As Expected, Jones Appointed Chancellor of Ole Miss

Dr. Dan Jones speaking at Ole Miss shortly after accepting his new job as chancellor of the university.

There’s a new man in charge of the University of Mississippi, and his name is Dan Jones. MPB’s Cari Gervin has more.

There was little surprise in the room when search committee chair Amy Whitten took the stage:

“It gives me great pleasure at this time to announce that then Board of Trustees of State Institutions for Higher Learning has voted unanimously to name Dr. Dan Jones as the 16th Chancellor of the University of Mississippi.”

After he received a standing ovation, Jones told the crowd that he’d like to see not just the university, but the state, move forward under his leadership.

Jones had been the dean of the university’s School of Medicine in Jackson. He has taught at the med school since 1992 and served as the president of the American Heart Association in 2007.

Jones will start his new job July 1, when Chancellor Robert Khayat steps down after 14 years. In an interview Monday afternoon, Jones said the change is a good time for Ole Miss to take stock.

“This provides us an opportunity to pause, to evaluate who we are, where we are now, and who we want to be down the road.”

As for Chancellor Khayat? He said he was thrilled about the selection of Jones – and thrilled about his own retirement.

“We’re actually going to go to North Carolina for a month. And then maybe some place else for a little while.”

The search for Jones’ replacement at the medical school will begin immediately. For MPB News, I’m Cari Gervin in Oxford.