Breazeale to lead MSU Office of the Ombuds
Contact: Harriet Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mike Breazeale, professor of marketing in Mississippi State’s College of Business, is the new ombudsperson for the university.
In his role, Breazeale will lead MSU’s Office of the Ombuds which is an independent, confidential, impartial and informal resource for university employees in the resolution of concerns that arise in the workplace.
MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw said, “It’s essential that members of our community have a neutral setting where they can seek objective advice for concerns or issues. I’m anticipating this office will be a trusted and valuable presence, and I’m confident Mike not only brings experience to the ombudsperson role, but also discretion and empathy.”
A Jackson native, Breazeale holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Millsaps College and a 2010 doctorate in marketing from MSU. He joined the faculty at Indiana University Southeast and later taught at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. Earlier in his career, he was the successful owner of video store and movie theater businesses, discovering his academic abilities in understanding how businesses thrive and in consumer-brand relationships.
In 2014, he returned to Starkville and MSU, joining the College of Business as an assistant marketing professor and moving through the ranks to his current professor position. In 2022, he founded the college’s Marketing and Innovation Lab and Observatory, an advanced biometric business research facility and one of the largest in academia in the southeastern U.S.
Breazeale said of his new responsibilities, “My experience as an adjudicator and mediator for Mississippi State’s Title IX Office, combined with my two years of service as Robert Holland Faculty Senate vice president, have given me the opportunity to familiarize myself very well with the policies that govern practices and behavior at MSU. I’m honored to serve in the role of university ombudsperson and promise to do my best to represent MSU and its people in a fair and sincere manner.”
The MSU Grisham Master Teacher represents the College of Business as doctoral degree coordinator and inclusion and diversity officer. He also serves on the advisory board for the university’s Bulldog Experience Quality Enhancement Plan, a significant initiative in MSU’s recent reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
MSU’s ombudsperson is a reestablishment of a position that existed from 2014 to 2022. As part of the university’s current strategic plan, an assessment for such a position was completed with a recommendation to hire a one-quarter time existing faculty or staff member. As the new hire, Breazeale will complete internal training, as well as selected courses and workshops from external sources.
For more information or to contact Breazeale, email mbreazeale@business.msstate.edu or call 662-325-8261.
Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.