the end of June to take over the Southern University System, based in Baton Rouge, La. Former professor Leslie McLemore has been interim president.

Southern taps JSU's Mason for top job

The president of Jackson State University in Mississippi was picked today to be the next president of the Southern University System.

Ronald Mason Jr. was selected on a vote of 14-2 by the Southern Board of Supervisors.

Mason was one of three finalists for the post. Leonard Haynes III, senior advisor in the U. S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education, got two votes for the job.

The selection followed interviews today of all three finalists. Also considered was Robert Jennings, former president of Alabama A & M University.

Southern finalist down to three

The search for a new Southern University System (SUS) president has been narrowed down to three. Tuesday, SUS interviewed four candidates in public interviews and expects to select a new president on April 30.

The three finalist in rank order are Ronald Mason, president, Jackson State University; Leonard Haynes, III, senior adviser, U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Edcuation, and Robert Jennings, former president, Alabama A&M University.

The search committee is expected to meet with each of the candidates individually, and before deciding on a new leader to oversee Southern's three campuses, law school and agricultural center. The main campus is in Baton Rouge.

JSU President throws is hat in the ring for Southern top job

Ronald Mason,Jr. president of Jackson State University is one of two new applicants to lead the Southern University System.

Clarence Newsome, the former president of Shaw University in North Carolina is the other.

The Southern president search committee still must screen their experience and backgrounds before it is certain that Mason or Newsome will be interviewed Tuesday, said Murphy Bell Jr., search committee co-chairman.

“They both have some exciting credentials,” Bell said.

Southern’s stated goal is to choose a new president by the end of April. Interviews were originally scheduled for this week, but were postponed until Tuesday. Bell said it is possible more could still apply.

Mason has headed Jackson State one of Southern’s top rivals for 10 years. The public Mississippi college, along with Southern, is one of the nation’s largest historically black colleges and enrolls nearly 9,000 students.

Mason is currently embroiled in controversy over his support of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s proposal to merge Jackson State, Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University into one historically black college.

In November, Barbour proposed the merger. Then in January, The Clarion-Ledger obtained a presentation by Mason supporting a merger similar to Barbour’s plan.

He (Mason) has done a lot of impressive things at Jackson State,” Bell said, declining comment on the merger proposal by calling it a Mississippi issue.

At Shaw, Newsome resigned last year with Shaw in the midst of an ongoing financial crisis and more than $20 million in university debt.

Shaw, a private college, has more than 2,500 students.

Mississippi HBCU merger dies in Legislature

The most controversial part of Governor Haley Barbour’s legislative agenda – the merging of universities – died a quiet and not unexpected death Tuesday.

The proposal was not taken up in committee in either chamber of the Legislature. Tuesday was the deadline for bills to be passed out of committee in the chamber where they originated.

Normally it is not safe to say an issue is dead for the session because of various methods of getting around the committee process, such as amending legislation on the floor of either chamber.

But both the House and Senate Universities and Colleges committees chairs said Tuesday they do not see a mechanism to revive the merger proposal during the 2010 session.

In November, to deal with the state’s budget crunch, Barbour had proposed merging Mississippi University for Women in Columbus with nearby Mississippi State University and placing the three historically black universities – Mississippi Valley State University, Alcorn State University and Jackson State University – all under the JSU umbrella.

In the House, Universities and College Committee Chair Kelvin Buck, D-Holly Springs, said early on he would not consider legislation to merge universities.

On Tuesday, his Senate counterpart, Doug Davis, R-Hernando, said he did not bring up the legislation in his committee because “as of right now at this time, I don’t think the votes are there to pass it.”

The other most notable proposal Barbour made in November called for consolidation of 152 school districts into 100. But the governor has formed a commission to study the issue and to make a recommendation in early April.

JSU Prez stands by his HBCU merger plan

Despite a public backlash, Jackson State President Ronald Mason Jr. has reiterated his stance in favor of merging Mississippi's three historically black universities.

