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Dear Campus Community:

Good morning. Thank you for all you do for our universities. It is with great pleasure that I announce that the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Glenn Boyce, Associate Commissioner for Academic and Student Affairs, as the next Commissioner of Higher Education. He brings more than 30 years of experience in all levels of education to the position, including the experience in the president’s chair. He served as a trustee for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states.
Dr. Boyce joined IHL in July after serving as President of Holmes Community College for nine years. He has served as Co-Chair of the Education Achievement Council, working collaboratively with all levels of education, state leaders and the business community to increase educational attainment in the state. Having worked with numerous planning and development districts and business organizations, he has a broad understanding of economic development and workforce training. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation and as secretary/treasurer of the Mississippi Association of Colleges and is a founding board member of the State Longitudinal Data System.
As the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, we are given the responsibility of appointing the Commissioner of Higher Education and Institutional Executive Officers. Our policy allows us to use either a 20-step process that takes several months to complete or, at our discretion, interview candidates that are known to the Board and consider their selection in accordance with an expedited search process. These candidates may be internal candidates from one of the universities or other candidates that the Board believes should be considered. The policy outlines that the interviews of internal candidates should be conducted early in the process and prior to the hiring of a search consultant.
The Board felt the expedited search process was advantageous in this case for two reasons:
o The stability that having a permanent Commissioner in place, rather than an Interim Commissioner during a long search process, is advantageous for the system.
o In addition to saving time, the expedited process also allows us to save resources that would have been spent to engage a search firm.

As you know, Dr. Jim Borsig, President of Mississippi University for Women, was appointed as Commissioner of Higher Education and has reached a decision to remain as President of The W rather than accept the position of Commissioner of Higher Education. We are grateful for Dr. Borsig's service, both as university president and serving as Commissioner on an interim basis. He has been an outstanding president of the university and we respect his desire to remain in this role.
A lifelong educator, Dr. Boyce has extensive experience in leading educational institutions on both the secondary and post-secondary level and truly understands the importance of K-12, community colleges and universities working together. In addition, he has the experience of leading a campus and understands the challenges and opportunities we face in higher education today.
Dr. Boyce holds a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Mississippi, a master's degree in education administration from Mississippi College and a doctorate in education leadership from the University of Mississippi. Dr. Boyce and his wife have three daughters and are active members of Madison United Methodist Church in Madison.
I hope you will join me in welcoming Dr. Boyce to this new role and will assist him in any way possible as we work to help all of our students succeed in the classroom and beyond.

Aubrey Patterson
President, Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning