Alcorn State University will begin classes as scheduled Monday morning, following the sad news of the death of Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr., on Saturday, August 19, 2006. An interim university president as well as the timeline for the search process for a permanent replacement will be announced shortly.

President Bristow was committed to changing the lives of his students through education,” said Dr. D.E. Magee, Jr., President of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. “He was an inspiration to the entire system of higher education in Mississippi. On behalf of the Board, we send our most sincere condolences to the entire Alcorn State family.

Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Thomas C. Meredith met this morning with Alcorn State’s senior administration to discuss the University’s plans as it copes to move forward. "Alcorn's decision to hold classes Monday will give students and faculty a venue to discuss this tragedy," said Commissioner Meredith. "It is a tribute to President Bristow's leadership style that the university can move ahead in the midst of this terrible loss."

Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr., 57, was named President of Alcorn State University on August 24, 1995. During his nearly eleven years as university president, Dr. Bristow was committed to increasing the percentage of minority students attending graduate and professional school, as well as increasing the public’s awareness and appreciation of the value of land-grant institutions. Under Dr. Bristow’s leadership, Alcorn State was the first and only of Mississippi’s historically black institutions to receive Ayers endowment dollars for its success in the area of diversity enrollment. Founded in 1871, Alcorn State University is the nation’s oldest public land-grant institution.

Under the leadership of the Board of Trustees, IHL governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi.

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