President, senators eliminate graduate dean position at Alcorn

LORMAN — Alcorn State University president M. Christopher Brown II along with members of the faculty and staff senates have agreed to eliminate the dean position of the School of Graduate Studies and disburse the duties among the academic schools and Office of the Provost in an effort to promote efficiencies.

Brown said, “Students earn degrees in an academic area not in graduate studies. We will manage the admissions and degree paperwork as a graduate education function, but we do not need to pay someone to dean a unit with no faculty.”

Associate vice provost Donzell Lee will provide oversight of graduate activities and work directly with all of the institution’s undergraduate schools.

Brown acknowledged the faculty voice. “Gingerly, we discussed concerns about lifetime appointments and contracts that did not differentiate the salary compensation for faculty and administrative duties,” Brown said.