IHL Board begins formal search for new chancellor

Posted on May 16 2019 - 6:11pm by Staff Report

The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) has launched its search for a new chancellor. The board issued a call for nominations for members of the University of Mississippi Campus Search Advisory Committee as well as naming trustee Dr. Ford Dye of Oxford as the chair of the Board Search Committee.

Trustee Hal Parker, President of the IHL Board of Trustees, named all trustees to the Board Search Committee for the University of Mississippi chancellor search in Jackson, according to a statement released by the university.

Ford Dye was chosen to chair the Board Search Committee. He was on the same committee in 2015.

Student, alumni, faculty and staff representatives are needed on the Campus Search Advisory Committee, which will begin reviewing materials and meeting before the fall semester.

The deadline for recommendations for members of the Campus Search Advisory Committee is May 31. Nominations may be submitted online or by mailing a letter of recommendation to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. Both self-nominations and nominations of fellow members of the UM campus community are encouraged, according to a statement from the IHL Board.

Searching for a new chancellor usually takes about six months to a year from when the board is named, Caron Blanton, the director of communications for the IHL, said. After the board and committee members are named, there will be listening sessions on campus, as well as recruiting and interviewing candidates for the position, she said.

Dr. Ford Dye was appointed to the IHL Board by Gov. Phil Bryant in 2012 to represent the Third (Northern) Supreme Court District for a term to expire in 2021. Dye is a board-certified otolaryngologist in practice in Oxford.

Months after former chancellor Jeffrey Vitter stepped down, the next steps in the process of finding a new executive are underway. Interim chancellor Larry Sparks holds the position until a new selection is made.