Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A veteran Mississippi State University administrator is being named the land-grant institution's vice president for budget and planning.
Don A. Zant, who has served as director of internal audit since 1997, will assume his new duties Sept. 17, pending formal approval by the state Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.
"Don's years of experience overseeing the audit department, as well as his knowledge of university operations, make him immensely qualified to handle the duties of the vice president of budget and planning," said MSU President Mark Keenum. "He will be a solid addition to our administrative team."
A member of the president's cabinet, the vice president for budget and planning serves as Mississippi State's chief financial officer and has oversight for units that include controller and treasurer; procurement and contracts; accounts payable; property control; and receiving.
A certified public accountant, Zant was instrumental in launching a campus wide ethics system in 2009 that includes both a web-based, anonymous mechanism for reporting possible inappropriate actions and an accompanying "whistle-blower" policy. Called the MSU Ethics Line, it was the first independently operated reporting service at a Mississippi public university.
At Mississippi State, Zant also has served as a non-voting member on the university's Select Committee on Efficiencies and Innovations.
"Don's service and commitment to MSU have been exemplary, and he will provide excellent leadership as the vice president for budget and planning," said search committee chair Jerry Gilbert, provost and executive vice president. "We are pleased to have him join us in this capacity."
A native Texan, Zant holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Lubbock Christian University, from which he graduated magna cum laude. He earlier served as assistant director of internal audit at Texas Tech University, as well as a senior auditor with a private firm.