Elayne Hayes Anthony, Ph.D., was named acting president of Jackson State University in March 2023. A native of Jackson, Mississippi, she was the first African American female anchor, producer and reporter for WJTV-TV12, the CBS affiliate in Jackson.

Anthony is the former dean of JSU’s School of Journalism and chair of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies. Under her leadership, the department received national accreditation from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. In addition, she expanded the sequence offerings to include public relations and advertising.

Anthony has also been appointed the assistant superintendent of Public Information and Staff Development for the Jackson Public School District and spokesperson for the Board of Trustees. She operated as assistant superintendent for seven years before serving as an

educational consultant. She then joined Belhaven University as the founding head of the Department of Communication.

A former tenured full professor at Belhaven University, Anthony is currently a tenured full professor at JSU. Maximizing her media talents, she has served as host of her own television program entitled “FYI with Elayne Anthony.” Currently, she hosts “In Depth” with Elayne Anthony, which airs on JSUTV.

Anthony has served on more than 15 accreditation teams for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. She has also worked as a consultant for the Florida and Louisiana Board of Regents on Journalism Education.

She was appointed to the education task force for the state of Mississippi, and she was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour and Governor Phil Bryant to the State Department of Health, where she also serves on the Audit Committee, CON and Communication Committee.

Anthony is a member of the Jackson Association of Black Journalists; a member of the advisory board for I Heart Radio; a former member of the Randolph Hearst National Scholarship Committee, and a former member of the Board of Visitors for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 

Among her many accomplishments, Anthony was honored as a media trailblazer by the Women for Progress (Mississippi). She is also the first African American to serve on the Board of the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters, where she is the vice president. She will assume the position of president in Fall 2023. Anthony will be the first African American female and educator to hold the statewide position.

Anthony received her bachelor’s degree from JSU. She received her Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

She is the wife of Eddie Anthony, and they have one child and a grandchild.