Current head of Mississippi Valley is pick for Jackson State

(AP) — Trustees said Thursday that current Mississippi Valley State University President William Bynum Jr. is just the person to help Jackson State University turn around its financial troubles, but some Jackson State supporters are questioning the board's decision to name a finalist from a rival university.

"The one thing we kept coming back to is who has the right skills and who has the right experience, considering the situation at Jackson State, where we are financially and otherwise," trustee President C.D. Smith of Meridian told the Associated Press.

Jackson State economics professor Jean-Claude Assad, one of eight people affiliated with the university who helped interview candidates, told Mississippi Today after the announcement that Bynum had been in the initial round of eight interviewees but had not been among the three finalists.

Assad and six other Jackson State constituents who took part in interviews didn't respond to phone calls, emails or Facebook messages from The Associated Press on Monday.

Smith said Bynum had turned around declining enrollment at the state's smallest public university, built up cash reserves, increased alumni giving and successfully attracted grants.