IHL offers few words, little clarity after meeting

The state College Board stayed in closed session for almost two hours Friday afternoon discussing Ole Miss chancellor Dan Jones' contract.

Officials had little to say afterward.

"We're in discussions but those won't take place in the media," said IHL Commissioner Jim Borsig. "Chancellor Jones and I are in agreement on this."

Borsig did not reveal whether the Board took any action. Members are under no legal obligation to do so until the agenda is published for the next meeting, currently scheduled for April 16.

Jones says he remains in talks over his job status.

"It's likely going to take a couple of days for us to consummate our discussion," Jones said in a phone interview Friday morning. "He and I don't want to negotiate through the media."



The meeting comes after three days of negotiations between Jones and the Board aimed at extending Jones' contract beyond September, when it expires. The Board voted one week ago to order Jones to prepare for a search his replacement, essentially not renewing his contract.

Contracts for university heads usually last for four years. Sources close to Jones' side of the negotiations say he would have been required to resign after those two years — an offer he rejected. Other sources have cited a requirement that he acknowledge there were contract procurement violations at University of Mississippi Medical Center. A promise to correct those would be another contract condition, sources said.

Jones has reportedly counter-offered that he would accept the two-year offer and agree to a full review of his work by the board. If the board still wanted him out at that point, he would willingly resign.

Negotiations that started Tuesday continued Thursday involving Jones, Borsig and others. The College Board voted last week for Jones to begin preparations to search for his successor, essentially not renewing his deal.

On Wednesday, Borsig flew on a university jet from Jackson to Oxford, where he met with Jones, returning about 7:30 p.m. No deal was struck, and negotiations continued Thursday. Neither Jones nor Borsig could be reached Thursday for comment.

Since Jones' ouster, former Gov. William Winter has been talking to Jones, Borsig, College Board members and other interested parties. "I believe they have the common sense to make the right judgment," he said. "I just feel there is a spirit out there trying to solve the problem."

He hopes that Jones can remain as chancellor.

"I'm hoping for that result and that the board will move forward and Dr. Jones will move forward," he said. "This is not just for the University of Mississippi, but all the universities have a stake in this."

If this is not worked out, "everybody's going to be the loser," he said. "The state of Mississippi is going to be the loser."

In a meeting Monday, College Board members cited as its reason for not renewing Jones' deal contract management problems at University of Mississippi Medical Center, issues Board vice president Alan Perry said had "existed for years" and were spelled out in an audit the Board commissioned last year.

Contracts in excess of $250,000 and leases more than $100,000 were not presented for board approval before their execution, were two examples of what Perry said were symptoms of a medical center that was "not very efficient."

A crowd of 80 or so people who filled the IHL boardroom did not buy the explanation, among them former Netscape founder and CEO Jim Barksdale.

"You don't fire the CEO for the reasons they cited," he said afterward.

The anger grew from there. Sen. Gray Tollison and Rep. Brad Mayo, Republicans whose districts include Oxford, where both live, introduced legislation that would establish a study committee to examine the possibility of separate boards at each of Mississippi's public universities that would have been responsible for decisions like hiring executives.

A petition that hit the floor of the state House of Representatives Monday had a majority of the 122 members' signatures within minutes.

The Ole Miss Faculty Senate passed a resolution urging the College Board to reconsider that was two abstentions away from being unanimous. Former student body presidents former Daily Mississippian editors urged the same.

Wednesday, the unrest manifested itself into 2,500 people rallying in front of the Lyceum on Ole Miss' campus. University officials said it was the largest student-led protest at the school in at least 40 years.

Contact Clay Chandler at (601) 961-7264 or cchandler@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @claychand on Twitter. Contact Jerry Mitchell at (601) 961-7064 or jmitchell@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @jmitchellnews on Twitter.