Contact: Maridith Geuder
A veteran senior administrator will lead the search for Mississippi State University's next athletic director.
Vance H. Watson, vice president for agriculture, forestry, and veterinary medicine, will coordinate the national search for the university's next director of intercollegiate athletics, said MSU President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong.
"We're very grateful that someone with Dr. Watson's experience of the university and its many constituencies will guide this important effort," Foglesong said. He added that a representative committee of MSU stakeholders will be named next month.
Watson leads a division with a statewide presence through the MSU Extension Service. The division also includes the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Forest Resources, and Veterinary Medicine, as well as the Forest and Wildlife Research Center and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. He is in his fifth decade of service to Mississippi State.
"We will be deliberate and inclusive to ensure that Mississippi State identifies a sufficiently large and diverse pool of candidates," Watson said.
The committee will be asked to screen candidates and present a list of finalists to be interviewed.
"Our goal is to have someone in place by July 1, 2008," Foglesong said.
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For more information, see www.msstate.edu/web/searches/ad/