Mississippi School Boards Association elected Gemma Beckley president
Issue date: 1/11/03 Section: News
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Dr. Beckley, a member of the Holly Springs School District Board of Trustees since 1994 and vice president since 1996, was elected MSBA president by the Delegates Assembly of board member representatives from school districts across the state at their annual meeting in Jackson, Nov. 12.
Commenting on the challenges facing the school districts and board members, Beckley said, "It is crucial that we understand the variables impacting student achievement so that we will be positioned to lead our districts to top performance. As board members, we are challenged to be better prepared to manage our share of the responsibility for student achievement."
Beckley, has conducted extensive research and training in community development and cultural diversity issues. In September 2001, she was one of only three national presenters for a special nationwide satellite broadcast seminar, "The Marginalized Community: Bridging the Great Divide."
Beckley also has lectured extensively and provided consultation on cultural diversity and social issues, participating intimately with several initiatives to improve health, education and economic opportunities for women and minority populations.
Her work has taken her to China, the Middle East, India and other nations as a Fulbright-Hayes scholar conducting and directing faculty members from other colleges and universities across the nation in cultural research and in understanding cultural diversity issues.
Beckley, an author, researcher, trainer, federal grants reviewer and consultant, is active in a number of professional and social organizations including the National Association of Social Workers, Mississippi Heritage Trust, the Council on Social Work Education, the National Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors and Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. Sorority. Additionally, she is a member of the Mississippi Humanities Council Board of Directors, where she has served as chair and vice president.
She earned a Doctorate of Social Work from Columbia University in New York; a Master of Social Work (MSW) from Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Dillard University in New Orleans. She and her husband David have two grown daughters.
As new president of the Mississippi School Boards Association, Beckley will appoint four members to the MSBA Board of Directors to serve during her one-year term.
Other officers elected by the Delegates Assembly were Roosevelt Ulmer, Jr., of the West Jasper School District Board of Trustees, MSBA vice president; and Paul Chamblee, president of the Leake County School District Board of Trustees, as MSBA secretary-treasurer. Ulmer, a member of his local school board for 12 years, is a shipping clerk/traffic manager with Georgia Pacific in Bay Springs and Chamblee, on his local board for 10 years, is district manager with the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation.
The Delegates Assembly also elected/re-elected 12 members from across the state to the MSBA Board of Directors.
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