Jackson Free Press

Outgoing Jackson State University President Ronald Mason Jr. said at a Tuesday press luncheon that he did not expect his university to deviate from progress and growth in his absence.

"Unless somebody comes in there bound and determined to undo the place it is well down the road toward being exactly what Mississippi needs it to be, which is a capital (city) university that the state can be proud of," Mason said. "There's still work to be done, but it's not Marine work anymore. It's Army work now."

Mason's critics, such as Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, blasted him for circulating a January proposal embracing Gov. Haley Barbour's call to consolidate the state's historically black colleges and universities, including Alcorn State University and Mason's own JSU. Jordan complained that Mason wanted to reduce Mississippi Valley State University to an intermediate college, while JSU offered the brunt of new educational courses, forcing many Delta students to relocate to Jackson for their higher education.

Public relations consultant William Dilday said in April that Mason "could have sold" the idea of the merger better.

"He could have started off by sitting down with the presidents of Alcorn and Valley and going over the details, then they could've sat down with the heads of the alumni associations, and then he could've shown them the numbers as to why the merger was necessary," Dilday said.

Mason, who insists the proposal was not a merger but a "unification," said Monday the plan was to establish a system of HBCUs that would survive the test of time and be more competitive. He said the conversation on the proposal still needs to happen, and said he did not regret the plan going negative as long as he began the conversation. He described the dialogue about the possible consolidation of HBCUs as "a painful conversation to have," but said JSU officials will inevitably have to deal with it.

Mason's popularity faltered in some circles after his proposal went public, but he said at the Monday Stennis-Capitol Press Luncheon that he suffered no external push to end his 10-year stint at JSU and accept the president's position at Louisiana's Southern University System.

"I didn't feel any pressure to go," he told a crowd of about 30. "I've learned in my old age to separate the noise from the substance, and most of what the press did was just noise. The (State College) board was never interested in seeing me leave. There was a contingent that went to see the commission that was after my job, followed by another contingent that said they didn't want me to leave. So, no, I didn't have any pressure at all."

Mason said he was leaving for a variety of reasons, one of them being his promise to give JSU 10 years: "The average stay for these jobs is about five years because they wear on you," Mason said. "It's a constant adventure each and every day. Even though I loved the work, it was work."

Mason also confessed that the Southern University System had approached him repeatedly to take the job but that he "said ‘no' about four times, but they kept coming back." Mason added that the new job was appealing because it was less public than his current position at JSU.

"I'll be in the press less, I'll be on the campus less, and most people don't realize this, but I'm basically an introvert. I like sitting in the office and figuring things out and making it happen than being the out-front guy, as much as I've had to be in this job," Mason said.

The JSU president was unsure of what would become of his effort to streamline the university's curriculum to make it more affordable. Mason proposed removing some courses and curriculum with little student attendance or popularity, although critics like Jackson State University National Alumni Association member Ivory Phillips said the streamlining process would remove some of the university's personality. Phillips demanded in March that Mason resign.

Mason referred to the streamlining effort as the "regeneration of Jackson State University," and expressed his condolences for the next president because budget shortfalls would force the incoming leader to move forward with the streamlining effort, and he or she would have to contend with combat between JSU factions in the process.

"Most of the information and data is now there and available, but what happens is the turf (war) starts to raise its ugly head," Mason said Monday. "Physicists want to be physicists, and chemists want to be chemists, and they want to do their thing and (the Department of) Science, Engineering and Technology has all the money and they don't want to share with anybody else, so the next president—bless his or her heart—is going to have to steer through that process because the … (lack of) money really drives the situation. Our position still is that Jackson State can't just be smaller version of Jackson State. It has to look at the resources available and really redesign itself to not only reduce the budget but be globally competitive down the road. It is going to be a challenge either way."

Mason was more upbeat about the continuing development of downtown Jackson in relation to the growth of JSU.

"It takes a whole village to develop a village," said Mason, who touted the incoming $100 million construction of University Place, a combination of single-family homes, town homes and a community center to provide middle-income residential living space between the university and the blossoming downtown sector of the city. The state and the city came together with land donations and tax credits, while local banks, including Liberty Bank and Trustmark, approved loans to kick off the project.

Mason said the new development coincided wonderfully with downtown development, but suggested that investors should focus heavily on the continuing expansion of the Convention Center.

"It's happening in downtown Jackson. Besides the office space with what's happened to the King Edward and the Convention Center, I think we ought to be planning for the next phase of the Convention Center," Mason said, referring to the proposed hotels and restaurants around the Convention Center.

Audience member Susan Lunardini reflected on the level of progress that happened under Mason's 10-year tenure:

"I worked with (Mason) 10 years ago. At that time, the E-Center was just being spoken of, the (Jackson Metro) Parkway was not built, and if you look out these windows you saw two grain silos near the (JSU) tower. If those drapes are open, you'd see the difference, and I thank (him) for it," she said.

Gov. William Winter, another audience member joined in the praise, and thanked Mason for the leadership he has provided for Jackson State and the city.