The Millsaps College Board of Trustees has named Frank Neville as its 12th president a little less than a year after the resignation of Rob Pearigen.
Neville was unanimously selected by the board’s 17-member search committee, which consisted of trustees, faculty, staff, alumni, and students. He will be tasked with tackling a dwindling enrollment issue the school has been facing.
“I am absolutely thrilled to join the Millsaps community,” Neville said. “I am tremendously inspired by Millsaps’ student-centric, mission-driven philosophy and look forward to moving the college resolutely forward Ad Excellentiam (in pursuit of excellence).”
The new president will be coming to Jackson after most recently serving as senior vice president of strategic initiatives and chief of staff at Georgia Tech.
At Georgia Tech, he developed and implemented their strategic plan, led efforts to improve administrative services, and implemented a culture change program to align leadership, performance, and policies with their strategic values. Neville also co-led the design of the Tech Square real estate expansion and created the Arts Square programmatic plan.
He is a cum laude graduate of Carleton College in political science, and he holds an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Before Georgia Tech, Neville served as chief of staff and vice president of communications and marketing at George Mason University. Neville was vice president for global communication and public affairs at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University before joining George Mason.
In addition to his work in higher education, Neville was a career diplomat for the State Department. He served in Taipei, Chengdu, Guatemala City, Beijing, and Nogales.
Neville succeeds Pearigen, who stepped down to serve as president of Sewanee: The University of the South.
Neville will begin his duties at Millsaps on June 17.
