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ITTA BENA, Miss.—��������’s Dr. Johnny D. Jones, assistant vice president and dean of University College, has been on the go presenting and participating in several premier academic conferences. 

On April 14-16, Jones was among the scholars invited to participate in The Center for Advancing Opportunities (CAO) conference in Washington D.C.

This conference focused on higher/K-12 education reform, economic empowerment, and criminal justice research.

“As an invited scholar, it was a pleasure to share ideas that will enhance education in the Mississippi Delta and learn more about how �������� can be a catalyst for economic empowerment and educational enlightenment for citizens in our state,” said Jones. 

“My experience at this conference confirmed my responsibility as a higher education administrator to serve, not be served,” he added.  

In April, Jones also traveled to Toronto, Canada, for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference, a premier conference for educators. 

During this event, Jones chaired a discussion with colleagues on a topic focused on moving from “Barriers to Learning” to “Barriers for Learning”.

“I had the opportunity to share my research with colleagues from multiple countries and to help to add to MVSU’s global recognition,” he said. “As an academician, it is imperative we engage in adding value to the academy; this conference allowed me to do so,” Jones added. 

Participants in the AERA Conference included representatives from Cornell University, McGill University, The University of Alabama, Uppsala University, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, University of Toronto, Texas Tech University, and the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching. 

In March, Jones served as the lead presenter along with Dr. Jerrick L. Hornbeak (co-presenter) for a presentation that explored academic success and retention research using the "March2Success" program at the 2019 NACADA Region 4 Conference in Mobile, Ala. 

The presentation, entitled “Leveraging Academic Student Success, through March2Success,” aimed to help students, parents, families, communities, and institutions of higher learning find the balance for personal empowerment, academic enlightenment and economic efficiency. 

“This was an opportunity to share the success MVSU is having with the March2Success program and the partnership with the U.S. Army. Since that presentation, we have shared our research with other regional institutions,” Jones said. 

Jones explained that too frequently, many families have misconceptions about the benefits and the return on investment a higher education provides.

“��������’s University College and other regional K-12 institutions that have used March2Success have advanced student academic performance, increased ACT and SAT scores, eliminated budget constraints related to funding remediation and developmental course, and provided students with a confident pathway of graduating ‘one semester at a time,’” he said.