"I know the challenges we face today - we could stop the merger and still end up losing the schools," he told a group of about 300 students who gathered on campus Wednesday. "If not this, then what?"

Mason, speaking by phone from Washington, received several "boos" from students as he explained his idea to consolidate Alcorn State, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State into a new "Jacobs State University."

"This really would be a model for the next generation of HBCUs," he said. "I've thought about this a lot."

Mason, who has led JSU since 2000, has been recognized nationally as one of the top HBCU leaders. In 2008, he received the Thurgood Marshall College Fund's Education Leadership Award - the highest individual honor given to a current leader of a public HBCU.

He publicly opposed a similar merger proposal made by Gov. Haley Barbour in November.

But in a 34-page presentation obtained by The Clarion-Ledger recently, Mason suggests creating a single university would be better than letting "financially weak ASU, MVSU, JSU become weaker" in the state's budget crisis.

The university system is preparing to lose more than $180 million in appropriations by 2012 because of the budget crisis and the end of federal stimulus dollars.

"In my mind, if we don't come together, we could end up dying apart," Mason said.

Mason said his idea was not ready to be made public. He had discussed it with selected state leaders and alumni. "I've just been picking people's brains," he said.

But lawmakers Wednesday condemned Mason for making the suggestion.

"Whether it be President Mason or Gov. Barbour, we think it shows a clear lack of wisdom," said House Universities and Colleges Committee Chairman Kelvin Buck, D-Holly Springs. "It is a position that we cannot support and will not support."

Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, said he felt betrayed by Mason's decision to suggest a merger behind closed doors.

"We have a Philistine among us," said Jordan, a Valley State grad. "The only thing (Mason) needs to close is his mouth."

Other alumni expressed a similar disapproval.

"Alcorn State and Valley State will merge with Jackson State the day after Mississippi State and (the University of Southern Mississippi) merge with Ole Miss," Alcorn alum Matt Thomas said.

Rep. Billy Broomfield, D-Moss Point, said he received an e-mail with the PowerPoint presentation last week.

"He (Mason) didn't realize how ludicrous it was," said Broomfield, who chairs the Legislative Black Caucus.

Despite two Senate bills that propose mergers, Bounds said the merger idea is a nonissue. The bills have not been taken up.

"The House has made it abundantly clear that they will not take this up," he said. "The most productive thing we can do now is find out how we deal with the cuts we face."

Alcorn State President George Ross said Wednesday he does not believe the university's future is at stake.

"We're having to make some tough choices that we maybe would not have made otherwise," he said.

Jackson State University President Ronald Mason's suggestion to create a single university out of the state's three historically black colleges includes the proposal to rename the school Jacobs State University.

The proposed name would honor H.P. Jacobs, who is one of the founding fathers of JSU.

A former slave, Jacobs went on to become a minister and doctor who founded the Mississippi Baptist Convention and Natchez Seminary, which eventually would become Jackson State.

"I just thought he was a great symbol of black people being able to overcome," Mason said.

His PowerPoint presentation on the merger notes that Alcorn State and JSU are both named after "slave owner/segregationists."

Jackson State President backs HBCU merger

Jackson State President Ronald Mason is officially on board the campaign to merge Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State with the university he leads. His only major request is that the Mississippi Legislature give the merged institution’s administration a one-time appropriation of $10M to help with the transition.

The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, sang about this type of deal when he once said: “Sold me out for chicken change.”

Mason calls for the new merged institution to be named Jacob State University in honor of H.P. Jacobs, JSU’s founder. The campuses of the state’s public HBCUs would become three constituent colleges, each with a specific focus. “Jackson College” would be the exploratory learning site. “Mississippi Valley College” would concentrate on service-learning. “Alcorn College” would be a center for remedial education.

According to Mason’s plan, Jacob State would have 13,000 undergraduates, 2,000 graduate students, and would become the nation’s top producer of black teachers and pre-professionals.

Mason failed to explain how Jacob State would accomplish those goals with a much smaller overall budget than the collective amount that currently goes to the three individual universities. Gov. Haley Barbour, who originally proposed the merger, estimated that it would save $35M over several years.

