Dr. Hank Bounds, commissioner of higher education for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning and one of four finalists for the University of Nebraska presidency, will visit the University of Nebraska at Kearney Dec. 9.
Bounds will appear at 3:30 p.m. at a UNK campus forum in the Nebraskan Student Union Ponderosa Room E. He will be available to meet with media at 4:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Student Union.
Bounds’ visit to Nebraska will include stops at each NU campus, where he will participate in forums open to all university faculty, staff and students and members of the news media and public; an interview with the full Board of Regents that will be open to the public; and meetings with other key university constituents.
Bounds will be joined on his visit by his wife, Susie.
Members of the media, university community and all Nebraskans are invited to the following opportunities to interact with Bounds and hear about his vision for the university. Following the visit, the Board of Regents invites Nebraskans to submit their feedback via an online form available at www.nebraska.edu/presidentsearch.
As commissioner of higher education, Bounds provides leadership for Mississippi’s university system, which includes four research and four regional universities, one academic health science center and the executive office. The universities include two land-grant universities, three historically black institutions, a law center, a School of Veterinary Medicine and 200 institutes and centers. Bounds manages the human, financial and physical resources of the university system, including 80,000 students, 26,000 faculty and staff, a $4 billion budget, and $200 million in private giving.
In Mississippi, Bounds has led efforts to reduce costs through energy and space efficiencies, technology acquisition and textbook pricing. He also worked with the Board of Trustees to implement a performance-based allocation model that rewards universities for operating efficiently and achieving attainment outcomes. On the legislative side, the Mississippi Legislature has provided an increase in appropriations and a three-year bond bill to help the universities plan for capital improvements.
Bounds facilitated the launch of the Mississippi Higher Education Opportunity Endowment, which works to secure funds to enhance program offerings, support faculty, improve campus facilities and provide scholarships at Mississippi’s historically black universities.
Bounds grew up in rural Mississippi before attending the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He earned a doctorate from the University of Mississippi.
-30-
Contact: Melissa Lee, 402-472-7127
