(JACKSON, Miss.) – Jackson State University President Carolyn W. Meyers will be installed as the university’s 10th and first female president during an investiture ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, March 30, in the Rose Embly McCoy Auditorium. The ceremony is part of three days of events that start on Wednesday, March 28, and run through March 30. The schedule of events will celebrate Jackson State University’s 134 years of excellence. The public is invited to attend.
Close to 100 delegates from colleges, universities and educational associations from around the country will take part in the investiture ceremony along with the State Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, Jackson State University’s faculty and administration officers and members of the JSU National Alumni Association. The full campus community will be in attendance.
Meyers took the helm of Mississippi’s Urban University in January 2011. Under her leadership, Jackson State earned a 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and national accreditations in business, teacher education and engineering as well as full certification by the NCAA. Meyers also pushed Jackson State University enrollment to an all-time high of 8,903, increased fundraising tenfold to $4.2 million, and positioned the university to become a national model for educating the underserved and achieving global recognition for excellence in education, research and service.
Meyers brings to Jackson State University more than 30 years of academic and administrative leadership experience in higher education, serving most recently as President of Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va. She served as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where she was a tenured professor of mechanical engineering and Dean of the College of Engineering. Meyers also was a tenured faculty member at the Georgia Institute of Technology and was the first Associate Dean for Research in its College of Engineering.
A native of Newport News, Va., Meyers earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Howard University, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and completed post-doctoral work at Harvard University. She is a fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Presidential Inauguration schedule:
Wednesday, March 28
JSU Student Reception, Gibbs-Green Pedestrian Walkway (East end)
Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Faculty, Staff and Community Appreciation Reception, President’s Home (on the grounds)
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Business and Legislative Reception,Mississippi Museum of Art (by invitation)
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 29
Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast, Mississippi e-Center @JSU, 1230 Raymond Road, Jackson
8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Symposium, Rose Embly McCoy Auditorium
10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
International Luncheon, JSU Student Center – Ballroom
Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Open House for Academic Colleges and Divisions
JSU main campus, Jackson Medical Mall and Universities Center
2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Alumni Reception, Hilton Garden Inn – Ballroom, 235 W. Capitol St., Jackson
5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Friday, March 30
Investiture Ceremony, Rose Embly McCoy Auditorium
10 a.m. – Noon
Inaugural Lunch (by invitation), JSU Student Center – Ballroom
12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Inaugural Reception and Gala, Walter Payton Recreation and Wellness Center
6 p.m. Reception – 7 p.m. Dinner
Cost per person: $50
For more information about the JSU Presidential Inauguration, visit https://www.jsums.edu/presidential-inauguration