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Department of Economics
University of Mississippi

Shadrack (Shad) White

Shad White headshotState Auditor of Mississippi 

Hometown: Sandersville, MS
BA in Economics and Political Science (2008)
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Shadrack “Shad” White received the Truman and Rhodes Scholarships, two of the top awards given nationally for university students who want to be leaders and serve the public. The Truman is a nationally prestigious graduate fellowship for those pursuing careers as public service leaders, and the Rhodes Scholarship funds students to study at the University of Oxford, England. He earned a master’s degree in economic history from the University of Oxford, England, then a law degree from Harvard.  He has also earned a certificate in forensic accounting from UNC-Charlotte.  

While in the UM student government, Shad persuaded the Institutions of Higher Learning Board to establish a task force to make textbooks more affordable for students. He chaired the College Republicans and was director of the Mississippi Federation of College Republicans. He organized students to help with voter-registration drives in the Mississippi Delta, interned with the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, provided political commentary in the campus newspaper and helped with various political campaigns, including that of State Auditor Stacy Pickering.  Shad’s honors thesis – an examination of finance and education in Mississippi schools – helped him later as an analyst with the U.S. Department of Education and in a fellowship with Pre-K Now, a nonprofit research and advocacy group. 

In Mississippi, Shad continued to work on political campaigns, and in various positions in government.  He served as Director of Policy in Lt. Gov. Bryant’s office or Bryant as campaign manager for Bryant’s re-election campaign. He worked as an attorney at Butler Snow, LLP and as special prosecutor in Rankin County. He served as director of the Mississippi Justice Institute and General Counsel of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. He also serves as an officer in the Mississippi National Guard.  

On July 6, 2018, Governor Phil Bryant announced the appointment of Shad to serve as Mississippi’s State Auditor following the resignation of Stacey Pickering.  He won the election to that office in 2019.