House Resolution 22

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING DR. CAROLYN W. MEYERS ON HER 5TH ANNIVERSARY AS THE 10TH PRESIDENT OF JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY.

WHEREAS, Dr. Carolyn W. Meyers, a native of Newport News, Virginia, mother of three adult children and grandmother of four, through years of hard work in the academic and administrative realms, became President of Jackson State University (JSU) in 2011; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Meyers has a tremendous vision of growth for JSU and has already expanded its impact with three new campus locations, increased course offerings for evening, weekend and online studies, and initiated the implementation of the nation's largest freshmen iPad initiative, which provided all first-year students with iPads to aid their coursework; and

WHEREAS, as JSU expanded, Dr. Meyers had the foresight to rebrand the university, opening a Veteran's Center, Office of Community Affairs and Welcome Center, receiving national acclaim for her campaign, which she hopes will continue until JSU lives up to the ideal of the "Urban University of Mississippi"; and

WHEREAS, while a vision of growth has been at the forefront of Dr. Meyers' strategy, the basic necessities of education has not been lost as Jackson State has earned a 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation in business, teacher education and engineering, welcomed record-breaking enrollment in the fall of 2015 and positioned the university to become a national model for educating the underserved and achieving global recognition for excellence in education, research and service; and

WHEREAS, a leader beyond measure, Dr. Meyers has brought an era of massive achievement to Jackson State receiving accolades from Apple, which named the university a "Distinguished School for 2013-2015 for innovation, leadership and educational excellence" and again for 2015-2017; and

WHEREAS, always a woman not afraid to go to unexpected places, Dr. Meyers earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Howard University, one of few women in science and engineering, a master's degree in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and she completed post-doctoral work at Harvard University; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Meyers did not merely get an education and keep her talents to herself, she has served within the engineering community as a fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and a board member of the American Council on Education and National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education; and

WHEREAS, a woman built for this role, Dr. Meyers brought to Jackson State more than 30 years of leadership experience in higher education, serving as President of Norfolk State University, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where she was a tenured professor of mechanical engineering and Dean of the College of Engineering; and

WHEREAS, not only did Dr. Meyers tear down barriers encountered by women as a student, she helped "break the glass ceiling" of women who chose a career in academia, as a tenured faculty member at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and she was the first Associate Dean for Research in its College of Engineering; and

WHEREAS, these many academic accomplishments of Dr. Meyers gave her the opportunity to publish and receive numerous honors and awards, which include giving more than 200 invited presentations and technical papers on education and diversity topics as well as research and technical topics, and she received the National Society of Black Engineers' Golden Torch Award and the National Science Foundation's Presidential Young Investigator Award; and

WHEREAS, possessing an impressionable kindred spirit of inspired wisdom, Dr. Meyers has a far reaching and lasting affect on all whom she encounters, capitalizing on her academic endeavors, which places her in a path to encounter students from various walks of life, not only to illuminate minds, but to brighten lives with rays of hope and encouragement; and

WHEREAS, as the president of an Historically Black College and University, that has molded the lives of numerous prestigious minority scholars, the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus deems it incumbent to acknowledge her invaluable service to the State of Mississippi, the membership of such consisting of: Jeramey Anderson, Juan Barnett, Willie Bailey, Earle Banks, Christopher Bell, Barbara Blackmon, Edward Blackmon, Jr., Cedric Burnett, Albert Butler, Credell Calhoun, Kimberly Campbell, Bryant Clark, Alyce Clarke, Angela Cockerham, Linda Coleman, Oscar Denton, Deborah Dixon, Jarvis Dortch, Tyrone Ellis, John Faulkner, Hillman Frazier, Karl Gibbs, Kabir Karriem, John Hines, Gregory Holloway, John Horhn, Robert Huddleston, Lataisha Jackson, Robert Jackson, Sampson Jackson, Robert Johnson, David Jordan, Carl Mickens, America Middleton, David Myers, Sollie Norwood, Orlando Paden, Willie Perkins, Omeria Scott, Derrick Simmons, Willie Simmons, Kathy Sykes, Angela Turner, Kenneth Walker, Rufus Straughter, Sara R. Thomas, Percy Watson, Tammy Felder Witherspoon, Sonya Williams-Barnes, Adrienne Wooten and Charles Young; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to honor and recognize the accomplishments of such an outstanding leader as Dr. Meyers, who is dedicated to serving the educational needs of our great state:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Dr. Carolyn W. Meyers on her 5th anniversary as president of Jackson State University and extend heartiest wishes for success in all of her future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Dr. Carolyn W. Meyers, Jackson State University and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.