Dr. J. Charles Lee will become Mississippi State's interim president early next year.

The successor to departing President Malcolm Portera was named to the post recently by the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning.

"Dr. Lee brings a wealth of administrative experience to this position, and his background makes him particularly well suited to lead Mississippi State during the transition period ahead," board president William S. Crawford said in a memo to faculty, staff and students.

Currently, Lee is vice president for agriculture, forestry, and veterinary medicine and dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In a former tenure at MSU, he served as dean of forest resources and associate director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

Before returning to Mississippi State, Lee spent several years as an administrator in the Texas A&M University System, including four years as vice chancellor for research, planning and continuing education. He also served as interim executive vice president and provost for A&M during an 18-month period.

Early in his career, Lee worked in private business as a research forester for the Westvaco Corp. in North Carolina and West Virginia. He joined academia in 1972 when he became forestry department head at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

Lee earned a bachelor's degree in forest management and a doctorate in forestry/genetics at North Carolina State University. In addition, he has done graduate work at Duke University.

He has been honored for outstanding service by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Joint Council on Food and Agricultural Sciences, the Texas A&M University Board of Regents, the Texas A&M College of Medicine, and the Mississippi Forestry Commission.

"We are very fortunate to have an administrator of his experience and expertise to turn to at this time, and the board of trustees is grateful to Dr. Lee for his willingness to assume this responsibility," said Crawford. "We have the greatest confidence in his ability to provide the leadership the university needs to maintain and build on its reputation for excellence in teaching, research and service."

He added, "The Board of Trustees also very much appreciates the continuing hard work and outstanding performance of the faculty, staff and students of Mississippi State University. We are committed to ensuring that the university continues to have the benefit of the best leadership available and to providing to the best of our ability the resources and support that the institution deserves."

Among his first duties as interim president, Lee will deliver the Dec. 14 commencement address. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. in Humphrey Coliseum.