酴圖弝け VP Zant to retire, Potts named to interim post
Contact: Sid Salter and Harriet Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.Veteran 酴圖弝け Vice President for Finance and Administration Don A. Zant has announced his pending retirement effective June 30, and 酴圖弝け President Mark E. Keenum has named current 酴圖弝け Associate Vice President for Administration Les Potts as interim vice president.
In 2019, Keenum announced a reorganization that established the current Division of Finance and Administration, led by Zant. Leading that division, Zant oversees offices that handle the institutions financial planning, budgeting, accounting, procurement and contracts, as well as transportation and capital infrastructure planning, design, construction and maintenance of facilities and grounds.
Don Zants long and distinguished career at 酴圖弝け has provided him an exhaustive knowledge of our financial operations and our administrative structures, said Keenum. To say that Dons wise counsel and expertise will be missed is a vast understatement. Don has served Mississippi State ably and well for many years and we wish him and Andrea all the best in their retirement years.
Potts was a key figure in the reorganized division. Keenum said: I have complete confidence in Les and am certain he will provide the university with the continuity of operations and stability that is needed during this time of transition. Les already has a strong working relationship with the universitys leadership team.
Zant was the recipient of a statewide leadership honor given annually by the Mississippi Business Journal. He received the MBJs 2021 Leader in Finance award which recognizes those who have helped in shaping the finance, banking and accounting sectors in the state. Launched in 2013, award nominations are submitted by the winners peers, professional acquaintances and finance community innovators.
Before joining 酴圖弝け in 1997, he served as assistant director of internal audit at Texas Tech University and as senior auditor with a private firm. He began his 酴圖弝け duties as director of internal audit, was named vice president for budget and planning in 2010 and was vice president for finance and CFO prior to the 2019 reorganization.
His management practices have helped the university maintain a strong financial position, even amid challenging circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a magna cum laude accounting graduate of Lubbock Christian University.
For the past 14 years Les Potts has worked in 酴圖弝けs Division of Finance and Administration on appropriations and budgets, contracts, efficiencies, and on multiple special projects, many of which involved campus operations and infrastructure.
Potts served as 酴圖弝けs point person on the $70 Million College View complex that opened in 2018, a first-of-a-kind public-private partnership among Mississippi universities. Since January of 2020, he has served as associate vice president for administration with administrative oversite of all campus operations including facilities, utilities, custodial services, faculty and staff housing, campus master planning, design, construction, landscape and transportation.
He serves on various committees at 酴圖弝け including the Master Plan Development Advisory Committee, Design Review Subcommittee, Parking and Traffic Committee, Crisis Action Team, Transformation Management Team, Game Day and Special Events Committee, and Video Management System Committee.
He is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, and Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. He lives in Starkville with his wife Holly, an instructor and advisor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Their daughter, Claire, is currently a sophomore at 酴圖弝け, and their daughter, Anna Leslie, is currently a senior at Starkville High School with plans to attend 酴圖弝け in the fall.
For more information on 酴圖弝けs Division of Finance and Administration and its programs, visit .
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