Photo by Courtesy Of Jackson State University

Carolyn Meyers was born a tinkerer. The worst spanking she can remember was the consequence of her taking apart a clock radio her mother had just bought.

That impulse to fiddle with systems may serve Meyers well come January, when she becomes the first female president of Jackson State University, at a time when the university faces a daunting budget situation. The former president of Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va., Meyers is accustomed to being a pioneer, having spent her career in the male-dominated field of engineering.

Meyers' hard-science background is evident in her reliance on data and her interest in the potential of technology to transform higher education.

"I still feel comfortable if I've got some data to back (a decision) up—some real, hard evidence," she told an audience of JSU faculty at a Dec. 1 listening session. "I'm not much on anecdotal evidence."

Meyers is an adept communicator, however, equally at ease quoting a Langston Hughes poem or dropping a sound bite.

"This is not Meyers University; this is Jackson State University," she said, in response to a faculty question about her vision for JSU over the next five years. "You have given significant parts of your lives to make this university what she is today, so I want to hear your best ideas about ways to develop a shared vision."

Meyers, 64, grew up in Newport News, Va., where she attended public schools. Meyers received her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Howard University. After working for General Electric as a systems and steam generator analyst, she enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in chemical engineering. She taught engineering and held administrative positions at Georgia Tech and, later, at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University.

Like Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T is a historically black university. In remarks to JSU administrators, Meyers said that teaching there confirmed to her the special nature of HBCUs.

"It felt like home, where I belonged," Meyers said. "But more than that, it was where I wanted to be. The wonderful thing was I understood what teaching at an HBCU was all about. I never worked harder at Georgia Tech than I did teaching a class at North Carolina A&T. Also, I never experienced the kind of enthusiasm that I experienced at A&T and Norfolk State anywhere else."

Meyers eventually rose to the position of provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at North Carolina A&T. She took over the president's post at Norfolk State in 2006.

Early in her tenure at Norfolk State, the university's faculty approached her with a proposal for pay raises—$10,000 for each full and associate professor and $5,000 for assistant professors. While Meyers agreed that faculty were underpaid, she objected to salary increases based on longevity rather than performance. She also believed that the university could not afford the pay raises, which would take an additional $1.5 million out of the budget. Meyers presented the faculty with a choice: They could forego the pay raise, or they could take it and close one of the university's schools or colleges to save the required funds. The faculty acquiesced.

While at Norfolk State, Meyers boosted enrollment and established an honors college and a school of graduate and professional studies. She also made moves that ruffled some feathers, such as switching administrators from 12-month to six-month contracts. In November 2009, Morgan State University—a HBCU in Baltimore, Md.—named Meyers one of three finalists for its presidency. Meyers did not get the job, however, and in December, she announced her resignation from Norfolk State.

Meyers comes to Jackson State at a time when competition from online institutions poses a threat to brick-and-mortar universities' student base, and state funding for universities is stagnant. She recognizes the challenge, however. Fundraising must become "everybody's business," she told faculty and the university must "rally a sense of urgency" among its supporters. At the same time, JSU needs to develop more confidence in presenting itself as a leading research institution, she said.

"I think we have the talent to take some leadership here," Meyers said. "I think we've maybe got to develop the will."

Why did you apply to Howard for your undergraduate education? Were you seeking out HBCUs?
No I wasn't, but at the time, Howard was the only HBCU that was accredited in engineering, and I had decided that I wanted to major in engineering. My father felt that I needed some socialization skills, and that it would be best for me—and he was right, very wise—to go to an HBCU for undergrad. So I went there.

What drew you to engineering?
The summer before my senior year in high school, NASA and the National Science Foundation had a summer science institute for rising seniors in aerospace engineering. At that time, the manned spacecraft center was at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va. So I went to the summer science institute. We got to meet the seven original astronauts. We got to play, if you will, with some of their equipment and testing vehicles. Then, Dr. George Matthews from the University of Virginia took us back to the classroom and showed us the math behind what we had done. That was the first time I had ever realized what you could do with mathematics. That was the start of my love affair with engineering.

