Alcorn President Steps Down

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Alcorn State University President M. Christopher Brown is resigning amid an investigation into university purchasing practices.

The resignation was announced Thursday by Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds.

Bounds says a continuing investigation into purchasing practices has already led to the resignation of two other Alcorn employees.

He says the College Board has turned over its findings to state Auditor Stacey Pickering and the state Ethics Commission. That’s an indication that the problems could lead to civil or criminal penalties against those involved.

Brown had led Alcorn State since 2010 and brought national recognition to the 5,000-student university in southwest Mississippi. Alcorn was named the historically black college of the year in 2012, and recruited Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of Medgar Evers, to join its faculty.