Mississippi Delta Community College has selected Dr. Steven Jones as its tenth president.
MDCC Board of Trustees President Dr. Peter Jackson confirmed the vote to The Enterprise-Tocsin on Wednesday. The board voted to hire Jones following candidate interviews on Tuesday.
Jones, who had served as vice president of administrative and student services, takes over the Moorhead-based college following the retirement of Dr. Tyrone Jackson in June. Dr. Tyrone Jackson had served as the college’s ninth president since 2019.
Long-time MDCC faculty member Teresa Webster was appointed as the college’s interim president last summer.
Dr. Peter Jackson, who has served on the MDCC board for 35 years and has been part of five presidential hires, said that the board voted this week by way of a secret ballot.
“I pray that there will be a cohesiveness for Dr. Jones and the people that are under his charge, and I hope that there will be a collaborative effort between those,” he said. “He cannot make the school successful by himself.”
Jones issued a statement in a release from MDCC late Wednesday afternoon.
"I'm extremely honored to be selected as the next president of Mississippi Delta Community College," Jones said in the statement. "I thank the Board of Trustees for placing their trust in me to lead our institution into the next chapter. I consider this appointment to be a true blessing from God, and I give Him all the praise. I look forward to working alongside my esteemed colleagues to move the institution forward. I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to thank Interim President Teresa Webster for her steadfast determination and success in leading our institution during this time of transition."
Dr. Peter Jackson acknowledged that there is some apprehension among the college’s faculty and staff regarding Jones’s appointment.
Without getting into the details, he said that fears and concerns about a presidential hire are normal, and that he hopes that the entire MDCC system will move forward, work together and keep overall student success as the priority.
“I don’t want anybody leaving. We’ve got some good folks,” he said, later adding, “I hope that they can have a good working relationship so that they can have a good positive (environment) for everybody involved.”
The MDCC board president said that he called Webster to thank her for her service during the interim.
He said that Webster not only provided a steady hand for the college, that she made the most of her time at the helm.
“She did more than keep the ship steady, she had the ship moving forward,” he said. “I appreciate her service.”
Jones has served on the college’s main campus in Moorhead since 2019, and he will now oversee an institution with multiple locations, including the Capps Center in Indianola, the 85,000-square-foot GHEC (Greenville Higher Education Center) facility in Greenville, a Greenwood campus and a newer footprint at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
Jones is a native of Taylorsville and is a graduate of Hinds Community College and Mississippi College (bachelor’s in paralegal studies and a masters in higher education administration), according to a 2023 article in The E-T’s Sunflower Journey magazine.
He earned his Ph.D at the University of Southern Mississippi in higher education, which was followed by a post graduate certificate in community college leadership. He also attended the University of South Florida where he earned a post graduate certificate in diversity, equity and inclusion.
After working for nearly a decade at a Jackson law office, Jones took his first job in higher education at Hinds CC, where he served as assistant director of student housing and residence life and deputy Title IX coordinator. He would later serve as executive director of Title III and sponsored grants where he oversaw $7 million annually in grant funds and over $18 million total.
While at Hinds, Jones met Dr. Tyrone Jackson and eventually took the VP role at MDCC after Jackson’s 2019 appointment.
Over the past half decade, Jones has overseen a number of departments on campus, and this past spring, he completed the prestigious Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship program.
The MDCC board will have its regular meeting on Thursday.
