Jackson State University President Thomas Hudson has been put on administrative leave with pay, the Institutions for Higher Learning announced Thursday.
The news came in a press release from IHL and did not detail the circumstances which required the Board of Trustees to place Hudson on leave.
Hudson did not return a call or text message sent by Mississippi Today on Thursday.
The IHL board met twice Thursday for a special called meeting to discuss “a Jackson State University personnel matter.” Both times the board immediately went into executive session. None of the members were present at IHL’s office in Jackson where the public meeting took place; all who attended did so via zoom.
JSU spokespeople said the university does not comment on personnel matters and directed questions to IHL.
Elayne Hayes-Anthony will serve as temporary acting president, according to the release. Anthony currently chairs JSU’s Department of Journalism and Media Studies.
“I am so pleased to lead the university that launched my career. I plan to work with faculty and staff for the betterment of the students, alumni and community we serve,” Hayes-Anthony said in a text message to Mississippi Today after her appointment was announced Thursday evening.
Hayes-Anthony is a Jackson native who spent 17 years at Belhaven University before moving to back JSU in 2015 (she spent 10 years at the university prior to her time at Belhaven).
“We are grateful that Dr. Hayes-Anthony has agreed to serve as Acting President,” Board of Trustees President Tom Duff said in a statement. “As alumnus and long-time administrator and faculty member at the university, she understands the campus, its students, its challenges and opportunities.”
The news comes after IHL voted in January to renew Hudson’s contract through 2027.
JSU’s faculty senate voted “no-confidence” in Hudson and his administration in January, a rare but ultimately symbolic move taken to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the president because of a “continuous pattern of failing to respect” shared governance and other professional norms of higher education. At the time, Hudson said in a statement he was proud of the work his administration had accomplished and he was “committed to continuing the work to collaboratively execute the strategic plan to make Jackson State the best institution it can be.”
Hudson is a JSU alum and Jackson resident who was appointed president by the IHL board in November 2020. Prior to that, he was leading the university in an interim position after former president William Bynum resigned in February 2020 after he was “charged with procuring the services of a prostitute, false statement of identity and possession of marijuana,” according to a Clarion-Ledger report. A Clinton municipal judge convicted him of all misdemeanor charges.
Hudson receives $300,000 a year in salary from IHL plus a $5,000 annual bonus from the university foundation. Hayes-Anthony told Mississippi Today she would receive the same salary and bonus.
IHL said the board will “discuss the future leadership of Jackson State” at its next meeting on March 23.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Republish this article
For digital publications:
- Look for the “Republish This Story” button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS).
- Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the “Republish This Story” button option. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
- You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
- You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
- Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
- If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @MSTODAYnews on Facebook and @MSTODAYnews on Twitter.
For print publications:
- You have to credit Mississippi Today. We prefer “Author Name, Mississippi Today” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by Mississippi Today” and include our website, mississippitoday.org.
- You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
- You cannot republish our editorial cartoons, photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor Kayleigh Skinner for more information). To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
- Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.
- You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
- You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection.
- Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
- If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @MSTODAYnews on Facebook and @MSTODAYnews on Twitter.
If you have any other questions, contact Audience Development Director Lauchlin Fields.
1
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Read original article by clicking here.