Engineering has never been a particularly female-friendly field. How aware were you of that expectation—that women wouldn't go into engineering?
The high-school guidance counselor told me she didn't know any women engineers or even any African American ones, but that didn't bother me. You know how it is: When you're in high school and you're graduating, you're just so confident about everything. It didn't bother me at all at the time.

What about later? Did you ever experience that gender imbalance?
Oh, yes. I realized that in graduate school and in the work force. I experienced it firsthand. I've had many experiences with that. But of course, when you think of something that's new and different, and in many cases, when you're the first one, you realize that by being the first, you make it easier for others to follow.

Why is it important to get women into fields like math, science and engineering?
First of all, we live in a world that's been invaded by high technology, by all the benefits of science and engineering and been enhanced by it. This is just the world we live in, and it's going to continue changing our lives the way it has at a faster and faster pace. Now to be involved in that change, to use technology and science and engineering to make life better for people, requires that you engage the most talented people available. So it's important that we seek talent from all sectors of society.

On a related point, what about African Americans? What's the significance to getting more African Americans involved in those fields?
If you look at world demographics, the world is increasingly dominated by people of color. It's important that we have people of color involved in the design and the implementation of new technologies of tomorrow.

Do you miss research?
Oh, I miss it so much. There's nothing like that thrill you get from doing research and sharing it with people and hearing their responses and learning from them—and broadening your research with information other people have. I inspected the mechanical properties of structural materials, non-ferrous aluminum alloys.

Tell me about your time at Norfolk State. What are you most proud of there?
I'm very proud of the fact that our athletes were scholar-athletes and had the best academic progress rate in the conference. I'm very proud of the honors college that we started. I'm very proud that we got the largest single gift in the history of Norfolk State, a $3.5 million gift from an anonymous donor. I'm very proud that during my time there we did five accreditations, and we were affirmed on all of them.

During the campus listening session, a dean brought up the fact that JSU has relatively low NCAA Academic Progress Rate. What kind of things work to make sure that athletes are performing well in the classroom?
I haven't had the opportunity to review any documentation or discuss this with anyone at Jackson State, so I really can't speak to what the problems are or how we could solve them at this point with any confidence.

What did you do at Norfolk State to address athletes' academic performance?
Well, we had honorary coaches from the faculty that actually traveled with the team and reinforced the role of academics. They did academic coaching. We had special, required tutoring sessions.

Are there particular institutions or places that don't regularly donate to HBCUs that could be tapped?
I think we have to go after those. We have to do a good selling job as to what we do, the outcomes of what we do and the benefits to society in general. I think there are donors out there, that if they knew the contributions that HBCUs make, that Jackson State makes in particular, the learning that goes on there, the investment in society, they'd be willing to donate.

How did you increase freshmen enrollment and retention?
We made recruiting and retention everybody's business. We actually shared the responsibility around the whole campus. We evaluated units and programs based on enrollment and retention rate. We made it one of the criteria for receiving funds and being a viable part of the university. Also, we formed a joint enrollment team that met regularly to share ideas and resources. Before, it had mostly been each one working in isolation.

After you submitted your resignation to Norfolk State, The Virginian-Pilot ran an article suggesting that you were experiencing some increased tension with the Board of Trustees over admissions standards. You told The Clarion-Ledger that this was basically inaccurate. Why did you decide to leave Norfolk State?
We had a rocky relationship from the start. The university is a fine university. As I progressed through my tenure, the tension increased and escalated to a point that I felt it was in the best interests of the university for me to step aside, so that we could focus on growing the university.

Could you elaborate on the reason for those tensions?
No, I don't want to elaborate on them.

What arguments would you present to state leaders who are skeptical or tight-fisted about supporting HBCUs?
Let me refer you to an op-ed piece that was written by President William Harvey at Hampton University for The Wall Street Journal. I think he quite eloquently made the case for HBCUs. Let me say I'm a strong supporter of HBCUs. Even though we're only 4 percent of the universities across the nation, we educate 20 percent or more of the African American professionals in the country. Our contributions are disproportionate to our number. I would argue that we need all of them, that we serve a role that other universities don't serve—for access, affordability, meeting students where they are—working with them so that they can be competitive and contributing members to society.

