Deirdra Harris Glover
Managing Editor
The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning unanimously elected former U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige as Jackson State University’s interim president on Nov. 1. Paige, a JSU alumnus, will fill the office vacated by Carolyn W. Meyers, whose last day was Oct. 31. Paige assumes the presidency Nov. 7.
“On behalf of the senior leadership, alumni, faculty, staff and students we welcome our outstanding alumnus Roderick Paige back to his ‘dear old college home’ and we look forward to working with him in his role as interim president of Jackson State University,” said Evelyn J. Leggette, acting JSU president, provost and senior vice president of Academic and Student Affairs in a release.
Paige served as the first African American secretary of education under President George W. Bush, where he oversaw and implemented the No Child Left Behind initiative. He is, along with Elaine Witty, the author of The Black-White Achievement Gap.
The Monticello, Miss., native and Navy veteran once served as JSU’s head football coach from 1964-1968 and was inducted into the JSU Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
