It’s that work that is threatened by the aftermath of the board’s decision to not renew University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones, which has produced proposals that would reduce the power of the board and commissioner over individual presidents.
“The advantage of having a system with a strong chief executive lets the board focus on strategic issues, policy and oversight,” Patterson the outgoing board president, said Friday. “Mississippi cannot afford a loose confederation of separately governed institutions.”
Incoming Board President Alan Perry of Jackson also defending the wisdom of the current setup Thursday as he saluted the departing trustees. He said the system had brought many benefits, like an energy efficiency program that’s saved $70 million across the eight campuses, a better agreement to ensure community college credits transfer to universities, and a new system to distribute state money to universities.
“This is a good group and a good system and a good organization,” Perry said, “and it is better than it was.”
ClarionLegder
4/19/15
Magnolia Tribune
