Senate universities committee advises and consents to multiple higher-education reappointments; members press for funding, remediation and construction clarity

The Mississippi Senate Universities and Colleges Committee on Monday advised and consented to reappointments and one new appointment to several state higher-education boards while members pressed for clearer funding formulas, data on student remediation and stronger oversight of campus construction projects.

Amy Arrington, introduced to the committee as a new appointee to the Institutions of Higher Learning board, told members she is a longtime Mississippi resident and a health-care attorney who has worked in higher-education instruction and institutional compliance. "I am Amy Arrington, a lifelong Mississippian ... I have been in that role (chief legal officer at Hattiesburg Clinic) since 02/2021," Arrington said when the committee invited her to describe her background. She said she expects to "do a lot of learning in a very short amount of time and to be able to apply the expertise and experience I have to the challenges" facing the state’s universities.

The committee then moved through a series of advise-and-consent votes for candidates to boards that oversee community colleges and college savings plans. The committee approved reappointments and confirmations for the college savings plans board (a reappointment for the man identified in the record as Mr. Blanton), Tyler Norman (representing the First Congressional District on the college savings board), Vadette Carmichael (reappointment), a reappointment to the Mississippi Community College Board identified as Mr. Pygott, and Miss Thurman (reappointment to the community college board). Each candidate answered questions from committee members before the committee voted to advise…