Howell N. Gage of Vicksburg, a banker who has served in many public education leadership roles, is one of six new board members Gov. Haley Barbour has appointed to the Mississippi EdNet Institute.

Gage brings “a wealth of knowledge to the EdNet Institute, which is vital to spreading educational programming across our state,” Barbour said in a release Tuesday.

The institute oversees the development of instructional television service throughout the state, according to the statement.

Gage said the nonprofit organization also works with private communication companies to provide access to public educational television without substantial cost to the state.

In fact, Gage was chosen for his expertise in education and business, which will be valuable in managing the education technology institute, Laura Hipp, a Barbour spokeswoman said.

Gage is a member of Mississippi’s lay State Board of Education for K-12 schools and a former trustee of the Vicksburg Warren School District. The Port Gibson native said he plans to work with EdNet in making public educational television and Internet accessible in rural parts of the state.

“I’m excited and hopeful that the current environment will give us an opportunity to accomplish something of value to the educational constituencies around the state of Mississippi,” Gage said.

Gage has been chairman of RiverHills Bank for 10 years in Vicksburg. Before that, he was chairman and president of Merchants Bank.

He is chairman of the Vicksburg Medical Foundation and the River Region Medical Center board of directors.

Gage serves on the executive committee of the Vicksburg YMCA and is a former chair of the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce.

He is also a former advisory board member of the New Orleans branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

He received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard.

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Contact Tish Butts at tbutts@vicksburgpost.com