The commissioner of Mississippi’s Institutions of Higher Learning will continue his leadership for at least four more years with an added boost to his salary.
The IHL Board of Trustees unanimously voted to extend Dr. Al Rankins Jr.’s contract, allowing him to remain commissioner. Rankins’s new contract began Sept. 1, 2026, and will run until Aug. 31, 2030. In addition to four more years, Rankins also got a 5% boost to his annual salary, bringing it up to $463,050 a year.
“The Board of Trustees did conduct a formal performance evaluation of Commissioner Rankins prior to its vote to extend his contract. The evaluation and contract were discussed in executive session as a personnel matter,” Trustee Dr. Steven Cunningham. “Dr. Rankins has been a strong leader for our state’s university system since 2018, and we look forward to his continued leadership in the years to come.”
The IHL commissioner administers the board’s policies and works with institutional executive officers, state and government officials, businesses, and the public to promote and expand education in Mississippi. He advises the board in all matters pertaining to the state’s eight public universities and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Since accepting the position and succeeding current Ole Miss Chancellor Glen Boyce in 2018, Rankins has been credited with lowering the cost of and expanding electronic library resources, awarding academic credit for prior military service, and guiding Mississippi’s higher education system through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning in April 2020 in response to the pandemic’s onset, Rankins led the Safe Start Task Force, which recommended protocols, practices, and policies for Mississippi colleges and universities.
Throughout his tenure to date, Rankins has helped secure more than $2.1 billion for the IHL to support campus operations statewide.
Before becoming commissioner, the Alcorn State University and Mississippi State University graduate served as the 19th president of Alcorn State after serving as president of Mississippi Valley State University.
