State Senator Wants Universities To Have Their Own Governing Boards

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A state senator says the College Board’s dismissal of University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones shows Mississippi needs a new structure to govern its eight public universities.

Republican Sen. Gray Tollison of Oxford took steps Tuesday to introduce a bill that would create individual boards of trustees for each of the eight universities, with the power to hire and fire presidents. The current 12-member College Board would retain a coordinating role.

Tollison acknowledges the proposal is unlikely to pass with only a few days left in the legislative session, but says he wants to spark discussion. The move comes as critics of the Jones decision continue to speak in his support.

The board last week voted 9-2 to not renew Jones’ contract, which expires in mid-September.