Spring-Summer 2005 Millsaps Magazine

SPRING/SUMMER 2005

Power Play

Attorney Archie Lamb lights up the night at Twenty Field

The Real Real World Faith & Work students get streetwise in Jackson

Business Lunch

Else Dean Ken Harmon and restaurateur Jeff Good take inventory

From the President As I ponder the past school year, a recurring sentiment comes to mind: bringing the outside inside. Much progress is being made at Millsaps to dismantle barriers by reaching out to our community and beyond.

The United Methodist Church gained a gem this year in North Carolina native Bishop Hope Ward. Millsaps College began with the investment of Methodists, and we look forward to continuing to have a wonderful relationship with the Church. Our partnership continues to be benefi cial, especially in the recruitment of United Methodist students and strengthening our ties to the community.

Our new dean of the Else School of Management, Dr. Ken Harmon, recently had a sit-down with successful restaurateur and alumnus Jeff Good, owner of Bravo! and the Broad Street Baking Company, to discuss the Millsaps business program and the changing landscape of business culture worldwide.The school has just undergone a branding journey to consider our best tack for the future.

Now is the time to target potential recruitment areas such as accounting and health care to create awareness of our topnotch M.B.A. program.

The Millsaps Players guest directors program gives students a bird’s-eye view of theatre.They are able to hone acting skills by working with worldclass directors and experience a range of directorial styles and perspectives.The Players adapt to the challenges they may someday face beyond the stage of the Christian Center.

One of the most popular classes in the Faith & Work Initiative continues to be The Meaning of Work, which teaches how to balance practicality with passion. Again, our students learn to move outside their comfort zones and get a true look at the real world. A class project called “Getting Real in Jackson� brings the students face-to-face with the hardships that many people undergo.

Thanks to Archie Lamb, B.B.A. 1977, we can literally light up the night at Twenty Field. His strong devotion to Millsaps led him to make a generous donation that resulted in the illumination of our baseball fi eld.This feature will help draw more fans and attract the best scholar athletes.

I know the upcoming school year will be marked by even more progress. Our intelligent, involved student body, combined with our outstanding faculty and staff, will ensure that Millsaps can expect a groundswell of support and even more opportunities to bring the outside inside.

Warmly,

InThis Issue f e a t u r e s

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MILLSAPS MAGAZINE spring-summer 2005

Street Smarts

Executive Editor Patti Wade

Faith & Work students pound the pavement.

Design Kelley Matthews Candace Jones, 2007, intern Contributing Editors John Webb c om m u n i c at i on s w r i t e r Jesse Yancy a s s o c i at e d i r e c t or o f m e d i a r e l at i on s Brian Emory s p ort s i n f or m at i on d i r e c t or

Right on the Money Else Dean Ken Harmon and restaurateur Jeff Good discuss the evolving role of business in education.

Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest...

For the Millsaps Players, a rotating director’s chair.

Editorial Assistants Patrick Barb, 2005 Becca Day, 2005 Anna Ellis, 2006 Clint Kimberling, 2005 Chris Spear, 2007

The Light in the Outfi eld

Alumnus Archie Lamb’s brilliant contribution to Twenty Field.

d e p a r t m e n t s

Faculty & Staff 15 In the Spotlight 18 Campus Community 21 Reading Room Meet Millsaps 22 Delta Kids/Jewel Johnson Athletics 42 Mike DuBose 43 Ned Welles Major Notes 44 In the Spotlight 46 Classnotes 51 In Memoriam

On the Cover The Millsaps Majors under the new lights at Twenty Field. p h ot o b y k e l l e y m at t h e w s

Contributing Photographers Greg Campbell Becca Day Chris Goodwin Parr Jeko Kelley Matthews John Webb Jesse Yancy Administrative Offi cers Dr. Frances Lucas president Dr. Richard A. Smith s e n i or v i c e p r e s i d e n t a n d d e a n o f t h e c ol l e g e Louise Burney, M.Acc. 1996 v i c e p r e s i d e n t f or f i n a n c e Dr. R. Brit Katz v i c e p r e s i d e n t f or s t u d e n t l i f e and dean of students Dr. Charles R. Lewis vice president f or i n s t i t u t i ona l a dva n c e m e n t Todd Rose v i c e p r e s i d e n t f or c a m p u s s e rv i c e s

On Campus 2 In the Spotlight 13 Fine Arts

Parting Word 56 Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye

Major Notes Editor Tanya Newkirk a s s o c i at e d i r e c t or o f a l u m n i r e l at i on s

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OnCampus For Two Leaders, One Powerful Vision

“I think that women— through their life experience—bring an openness, and I think that women bring comfort because they have experienced so much.”

