MTSU alumnus Rodney Bennett has been named the first black president of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Rodney Bennett

The university voted Thursday, Feb. 7, to appoint Bennett as its 10th president, the Associated Press reported.

Bennett, 46, is the vice president of student affairs at the University of Georgia. A Tennessee native, Bennett worked earlier at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and MTSU.

Bennett holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MTSU and an educational doctorate from Tennessee State University.

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In a recent interview with reporters posted on tennessean.com, Bennett said:

“I think the trajectory that the university is on lends itself to a possibility of changing the trajectory of higher education in Mississippi and the Southeast.”