Madison County officials are rolling out the welcome mat for Jackson State University.
The Board of Supervisors on Monday unanimously approved a resolution welcoming JSU’s satellite campus to the community.
“We want to work with you,” board president Gerald Steen told JSU President Carolyn Meyers.
The university won College Board approval last month for a 10-year, $1.5 million lease for 8,600 square feet of office space in Madison for a branch to open this summer.
Meyers thanked the supervisors. “This is such a wonderful act on your part.
“Be assured that we are intent in doing our part to make sure the citizens of Mississippi within our reach have the preparation to be the leaders that follow us,” she said. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to help the citizens of Madison County reach their aspirations.”
The supervisors say that the JSU branch fits into the county’s recently adopted strategic plan for economic growth.
Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler and the dean of the Tulane University branch in Madison have asked the College Board to reconsider approval of JSU’s lease. Dean Richard Marksbury said the board did not follow the law to consider private college course offerings in its decision.
Butler has said she is concerned competition for students could harm Tulane. “We worked very hard to get one of the top 50 universities in this city, and I don’t want to see anything detrimental to their success.”
Clinton Mayor Rosemary Aultman said she understands Butler’s position. “The history of Clinton and that of Mississippi College is so deeply intertwined that I would be very hesitant to support any satellite campus in Clinton … , whether a Mississippi university or one from out of state, that could possibly take the focus off Mississippi College.”
