IHL Board begins search for Ole Miss’ next chancellor

Published 8:07 am Friday, May 17, 2019

The search for the next chancellor of Ole Miss began on Thursday. During their meeting held in Jackson, the Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning were all named to the Board Search Committee for the University’s chancellor search. Trustee Ford Dye of Oxford was named the chair of the Board Search Committee.

The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning issued a call for nominations for members of the University of Mississippi Campus Search Advisory Committee. The search committee is looking for representatives from all stakeholder groups associated with the university, including students, alumni, faculty, staff and the community.

Thursday’s decision to begin the search for a new chancellor comes nearly seven months after Jeffrey Vitter stepped down as Ole Miss’ chancellor after a three-year stint. Vitter officially stepped down in January when Larry Sparks took over as interim chancellor. Sparks was the university’s vice chancellor for administration and finance prior to taking over as chancellor.

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Deadline for recommendations for members of the Campus Search Advisory Committee is May 31. The campus committee will work closely with the IHL’s Board Search Committee and will be asked to attend in-person meetings, participate in conference calls and review materials through a secure website. In a letter sent out by the university it noted some of those meetings and conference calls will be held before classes resume for the fall semester.

According to Board of Trustees Policy 201.0509 D, members must provide assurances that ‘they have not formed any opinion as to the identity of the particular person that should be selected as the IEO, that they have no personal, professional or other relationship with any person that they understand may be a candidate that would impair their objectivity in fairly considering all candidates, that they will endeavor to remain open to considering all persons that apply in a fair and unbiased manner, that they will not agree with any person to advocate or campaign for the selection of any particular candidate, and that they will not reveal any information about any applicants, before or after the conclusion of the search.’

To submit nominations for the Campus Search Advisory Committee an online form must be filled out at mississippi.edu/ieo/um/constituency.asp or by mailing a letter of recommendation to ATTN: UM Campus Search Advisory Committee, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, 3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211.