Jackson Free Press

Millsaps College appointed Harvey Fiser, a professor of business law, as interim dean of the college's Else School of Management on June 1. Fiser succeeded Kim Burke, who has accepted a position as dean of the Meredith College School of Business in Raleigh, N.C.

In his new position, Fiser is responsible for the academic programs within the Else School of Management, including the Else School's executive education program, as well as the Elseworks entrepreneurship program and the Millsaps Career Center. He has also led Millsaps’ international education programs in Yucatan, Mexico, since 2006, managing two to three classes per year at facilities where they offer study-abroad programs for environmental studies, anthropology and other international courses. Fiser has also managed the Millsaps Mock Trial team since 2011.

"Pre-law students in our program get to participate in trial practice and mock trials in our own courtroom on campus," Fiser says. Millsaps is also a member of the National Mock Trial Association, so we get to travel and compete against other colleges across the United States on weekends roughly 10 times per year."

Fiser was born in Clarksdale, Miss., and graduated from Lee Academy there before enrolling at Mississippi State University, where he received a bachelor's degree in communications in 1989. After graduating, he spent two years working for the Desoto Council, an economic development council for the Desoto County area, before enrolling at Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson. He received his juris doctorate degree there in 1994.

"I became interested in studying law while I was doing industry work for the Desoto Council," Fiser said. "I noticed while I was bringing people into the Desoto area and showing them the businesses there that the next phase of economic development was just as interesting. Establishing contracts, purchasing land and heading up development seemed fascinating, and I thought that studying business law would be a great way to help new and existing companies beyond just marketing."

After graduating from MCSL, Fiser briefly joined the McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC law firm before becoming a partner at Adams and Reese, LLP, where he specialized in employment and commercial litigation. He later joined the faculty at Millsaps in 2003.

Fiser has published in the areas of employment law, family law, and neuroscience and the law. He currently holds the Selby and Richard McRae Chair of Business Administration as a professor of business law.

"For me, the most important part of what I do is community outreach and establishing connections with our students," Fiser says. "What that amounts to is working together with local organizations in Jackson to build up areas such as Midtown, and partnering with local businesses to improve their management practices."