Board of Trustees approves new academic units, contracts and real-estate deals; elects vice president

The Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Public Universities on Jan. 16, 2025 approved a slate of academic program actions, contracts and property transactions and elected a new vice president for the remainder of the current term.

Board members voted to establish a new College of Integrative Studies and associated Data Science Academic Institute at Mississippi State University, approve a Career Horizon Center grant-funded by the U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration, and authorize new degree programs including a Master of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership at Mississippi State and a Master of Education in Multiple Exceptionality at Mississippi University for Women.

Why it matters: the approvals create an institutional structure to incubate interdisciplinary programs, commit grant-funded and institutional resources, and authorize several multi-year procurement and real-estate transactions that affect campuses across the state.

Mississippi State University Mississippi State won board approval to create a College of Integrative Studies intended to incubate interdisciplinary degree pathways and to host the Data Science Academic Institute. The board packet said the five-year implementation will rely on approximately $1,800,000 in new funds within a larger $8,500,000 planning envelope; no new faculty hires were planned and four new staff positions were identified to operate the unit.

MSU also received approval to create a 30-credit-hour Master of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership, a program described by staff as targeting working adults, military personnel and Bachelor of Applied Science graduates. Board materials cited national employment projections and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics median-wage data used in the program justification.

Career Horizon Center (MSU) The board approved MSU’s request to establish the Career Horizon Center inside the Mississippi Institute on Disabilities in the College of Education. According to the presentation, the center — funded by a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration — is designed to support Mississippians ages 16–70 who were impacted by long-haul COVID to return to integrated employment. The five-year grant total cited in the presentation was $10,000,000; board staff said no additional university faculty or staff were needed beyond existing resources.

Mississippi University for Women The board approved a 30-credit Master of Education in Multiple Exceptionality at Mississippi University for Women, which combines endorsements in gifted studies and special education plus research coursework. Board materials stated there would be no additional operating cost to the university, projected five-year revenue of $840,000, and that the program would rely on existing courses and faculty.

Finance and procurement The Board revised the system office appropriation request for the 2025 legislative session to add $750,000 for the Complete to Compete program for FY2026; staff said the funding would cover contracts and staff costs for outreach and student re-engagement. Trustees also approved a 10-year lease with Enterprise Fleet Management for vehicles to serve the Mississippi State University Police Department at an estimated total cost of $750,000; board staff reported Enterprise was the only vendor to respond to the request for proposals and that MSU may terminate the lease with 60 days’ notice.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) received approval to enter a five-year master agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb (cell-therapy products) at a total cost cited as $23,600,000 and a five-year customer agreement with Covidien Sales for monitoring equipment at a total cost cited as $15,900,000. Board staff said legal review found both agreements compliant with applicable law and UMMC procurement practices.

Real estate and property actions The board approved a budget increase for Alcorn State University’s project to address failing exterior brick on Robinson Hall, raising the project budget from $5,675,000 to $7,280,000, and adding DFA emergency funds and House Bill 1730 (Laws of 2020) as funding sources for the increase.

UMMC was authorized to sell 60.62 acres off McMillan Road in Madison County to McMillan Road LLC for $1,520,000, and Jackson State University was authorized to accept a donated property at 1725 University Boulevard (about 0.85 acres with a one-story 54,506-square-foot building) from Trustmark National Bank; JSU plans to use the building as a Welcome Center.

Legal and governance items The board approved an affiliation agreement between the University of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi Foundation; board staff said the agreement was reviewed by IHL staff and the special assistant attorney general and found compliant with applicable law and IHL board policy 3010806.

The trustees elected Gee Ogletree as vice president of the board for the term Jan. 16, 2025–May 7, 2025, and appointed Trustee Teresa Hubbard as chair of the Academic Affairs Committee for the same period.

Votes at a glance - Approval of minutes: motion passed by roll call (unanimous yes recorded). - Consent agenda approvals: passed by roll call (unanimous yes recorded). - Academic affairs items 1–3 (MSU College of Integrative Studies and Data Science Institute; Career Horizon Center grant; MSU Master of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership; MUW Master of Education in Multiple Exceptionality): motion to approve items 1–3 passed by roll call (unanimous yes recorded). - Finance item 1 (revise appropriation request, $750,000 for Complete to Compete FY2026): approved by roll call (unanimous yes recorded). - Finance item 2 (MSU lease with Enterprise Fleet Management, 10 years, approx. $750,000): approved by roll call (unanimous yes recorded); Trustee Gilpin Trie recused from item 2. - Finance items 3–4 (UMMC agreements: Bristol Myers Squibb $23,600,000; Covidien Sales $15,900,000): approved by roll call (unanimous yes recorded). - Real estate items 1–2 (Alcorn budget increase to $7,280,000; UMMC sale of 60.62 acres for $1,520,000): approved by roll call (unanimous yes recorded); Trustee Clark recused from items 1–2. - Real estate item 3 (JSU acceptance of donated property at 1725 University Boulevard): approved by roll call (unanimous yes recorded); Trustee Oakletree/Objection noted and recusal processed for item 3 as recorded. - Legal item 1 (University of Mississippi affiliation agreement with University of Mississippi Foundation): approved by roll call (unanimous yes recorded); Trustee Clark recused from this item as recorded. - Election of vice president (Gee Ogletree) and appointment of Teresa Hubbard as Academic Affairs chair: approved by roll call (unanimous yes recorded). - Motion to close to determine need for executive session: approved by roll call.

Meeting follow-up and timeline Board staff noted the next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2025 at the Board Office. Several approvals rely on external grant funding or statutory compliance and were approved subject to legal review already completed as noted in board materials.

Ending The board adjourned the public portion of the Jan. 16 meeting after voting to close to determine the need for an executive session; trustees instructed visitors not needed for the executive session to leave or disconnect. The board’s next public meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2025.