The board of Mississippi’s Institutions of Higher Learning named George E. Ross the 17th president of Alcorn State University late Tuesday.

The announcement followed a day of interviews of the candidate by campus groups at Lorman, including students, faculty and alumni, and confirmed the selection of a candidate who for days had been referred to as the “preferred candidate” for the position.

Ross succeeds Clinton Bristow Jr., who died last fall.

“It’s been a long day,” Ross said after the announcement was made in the ballroom of the student union building. “I started at breakfast at 7. The long day got to be a better day, then the better day a good day, and now, with the decision of the Institutions of Higher Learning Board, it’s a great day.”

The 7 a.m. breakfast was in Natchez, attended by city and county government and civic leaders.

Ross, currently the vice president for finance and administrative services and treasurer at Central Michigan University, told the Natchez leaders that he believes in partnerships between cities and universities.

“I have worked very closely with local communities, and I believe in partnerships — civic partnerships, business partnerships and partnerships with education officials,” he said.

“I believe things will only begin to grow. Dr. Bristow began some good projects. I want to get to know those and I want to discover some new projects,” Ross said.

He will leave a university with a student population of about 27,000 to take the presidency of a university that has enrollment just under 4,000. The transition is not difficult, Ross said.

“I have learned that the functions and responsibilities are basically the same,” he said.

He listed income disparities among students, for one; and technology — “it’s pervasive, invasive, and we have to learn how to apply it,” he said.

“And there is raising money. I’ve been involved in that,” he said. In fact, he recently was involved in a successful $50-million campaign at Central Michigan.

“Alcorn has been serving Mississippi since 1871,” he said. “I’m going in to learn about that. It’s a proud moment for me and for my family, and I’m going to work hard at it.”

Page Ogden, president of B&K Bank, attended the breakfast meeting. He said the importance of Alcorn to Natchez is inestimable.

“Higher education in our community is one of the things that make it so viable and livable,” Ogden said.

“We’re so fortunate to have ASU in our town. A lot of people don’t think of Natchez as a college town. But we are, and I’m proud of that.”

Natchez Mayor Phillip West, an Alcorn alumnus, agreed. “It’s a major foundation for the growth of Natchez and Adams County. We know it’s going to be a very good relationship with Dr. Ross.”

Ross received some encouragement from Dr. James T. Coy III, manager of Natchez Pilgrimage Tours.

“Coming into Natchez from Kentucky, I found this a very welcoming place,” Coy said.

He cautioned, though, that some things do not change easily. “But if you hang in there, someone finally will follow you.”

Anthony Morris, superintendent of Natchez public schools, said the relationship with Alcorn is a vital link in education.

“One of the pluses for us in Southwest Mississippi is the partnership we have between K-12, community colleges and the university,” Morris said.

For Michael Winn, Natchez business owner and a past president of the local ASU alumni association, the chance to meet the new president was important.

“This is a great day for Natchez, Adams County and all of Mississippi,” Winn said. “We’re so blessed to have a person with such broad experience and intellect and all the tools for the job.”

Winn praised the board for the work done in the search for a president. “They had quite a few applicants. After hearing (Ross), I can see why he’s the front runner.”

Ross and his wife, Elizabeth, spent some time in Natchez. He said they “felt almost like residents. We ate our first meal in Natchez at the Natchez Coffee Company.”

Ross is a native of Utica and a graduate of Michigan State University in Lansing, where he received bachelor and master degrees in business administration.

He received a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and completed post-doctoral studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. He is a CPA.

He has been associated with Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Ala.

At Central Michigan, he also has taught at the graduate and undergraduate levels. And he has taught professional workshops for more than 10 years for the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the Southern Association of College and University Business Officers.