Dr. Eric Clark, executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board, will be the featured speaker Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Jackson State University.
Clark, a former Mississippi secretary of state and state legislator, will speak on “The Dangers of Polarization in American Politics” from 1-3 p.m. at the Dollye M.E. Robinson Building, located on the main campus at the corner of Dalton and John R. Lynch Streets. He will speak again 1-3 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Mississippi Arts Center, 201 E. Pascagoula Street, Jackson.
The events are part of the Mike Espy Scholars-in-Residence Series of the JSU Institute of Government. Admission is free.
The topic is “key in the public sphere in the state and nation,” said Dr. Otha Burton, the institute’s executive director. Political polarization has come to characterize popular political discourse, Burton said. “Politics is necessary within the democratic framework, but we have to find middle ground for the good of our nation and the future of our country.”
Clark is a “very well-respected public servant,” Burton said, and “he’s quite able to speak on the dangers of polarity.”
Clark began directing the community college board in January 2008 after serving 12 years as the secretary of state and 16 years in the Mississippi Legislature.
He attended Jones County Junior College and received a bachelor’s degree from Millsaps College, a master’s degree from the University of Mississippi, and a doctorate in history from Mississippi State University. Clark taught history and government at Jones County Junior College, Mississippi College, and Belhaven University.
A JSU student panel will also ask questions after Clark’s remarks and a public panel will do the same at the second event. Clark’s lecture will be accepted as a paper that will become part of the archives of the institute and will be uploaded to the JSU website for public viewing.
A historian, Clark serves on the boards of Jobs for Mississippi Graduates, the State Workforce Investment Board, Innovate Mississippi, the Mississippi Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
Clark is married to the former Karan Killebrew, a registered nurse, who grew up in Durant and Forest. They are the parents of two children, Charles and Catherine. The Clarks are members of the First Baptist Church of Jackson.
For more information about the lecture, contact Christine M. Nielsen
christine.m.nielsen@jsums.edu (601) 979-2339 at the JSU Institute of Government.
The scholars symposiums provide the general public and university communities with in-depth research topics, seminars on current public policy issues, or forums on executive and legislative roles and problem-solving solutions.
Clark is the second presenter in the series. The first last fall was by former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy. After Espy’s presentation, JSU President Dr. Carolyn W. Meyers named the series in honor of him and his career in public service.
To view Espy’s remarks, see the institute’s web page: https://www.jsums.edu/instituteofgovernment/reports-and-executive-summaries/