Jackson Free Press

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Former Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck is retiring Dec. 31 as vice president for campus services at Mississippi State University.

The university said in a news release Tuesday that Tuck announced her plans this month, and President Mark Keenum will restructure some administrative jobs on the Starkville campus.

Tuck, 56, is a Maben native and earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Mississippi State and a law degree from Mississippi College. She served in the Mississippi Senate from 1990 to 1996. She was defeated in the 1995 Democratic primary for secretary of state, then was hired as the top administrator for the state Senate.

Tuck was elected lieutenant governor as a Democrat in 1999, switched to the Republican Party in 2002 and won a second term as lieutenant governor in 2003.

After leaving office, she was hired by the university. The news release said Tuck led the Division of Campus Services, which included facilities management, parking and an office overseeing construction. Her current salary is $241,334.

"Over a very distinguished career in public service that has spanned more than three decades, Amy Tuck has been a faithful advocate for the people of Mississippi," Keenum said in the statement. "In the state Senate, as lieutenant governor, and most recently as a senior administrator at Mississippi State, Gov. Tuck has been an outstanding leader. She will be missed at her alma mater. I have appreciated her support and wise counsel."

The release said George Davis, the assistant vice president for campus services, is also retiring this fall. The university is returning to a previous structure that combines the finance and campus services divisions into a Division of Finance and Administration that will be led by the current university vice president for finance and chief financial officer, Don A. Zant. He has been at the university since 1997.

"Don Zant's career at MSU has provided him an exhaustive knowledge of our financial operations and our administrative structures," Keenum said.