BREAKING: IHL Trustees Launch Search for New UM Chancellor

By Talbert Toole
Lifestyles Editor
talbert.toole@hottytoddy.com

The University of Mississippi’s Lyceum houses the office of the Chancellor. Photo by Abby Vance.

The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) officially launched a search Thursday for a new chancellor at the University of Mississippi, according to the Associated Press’ Jeff Amy.

According to a statement released by the university, Trustee Hal Parker, President of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, named all Trustees to the Board Search Committee for the University of Mississippi Chancellor Search in Jackson.

Ford Dye, an Oxford resident, will lead the trustee panel in the search for former Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter’s replacement.

Dye was appointed to the Board by Governor Phil Bryant in May 2012 to represent the Third (Northern) Supreme Court District for a term to expire May 7, 2021.

“The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning has issued a call for nominations for members of the University of Mississippi Campus Search Advisory Committee. Representatives from all stakeholder groups, including students, alumni, faculty, staff and the community are needed on the committee,” the university stated.

The deadline for recommendations for members to be apart of the Campus Search Advisory Committee with the intention of finding a new chancellor is Friday, May 31.

The search comes after Vitter announced his resignation from the position in November. He formally stepped down in January and currently serves as a distinguished professor.

The IHL board appointed University of Mississippi Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Larry D. Sparks as Interim Chancellor, effective Jan. 4, 2019. He remains in the position until a permanent chancellor is named.

In March, Vitter was one of four individuals interviewed by a panel for the position of president at the University of South Florida. Though he was not selected as USF’s next president, during his interview Vitter disclosed the reasons why he resigned from the chancellorship at the University of Mississippi.

The Tampa Bay Times reported Vitter was the second of four finalists to interview on Wednesday, March 20. He began the interview with reasons why he left Ole Miss, Times reporter Megan Reeves confirmed.

According to the Times, Vitter said in front of a USF search committee that he was brought in (to Ole Miss) to be an agent of change.

“But I made the mistake of underestimating, really, the level of entrenchment and lack of common agreement at Ole Miss,” he said.

He attributed that lack of common agreement to racial issues related to Mississippi’s Civil War History and an ongoing NCAA investigation.

Nominations may be submitted via an online form at http://www.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. Both self-nominations and nominations of fellow members of the UM campus community are encouraged.

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