IHL Commissioner Rankins to Visit Gulf Park, Hattiesburg Campuses
Wed, 08/29/2018 - 08:51am
Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Alfred Rankins Jr. is spending his first 100 days in office touring university campuses across the state to gain insights and perspectives on the university system from students, faculty, staff, elected officials and community leaders.
Dr. Rankins will visit University of Southern Mississippi locations on Thursday, Aug. 30 and Friday, Aug. 31. The University community is invited to participate in two open forums that will take place during Dr. Rankins' visit.
- Thursday, Aug. 30, 11:00 – 11:45 a.m., Hardy Hall Ballroom, Gulf Park campus
- Friday, Aug. 31, 3:15 – 3:45 p.m., Thad Cochran Center Room 218 A/B, Hattiesburg campus
Named Commissioner of Higher Education on March 23, 2018, Dr. Rankins began serving in this role on July 1, 2018. As Commissioner, Dr. Rankins provides leadership to the university system, which includes all eight public universities in Mississippi.
Prior to being named Commissioner of Higher Education, Dr. Rankins served as the 19th president of Alcorn State University (ASU), the nation's oldest public land-grant HBCU. During his four years as president of his alma mater, Dr. Rankins provided leadership that helped the university enroll its largest freshman class in its history and increased the average ACT scores of entering freshmen for three consecutive years. The university achieved its highest ever ranking by College Consensus as the #7 best HBCU and #1 best public HBCU in the nation.
Prior to his role as president of ASU, Dr. Rankins served as deputy commissioner for IHL. While serving as deputy commissioner, Dr. Rankins also served as acting president of Mississippi Valley State University. Prior to his appointment at IHL, Dr. Rankins served on the faculty at Mississippi State University (MSU), where he was a tenured associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and extension specialist with the MSU Extension Service.
More information, including a survey on various aspects of the university system, is available online at the following link: www.mississippi.edu/tour.