DSU Provost named interim president

The Delta State University (DSU) Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. John G. Thornell, was named Interim President of DSU, effective March 1, 2003, by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL).

In making the recommendation to the Board to name Dr. Thornell Interim President of DSU, Commissioner of Higher Education, Tom Layzell, described his qualifications: “Dr. Thornell is eminently qualified for the Interim Presidency at DSU. His distinguished career in higher education, especially his administrative experience, will serve him very well at DSU. He will be a strong leader for DSU during this transition,” said Layzell. Bryce Griffis, President of the Board, announced the Board’s decision to . Thornell.“The Board is very proud to name Dr. John G. Thornell as Interim President at DSU. He brings outstanding experience and credibility to the position. We look forward to working with him,” said Griffis.

In accepting the position, Dr. Thornell said, “I am honored and delighted to serve as Interim President of DSU. Education is very important to our citizenry, especially in the Delta. My experience at DSU has served me very well professionally and personally. I welcome the challenge this opportunity presents for service to our state,” said Thornell. Dr. Thornell is a native of Cleveland. He earned a baccalaureate degree in education from DSU in 1969 and taught in the public schools of Greenville, MS, for three years, also earning a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from DSU during that time. He completed a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas in 1974 and accepted a faculty appointment at DSU in 1975. In 1979, he was appointed Director of Institutional Research. In that position he had responsibility for institutional effectiveness, grants, faculty development and faculty research, as well as institutional research.

He spent the summer of 1983 doing postdoctoral work in higher education administration at the University of Michigan. In 1986, he was awarded a Kellogg Fellowship, a program of leadership study and self-development. As part of that fellowship he studied the history and politics of the Soviet Union, traveling there twice for study and also completing a Master’s degree in history at Delta State. In 1989, he was named Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Delta State. In the summer of 1992, he did additional study in Asian history at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He directed a study tour of Japan in 1993 and transferred his faculty appointment to history.

In 1999, he was promoted to Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Delta State. In that position he was responsible for academic policy development and campus-wide initiatives which supported an expansion of the University mission, including collaboration with state and federal agencies, business and industry, and other colleges and universities. He was named Vice President for Academic Affairs at Delta State in 2001 and Provost in 2002. DBJ