The newly appointed president of Jackson State University will undergo a full year of specialized leadership coaching as she steps into a position that has experienced significant instability in recent years.
Denise Jones Gregory officially assumed the presidency on May 1 following a year in an interim capacity. She now leads an institution that has cycled through four different presidents over the past six years and faces multiple operational challenges, including insufficient student housing and damaged relationships with graduates stemming from the frequent leadership changes and concerns about the presidential selection process.
The executive coaching Gregory will receive was included in a $97,500 agreement that the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board executed with AGB Search last September, according to documents obtained by Mississippi Today. The company specializes in executive recruitment for higher education institutions.
This represents the first instance of a Jackson State president receiving such specialized training upon taking office.
According to Kim Bobby, a principal with AGB Search, the coaching program helps new presidents understand their institution and surrounding region while developing key relationships with board members, faculty, and community stakeholders. The firm customized the training to acknowledge Jackson State’s important role as a historically Black university, she explained.
“It’s not a generic process,” Bobby said. “It’s really designed looking to initiate a close relationship and establish communication expectations and protocols around the transition.”
Gregory, who graduated from Jackson State, assumes permanent leadership during a challenging period for higher education nationwide, with state legislators increasingly questioning universities’ effectiveness in student preparation and the current presidential administration pressuring institutions to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs while threatening research funding.
University presidents nationwide are serving briefer terms than previously — 5.9 years compared to 8.5 years twenty years ago — according to the American Council on Education.
In an email statement to Mississippi Today, Gregory acknowledged that like all universities, JSU “faces challenges that require steady attention and measurable progress.” She identified key issues including student retention support and providing academic assistance and practical opportunities.
Gregory also highlighted infrastructure concerns that need addressing. The university has difficulty maintaining adequate housing and completing building renovations on time, she noted. However, she pointed to a recent achievement: the university began construction Tuesday on a new dining facility with capacity for 550 people. Multiple housing projects are underway and scheduled for completion next year, she added.
Gregory is also focused on expanding scholarship opportunities and maintaining donor contributions to the university.
“Students and families want to invest in institutions where they can clearly see momentum, opportunity, support and long-term vision, and that is exactly what we are working to build,” she said.
The presidential position at JSU has historically been characterized by instability and leadership controversies.
Carolyn Meyers stepped down from JSU in 2016, leaving behind unresolved financial problems. Her replacement, William B. Bynum Jr., resigned in 2020 following his arrest in a prostitution operation.
The subsequent two presidents, Thomas Hudson and Marcus Thompson, both departed abruptly without providing explanations.
Gregory expressed her intention to provide stability. Moving from interim to permanent status helps “to ensure continuity with strong governance support and an effective transition,” she stated in an email.
University presidents are leaving their positions earlier than in the past due to job pressures and sometimes insufficient preparation, explained Judith Wilde, a George Mason University professor who researches college presidential searches. Training programs like AGB Search provides can assist presidents in managing an increasingly complicated role, she noted.
“I don’t think any president, even if they’ve been president before, is ready to become a president right now,” Wilde said. “Things are so different with the current administration. It has also become a job that is not Monday through Friday, nine to five.”
Presidential search companies engage with graduates, faculty, students and board members throughout the selection process. This provides them with valuable insights that help identify institutional needs, said Felecia Commodore, an education policy professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who studies HBCUs.
Female presidents, especially at HBCUs, often face greater scrutiny regarding their leadership capabilities than their male colleagues, Commodore observed. Gregory is the second woman in ten years to hold the permanent position at JSU.
“We see it happen more so with women, especially black women, that after there have been some challenges and sometimes crises at an institution, women are either put in as interim president or president and expected to fix everything,” Commodore said.
Gregory’s nearly year-long experience as JSU’s interim president may facilitate her transition to the permanent role, Wilde suggested.
Gregory informed Mississippi Today in an email that she used the past year building relationships with staff, faculty and leaders throughout the university community.
“If she showed that she is serious and does position herself with the knowledge, skills and expertise to lead a university, that shows her commitment to the institution and serving the community,” Wilde said.
Earlexia Norwood, incoming JSU National Alumni Association president, believes Gregory merits this type of coaching. Alumni have recently disagreed with JSU and IHL regarding presidents not receiving adequate support to lead Mississippi’s largest historically Black university.
“All the support possible should be given to her just like support is given to all Mississippi university presidents,” Norwood said. “That support is well overdue.”
