MOORHEAD (AP) — Mississippi Delta Community College is naming a native of the Delta region as president.

Tyrone Jackson will become the college’s first African-American president and its ninth overall. Larry Nabors is retiring after six years as president.

College trustees chose Jackson, now a Hinds Community College vice president, to lead the 2,400-student institution beginning July 1.

“It’s very special,” Jackson told The Greenwood Commonwealth . “As an African-American, to come back to the Mississippi Delta and to be the first African-American to lead this institution, it’s definitely an honor to have this opportunity.”

A Rosedale native, Jackson currently leads the Utica campus for Hinds and oversees administrative services. He earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Delta State University. Jackson worked there in a series of jobs, including associate director of housing and residence life, director of multicultural affairs and director of graduate studies.

He left Delta to work for two years as associate vice president at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he served for two years as associate vice president for student services. He worked for Hinds for five years.

Jackson says he intends to listen to students, faculty and staff to learn about the college and to also maintain the college’s profile in the community, as well as working to recruit students. He said he’d like to work to raise pay for faculty.

“The faculty are the most influential people in the students’ lives during their collegiate career,” Jackson said.