The whole concept of the merger is designed to give less money to Mississippi’s HBCUs. The merger isn’t being proposed to build up the HBCUs into a stronger state.

Numerous black legislators and HBCU supporters in Mississippi have rightly denounced the ridiculous Jacob State scam and should continue to do so. They should also call for Mason to be replaced with someone who actually gives a damn about treating HBCUs fairly.

MS Gov. proposes to merge state's three HBCUs

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has proposed combining the state's three public black colleges into a single institution, Jackson State University. While Barbour said that campuses would continue to exist at what are now Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University, the proposal marks the most dramatic state challenge in recent years to the continuation of some public black colleges -- and the move comes in the state whose higher education system was the subject of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that governs college desegregation.

Barbour stressed that the merged institutions would survive in some form, he also said that this reorganization should result in the elimination of many programs, which supporters of black colleges fear will come largely from their institutions. The governor's budget statement said that all of the state's public colleges would see "a rationalization of class offerings.... Every university would be expected to reduce costs by consolidating or eliminating programs not pulling their financial weight." (The plan in total would turn eight universities in the state system into five.)


"I think this would be another act of discriminating against black colleges," said Julius L. Chambers, a leading civil rights lawyer who is president emeritus of a historically black institution, North Carolina Central University.

Chambers noted that mergers of black educational institutions in the South have not historically gone well for black students and educators. "What happens to the faculty at black colleges" when programs are consolidated? he asked. And if the consolidations result in smaller branch campuses where Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley are now full institutions, "how do you ensure that the same number of minority students end up in college? Why aren't they asking questions about minority enrollments?"

Not only is the governor making the proposal, but some powerful legislators have also been talking up the merger idea, not restricting it to black colleges (although other lawmakers are likely to oppose any mergers). Many advocates for black colleges fear that shortages in state budgets could lead to an increase in such proposals.

Any merger of black colleges in Mississippi would have particular political significance because of United States v. Fordice, a 1992 Supreme Court decision that found Mississippi had failed to desegregate its higher education system. The decision specifically encouraged the state to consider mergers and to cut down on duplication of academic programs as a means of desegregating -- but the decision did not order mergers.

The theory behind these suggestions is that duplication of academic programs at historically black and predominantly white institutions encourages white students to enroll at one set of institutions and black students at another -- and that the elimination of these choices will lead to a situation where black and white students enroll at the same institutions.

But supporters of black colleges have another theory about mergers: that they have consistently resulted in the elimination of options at institutions with a history of serving black students. Justice Clarence Thomas, while concurring with the Fordice decision, warned in a separate opinion that there was a danger of interpreting the ruling in ways that could hurt black colleges.

Writing that "I think it undisputable that these institutions have succeeded in part because of their distinctive histories and traditions," he argued that states should not assume that the path to desegregation would be found with fewer historically black institutions. "It would be ironic, to say the least, if the institutions that sustained blacks during segregation were themselves destroyed in an effort to combat its vestiges," he wrote.

Mississippi eventually settled the case not with mergers, but with a pledge to spend much more money on improving programs at black colleges so that they would be better able to serve all students. But not all of the promises made in that settlement have been carried out. Just this month, The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., reported on how the state's pledge to create a $35 million private endowment to support black colleges never gained more than the initial $1 million that was used to start the endowment seven years ago, and that many in the state assume the promised funds will never be provided.

In light of the state's pledge to desegregate by building up black colleges, it's "truly shocking" that the governor would propose merging the three black institutions into one, said Marybeth Gasman, an associate professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania who has written extensively on the history of black colleges.

"I don't think you can take the Fordice settlement out of the equation," she said. "They settled the case by saying that they were going to bolster the HBCUs. They didn't provide the money and now they are going to merge them?.... This is money that has been long, long owed to black colleges, and now they are going to take so much away from them."

Because black colleges never got all the money they were owed, Gasman said, they will be at a disadvantage in programs reviews of duplicative programs. "This raises all kinds of suspicions in light of the state's history with its black colleges," she said.

