The first time Kelsey Holley met Jim Borsig, he was dirty.
It was welcome week at the Mississippi University for Women. There was an older gentleman playing with students in the annual mud volleyball game with a Go-Pro camera strapped across his chest.
“It was awesome,” Holley, a sophomore, said Thursday. “I didn’t even know who he was. I was like, ‘Who’s the old guy?’ and someone told me it was the president.”
Borsig, MUW’s president since 2012, has made personal connections with many students and faculty. When word spread in February that the 58-year-old was leaving MUW to lead the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning in Jackson, many were concerned.
“I was sad,” freshman Morgan Holmes sad. “I was kind of questioning what would happen to The W.”
When Borsig announced Thursday that he would not be leaving to lead the IHL, opting instead to continue as MUW’s president, the Columbus university’s family breathed a sigh of relief.
Borsig made the announcement in Poindexter Hall. Nearly 80 faculty members gave him a thunderous applause. After he finished speaking, professors and university staffers embraced each other. Instead of the going-away party being planned for Monday, faculty and students moved into celebration mode.
‘Everyone is excited’
Angela Ferraez, a MUW alum and director of special and major events on campus, said hearing Borsig was leaving had been tough.
“Everybody’s reaction was bittersweet because we love him as our leader,” she said. “Now, everyone is excited.”
She said the flowers to be displayed at Monday’s party have been changed from subtle, somber arrangements to bright, springtime bouquets.
Borsig, after his announcement Thursday, told The Dispatch he felt a great sense of affirmation when the faculty reacted so positively to his announcement. He said it was unexpected and overwhelming.
“At this point in my career and life, I feel called to be president of this university,” he said.
Borsig said the IHL board’s decision to not renew the contract of University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones, and the consequent backlash, did not impact his decision to stay at MUW.
“I’ve dealt with all kinds of controversy during my 35 years in education,” he said. “That is part of the job.”
‘Higher ed doesn’t happen in Jackson, it happens on campus’
Borsig said he expects to finish his career at MUW. That news will make students and faculty happy.
When MUW director of resources management Angie Atkins got a call Thursday morning saying Borsig would address the staff, she thought for a brief moment he was going to say he was staying. But she ruled that out quickly as wishful thinking.
“When I learned the news, I was so excited,” Atkins said.
For Dr. Julia Mortyakova, the head of MUW’s music department, the news was cause for celebration. Her department has nearly doubled in size since she and Borsig arrived at MUW in 2012.
“I was extremely happy and surprised,” Mortyakova said. “I feel like the university has flourished and will continue to grow.”
She said Borsig and his administration have been supportive of the music department and frequently attends concerts and recitals.
Corey Riley, a MUW junior, said she met Borsig her freshman year. He came up to her at the cafeteria and spoke with her. She said he has recognized and approached her at her off-campus job, asking her about a change in majors and life.
“He connects with each of us on a personal level, even though there’s so many of us,” Holmes said. “Our campus is like a family and Dr. Borsig is like the father.”
Borsig’s own mentor, Dr. Aubrey Lucas, the president emeritus of the University of Southern Mississippi, who served over a quarter-century as that university’s leader, told The Dispatch he feels Borsig has fallen in love with The W. Lucas first met Borsig when he was a dean at USM and Borsig was student body president. The two have remained close.
“He really came to love The W,” Lucas said. “I could tell it in our conversations.”
Lucas, 80, had been in a similar situation. While serving as registrar at USM, he was invited to serve on the IHL. He thought about it and eventually turned it down. He said the fulfillment for educators is on campus.
“I think he found out quickly that higher education doesn’t happen in the IHL tower in Jackson, it happens on campus,” Lucas said.
Borsig is remaining on campus, where he can have a more direct impact on education and get dirty in mud volleyball games in the process.
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