Letter to the Editor
Included in this letter are excerpts from a letter I sent to various Mississippi State Representatives and State Senators on behalf of Valley. The full text of the letter was reduced to meet the space requirements of this newspaper. My cover email to the legislators stated that I am requesting their support in opposing any proposed performance-based funding formulas that would negatively impact HBCUs.
My name is Joe McFadden, a native of Panther Burn, MS, located in Sharkey County. I am a 1986 alumnus of Mississippi Valley State University and a 1992 alumnus of Mississippi State University. Please allow me to preface this letter by saying that I value the education provided by all institutions of higher learning in the state. Through my children’s participation in school activities, I was privileged to visit almost every community and senior college in the state, as well as numerous private schools. Our family has attended and/or earned degrees from several of the institutions.
I am compelled to share some concerns I have about planned proposals that will forever change the trajectory of and access to higher education in Mississippi, if passed by the Mississippi State Legislature and implemented by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL).
On December 10-11, 2025, I attended hearings of the joint House and Senate Universities and Colleges Committees at the Mississippi State Capitol. During the hearings, there was much discussion about changing the funding formula for the eight state-supported institutions of higher learning. In short, a performance-based formula would reward universities with highly technical fields of study (i.e., engineering and nursing) that produce graduates with much higher-than-average salaries and penalize universities for programs they do not and cannot offer. The Mississippi IHL prohibits duplication of some programs at some universities. It should be noted that MVSU had a renowned nursing program that was taken away.
The important caveat is that Mississippi Valley State University was founded as a teachers’ college to educate students in the Mississippi Delta and surrounding areas, to train educators, and to teach various trades to enhance workforce development.
During the early 1980’s, MVSU lost approximately half of its academic programs due to state-mandated budget cuts. However, the state is more fiscally sound today. Although the academic programs at MVSU have increased over the years, they pale in comparison to the programs that will be rewarded at other schools under a proposed funding formula.
MVSU is the youngest HBCU in the state and nation. However, because of historical underfunding, it has the oldest facilities of any state-supported college in the state. Such disparities in funding negatively affect student recruitment, scholarships, faculty and staff salaries, facilities, etc.
As alumni, we remain committed to advocating for our cherished University because it continues to provide education to many first-generation college students, including myself. It has allowed many of us to receive a quality education and rewarding careers, thus breaking the chain of generational poverty. The return on investment is evident in the quality of alumni that MVSU has produced. We make meaningful contributions to society in vast fields, thus enabling us to become major tax producers contributing to local, state, and national economies.
During the 1985-86 school year, I served as the MVSU Student Government Association President. Valley was targeted for closure due to state budget cuts. Funding was so limited that University officials served the lowest-cost foods in our cafeteria (i.e., Vienna sausages with breakfast food, as well as pork neckbones and chitterlings as meat options for dinner). We went weeks without heat in our dormitories during the winter due to a lack of funds to repair the heating system. Toiletries were rationed to students. After heavy rains, we had to wade across a street, due to an inadequate drainage system, to gain access to the cafeteria. This might be hilarious to some, but it was our reality!
Nonetheless, we remained steadfast, endured the inconveniences because we valued the quality education we were receiving at Valley, and we believed in delayed gratification. I am eternally grateful for my alma mater, which continues to provide access to a quality education to so many. Dr. Nathaniel Boclair, Sr., former Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Interim President of Valley, reminded us during our school closure crisis that the Latin definition of the word alma mater is “foster mother.” Valley is/was truly our mother away from home.
I respectfully requested that the legislature explore what financial resources are available from the state to bring parity in funding to Valley. We are not asking for a handout, but a hand up.
In his book, “Up From a Cotton Patch”, our founding President James Herbert White, stated that he “realized that only a superior education could enlarge men’s freedom and create in them, both black and white, a sense of human dignity, excellence, and economic and political security.”
As a reminder to the entire Valley family and her many friends, let’s do what we can, individually and collectively, to ensure that MVSU remains viable for untold future generations of students. With the utmost respect for each of you, I remain,
Yours truly,
Joe L. McFadden (MVSU 1986, Former SGA President)