Further, she questioned the idea that it makes educational sense to merge Alcorn and Mississippi Valley into Jackson State. While they are all historically black, she noted that they aren't right next door to one another (Alcorn is 80 miles southwest of Jackson and Valley is 100 miles north of Jackson) and they differ in campus environment, with Jackson State focused on an urban mission and the other two located in rural areas.

"These institutions are very different, and they are 80 or more miles apart," Gasman said. "Why are they being asked to consolidate? One can assume that they are similar because they are historically black, but that neglects the diversity of these institutions."

JSU faculty votes "no confidence" in president

The Jackson State University Faculty Senate has taken a vote of "no confidence" against President Ronald Mason.
The measure was adopted by 11-4 vote, wit six senators abstaining.

"We have had some issues for a while," said assistant sociology professor Mahasin Owens-Sabir, secretary of the Faculty Senate executive board. "The Faculty Senate kept hoping that we would be able to work out those issues, but we finally reached the conclusion that they wouldn't be worked out."

The primary concerns cited by senators centered around a proposed unpaid leave program, the school budget, hiring practices and transparency.

JSU has approximately 450 faculty members.

"If this really is reflective of the faculty as a whole, then it's an issue I'd certainly have to deal with," Mason said. "First, we need to know what's behind it - who and why."

Mason took over at Jackson State in 2000. When Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat retires in June after nearly 14 years as school leader, Mason will be the longest serving of the sitting presidents at Mississippi's eight public universities.

Similar resolutions have preceded the resignations of three presidents at Mississippi universities in the past 10 years: Lester Newman at Mississippi Valley State University, Clyda Rent at Mississippi University for Women and Shelby Thames at the University of Southern Mississippi.

But Mason said he thinks his case represents "the perceptions of some members of the Faculty Senate executive committee."

"The Faculty Senate executive committee and I have not always agreed," he said.

During his tenure, JSU has grown from about 6,700 students to about 8,500. The operating budget has swelled from $116 million to more than $182 million.

Since the fall, Mason has been promoting a proposal that calls for the faculty and staff to take four unpaid days off a year to create the fund that will be used to benefit the school. He has said repeatedly that the fund would not be created without a two-thirds vote in favor of it. He repeatedly has asked for suggestions on creating a better proposal.

Upon meeting with campus groups last week, he decided that faculty would vote whether to create a similar voluntary fund, he said. "(The resolution) is factually inaccurate," he said.

Mason said he has a standing meeting with the Faculty Senate executive council once a month. "Every one of these issues has been discussed," he said. "The budget is a public document."

But Owens-Sabir said the Faculty Senate stands behind the concerns outlined in the resolution.

"We would not go this far strictly on emotions," she said. "It's not just something that originated this year."

Jackson State prez gets Ed Leadership Award

Ronald Mason Jr. , Esq, President, Jackson State University was recently honored the 2008 Education Leadership Award presented by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Mason, has been president of JSU since 2000 and holds a bachelor's and juris doctorate from Columbia University. He has led JSU through an impressive academic restructuring and campus revitalization that has expanded into the West Jackson communtiy . Most recently, Jackson State University announced plans to creating a mixed-use development center adjacent to the campus.

The Educational Leadership Award is the highest individual award presented to a sitting president or educational leader of a public HBCU. It is presented annually to an educational leader who has demonstrated outstanding business, academic and visionary leadership through effective management of his or her institution. Nominees are submitted by philanthropic, board, government, alumni, students and educational leaders nationally.

"Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr. has a decorated career in Higher Education and Community Development that directly supports one of our nation's gems and member university, Jackson State University and its 9,000 students," said Dwayne Ashley, President and CEO, Thurgood Marshall College Fund. "He has demonstrated the outstanding business, academic and visionary leadership of Justice Thurgood Marshall, making him a fitting choice for Educational Leadership Award recipient."

$2M mansion proposed for JSU presidential house

A proposed $2 million on-campus home for the Jackson State University president will be part residence, part showplace and part meeting space.

