Skip to main content

Delta State President Re-elected Chair of the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools for a third term

By December 15, 2011General

Dr. John M. HilpertDelta State University President Dr. John M. Hilpert was re-elected to the prestigious position of Chair of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) last week at the organization’s annual conference held in Orlando, Fla.  More than 4,200 delegates attended the meeting, representing the 800 colleges and universities of the SACSCOC region.

“It is a privilege that peers have elected me to serve in this role,” Hilpert said.  “Accreditation is higher education’s self-regulatory process for assuring quality and providing an interface between institutions and the federal government.  SACSCOC is seen as a leader among the regional accrediting commissions.”

Hilpert will serve a third one-year term.  He assumed the duties of chair in early 2010.  He is one of only two Mississippi university presidents to hold the position with the educational accreditation agency, and joins the ranks of a very small number of people who have been elected for three one-year terms.  

As chair, Hilpert is also an ex officio member of the boards of both the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions and the overarching organization that coordinates the work of SACSCOC and AdvancEd, the regional accreditor for elementary and secondary education.   During this coming year, SACSCOC must work through its own accrediting process with the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, seeking continuing recognition of its official status from the U.S. Secretary of Education.

"I am truly pleased that the Board has elected Dr. Hilpert as Chair for another  term,” said Commission President Dr. Belle S. Wheelan. “ His knowledge of Commission policies and procedures, thoroughness in preparing for meetings, and genuine sense of humor have made it a joy to work with him."

Under Hilpert’s leadership, Delta State has experienced significant facility renovation and development, including the recent completion of a new residence hall and an apartment complex for faculty, staff, and married students. The Foundation’s endowment has grown, and the organization set a new record for annual fund dollars last year.  In 2009 Delta State became one of eight host sites for a Teach For America summer training institute.  It is the only rural site and has grown to be one of the largest institutes in terms of new corps members trained annually.

Throughout his career, Hilpert has provided leadership for various organizations on boards, task forces, and committees. He was appointed in 2004 by Governor Haley Barbour to serve on Mississippi’s Council for Education Technology. As a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, he served as an appointee to both the Commission for the Rural/Regional Agenda and the Task Force on Teacher Education, as well as being elected to the organization’s Council of State Representatives for both South Dakota and Mississippi.  In 2008, he was elected president of the Mississippi Association of Colleges and Universities, an organization of all public and private, two-year and four-year postsecondary institutions in the state.  

The SACS Commission on Colleges is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states.  The Commission’s mission is the enhancement of educational quality throughout the region and it strives to improve the effectiveness of institutions by ensuring that institutions meet standards established by the higher education community that address the needs of society and students.  It serves all postsecondary institutions in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.  It also serves institutions in Latin America and at other international sites approved by the Commission on Colleges.