New position offers great opportunities, challenges

FIRST-PERSON COLUMN
By Hank Bounds
State Superintendent of Education
June 22, 2009

Last week, the College Board appointed me to serve as the next Commissioner of the Institutions of Higher Learning. I am very excited to take on this new role and the challenges and opportunities it brings. I believe each step I have taken thus far in my professional life has led me to and prepared me for this position.

I have been asked why I wanted to assume this role. The answer is quite simple. I am a native Mississippian and have lived in the state my entire life. I have gained my education, from first grade through my doctoral degree, through public schools and public universities in Mississippi. My wife and I are rearing our two children in Mississippi. I love this state and want to see the state reach its fullest potential for economic prosperity and a high quality of life. I am convinced that the state's greatest need to reach that goal is a better educated citizenry.

My professional career began as a teacher in Moss Point. Since that time, I have served as a principal, a district superintendent in Pascagoula and as State Superintendent. I believe these experiences provide me with the best opportunity to help build a seamless connection among all levels of education, from pre-Kindergarten to elementary to secondary to community college and university level.

While I have a lot to learn about the nuances of higher education, I believe my experience as State Superintendent has required many of the same skills that leading the universities system will demand. I have a proven track record of leadership, which includes the ability to utilize the talents, strengths and knowledge of those around you. No one can succeed in a vacuum, certainly not in leading a complex organization like the Institutions of Higher Learning. I am always willing and open to listening and learning from those around me.

I have also worked closely with the Legislature, state elected officials and the business community in our state and look forward to continuing to work with them on behalf of all levels of education in our state. I have also been successful in bringing $50 million to the state from external sources over the past four years. I will continue to seek the assistance of foundations, both within the state and beyond, to help move our university system forward.

There is no doubt that there are challenging days ahead for me personally and for our universities. I have great concerns over the economic forecast for 2012 and beyond.
Our universities, just like our K-12 schools, depend on the ability to recruit and retain the most talented faculty members and leaders. Our universities create knowledge through research and we cannot allow an economic downturn to hamper their efforts. Engaging alumni is more important that ever for our institutions.

I look forward to working with the talented staff at the Institutions of Higher Learning and the outstanding university presidents to build a stellar system of universities that share a collaborative spirit in serving the students of Mississippi. Growing up in rural Mississippi, I never thought I would have the opportunity to go to college. The ability to pursue higher education has given me a very different life than I would have had otherwise. I hope to utilize my new role to ensure that every child or adult who has the dream of a college education has the opportunity to fulfill it.

(Contact: Pete Smith, Director of Communications, 601-359-1336.)