On October 24, the Institutions of Higher Learning announced a new era at the University of Southern Mississippi, naming Joe Paul as the 11th president of the college four months after his appointment as interim president.
That move was made official three days later, when Paul took the stage on the third floor of USM’s Thad Cochran Center for his first speech as president. Paul – who will initially serve for the next four years – takes over for former president Rodney Bennett, who departed from that position on July 15.
“When I came home from a very persuasive conversation with (IHL board members) and talked to (my wife), she said ‘this is the right time. You are more ready now than you’ve ever been, and let’s go do this thing.’
“My intention is to attack these next four years with all the energy and sense of urgency with which I approached the first four months. We’re going to get right back after it.”
Paul served for 40 years as a Southern Miss student affairs administrator and became vice president for student affairs in February 1993. Prior to that, he served as assistant director of student activities, assistant vice president and dean of student development, as well as holding faculty rank in the university’s College of Education and Psychology.
Paul retired from Southern Miss in 2015 and has since held part-time positions with the USM Foundation, as Citizen Service Coordinator for the City of Hattiesburg and as an executive coach for the Home Business Advisor Group. He currently consults as an executive coach and strategic advisor for the Blue Hen Consulting Agency.
Shortly after Bennett’s announcement, Alfred Rankins Jr., who serves as the IHL commissioner of higher education, issued a statement naming Paul the interim president of the university, beginning July 16.
“We have work to do at Southern Miss in growing our enrollment, maximizing our impact on our Mississippi Gulf Coast and ensuring the continued growth of our research enterprise,” Paul said. “You all know that I have a heart for our students, and I’ve spent my life’s work in support of them.
“I’m deeply committed to creating a parallel student life and leadership experience at Southern Miss. Our students deserve no less.”
Paul’s appointment as president came after the IHL’s board of trustees conducted listening sessions at the Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses. IHL contracted a firm, Academic Search, for $130,000 to aid in a presidential search was scheduled to end in spring of next year.
During that process, Academic Search helped the board members select semi-finalists, conduct reference checks and provide guidance on conditions of employment for the next president.
“We have a blueprint for finding a new president, and oftentimes that requires going down different paths,” said Tommy Duff, head of the IHL board of trustees. “You find that a school might need something different; you might find that the candidates (need something different).
“So oftentimes, even though we have a path, we have to take responsibility and say ‘no, that choice needs to be this.’ But our blueprint is finding the best leader. With all that being said, I want to tell you that we did find (the right person).”
Paul earned a Ph.D. in administration of higher education from the University of Alabama, and was named the university’s Most Outstanding Doctoral Student in the field in 1985. Paul, who is a native of Bay St. Louis, earned his bachelor’s degree in communication and political science from Southern Miss in 1975, when he graduated magna cum laude from the University Honors College.
He then received a master’s degree in communication and management from Southern Miss in 1978 and was inducted into the University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame in 2000.
Paul also has served two terms as president of the United Way of Southeast Mississippi. He has served as Board Chairman for the greater Hattiesburg Area Development Foundation and as a Board Trustee for the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System.
He has also been president of the Hattiesburg Area Education Foundation, on the Board of Directors for the Hattiesburg Boys and Girls Club and has been a trustee for the Hattiesburg Public School District. Paul is co-founder of the Hattiesburg Leadership Pinebelt program and has served on a statewide basis in leadership positions with the Mississippi Economic Council.
When announcing his plans to leave the presidency in January, Bennett said he made that decision to explore other professional opportunities in advance of the end date of his contract with Southern Miss.
