CLEVELAND, Miss.–The investiture ceremony for Delta State’s 9th president, Dr. Dan Ennis, was a joyful one, but was not without overtones about the university’s financial situation that will likely affect jobs, programs and the overall look of the school and its offerings.
After a promise that the state’s only aviation program would be protected by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, some of the speakers gave indications that their advocacy for jobs and vision had come into play when speaking with Ennis.
“We’ve had some tough conversations and there’s been some discussion that have been, uh, maybe a little bit difficult, maybe that have been hard to have,” said Chris Jurgenson, president of the Faculty Senate and professor of BioChemistry. “But, I can always say that Dan has been cool.”
Most of Ennis’s public appearances lately have involved discussions about the financial plight of Delta State, a university that in the new president’s own words, is a reflection of the Delta itself.
“This institution is in, of and for this community,” he said in his address after being installed. “Our roots, our virtues and yes, occasionally our failures, are expressions of our shared life.”
Ennis has not been shy about telling state lawmakers and staff that hard times are here for the institution because of declining enrollment and an expected enrollment cliff, in which enrollment is expected to fall across the country. He has also not been shy about his mission to financially right the school, and that that likely will entail the loss of jobs and possibly programs offered.
The future of this university requires that we all-students, administration, faculty, staff, alumni, community, accept our role and responsibility in maintaining, protecting and improving this place so that it can exist for another century, so it can help students for another century, so it can serve this community for another century,” he said.
Ennis has taken an oath to protect Delta State, an oath that may lead him into territory that other presidents have been able to avoid, or put off, or pretend that it would never happen.
