Jackson top choice for Southern A.D.

Paula Jackson, a Southern graduate who has worked at six universities since 2001, is Chancellor James Llorens’ choice to take over as the school’s athletic director.

In a letter to Southern University System President Ronald Mason, Llorens said he’s had “initial discussions with Ms. Jackson regarding a contract,” and is “confident that we can quickly reach an agreement on compensation and contract terms.”

Her name will be presented to the Board Athletics Committee on Feb. 13.

Pat Magee, chairman of the board athletics committee, said he has no problem with Southern’s search process to this point, but declined to say whether he’d vote in favor of hiring Jackson.

“I haven’t 100 percent made up my mind,” Magee said. “It’s such a big issue, and I don’t think any board member would state (which way) they would specifically vote. ...

“Southern University athletics is in a tough place right now. But we do have a foundation. And I will tell you that as long as I’m on the board — and even after I’m not on the board — I will do everything possible to ensure we are going to return elite status within the SWAC.”

Attempts to reach Jackson, Llorens and Board of Supervisors chairperson Darren Mire were unsuccessful Saturday.

Her recommendation caps a long and somewhat strange search for a candidate to replace Greg LaFleur, who was fired shortly after his April 3 arrest on a misdemeanor prostitution count in Houston.

LaFleur sued the Southern Board of Supervisors on April 14 for breach of contract; that lawsuit is pending before state District Judge Todd Hernandez.

LaFleur was acquitted by a six-person jury last month.

Shortly before Thanksgiving, Llorens identified three finalists for the open athletic director’s job: Jackson; Floyd Kerr, the school’s athletic director from 2000-05; and John Robinson, executive director of student academic enhancement services at Texas Southern.

Kerr is currently the athletic director at Morgan State. Robinson had previously worked at the University of Houston, where he served as deputy athletic director and interim athletic director.

The three finalists had been interviewed by a 10-person search committee.

Attempts to reach Kerr and Robinson were unsuccessful Saturday.

A month after Llorens announced the three finalists, the SU System Board of Supervisors voted on a “continuation” of Sandy Pugh as interim athletic director while the search was extended.

Evidently, that search led Llorens back to Jackson.

“Even as I reviewed the qualifications on the three finalists, I continued to receive inquiries and recommendations for the position,” Llorens writes. “I considered those additional referrals but conducted no additional interviews.”

Jackson’s most recent job, according to her résumé, was at Alabama State.

She was there from February to November 2011, serving as senior woman administrator and assistant athletic director for compliance.

Before that, Jackson worked at Mississippi Valley State (2009-11), Lincoln University (2008-09), Savannah State (2005-08), Morehead State (2004-05) and Clark Atlanta (2001-03).

Her résumé also lists several other jobs in marketing and public relations.

“Ms. Jackson brings experience and commitment to the position,” Llorens writes. “She brings a variety of experience in collegiate athletics, including the areas of compliance and gender equity.”

Jackson earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern in 1986, as well as a master’s in business administration from Clark Atlanta in 1991.

In a letter to Llorens, Jackson included a 100-day plan and six-to-12-month plan she hopes to initiate at Southern if hired.

“A long-range vision must be developed that identifies where the Department of Athletics should be headed in this new millennium,” Jackson writes.

Magee, the athletics committee chairman, said it doesn’t matter to him if a candidate has previous ties to Southern.

“What I want is the best and the brightest,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to me if the candidate has a degree from the University of Phoenix, or the University of Timbuktu.”