NEWS RELEASE FROM SOUTHERN MISS
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Wilbert Jordan, a
former Southern Miss basketball letterman, died last night at the age of 62.
Jordan was the first
African-American to play and earn a scholarship at Southern Miss.
From Waynesboro,
Miss., he walked-on his freshman season before gaining a scholarship for his
final three seasons. He enrolled in the fall of 1968 and was recruited and
coached by the late Lee Floyd.
He went on to earn his
Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science from Southern Miss in Biology, and
then earned his law degree from LSU.
At the time of his death, he
was a practicing attorney in the Jordan Law Firm where he concentrated in
environmental matters involving civil, criminal, regulatory and technical
issues.
He was a former Assistant
Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, where he headed
the Office of Environmental Assessment which included the Air Quality Division,
Water Quality Division, Remediation Service Division, Environmental Technology Division,
Underground Storage Division and Laboratory Service Division with approximately
300 employees and a $40,000,000 budget.
Wilbert also was involved with
Hurricane Katrina and Rita preparations, recovery, sampling, monitoring and
environmental data assessment. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of
the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials
(ASTSWMO) where he represented EPA's Region 6 states (LA, AR, OK, TX, NM).
He was a former Assistant
Attorney General, Assistant District Attorney, Assistant City Prosecutor and
Judge pro tempore. He also worked as an Environmentalist for Olin
Corporation and a Corporate Industrial Hygienist for Ethyl Corporation.
Wilbert is survived by
his wife, Ruby, and four adult sons; Wyndell, Laken, Wilbert III, and Taylor
and seven grand children. Wilbert's
father, Wilbert, Sr., was a legendary educator and civil rights leader in
Waynesboro.
