Photo by: Logan Kirkland
Provost Morris Stocks will serve as interim chancellor from June 15 until a new chancellor is found, a period the state college board predicts to be 9 to 12 months. Stocks said he is looking for a replacement provost to fill his place while he serves as interim chancellor.
Though his official last day as chancellor is September 14, Chancellor Dan Jones said this leave will double as a personal vacation and will aid Stocks in his transition to interim. Jones will move to Hazlehurst, Mississippi, where he owns a house this summer.
“I wanted the next leader for the university to have a good running start on the fall semester,” Jones said. “I’ve got a lot of accrued personal time. I am going to take some time off and enjoy life, see family.”
During this time Stocks will hold the full duties and authorities of the chancellor. Stocks, who has worked for the University of Mississippi for 24 years, said he feels prepared for the position.
“I think those years have provided me with a good understanding of how the university operates and how different units interact with each other,” Stocks said. “It seemed the logical thing for me to step in during this time of uncertainty. I’m glad to be able to do that.”
Before being appointed provost, Stocks served as vice chancellor for planning and operations and dean of the Patterson School of Accountancy. He has been in the provost position for six years.
Stocks raised his four children here and said moving to Oxford in 1991 was “the best professional decision I have ever made.”
“Students should feel confident in the direction of the university,” Stocks said. “We’re going to continue to do the good things that we do. We recruit good students and provide the best educational opportunities for them that we can possibly provide.”
Stocks said he and Jones have worked together during his time as provost and have formed a strong friendship that will remain after the chancellor’s departure.
Jones said though he is saddened to leave the university, he is glad to leave it under Stocks’ care.
“I wish I could be here and continue as chancellor and my friend Dr. Stocks continue as provost for a while longer, but, if that can’t happen, then the next thing that would please me the most would be for him to assume leadership of the university,” Jones said. “Much of what’s been said kind about me is the result of Dr. Stocks’ leadership in the provost office.”
Jones said Stocks has earned the respect and loyalty of faculty in his time as provost.
“The thing people say most about him is that he is trustworthy,” Jones said. “In his new role as leading the university as interim chancellor, he will earn that same level of trust and confidence from our students.”
Photo by: Logan Kirkland
Jones said knowing Stocks will move to the chancellor’s office would make the transition away from the university easier.
“I’m fading into my departure from the university – and I’m not calling it a retirement,” Jones said. “I have a very long association with the university and that love won’t end with my tenure as chancellor.”
