Spotlight on Excellence
Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) Appoint Lauded
Administrator and Academician as Interim President of Alcorn
State University
The Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher
Learning recently appointed Dr. Malvin Williams, the retired Vice
President for Academic Affairs at Alcorn State University to serve
as interim president of the institution, also affectionately known
as the Academic Resort, pending the selection of a
permanent president to succeed the late Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr.
During an emergency
teleconference last week the Board of Trustees of State
Institutions of Higher Learning announced Dr. Williams’
appointment following the sudden death of Dr. Bristow on Saturday
evening, August 19. Dr. Williams assumed the interim position
immediately. The timeline of the search process for a permanent
replacement will be announced by IHL shortly.
Upon receiving an undergraduate
degree in mathematics from Alcorn in 1962, Dr. Williams began his
career as an educator with the Greenville Public Schools. After
graduating from Arizona State University in 1966, he moved to
Alcorn four years later where he taught mathematics and served as
a computer programmer/analyst. With the exception of time he
spent at the University of Southwestern Louisiana as a graduate
teaching assistant and coordinator at that institution’s
Statistical Consulting Laboratory, Dr. Williams has devoted his
career to the service of Alcorn in various capacities.
At Alcorn, he served as
Registrar, Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs, and Associate
Professor of Statistics before he was named Vice President for
Academic Affairs and Professor of Statistics, a position he held
for 20 years until his retirement in June of 2005.
“Dr. Malvin Williams served
nearly his entire working career at Alcorn State University,” said
Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Thomas C. Meredith. “He is
committed to the vision of the institution and will effectively
guide the University until a permanent president is announced.”
Under the leadership of the
Board of Trustees, IHL governs the public universities in
Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State
University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University
including the Mississippi State University Division of
Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi
University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the
University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi
Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi.
