JACKSON, Miss. — The first-ever African American has been named to oversee Mississippi’s eight public universities.
The state College Board announced Friday that Alfred Rankins Jr. will become higher education commissioner July 1 when Glenn Boyce retires. Rankins is the current president of Alcorn State University.
It’s a return to the central office for Rankins, who previously served as deputy commissioner. After temporarily leading Mississippi Valley State University, Rankins was named in 2014 as permanent president of Alcorn, where he earned his undergraduate degree.
“My top goal is to increase support for our universities and continue to broaden the message on what a great value our universities offer the state and this nation,” Rankins said Friday.
He has a four-year contract and will be paid the same salary Boyce has received: $358,313.
As commissioner, Rankins will hold a dual role of lobbying lawmakers for money for the universities and overseeing operations of the eight schools. The commissioner has become a more powerful figure in recent years as College Board trustees increased the office’s sway over university leaders, pushing schools to work together.
In 2012, trustees sent Rankins to be the temporary president of Mississippi Valley State. Rankins was sent on a cleanup mission to a university that was losing students and money, to stabilize Valley enough that trustees could attract a pool of candidates to be the permanent president.
