The last time Dr. Jim Borsig visited Mississippi University for Women, he was working with the College Board to answer questions about the presidential search process. He arrives on campus next week as MUW’s possible next president.
Borsig, 55, is associate commissioner for external relations and public policy for the College Board. He was unanimously chosen last week as the preferred candidate by the College Board Search Committee, Campus Search Advisory Committee and Interview Search Advisory Committee.
He will tour campus Nov. 30 to participate in a daylong question-and-answer session with community leaders, deans, department heads, faculty, staff, students and alumni. At the end of the day, attendees will provide feedback, and a press conference will be called to announce whether Borsig has been chosen as MUW’s president.
Borsig said he was encouraged to apply for the president’s position in early summer. Although Borsig is a staff member with the College Board, he is not a member of the board of trustees, said Caron Blanton, director of communications for the College Board.
The members of the board of trustees are appointed by the governor, and they make the final hiring decisions on all college presidents.
The W’s “incredibly bright future,” combined with conversations with colleagues about his skill set and background, helped him decide he “might be a good fit for the university at this point in its history,” Borsig said Monday morning via telephone from his office in Jackson.
Relevant experience
Borsig has been assistant commissioner for government relations for the board, executive assistant to the president of the University of Southern Mississippi and research and development coordinator for the John C. Stennis Institute of Government. He is a visiting professor for Jackson State University’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning since 2007.
He also served as manager of corporate information and planning for South Mississippi Electric Power Association, chief administrative officer for the cities of Biloxi and Hattiesburg and executive director of the Mississippi Municipal Association.
Borsig said his broad range of experience in higher education, government and the private sector is an asset to the president’s position.
“Most of my work in (my current) position has been with a broad range of stakeholders within a university system,” he said. “Communications and the belief in working together as a team and helping teams be successful are two key points I would make.”
His greatest strengths are his skills as a listener and communicator, he said.
Dr. Aubrey Lucas met Borsig when Borsig was an undergraduate student at USM in the 1970s. Lucas is president emeritus and professor at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.
Lucas said he worked closely with Borsig during Borsig’s two terms as student body president.
“I’ve had the pleasure of employing a lot of bright people, and he certainly is one of them,” Lucas said. “He’s a gifted person in many ways in relating to other people and other groups. He measures his language, and when he speaks, he’s worth hearing. He doesn’t just talk all the time like some presidents. He’s very analytical and builds great relationships.”
Lucas said he and Borsig have discussed MUW’s future at length and Borsig will give the university “a strong and convincing voice.”
“He’s much impressed with the history of The W and sees that it needs to be lifted up as something worthy of praise,” Lucas said.
Ability to work with others
Borsig’s ability to bridge relationships with the College Board trustees, Legislature and other governmental officials is beneficial, he added, especially as colleges across the country struggle to attract students and increase funding.
“He knows how to relate to these important groups, and he has their trust,” Lucas said. “He will be interested in the community and the city and will strengthen what’s already a very good relationship between the ‘town and gown’ in Columbus.”
Washington, D.C., consultant Sharon Anderson worked with Borsig in 2000 while she was with the National League of Cities and he was executive director of the Mississippi Municipal League.
His position required him to interact with people from tiny communities to major metropolitan areas, which he handled well, she said.
“He had, and still has, a sharp mind,” she said. “He’s just very good with people … smart, thoughtful and very well-organized.”
State Commissioner of Revenue Ed Morgan said he hired Borsig as Hattiesburg’s chief administrative officer for his “ability to communicate on a political, practical and economic” level and his understanding of finance. Morgan was mayor of Hattiesburg for 12 years,
“His combination of being conservative and thoughtful, yet progressive, has always impressed me,” Morgan said Monday afternoon. “He’s not going to do anything wild, but he’ll stretch. He’ll push the envelope, but he does so in a very measured, thoughtful way.”
Borsig declined to answer questions about his vision for The W or his perception of its strengths and weaknesses before his campus visit.
“I look forward to the opportunity to talk to the university community,” he said. “It’s important to me to start this conversation and for everyone to understand it really is the beginning of a conversation. It is a terrific university, and Columbus has a great quality of life. I look forward to the opportunity to be on campus.”
The Jackson native received a doctorate in public policy and administration from Mississippi State University. He has a master’s degree in political science with a concentration in public administration and bachelor’s degree in political science and American studies, both from the University of Southern Mississippi. He completed the Senior Executive Institute at the Weldon C. Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.
Borsig is single with no children and resides in Brandon.
He enjoys golfing, kayaking and reading. Borsig is immersed in John Grisham’s latest legal thriller, “The Litigators,” and a nonfiction book, “That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back,” by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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