Dr. Jesse J. Killingsworth Sr. retired from Hinds Community College after a 35-year career on the Utica Campus but he is still continuing to serve, now as a member of the Hinds Community College Foundation Board of Directors.
He worked for Utica Junior College from 1972 to 1981 and Hinds’ Utica Campus after the two colleges merged from 1987 to 2013, when he retired. He was dean of Career-Technical Education at that time.
He served as mayor of Utica from 2008 to 2009. He has been serving on the Foundation board since January 2020.
While working at Hinds, he was directly involved with students, serving as an adviser for the Student Government Association and the Veterans Club. He has been honored as Hinds’ 2010 Executive of the Year, IAAP, Utica Magnolia Chapter. And for his service and support of the Utica Campus, he was honored by the Utica Campus during the 2017 Vice President’s Gala.
“Students are the main reason we’re here. Any way I can help a student, I try to do that,” he said of his service on the Foundation board. “I try to work with the Utica Campus and all Hinds’ locations to try to make sure we do the best for our students. “I know that not everyone is able to afford the price of a really good education. That just reminds me of my background when I grew up. I was not that well off,” he said.
Dr. Killingsworth attended Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena from 1965 to 1969, receiving his B.S. in industrial arts education. He later attended the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, receiving both an M.S. degree in vocational education and Ed.D in educational administration and supervision in higher education.