To the lay observer, there might be a tension or a balancing act between meeting students where they are and pushing for a world-class or elite status. How do you balance those two aims?
I recognize that tension, but I think it's more of a problem of getting people to realize and accept that it's part of our history and our legacy that we're serving a need of the citizens of Mississippi. Serving that need is not mutually exclusive to our continued growth and development, and the earning of recognition and respect for the university. They're not mutually exclusive. You have to work harder, maybe you have to work longer, but it still can be done.

You mentioned during the listening session that you're reliant on data in your decision-making. How have you used data, and are there places where its value is limited?
I use data such as enrollment trends, recruitment trends, job placement, external support, scholarly activities, leadership in the disciplines or in the area. But I do realize that there are some areas that are inherent to having a great university, where data do not tell the whole story. We try to balance those, but I am very focused on data.

How would you consider the needs of a university to grow in terms of campus development with the needs of the community around it?
I think an important part of most HBCUs is the relationship with the community around it. In both cases, universities have been catalysts for community development, for community interaction and sanctuaries, if you will, for intellectual and free expression. So community relations are quite, quite important. They do not limit us broadening that community, now that we have all of this telecommunications capability and video capability. We can take our programs, our professors far beyond the strict geographic boundaries of the university.

I noticed you quoted Langston Hughes at the listening session. That's not how everyone imagines an engineer. Where does that come from—your flair for the poetic?
I love to read. That's something my mother passed on to me. I read a lot, and she exposed me to a lot growing up. I think my exposure may be atypical, perhaps, for some engineers. But on the other hand, when you look at the accrediting requirements for engineering and technology programs, they have a broad liberal-arts requirement, and they've always had one.

I've read that at Norfolk State you instituted a different contract for administrators, going from a 12-month contract to a six-month contract. Tell me why you felt that was necessary.
One thing was that the evaluation period is in November there, so you're already into the school year. I wanted it on a six-month basis so that we could have some feedback, improve and make some changes before the next school year started. I wanted an evaluation period before the next school term started so that we could make adjustments and make improvements as a part of that year's evaluation process, instead of the once a year. I also wanted the flexibility that I was used to in the state of North Carolina—where I'd worked previously—where all at-will employees, those that serve at the pleasure of the chancellor, get shorter than one year's notice if the change has to be made.

So what positions are we talking about?
These were the people who report directly to the president: the vice presidents. It did not affect deans, chairs, faculty.

I've also read that you had to deal with a proposed light-rail development while at Norfolk State. What did you learn about development from that?
Well, first of all, the main issue there was not that we were opposed to the light rail at all, or the economic development, but the way that the agreement with Norfolk State was done. It was done outside of the code of the state of Virginia, so it needed to be revisited. Also, there was concern about the impact of the light rail on the campus. There are no sound or sight barriers. It goes right by the honors dormitory. It is within 30 feet of the stadium, which we still had substantial debt service to pay. So we were worried about the structural integrity of our facility.

What is your philosophy about economic development around a university?
I think, when they're done right, it's a win-win for the community as well as the university. They should benefit both.

What ensures that a project's done right?
That's verifying that all state laws and processes have been respected, also a lot of communication, in developing the agreement, with the president and the board. (The light-rail project) had never been brought before Norfolk's Board of Visitors, even though the agreement had been executed. And it should've come through the board, because it involved the exchange of state property.

A couple years ago, a residential project proposed by JSU ended up inflaming some in the community over eminent-domain issues. What's the best way to elicit community participation on development issues?
One of the techniques that seemed to be working before I left Norfolk State was the scheduling of regular meetings with the community to update them on activities and plans for the future, to solicit their input, to keep them aware of our thoughts and where we were going.

What's going to be your first task when you get settled here at Jackson State?
My first task is to learn the culture of Jackson State. So I'll be involved in meeting with a lot of the people on campus and friends of the university on and off campus.

A repeat of the listening session.
That's what I want: some listening sessions. The previous meeting that I had, during the interview process, was them asking me questions, and I didn't learn a whole lot, other than some of the concerns. I want to hear: What are the concerns? What are some of the good ideas? What are the opportunities from the different constituencies? I want to meet with the executive cabinet, the deans, the faculty senate, the staff senate and, of course, the students and the community. So I've got a lot of listening to do.

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