JACKSON – A Columbus native will take the helm as president of Jackson State University following an eight-month national search.
Denise Jones Gregory, who has served as interim president since May 2025, was selected from among 79 applicants by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to serve as the 14th president of the university, according to an IHL press release.
“The Board of Trustees put a tremendous amount of time and energy into this search process, and we are confident in Dr. Gregory’s ability to help write the next chapter in Jackson State University’s long history,” Steven Cunningham, vice president of the IHL Board of Trustees and chair of the Board Search Committee, said in the press release.
A JSU alumna, Gregory graduated magna cum laude in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and later earned her doctorate in chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She went on to spend more than 20 years working in higher education at Tuskegee University and Samford University before taking over as provost and vice president of academic affairs at JSU in June 2024.
She is a 1990 graduate of Lee High School.
Gregory is also a graduate of the New Presidents Academy, the Willa B. Player Executive Leaders Program and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Executive Leadership Institute Program.
“This has been a long and involved process, and we’ve worked closely with the Board of Trustees through the reviewing and interviewing of candidates to reach this point,” said Patrease Edwards, a member of the Search Advisory Constituency and president of JSU’s national alumni association. “Today we begin a new and exciting part of the story of Jackson State, and we are prepared to support Dr. Gregory as she takes on this role.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
