COLUMBUS – A six-member search committee tasked with managing the selection of Mississippi University for Women’s next president was announced Thursday by the Mississippi Institutes of Higher Learning.

The board aims to select a new president by the 2027 spring semester, an IHL press release said. 

The committee – consisting of trustees Teresa Hubbard, who will chair the committee, Amy Arrington, Jerry Griffith, Charlie Stephenson, Gregg Rader, board vice president, and Steven Cunninghham, board president – will conduct a national search with the assistance of a higher education search firm. A formal request for proposals will be issued to select the search firm. 

The selected candidate will replace Nora Miller, who retired from the president’s role in June. Scott Tollison, who was previously serving as university provost, started serving as interim president in July. 

According to IHL Board policies, after a search consultant is hired, a candidate profile with minimum qualifications will be developed along with a general schedule for the search. Once approved by the board, the position will be advertised. 

Since IHL held listening sessions at The W in April, two candidates, Sally Burchfield-Doty and Doris Taylor, have been floated for the job. Some stakeholders who attended the April listening sessions also suggested the board consider an expedited search process. 

An expedited search process, according to board policies, allows the committee to interview known candidates for the job before proceeding with an extended search process. But if the board chooses to exercise that alternative, it must do so prior to hiring a search consultant.