From staff reports

Alcorn State University President George E. Ross will be leaving Lorman in February, returning to Central Michigan University as the institution’s new president.

Ross, 58, is a Utica native. He has served as Alcorn’s president since January 2008, following Clinton Bristow, who died on the campus after suffering an apparent heart attack.

Central Michigan University, in Mount Pleasant, Mich., has an enrollment of about 27,000 students. Before coming to Alcorn Ross was Central Michigan’s vice president for finance and administrative services.

“I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve Alcorn State University and the state of Mississippi during such a transformative time in the university’s history,” said Ross, whose last day at Alcorn will be Jan. 31, 2010. “While I did not actively seek the presidency at Central Michigan University, I believe it is a unique opportunity. I will always be proud of the many achievements of Alcorn’s faculty, staff and students during my tenure and I am confident that the institution will continue to be successful in the future.”

The rural Alcorn campus, which also has programs in Natchez and Vicksburg, has 3,339 students. Immediately pending for the university is an administrative merger under Jackson State University proposed as a cost-saving measure by Gov. Haley Barbour. Mississippi Valley State University, the state’s third historically black university, would also be under the Jackson State umbrella.

In announcing Ross’s resignation, the state College Board said nothing about the Barbour proposal, which would require legislative enactment.

“We believe in hiring talented people. Dr. Ross is a capable administrator and dedicated educator, so it is not surprising that another institution would want him to serve as its leader,” Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Hank Bounds said. “We wish Dr. Ross good luck in his new position. We will not forget his contributions here in Mississippi.”

College Board President Scott Ross agreed.

“Alcorn State has made significant gains under Dr. Ross’s leadership,” Scott Ross said. “We thank him for his service to the university and the state.”

Before serving at Central Michigan University, Dr. Ross held positions at Clark Atlanta University in Georgia, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Tuskeegee University in Alabama and at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit. Dr. Ross also served on several Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation review teams throughout the southeastern United States.

Before his work in higher education, Dr. Ross, a certified public accountant, held positions in corporate and non-profit finance and management. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Michigan State University, a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Alabama and completed post-doctoral studies at Harvard University.