Contact: Joe Farris
Melvin C. Ray is being named special assistant to the president at Mississippi State University.
With responsibilities including budget planning, economic development and cooperative relationships with other universities, Ray will assume his new duties in mid-July, said President Malcolm Portera. Until then, he will continue to serve as acting vice president for research, a role he has performed since late 1996.
"Mel Ray has been a key member of the team during my first four and a half months on board," Portera said. "He has had a tough job to perform as acting vice president for research, but we're headed in the right direction and ahead of schedule as a result of his efforts."
Ray came to Mississippi State in 1987 as a faculty member in sociology specializing in crime and justice research. He was named associate vice president for research in 1994.
As special assistant to the president, Ray will have a broad range of responsibilities, Portera said. These include working with:
--The provost and vice president for academic affairs and the academic deans in budget planning, and;
--The Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning and its staff on planning and new programs.
He also will help link the university to efforts to grow Mississippi's economy and will serve as liaison with the Robert Holland Faculty Senate. Special projects assigned to Ray will include a role in priority setting and enhancement of the personnel system.
"I am excited about the opportunity to work more closely with Dr. Ray," Portera said. "As someone who has the potential to lead an institution, he will provide enormous help in these areas."
Ray holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and master's and doctoral degrees from Iowa State University.
At MSU, he has served as co-director of the Mississippi/National Science Foundation Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and as director of university-level research centers and institutes.
He also has been coordinator of the Mississippi Crime and Justice Research Unit, a part of the university's Social Science Research Center. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles on topics related to criminal justice and corrections.