Larry Sparks, vice chancellor for administration and finance, will retire at the end of 2020, according to a statement from the university.
Sparks, who has worked at the university since 1997, also served as interim chancellor from January 2019 until the following October. He also worked as deputy assistant commissioner for finance and administration for the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL). In 2019, Sparks told The Daily Mississippian that his job as vice chancellor gave him an opportunity to truly understand the university and its students.
“I think one of the things that has helped tremendously is the number of years I’ve been here, the relationships I’ve built and — no other way to say it — the love of the institution,” Sparks said.
Sparks’s job included a vast number of responsibilities including tuition. budget and landscape services, campus mail and airport operations.
“We don’t just buy utilities; we are the utility,” Sparks said. “It’s a different aspect, and individuals outside the university may not think of that, just as an added level of complexity.”
The university statement said that a search committee has been assembled and will identify his replacement. This committee includes Dr. Mark Wilder, dean of the school of accounting; Provost Noel Wilkin, Charlotte Pegues, interim vice chancellor for student affairs; Meagen Rosenthal, chair of the Faculty Senate and Jason Shirkey, chair of the Staff Council.
