Bianca Moorman / The Meridian StarRandall Bradberry, the new interim president of East Mississippi Community College  says he’s up to the challenge of leading the school.   

Editor’s note: A draft version of this story inadvertently appeared in the print weekend edition of The Meridian Star. This is the final version that was intended to be published. 

SCOOBA – The new interim president of East Mississippi Community College  says he’s up to the challenge of leading the school.  

Randall Bradberry will serve as EMCC’s leader until a new president is hired. 

Bradberry, who became director of athletics at EMCC in 2016, has extensive experience, according to the college. He worked 11 years with the Mississippi State Board for Community and Junior Colleges. After serving as the commissioner of athletics for the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges as well as executive secretary of the president’s association during his time in Jackson, Bradberry became the associate executive director for community college academic programs before retiring in 2008, according to EMCC. 

Bradberry said that during the transition period, his main focus is to make sure things are maintained until the college names a permanent president. Some of his goals include making sure students feel comfortable and focusing on day-to day-activities.

“If I didn’t feel like I was up to the challenge, then I would not have taken this job,” he said. 

Bradberry’s career in education goes back several decades. He said he’s always loved football, and believes that sports play an important role in society and at EMCC. 

The Sturgis native was an all-star quarterback for Hall of Fame football coach Bob “Bull” Sullivan at EMCC during the 1967 and 1968 seasons and later returned to for a successful 12-year run (1976-87) as the Lions’ head football coach.

He also served as EMCC’s director of athletics while adding responsibilities as the college’s dean of students and briefly serving as the school’s interim president before departing in 1988 for Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

Bradberry spent eight years at Co-Lin, where he held football coaching duties in addition to having served as the college’s director of institutional research while completing his doctorate degree in educational leadership with an emphasis in community colleges from MSU. In 2001, he was named to EMCC’s inaugural Sports Hall of Fame induction class, and in 2014, was inducted into the Mississippi Community and Junior College Sports Hall of Fame.

EMCC student Dalton Robinson said that from speaking to administrators, Bradberry is a good choice to lead the school. 

“Very confident and excited and hoping that he will help EMCC grow,” said Robinson.

Rocky Higginbotham, director of communications at EMCC, said that because  Bradberry was interim president before, he knows the ins and outs of the community college system.

 “I have no doubt he’ll do an excellent job and I believe all those who have worked previously with him will agree,” said Higginbotham.

Bradberry replaces Rick Young, who resigned Sept. 4 after serving as interim president since May 18 when Thomas Huebner resigned to pursue the presidency of Meridian Community College. Huebner, who succeeded Young in 2015, became MCC president in July. Young worked for EMCC for more than 40 years, assuming the presidency in 2004 until he retired in 2015.

The board will continue its search for a permanent president and accept applications until Oct. 31, according to the college.