Hinds CC President Emeritus Dr. Clyde Muse passes away

RAYMOND – Hinds Community College President Emeritus Dr. Clyde Muse passed away on Wednesday, April 15 at age 96. Dr. Muse retired on June 30, 2020, after having served as president since July 1, 1978.

Visitation is at 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday, April 20 at Cain-Cochran Hall on the Raymond Campus of Hinds Community College. The service begins at 3 p.m.

He is survived by three children, Julia Muse Cole (Sellers, deceased), Susan Muse Rucker (Randy) and Vernon Clyde Muse Jr. (Jan) seven grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

“He was one of those figures who was ‘bigger than life’ and it is hard to contemplate that he is no longer with us,” said current Hinds President Dr. Stephen Vacik. “His life was dedicated to service above self, as his 42 years as president of Hinds CC exemplify. Under his leadership, this institution rose to a place of prominence among others in the state and region – and we remain there today because of the foundation that he helped established.”

As Dr. Muse wrapped up his final year as president in 2019-2020, he led the largest community college and the fourth largest institution of higher learning in Mississippi.

During his 42-year tenure, Dr. Muse showed himself to be a visionary leader who set the standard for creating innovative ways to serve the college’s many communities. He exemplified the true servant leader with his gentle but persistent efforts on behalf of the community college family.

Often called the “Godfather” of the state’s community colleges, his influence is felt – and will continue to be felt – throughout Mississippi as well as the nation.

Clyde Muse came from modest beginnings. Born in Benton County in north Mississippi, he was the fifth of seven sons. He graduated from Sebastopol High School in 1947 and attended East Central Junior College in Decatur, which he initially paid for with a job milking cows.

However, Coach Arno Vincent saw his basketball potential and arranged for him to wash dishes in the cafeteria instead, a job that wouldn’t conflict with his practice schedule. That held him until he earned a full basketball scholarship after beating six players vying for the center position.

Muse earned another basketball scholarship to Delta State Teacher’s College. There he met Leland freshman Vashti Underwood, and they married in 1952.

In his first job out of college, he taught multiple classes – science, math and even a reading class – and coached basketball, track and junior high football at Canton High School.

In 1959, the next step in his career led him to Starkville, where he enjoyed much professional success, made lifetime friendships and made many contributions to the community, including inventing tee-ball.

While teaching and coaching the 1961 State Championship Boy’s Basketball team in Starkville, he earned a Master’s degree in School Administration from Mississippi State University and later became principal at Starkville High School as well as assistant superintendent. By 1969, he had completed all requirements for a Doctorate in Administration at MSU with a dissertation on early childhood education.

That same year, Dr. Clyde Muse became superintendent of the Hinds County school system, the second largest school district in Mississippi at that time. He invested two years as Hinds County Schools Superintendent during an extraordinarily turbulent time marked by a federal desegregation order. The experience proved to be a training ground for him years later. In 1971, Dr. Muse accepted the superintendent’s position in Meridian and led the school district for seven years.

At the urging of then-Board President Ted Kendall III and with the approval of the Board of Trustees, he returned to Raymond as president of Hinds Junior College on July 1, 1978.

He successfully handled the difficult task of managing the federal court-ordered merger of Hinds Junior College and Utica Junior College in 1982.

He immediately set about a multifaceted mission of guiding the college’s academic ship through complex waters of social change and phenomenal enrollment growth begun by his predecessors. Among his immediate priorities was upgrading physical facilities.

Early in his presidency, Dr. Muse coined the phrase “The College for All People.” As part of that endeavor, he supported developmental programs for students who need more help in successfully completing college-level classes and the Honors Institute for high achievers who need more challenging programs.

In 1987, Hinds was among the two-year institutions in Mississippi that officially became a “community college” to reflect a broadening sense of value to the state as a whole.

Throughout his presidency, Dr. Muse was at the forefront of establishing community colleges as the primary workforce training entity in the state, fostering workforce partnerships with industry to drive career-tech programs.

Both Clyde Muse and his wife Vashti Underwood Muse, an eminent developmental education professional in her own right, fought for equitable educational opportunity for all students. For more than 50 years, Mrs. Muse, who died in July 2010, was the underdog’s champion who made sure that at-risk students had an opportunity to succeed.

While Dr. Muse’s accomplishments are many, he was perhaps best known for his dynamic personality, warm smile, caring nature and his servant’s heart for all people.