 Welcome back to the HBCU digest today We are privileged to be joined by the esteemed president of the Jackson State University. Dr. Thomas Hudson Who joins us to talk about a number of amazing things that have happened to Jackson State And it's almost hard to to say that they're going unrecognized because one jsu was so large And it means so much to that region of the country But you don't you don't really hear it pushing beyond Mississippi So brother president, we appreciate you taking time today first. Let me ask you the question You have been part of a cadre of presidents and a unique group that is transitioned from interim leadership to full-time Positioning in the presidency for you. What is that like at a school like Jackson State? Which again is one of our largest one of the more comprehensive one of the most valuable and one of the most scrutinized Particularly in Mississippi. What is the different or what are some of the differences between the interim position and the permanent position? Well, first of all Jared and I appreciate the opportunity to be here with you and Just discuss, you know, the various issues and things related to just state university Long time at my work. So thank you so much for this opportunity But to answer your question, you know in that interim role You're really there to keep the institution steady and not a lot of opportunity to realize and implement a vision You're generally just there to keep the course and while you do want to make improvements It's really more of that day-to-day approach My situation was somewhat unique for a couple of reasons one Advantage issue for over eight years in various roles So I really understood the inner workings of the university prior to becoming acting So yes, you're there to keep the course But there was also more of an expectation That I would be able to do some things and really push the ball for based on my experience of having been at Jackson State And really knowing Jackson State University Also, you know with respect to COVID and just various things It really even the playing field in terms of what we were all dealing with and what we were all going through together So it really wasn't about experience. It wasn't about titles It was really about all of us trying to figure out in this pandemic in this new environment How do we continue our mission of educating students and in our situation really educating those African-American minds That we've been doing for over a hundred and forty years Probably the best thing that happened to me was our commissioner dr. Rankins Telling me up on his appointment to me of me as acting I expect you to do the job as president of the university and I expect you to lead that institution as such That really took a weight off my shoulder because I never had to wonder. Do I make this decision? What do I do, you know being in an acting role? Can I do this? I was really free to do those things and acting the best interests of Jackson State University So now that I am president, you know I am in the process of implementing that vision that we talked about earlier that really solidifies the university Rightful place in the 21st century and that would be detailed in a strategic plan that will be released this fall Some of the things that we'll talk about, you know moving JSU from an R2 institution research institution to an R1 As you know of the hundred and thirty one top research institutions None our HBC use and we aim to change that and so also aside from that enhancing our student experiences Enhancing our academic program offering academic offerings and other those are some of the other things we plan to do here at Jackson State University You guys have taken some some big steps in terms of Stabilizing enrollment you talked about COVID. We'll get into that in a second, but you've made changes to tuition Infrastructure for out-of-state students. Yes, you're in developing even more programming For for bridge bridge students from high school directly to the institution What are some of the important factors that you believe have to be in place for a place like Mississippi where? Secondary and post-secondary outcomes are a little bit lower than you would find in the rest of the country Economic indicators are certainly lower than you would find in other places How does JSU look to factor as a major institution that is affordable and accessible to a wide range of students? When some of those numbers are just so tough when you look at them Well, you just said it right that affordability that accessibility How do we offer this first-class education that we have here at Jackson State University to the masses? Who do we go after certainly you go after those high school students? Those who have graduated from high school your junior college students But you also branch further into those non-traditional students those who? Like my mom entered the workforce at a later age We're looking to enter college at a later age to better benefit from the workforce So those are some of the things that we look at from the portability standpoint. You are correct We have made some tuition adjustments in the past to make JSU more affordable for those out-of-state students Those in the southeast and really across the United States to better position us To be competitive in that market and again going back to what I talked about earlier with the program offerings Just really offering a good value and a good bargain For those who are looking to continue their education and really move forward in their career There one of the big reasons that that people who are JSU born and bred Calling school be I love is because it seems like JSU is is really intentional and really focused on loving folks back and when you take a look at the News that reports on the successes of JSU alumni across all kinds of industries You just constantly see a stream of like look what these Tigers are doing Look what they're doing getting elected in these these positions and this sister just got appointed to Commissioner or such and such It's it's so much it it's almost far and away than I have ever seen it in the HBCU of alumni Success being reported as institutional success number one. Why do you think? That that's such a part of JSU culture and to how in the world do y'all keep up with all these alumni? So that's their stories of success. Well, I'm gonna answer the second question first. It's really about alumni engagement It's about Making sure that we stay connected with our alumni whether it's newsletters Calls I make it a point daily to talk to alumni. I'm in the midst of doing alumni visits across the United States I did Houston and Dallas last month Later this month I'll be going to Chicago and Detroit and also be visiting other cities as well So it's really about that alumni engagement and staying connected with our alumni and really seeing what they're doing the great things They're doing out there We are over 50,000 strong and we are in every industry Every area everything you can think of JSU alumni not only doing it, but they're thriving in those areas And that success is just indicative of the quality education that Jackson State University provides and so our alumni they find they're very creative and they find those innovative ways to give back to JSU as well So we're very proud of our alumni. I mean, we all know about Cortez Bryant the co CEO of the blueprint print group who has managed Artists like Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Drake suggest