And at that price, the home will be the most expensive dwelling for any of Mississippi's university leaders.

Some say the price is steep and in sharp contrast to the low-income housing in much of the inner-city area near the Metro Parkway. But many still welcome its construction.

"It's always better when your leader is staying on campus," barber Oliver Adams, 71, said at his Adam's Corner shop near JSU. "This will be a nice addition to the area."

But JSU junior Rebecca Johnson, 21, a nail technician at the barbershop, isn't pleased with the timing. "That money shouldn't be dispersed until all the other things are done," said the Grand Rapids, Mich., native. "We need more parking spots before they build a house."

The push for a new residence for president Ronald Mason and place to welcome visitors and court donors comes as Jackson State begins a $50 million fund drive for scholarships and academic needs.

"It will be a good recruiting tool," Mason said during an interview last week about the proposed 8,000-square-foot residence featuring a public area downstairs and a four-bedroom living quarters upstairs.

JSU is likely to use state and private-sector dollars for the residence to be located behind the former president's home on College Park Drive, Mason said.

JSU received the state College Board's OK in December 2005 to spend $250,000 in funds from the Legislature for architects, engineers and others to get the project started.

Mason said he should know more about final costs and ways to finance the home within six months as other campus construction projects wind down. The $24 million student union will be finished in spring 2008.

An artist's rendering of the home now hangs in the school's administration building.

Plans to build a home for Mason's family and use it as a meeting place to entertain JSU visitors, alumni, donors, faculty, student leaders and others were put on hold last year.

Other campus building needs took priority, Mason said. On Saturday, noisy construction continued on a new JSU School of Engineering building across the street from the building that was formerly the presidential home.

The cost for JSU's new house could double the more than $1 million spent when Alcorn State University in 1999 built a residence for then-President Clinton Bristow Jr., who died last year.

Mason said rising post-Hurricane Katrina construction costs along with design changes are behind the price tag.

A state building official didn't dispute Mason's assessment.

"We discovered after the hurricane came through that our bid prices were up 25 to 30 percent," said architect Heyward Bell of the state Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management. It has leveled off the past six months, he said.

Bell, who helps oversee JSU projects, said costs can vary widely based on the type of materials used and amenities included.

Mason, his wife and their son, Kenan, a Murrah High student, would gain more space. A new home at JSU would more than double the size of their 3,500-square foot-home near Jackson Academy. Mason uses it primarily to entertain visitors after Tigers football games.

JSU purchased the home for $300,000 a few years ago. The home will be sold once another one is built, Mason said.

The on-campus home was last lived in by interim JSU President Bettye Ward Fletcher in 1999. The home was built in 1973 for $145,000. In recent years, the 6,632-square-foot "guest house" has been used as a JSU conference center.

Whether the new home is used to recruit faculty or host receptions for donors, Mason said the facility will be put to good use and could play a role in boosting the school's new $50 million fund drive.

Other administrators agree.

"I certainly think it would be a great venue for us to host events," said Evangeline Robinson, JSU's director of institutional advancement.

Without a presidential house on campus, JSU officials go to the TeleCom Center, the general-purpose Room in the student union and local hotels for such activities.

"It's time we upgrade," said senior Vertis Johnson, 22, of Utica. "We should be at the same level as all the other colleges. We definitely need it."

Jackson State freshman William Brewer, 18, of Saginaw, Mich., sees other advantages of having the president live closer. "He (Mason) would be around more and see more problems and stuff."

Brewer said a $2 million investment will pay off if JSU leaders raise millions more.

JSU isn't the only Mississippi school exploring housing upgrades.

Mississippi Valley State University officials say there's talk of a new presidential home within five years to replace an outdated and cramped residence constructed on the Itta Bena campus in 1951.

At the University of Southern Mississippi, leaders expect to renovate the presidential home built off the Hattiesburg campus in 1979. Improvements are expected later this year after a new president is named in April. Current president Shelby Thames is stepping down to return to teaching.