Contact: Joe Farris
Jimmy W. Abraham
A Mississippi State administrator who has worked with students for the past 25 years now is interim vice president for the university's Division of Student Affairs.
Jimmy W. Abraham, assistant vice president for the past two years and director of Mississippi State's student recruitment effort for 15 years before that, assumed the top student affairs post upon formal College Board approval on Thursday.
He succeeds Roy H. Ruby, who last spring chose to give up the vice president's position he had held since 1985 to become dean of the university's College of Education. Ruby has done double duty as both vice president and dean for the past six months.
Abraham now heads the division responsible for enrollment services, housing, financial aid, health services, student organizations, counseling, police, recreational sports, and other student service functions.
"Dr. Abraham brings a wealth of knowledge about MSU to this role and is revered by thousands of alumni for his enthusiastic response to their individual needs when they were students," said Interim President J. Charles Lee. "We are confident that he can do an outstanding job in this broader role."
Abraham will serve as vice president on an interim basis in order to allow the next president of the university to make a permanent appointment, Lee said. The College Board currently is conducting a search for the next president of MSU. Lee has been interim president since Jan. 1 this year.
As director of enrollment services from 1985-2000, Abraham headed MSU recruitment efforts during a period of rapid growth and worked closely with hundreds of student volunteers involved in recruitment and new student orientation.
He previously served as assistant director of enrollment services and as a residence hall director, where he began his career with the university after receiving a master's degree in student personnel and counselor education at MSU in 1977. He also earned a bachelor's degree in marketing at MSU in 1975 and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Mississippi in 1985.
Abraham, a Clarksdale native, also has been an assistant professor of counselor education and educational psychology since 1985. He became assistant vice president for student affairs in August 2000.