Sally Burchfield-Doty remembers stepping onto the Mississippi University for Women campus for the first time when she was only 5 years old.
Now she’s considering throwing her name in the hat to serve as The W’s next president.
While she noted the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning’s search for a president is just barely underway, Burchfield-Doty told The Dispatch she is definitely interested in the job.
“I’ve had people come to me, and that’s been very … interesting,” she told The Dispatch. “At first, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh.’ This was not in my mind. But after several conversations, I began thinking, ‘Well maybe my background would suit this position.’”
Burchfield-Doty, a 1988 graduate of The W, was endorsed by name Tuesday during IHL-hosted listening sessions by two alumni of the university, who also urged the board to expedite its search by naming her directly. District 39 Rep. Dana McLean, R-Columbus, and District 17 Sen. Chuck Younger, R-Lowndes County, both of whom have worked alongside Burchfield-Doty in the legislature, also publicly backed the former state senator for the role following Tuesday’s sessions.
Burchfield-Doty said she’s been approached by different groups, alumni and former colleagues about applying for the job, one she acknowledges “would be a tremendous amount of work.”
“The W is part of my personal history, and I love the place,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of different chapters in my life, and I think these chapters may be kind of leading me to this place.”
A 1988 graduate of The W, Burchfield-Doty currently serves as director for the Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi agency. Prior to that, she served as the executive director for the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff, and as a senator for District 39 from 2012 to 2020.
More recently, Burchfield-Doty said she was appointed by President Nora Miller, who is set to retire June 30, to The W’s strategic planning committee.
“I did a stint in academics, so I kind of have these different experiences that I think would combine to give me the skills I would need in that position,” said Burchfield-Doty, who also taught in the Mississippi College School of Law.
Though she sees real challenges ahead for The W, and higher education institutions generally, Burchfield-Doty said she is not deterred.
“There are some very, I think, strategic data-driven decisions that might need to be made, but I think there are so many opportunities for The W to strengthen enrollment,” Burchfield-Doty said. “That’s going to be key, and that’s going to be a challenge because of the reduction in students across the board.
“But I will tell you, I am a glass-half-full-kind of person and willing to work on those challenges alongside faculty and staff,” she added. “They’re the heart and soul of that institution, and it would be really an honor to be in that position if things were to work out.”
Likewise, Burchfield-Doty noted her experience advocating for Mississippi School of the Arts in Brookhaven would be an asset when it comes to The W’s partnership with Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, which has been housed on the campus since its inception in 1987.
“I’ve been real involved with what (MSA’s) needs have been and working with them throughout the years,” she said. “So I have a sense of the importance of the math and science school to the university.”
While she’s interested in the role, Burchfield-Doty said she is not assuming the position is hers. Her hope is that the next president is “the best fit for The W.”
“We are here right at the beginning of this process, so I have no claim on this at all, other than my name has been mentioned,” she said.
Miller did not return requests for comment before press time on Thursday.
Expediting the process?
Tuesday’s listening sessions were the IHL board’s first step in the search for Miller’s replacement, a process that typically entails developing a candidate profile, advertising for the position and rounds of interviewing multiple candidates.
However, the board’s bylaws include an expedited search alternative that allows the board, at its own discretion, to interview and consider appointing candidates to the role while forgoing the standard process and advertising period, which for a national search, could take at least six weeks.
Under its bylaws, the board in an expedited search may invite “anyone it chooses to interview, even if that individual has not applied or expressed interest in the position.”
If no candidate in the expedited search is selected, the board has the power to continue the expedited search or delay, suspend or extend the search entirely.
IHL Director of Communications John Sewell did not return requests for comment regarding the expedited search alternative by press time on Thursday.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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