The 2011 elections and the 2012 Greenwood School Board appointments were milestones for Greenwood and Leflore County — significant events in our progress as a community and the sign of a paradigm shift relative to K-12 education. Just as Fannie Lou Hamer grew “sick and tired of being sick and tired” about racial prejudice and injustices, parents and taxpayers grew “sick and tired of being sick and tired” about a political system and an educational system that worked for the few but not for the many.
This frustration drove the change that occurred. The truth is a simple one: Enough is enough.
The timing couldn’t be better. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see on the horizon change that will impact the very soul of higher education in the Delta, Mississippi Valley State University. Construction on the site of the new presidential residence is at a standstill, the recent vote of “no confidence” in the president has generated an image nightmare, and the former governor’s recommendation to renew the merger/closure discussion are all signs of that change. The impact may well be a devastating one, particularly for the almost 400 employees whose livelihoods are at risk and the local economy that stands to lose more than $70 million in annual revenue.
Just as being rocket scientists is not required to perceive the imminent change, the mind set of rocket scientists is not necessary to understand that we must not sit idly by waiting to be consumed by that change. The only necessity is that of active engagement.
Just as we drove the change to save K-12 education, we must reach out to the decision makers in an effort to communicate with them (in a spirit of cooperation) that we want to preserve the Valley and ensure a direction that will give our citizens the greatest access to a 21st century global education. The community (as Valley’s major stakeholder) must be more meaningfully involved in determining the future of MVSU and the role of MVSU in the future of this community.
As citizens and taxpayers of Leflore County, none of us should feel that the institution “belongs to them” or that what we say or feel does not matter. We have a right and an obligation to be a positive force. Valley belongs to all of us.
The internal strife that now exists, coupled with the determination of individuals to advance their own personal agendas rather than the greater good of the students, makes it appear that the Valley is imploding, that there are those on the campus unwittingly (or wittingly) helping those who wish to close or merge the institution. That cannot happen.
The challenge of education and its impact on the quality of life for the Delta’s citizens is too great a purpose — Mississippi Valley’s mission is too great — for us to fail. We don’t say it often enough, but Valley pays tuitions, supports public education, buys cars and groceries and all those things that add to our quality of life in the Delta, in addition to readying students to compete in a global marketplace and positively impact their respective communities. And it has the potential to do more.
More importantly, Mississippi Valley State has been ordained to be here. That is bigger than any of us.
Is MVSU strong enough to withstand the challenge she faces? Is she as strong as she was in the previous battles to survive closure and merger discussions? I don’t know.
MVSU, though battered and bruised by declining enrollment and budget cuts over the past 10 years, is still standing. Dedicated faculty are engaged in research, challenging students to excel, and modeling scholarship. First-generation students are still learning. Quality programs are still gaining recognition for their innovation and contributions to scholarship. The more than 400 employees are still making a significant impact on our community’s economy. What once was a cotton patch remains a site where men and women, young and old, are discovering the power of education. These are the things that make Valley worth fighting for.
We have everything to gain by coming together as a community and speaking with one voice, all of us — black, white, Indian, Asian. We can get this right!
It’s time for a paradigm shift relative to higher education in our community. Being tired of the constant battle to fight off merger or closure is not enough; frustration must motivate us to get up and to speak up. It must drive the change needed just as it drove the change in K-12 education.
We can get this right once and for all!
I look forward to the day when columns like this don’t have to be written, when we can sit back and know with confidence that Mississippi Valley State University’s best days are ahead.
• Troy D. Brown Sr. is a contractor for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a former dean of student affairs at Mississippi Valley State University. His wife, Curressia Brown, is dean of the College of Graduate Studies at the university.