really establish themselves in the music business We have two of our alumni who are planning for a multi-million dollar tech hub Here in the city of Jackson and it will be the first of this kind within this city And just recently you talk about Politician or several of our alumni one's political seats throughout the state and another JSU alum Homer Wilkes was recently nominated by President Biden to be the USDA's Undersecretary of State for natural resources. So again, just a multitudes Secretary of Agriculture on tar. Sorry. So just a multitude of alumni doing great things With that JSU footprint alumni are important to recruitment of students as well and sending their babies to the institution You talked a little bit earlier about access and affordability Let's shift a little bit to the safety of the institution I don't mean that from institutional public safety perspective, but as you know from COVID, they're seeing the Delta variant Really spike in in areas all over the country. The South is not an exception to that What do you think are what are your biggest concerns about the Delta variant this fall as everything comes back in full and Also, what are some of the things that make you optimistic that JSU will be able to provide a safe environment for student faculties and staff? Well, the concern of course the Delta variant is a concern and the concern is just really having to prepare for that next wave And for us what that means is, you know fewer hospital beds available You know more people getting sick overall and just really being prepared for what could be yet another wave of this pandemic What keeps me? Optimistic I will say first of all the availability of the vaccine You know, we do offer the vaccine here at Jackson State University in a great partnership with Jackson Heights comprehensive First lady Biden jail Biden was actually here visiting our Vaccination site to really highlight the great work this be doing been doing Right here on this campus. So very excited about the availability of the vaccine We have a great plan that we're going to roll out which we'll talk about some of the continued requirements with respect to masking Social distancing doing those things that will allow us to reopen but do so safely So we are cautiously optimistic that we will have a good safe fall Will remain vigilant with respect to our protocols. We will continue to push that vaccine I encourage everyone to get vaccinated Is safe? It's easy. It's free and it's really the only way that we're all going to get back to some sense of normalcy in the midst of this pandemic part of normalcy in HBCU cultures football And it's interesting because your your appointment in the permanent position kind of coincided with the appointment of Dion saying this head football coach, right and With his arrival, there's been obviously so much attention, but a lot of good in the way that he's been able to leverage corporate attention to the institution and to HBCU football at large from positive or at least more balanced coverage of HBCU's in sports national and local And he's been an advocate. Have you Have you been? How what to what degree have you been pleased with what Dion Sanders brings to JSU to HBCU football? And what do you expect happens when there's a quote-unquote regular season for the Tigers? Well, very pleased so far with everything Coach Sanders coach prime. He likes to be called brings to the table here at Jackson State University Just the positive energy the attention All of those different things really shining a very positive light on the university And then also those things that you all don't see the way he interacts with the student athletes The way that he really takes care of those kids the way that he advocates and helps them get better Facilities and different things like that Really very proud of what he's done with our program thus far and look forward to what's to come and I always have to credit our Dynamic athletic director Ashley Robinson for really working to help make that Make that a possibility here at Jackson State University going forward, you know as president I expect a lot of wins first and foremost Also expect that a positive attention to translate Throughout the entire university, you know a great football team a great athletic program helps enrollment. It helps morale both student morale and Alumni morale it helps your giving all of those things happen when you have an athletic program that's Successful thriving and that the university can be proud of we have a great history here at Texas State University Really a non parallel history In football amongst HBCU's and this is really just an enhancement of that And then the final thing I think you make a perfect segue to talk about the history because yes You has an extraordinary history Not just as an HBCU, but as an American higher education institution But so much about what our folks love about HBCUs is rooted heavily in that history and considering how comprehensive the institution is How much it wants to grow how much it means to improving communities in Jackson and throughout Mississippi? How do you bridge the love for that history? With the appeal to people to say now invest in making a new history Invest in a football program. So we don't have to talk about as much. We love him Walter Payton Investing these programs so that you know, we you are seeing us transition into more Innovative and substantive ways in industry than we already are. How do you get people from I love what we were 30 years ago? So I love what we can be 30 years from now Well, that's a great question and that's really what we all grapple with. You know, we are talking about the history And just overall tradition of a Jackson State University. You have to build on that foundation Okay, you have to build on the foundation that's been laid before you, you know I stand on the shoulder of great presidents like Dr. Johnny peoples Who was a legend here on campus and really brought us from Jackson State College to Jackson State University? Really got us into those STEM programs and really helped enhance the university and set us on a trajectory that brought us into the 21st century But we have to build on that We have to continue to enhance that and it takes investment, you know I always talk about three things infrastructure student success and financial sustainability It takes all of those things it takes the infrastructure both the physical plant And those things that you don't see to really make the campus what it should be Student success is our overall goal because again in the end None of this matters if the students don't graduate if we don't keep producing those great alarms like I told you about before And to make all of this work and this is where you know, I say this is your part Money it takes money to run a university It takes money to invest in the new types of programs that we talked about and that takes all of us It takes your time. It takes your talent and it takes your resources. So again to Not only have to remember the great experience that you want once had But for those students that next 50,000 right of alarms that come through Jackson State University For them to have an even better experience It's going to take all of us really working together and investing in Jackson State University That's our story and that's really the story of a lot of hdc us And i'm so happy that in this moment people are really seeing the value of hdc us what we are And yet what we can become still