Delta State president speaks out on bill to close universities. See what he says

Newly inaugurated Delta State president Dan Ennis was getting ready Wednesday morning for many normal duties on the Cleveland campus, including a career day event.

He didn't seem particularly concerned about a bill that has been introduced into the Mississippi Senate that would call for the closure of three state-funded universities by June 30, 2028.

Bill calls for closing some universities

The bill would seem to be aimed at the four smallest institutions in Mississippi: Delta State University, Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi Valley State University and Alcorn State University.

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The bill, which was filed by Sen. John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, last week, did not specify which of the state's eight universities to close. The bill designates the Institutions of Higher Learning's Board of Trustees to choose three universities to close in 2028. The board would have to report its decision to lawmakers by June 30, 2025.

The bill would also designate IHL to use factors such as enrollment data, degrees offered, economic impact, services offered, and any research that schools conduct serving the state to determine which schools would close.

'Delta State's potential demise exaggerated'

"Reports of Delta State's potential demise are greatly exaggerated," Ennis said, jokingly. "If the Senator's actual intention is to close Ole Miss, DSU can initially welcome about 500 students from Oxford, but we'll need to build some more dorms to accommodate the rest."

Alcorn, DSU, MVSU and MUW all have enrollments of less than 3,000 students, with Mississippi Valley having the smallest at 2,196. It would seem that the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State, the University of Southern Mississippi and Jackson State University, as well as the University of Mississippi Medical Center, would be safe.

MUW President Nora Miller said all comments from the Columbus school would have to go through IHL Spokesperson John Sewell, who told the Clarion Ledger the Board of Trustees is aware of the bill and is following it closely, but it does not have an official comment at this time.

Mississippi Valley spokesperson Donell Maxie said MVSU President Jerryl Briggs also is referring all comment to Sewell.

The Clarion Ledger reached out to Alcorn State interim president Tracy Cook, but representatives from Alcorn did not respond Wednesday.

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Call for closures not new

This is not new to Mississippi's small colleges. Variations of this bill have cropped up over the years. One would have merged Delta State and Mississippi Valley. Some were more general, calling on the IHL to close schools, but not specifying which ones.

Polk did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the bill.

Of the four, Alcorn State may be the safest in that it is a land-grant university. However, it does share many duplicative programs as Mississippi State University.

Meanwhile, MUW has been in a decades-long struggle with how to change its name to accurately reflect the student body. It also is just 20 miles or so from Mississippi State University. Mississippi Valley State has struggled for many years with declining enrollment and its proximity just 40 miles east of Delta State.

Also, Delta State enrollment peaked more than 20 years ago at more than 4,000 and with its decline, many have even suggested it be merged with the University of Mississippi so as not to have duplicated programs. In that scenario, it would still retain athletics and much of what makes DSU a singular institution.

Regardless, all four of the smallest schools face their own issues.

"When I talked to the (IHL) commissioner (Dr. Alfred Rankins Jr.) last night, he said that he didn't expect it to go anywhere," Ennis said. "I also understand the chair of the committee has said it won't move out of the committee. So, I guess that is the end of that."

The enrollment cliff

The impetus for the bill is a nationwide trend called the enrollment cliff. After the recession of 2008, a population decline began in the United States. Because of that, college enrollment throughout the nation is expected to fall in the next 10 years by as much as 15 percentage points. With Mississippi's four smallest colleges already losing population, they were low-hanging fruit for the Legislature.

"I'm not sure closing universities is the answer, instead of being prepared for a different enrollment dynamic," Ennis said. "We don't need to throw out the baby with the bath water. What we really need to do is look at our resources and operate more efficiently through a downturn. We need to be careful with what we have in front of us, and, of course, preserve the institutions, because they are needed long term for economic development."

Ennis said he and all of his fellow presidents of Mississippi's public universities are and have been aware of the conditions surrounding the enrollment cliff since at least 2010.

"That's why you see a lot of institutions like us looking to tighten their operations to brace themselves and concentrate on their stronger areas of academic success," Ennis said. "We have to think about our facilities and what we need and may not need."

Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: DSU president speaks out on bill to close Mississippi universities