Cook ties enrollment, campus investment and artificial intelligence to the university’s next chapter
Alcorn State University President Tracy M. Cook opened the 2026 Faculty and Staff Institute on Monday with a State of the University Address that set one expectation for the year ahead, everyone owns the university’s future.
Dr. Cook delivers this year’s State of the University address.
Cook delivered the address Aug. 10 in the James L. Bolden Campus Union Ballroom, launching the two-day institute themed “Student Success Reimagined.” He framed the year around his institutional vision, and three commitments meant to guide how the university operates — customer service, protecting resources through efficiency and capacity building for the future.
Enrollment led the list.
“Enrollment is not just a Student Affairs affair,” Cook said. “It’s a university wide responsibility.”
He asked faculty and staff to recruit directly, noting that growth in the student body drives the budget that funds salaries and services. About a third of the room said they had personally recruited a student in the past year.
He tied the message to pay. The university secured raises this year, he said, and is working to move long-tenured employees into more competitive salary bands.
He also acknowledged the funding gaps that separate Alcorn from the state’s larger institutions — differences he said the university must keep pressing to close.
Robinson Hall is one of Alcorn State University’s completed residence hall renovations. The $7.28 million project, designed by Burris/Wagnon Architects, P.A., includes exterior re-bricking, window replacement, and plumbing, mechanical and finish upgrades. Photo: Tommie Green, Alcorn State Division of Marketing and Communication
The address doubled as a construction preview.
Cook pointed to residence hall upgrades, a planned science building and athletics improvements that include tennis courts and a new soccer and track facility on the site of the old football field. The roughly $28 million plus Davey L. Whitney HPER Complex is set to begin within weeks.
A rendering of the renovated Whitney complex weight room, part of ongoing facility upgrades at Alcorn State University. The Braves-branded space features new racks, benches and cardio equipment in the university’s purple and gold.
Then he turned to artificial intelligence.
AI is not new, Cook said, and Alcorn cannot treat it as a passing trend. He challenged employees to fold the technology into teaching, advising and daily operations rather than working around it. The theme carried through the institute, which featured sessions on teaching and writing with AI, led by Jose Bowen of the Bowen Innovation Group, and an introduction to the university’s EAB Navigate student success platform.
Kyle Kubovcik, Associate Director and Strategic Leader for Student Success at EAB Navigate, leads a session on the EAB Navigate platform during Alcorn State University’s Fall 2026 Faculty and Staff Institute.
He closed with a charge that was part institutional, part personal. Do the work. Meet deadlines. Take care of your health and your family, and take a real vacation. He reminded the audience that Alcorn has stood for 155 years and pointed to a larger ambition — building toward R2 research status while keeping the culture that makes people want to stay.
“Do your job, and do your job well,” Cook said. “That’s all I ask.”
The Faculty and Staff Institute continued Tuesday with faculty development sessions and staff training across campus.
Chemistry instructor Sonia Eley, left, and Registrar Kisha Bond take a moment for a photo during Alcorn State University’s Fall 2026 Faculty and Staff Institute.
