The Mississippi Board of Education announced its unanimous selection for Superintendent of Schools yesterday: Dr. Tom Burnham, 56, who held the position from 1992 to 1997. Burnham replaces Interim Superintendent Dr. John Jordan, who took on the job when former-Superintendent Dr. Hank Bounds took the position of Commissioner for Higher Education in July.

"We are very pleased that Dr. Burnham has accepted the position of State Superintendent of Education," Mississippi Board of Education Chairman Bill Jones told WLOX Tuesday. "He is well liked by everyone and has served as State Superintendent in the 1990s. We expect him to come in and not miss a beat in implementing the programs to help the Board reach its goals."

Burham is currently the dean of the School of Education at the University of Mississippi, and will assume his new position by the end of the year.