Upon announcing his acceptance of the position of superintendent of the Brookhaven School District Friday morning, Dr. Ben Cox says he looks forward to applying past experience and knowledge in his new position.

Vice Chairman of the Brookhaven school district board of trustees, Stan Patrick mentioned Friday morning that Cox, who is currently the North Pike superintendent of education, had already talked to his board Thursday, who reluctantly agreed with his decision to move one county over, from Pike to Lincoln county.

Patrick, who was also speaking on behalf of Brookhaven school board chairman Willie Harrison and the other trustees, said the board selected Cox based on his past success at North Pike.

Cox, who lives in Bogue Chitto, plans to continue as the superintendent at North Pike until the end of the year and will officially take over as superintendent of the Brookhaven school district Jan 1.

While serving as the superintendent of North Pike, Cox was responsible for the management of a budget in excess of $17.5 million.

On June 25 of this year, the Brookhaven board of trustees approved a budget of approximately $30 million for the 2013-2014 school year, almost double the budget of North Pike.

Cox has served as superintendent of North Pike for the last 14 years, and prior to that he was the principal of North Pike High School for four years.

He received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctorate all from the University of Southern Mississippi. He taught curriculum development and supervision of instruction at USM from 1997-2000.

Cox began his professional career as a math teacher at Hazlehurst High School in 1989-1990. In 1990-1991, he took a leave of absence in order to serve in the military as an E-5 sergeant in Operation Desert Storm/Shield.

Upon his return, Cox taught at Pearl River Central High School, where he eventually became the assistant principal and a staff development coordinator.

Cox also has taught online and traditional courses at William Carey University. His experience also includes teaching for the Mississippi Virtual Public School and South University.

Executive Director of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce Garrick Combs, said he was looking forward to the soon-to-be new face in town. “I am very excited to meet Dr. Cox, and to get to know him,” Combs said.