Like many institutions of higher learning across the state and country, Mississippi Delta Community College is poised and ready to address the issues of enrollment while meeting the needs of potential students and keeping them and the faculty and staff safe during the pandemic.
Sitting in the thick of the struggle is the newly positioned Special Assistant to the President, Ben Cloyd. Although the Ohio native has spent the last 16 years of his life working within the junior college system, he has only recently migrated to the Delta.
In his new role, carved out by President Tyrone Jackson, as it relates to furthering the growth of the college, Cloyd is charged with making sure there are no gaps, making sure things connect and make sense, plus making sure that everything being done is tightly focused on the students.
His immediate focuses are revitalizing the Greenville Higher Education Center. Working in conjunction with the dean, Cloyd said, “We’re looking at how to maximize that facility and make sure we’ve got great partnerships and relationships with Greenville and Washington County and beyond.”
Something already in the works is the implementation of a new physical therapy training program to give quality preparation to people while keeping them close to home.
In addition to that, institutional research and effectiveness is also on his list. In that role he serves as the point of contact with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
According to Cloyd, there’s lots of data gathering and internal reporting and making sure proper records and other documentation are being kept and submitted in a timely manner, as needed. "So for SACSCOC, I am the point person basically,” he said.
Cloyd said he basically wears three hats as it relates to his duties and the third helmet of responsibility is enrollment. He said it all entails meeting people, finding new opportunities, getting the lay of the land and being on the lookout for new opportunities for the college.
He said he doesn’t feel pressured to “reinvent or rediscover” because the college has already been successful. "The real good news about all of this is, it's already been a great place for a long time."
"The beauty of working for a community college is that we truly serve students in the community in a way that most institutions talk about, but can't actually do and that's the point of working at a place like Mississippi Delta Community College," Cloyd said.
Adding that you get to spend your time—blood sweat and tears—in a way that really matters.
Cloyd's familiarity with community colleges began in 2004 as a history teacher at Hinds Community College. From that, he became the honors program director at Hinds, working mainly with the Phi Beta Kappa honor society members. And that led him to a role as the academic dean at the school, a position he held until coming to MDCC July 1.
While serving at Hinds in Raymond in 2019, Floyd became involved with the accreditation side of academia, initiating his association with SACSCOC.
Cloyd, whose educational background is in history, finished his undergraduate studies in Ohio, but attended grad school at Louisiana State University.
He explained that it was his study of the Civil War that encouraged that decision. "My thought process and why I chose to come south for graduate school was, it's very difficult to write about something if you only see it from a certain perspective. You've got to be able to immerse yourself in it. So, I made kind of the intentional decision to come south and go to graduate school."
Cloyd said it was there that he met his wife and as he puts it, “life kicked in.” His wife, a Mobile, Alabama native, reportedly told him quickly that anybody that lived north of Interstate 20 was a Yankee. "So, I've been down here ever since. One thing kind of led to another, I got my degrees and wife and family out of LSU, I'll always be grateful," he said.
Having experienced 22 years of northern culture and now 22 years of life in the south, Cloyd said the most difficulty he had in acculturation was in dealing with the heat. "I moved to Baton Rouge in August, I pulled in my moving van at noon and about five minutes later started seeing black spots in front of my eyes, like it got hot and sweaty fast," he said.
Although he has experienced both worlds (north and south), Cloyd said he is of the opinion that he may not actually belong to either. “Because I know I can't truly claim to be a southerner and I haven't really lived up in the north for a long time,” he remarked jocularly.
"Early on at Hinds, I told one of my students I was from Cleveland and she said, 'no you're not.' I realized I was from the wrong Cleveland. I learned very quickly Cleveland, Ohio is not the same as Cleveland, Mississippi," Cloyd said.
He is quick to say that what he's found most accommodating about the south are its people. "Tremendous people, definitely more welcoming, more open, in a lot of ways more honest and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," said Cloyd.
For someone who says he never set out to be the assistant to the president, something that he didn’t go to school for, Cloyd said, “I feel like, if you honor what's in front of you, opportunities come and the best way to spend your life is by working for the good of as many people as possible." He credits that as what brought him to community colleges and eventually to MDCC.
Having spent the last 16 years at Hinds, Cloyd said his friends are what he’ll miss most, along with the familiarity and the people. He said over time you learn where you can find the good and find the bad, but says that is also part of the challenge of starting new at MDCC. "I feel a real sense of rejuvenation to apply a similar trade, but do it surrounded by a new cast of characters."
Cloyd praised the accomplishments of the college and said he has been delighted by the sense of purpose and the real understanding of the value of what the college does on a day-to-day basis. He said that has served as “confirmation” of his decision to switch institutions. “The camaraderie and quality of work at MDCC has been really impressive,” he said.
Cloyd said he is not anticipating any radical changes. His methodology entails respecting the history and traditions of the place and talking to the people to find out what has and has not been working as well as it could have been in the past.
Referencing the fact that Jackson is also fairly new in his tenure, he said that he does expect some changes to come. However, "It's more about partnerships with local businesses, local industries, local K-12 and making sure that we are listening to everybody around us so that we can provide the best possible services," Cloyd said.
Keeping safety as paramount, Cloyd said they are moving heaven and Earth to try to provide an environment that meets the needs of the students. He said enrollment is extremely important, especially during the pandemic because people have to make hard choices right now.
He said the college is always going to be there to serve and to provide and one of the ways is through the varying opportunities for students, including full face-to-face, virtual learning, and a hybrid method.
Additionally, so that people will never feel like they've missed their opportunity to start college, Cloyd said they're taking on students at non-traditional times whether the student wants to start in September, October or January. "We’re trying to fight to make this place as accessible and equitable as it can be for every single person."
He said the college is trying to provide an entry point for anyone that is interested in furthering their education. There are even educational opportunities for those who are incarcerated.
“If you're thinking on how to make school work for you and your time and circumstances, talk to us,” he said. Cloyd said there are lots of ways to reach out to the college whether coming to the campus personally, through video conferencing or telephone calls.
He said the college's goal is to be there for everybody; however, he understands that they may not be the right fit for everyone. Nevertheless, they are keeping their opportunities, class offerings and other factors relevant.
Having started at the college on July 1, Cloyd is still doing a daily commute from Jackson. "It's a good time for me, I get to see the sunrise in the morning and the sunset in the evening.” He said it's a good time for him because it gives him an opportunity to think on what lies ahead, do some reflections and prayer, listen to sermons and get his mind ready for the day.
And then on the way home, he’s able to decompress and listen to music, which is one of his hobbies because he is also a guitarist. He said his goal is simple, to be the best that he can be for the people that are right in front of him at that moment whether at the college or at home.
Although his four young children command a great deal of his attention (two 10-year-olds, a six-year-old and a three-year-old) when away from the college, Cloyd said he relaxes by walking the dog, exercising, riding his bike and listening to a ton of music.
Cloyd said he feels really welcomed at MDCC and is appreciative of the opportunity to be there. He said the people have been very welcoming from the beginning.
