Originally published in the Madison County Journal


Deborah Gilbert, Deputy Executive Director for Finance and Administration of the Mississippi Community College Board, has received the highest honor presented by the Women in Higher Education Mississippi Network, its Leadership Award.

Gilbert received the award, which is presented annually to an actively employed woman who has demonstrated leadership and commitment to the advancement of women in higher education, at the close of the organization's spring leadership conference, Feb. 21, at the Itawamba Community College Belden Center.

"Deborah Gilbert is an outstanding selection for the 2014 WHEMN Leadership award," said Dr. Jan Reid-Bunch, the organization's state coordinator and executive director of Community Relations at ICC. "She leads by example and is the epitome of servant leadership."

Gilbert joined the Mississippi Community College Board as associate executive director for Finance and Administration in July 1994 and served in that capacity until December 2009 when she was promoted to deputy executive director. At the age of 27 in 1988, she was the first person to hold the position of director of Finance for the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges. Previously she was employed by Deposit Guaranty National Bank, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Mississippi State Department of Public Welfare and the Choctaw County Superintendent of Education.

A graduate of Ackerman High School, Gilbert earned the Bachelor of Professional Accountancy from Mississippi State University. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Gilbert's honors and activities include the 1991 Outstanding Business Office for Region IX and currently treasurer of the Executive Board of Directors for the Community College Business Officials and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants, Central Chapter of the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants and Association of Governmental Accountants and a former executive board member of the Ridgeland High School Athletic Booster Club. She was also instrumental in drafting the general bill language for the historic Mid-Level Founding Act that passed without a dissenting vote during the 2007 Mississippi Legislative session.

In nominating Gilbert for the honor, Dr. Eric Clark, executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board, said, "(She) has become one of the nation's foremost experts on finances at two-year schools. In my 34 years in state government, I have worked with thousands of people, and Deborah Gilbert is among the best and brightest. She is recognized across the state and nation for her community college financial knowledge. I would call her the 'gold standard' of public service in Mississippi."

Clark continued, "Over the past century, our community colleges have evolved into world-class institutions that provide the educational and training opportunities that are critical for Mississippi's future. Deborah Gilbert has had, and continues to have, a direct, major role in that transformation."