Mississippi Valley State University President William Bynum Jr. was announced as the next president of Jackson State University at a press conference on the JSU campus Wednesday.
Bynum was announced as the preferred candidate for the position on May 22 and met with groups of faculty, students, alumni and community members Wednesday morning at JSU before being unanimously named president by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees in the afternoon.
However, Bynum’s appointment is not without controversy, with many in the JSU community feeling left out of the decision making process and some even filing a lawsuit against the university Tuesday for not meeting obligations in a racial discrimination settlement. Some also questioned his appointment, because he wasn’t one of the three initially-announced finalists.
IHL Board President C.D. Smith released a statement Wednesday stating that although the Board had welcomed and sought out input in picking a president for JSU, the decision and responsibility remained with the Board. Smith also included a copy of the Search Committee Code of Ethics.
“However, while the Board seeks advice and information from the aforementioned, the Board does not allow any person, persons, or group to dictate which candidate will be finally
selected by the Board,” Smith said. “To the extent that some of the members of the Jackson State University (JSU) advisory committee believe that they are entitled to direct the Board as to which candidate would be selected as the Preferred Candidate, they are mistaken.”
Carolyn Meyers stepped down as president of JSU in October 2016 amid financial issues at the university, and former
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has served as interim president since.
- The Associated Press contributed to this report.