Kylon Alford-Windfield had been in the workforce for six years before he made $45,000. After graduating from Mississippi Valley State University with a degree in political science, he took a job as a recruiter at a university for a year before accepting the same job at another Mississippi university for another six years. It wasn’t until he became the director of alumni affairs at his alma mater seven years later that his salary finally surpassed $45,000.
“In the state of Mississippi, and even nationally, there are a lot of individuals that don’t make $45,000,” Alfrod-Windfield said. “We seem to think that’s not normal, but there are a lot of people that have professional jobs. These are jobs that require a bachelor’s degree, (but they) don’t pay $45k.”
Now, as Jackson State University’s vice president for enrollment management, Kylon Alford-Windfield is working to help early-career professionals. The university will begin offering a loan-repayment assistance program in the fall 2024 semester. The LRAP will provide students with a post-graduate income of less than $45,000 financial assistance with repaying student loans.
“We believe that higher education is a way for social mobility so that an individual can live an enjoyable life financially and without struggling,” Alford-Windfield said. “… The LRAP offers a level of insurance or peace of mind for individuals.”
Jackson State University is the first historically Black college and university to implement such a program. The American Baptist Home Mission Society founded the college in 1877 as Natchez Seminary “for the moral, religious and intellectual improvement of Christian leaders of the colored people of Mississippi and the neighboring states.” The first enrolled class included 20 formerly enslaved men who trained to be ministers and teachers.
In 1882, the school was moved to Jackson and was later renamed Jackson College. In 1940, the State took control of the college, renamed it Jackson College for Negro Teachers and assigned it the mission of training teachers.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardon said Jackson State University “produces 67% of the Black teachers in Jackson” during his visit to
Read original article by clicking here.