
Andrew P. Mullins Jr. is an American retired educator.
Early life
Mullins grew up in
Macon, Mississippi
Macon is a city in Noxubee County, Mississippi along the Noxubee River. The population was 2,768 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Noxubee County.
History
In 1817, Jackson's Military Road was built at the urging of Andrew Jackson to p ...
. He graduated from
Noxubee County High School and then earned a bachelor's degree in history from
Millsaps College
Millsaps College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
History
The college was founded ...
. He later earned a master's degree and doctorate in history at the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
.
Career
In November 1980, Governor
William F. Winter hired Mullins as an education policy advisor. He frequently accompanied Winter to appearances with intergovernmental organizations. He also served as aide to the governor's Blue Ribbon Committee on Education, which was tasked with studying public education in Mississippi and suggesting reforms. He also helped Winter lobby the
Mississippi State Legislature
The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 me ...
to pass the
1982 Education Reform Act, joining the governor's staff for strategy sessions to build public support for the bill. State Senator
Ellis B. Bodron, who was broadly opposed to the legislation, denounced Mullins and other young Winter aides—including
Ray Mabus
Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. (; born October 11, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previo ...
, David Crews, Bill Gartin,
Dick Molpus
Richard Henderson Molpus Jr. (born September 7, 1949) is an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as Secretary of State of Mississippi from 1984 until 1996. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1995 against Republica ...
, and John Henegan—as the "Boys of Spring", a moniker in which they thereafter took pride.
After Winter left office in 1984, Mullins became a special assistant for Governor
Bill Allain
William A. Allain (February 14, 1928 – December 2, 2013) was an American politician and lawyer who held office as the 59th governor of Mississippi as a Democrat from 1984 to 1988. Born in Adams County, Mississippi, he attended the Universit ...
.
[ Allain assigned him as a staff support member to the newly-reformed Mississippi Board of Education. After six months, Mullins became an assistant to the Mississippi Superintendent of Education.
Upon leaving politics, Mullins returned to work in education. He cofounded the Mississippi Teachers Corps in 1990.][ In 1994 he became an administrator at the University of Mississippi.] In 2008, Mullins helped organize the debate between candidates Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
and John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
hosted by the university during the 2008 United States presidential election
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John Mc ...
.
References
Works cited
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Andy P.
People from Macon, Mississippi
University of Mississippi alumni
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Educators from Mississippi