Bishop Ward and President Lucas at Galloway discussing the roles of the Church and the College.

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The Reverend Hope Ward, a North Carolina native who has been active throughout her life in the Methodist church, is the first woman to be appointed resident bishop of the Mississippi Area of the United Methodist Church. Likewise, Dr. Frances Lucas, also a lifelong Methodist, is the first woman to hold the post of president at Millsaps College.

This past March, Ward and Lucas took time out from their busy schedules to discuss Millsaps, the United Methodist Church, and those issues in between. Seated in a comfortable corner of historic Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church in downtown Jackson, they grappled with a fundamental issue for many within the College and the Church—the relationship between the two.

“Let me remind you,” Ward said, “that our founder, John Wesley, got his start as a campus minister. The mind, heart, and spirit of all United Methodists are connected, and we want to nurture that relationship.”

Lucas called the United Methodist Church the “mother” of Millsaps College.

“We got our start with the investment of Methodists,” she said. “And the great thing about the United Methodist Church is that we welcome different viewpoints. That is good for a college.”

But amid this optimism are concerns about the tensions between Millsaps College and the Church. Issues such as evolution and desegregation divided the two institutions in the past, and for years there has been a perception of discord.

Ward called this a misconception. “Having been in Mississippi for six months, I have experienced very little, if any, tension, and I express great pride in Millsaps,” she said.

Some opinions expressed at Millsaps might be “unsettling for some of us,” but “that is not unique to Millsaps and runs across the spectrum to all of our universities,” she said.

Lucas said that in her five-year presidency she had enjoyed “a wonderful relationship between the College and the Church, one

Dr. Lucas and Bishop Ward before the 2005 baccalaureate service at Galloway UMC in Jackson.

based on mutual support, pride, and handholding through financial difficulties in the early 2000s.

“The tensions that have arisen have not been between the Church and the College, but rather among individuals who happen to be in the Conference. They disagree with some of our methodology or points of view on campus.”

Ward observed that there was a 1994 hymn by Thomas Troeger called “Praise the Source of Faith and Learning.” “I love the hymn,” she said, “because it captures who God is in the world and how our confidence is in our God and not in what we know at this point. The more we can encourage courageous living, the less we will fear something that might be discomforting.”

Meanwhile, these two leaders have developed a great vision for the growth of the relationship between the College and Church—one that is positive and beneficial for all those involved. “I have had five years to think about this,” Lucas said, “and I think there are wonderful opportunities and partnerships that encourage more students to think about ministry—for instance, the Faith & Work Initiative and the Center for Ministry.

I believe that Millsaps College is a wonderful base for many initiatives. Additionally, I think that the church can help us by recruiting many more United Methodist students. My hope is that we can more fully persuade local congregations to send us students and scholarships to go with them.”

Ward discussed the convergence of Methodist events on campus. “Just this morning, we came from a meeting regarding events,

and I inquired as to where they would be,” she said. “And over and over again, Millsaps was the location of choice. The Center for Ministry is getting even more creative in helping clergy and lay folks to grow in their faith and that is all at Millsaps. I am finding out that there is a real hunger for more personal growth and leadership skills among our clergy and laity.”

Both women have taken over historically male roles. Lucas, cautioning that she was going to stereotype, said she believed that “women are socialized to be collaborative—as little girls we would play in groups and collaborate, but little boys get in teams and compete. So, from our early socialization on, we are more accustomed to creating conversations and partnerships to negotiate with people.

“That is truly the leadership that is called for today to solve any problem in any corporation, college, or church. We have to listen and collaborate and not compete.”

Ward called to mind the image of bringing to life what wants to be born. “I think that women—through their life experience— bring an openness, and I think that women bring comfort because they have experienced so much,” she said.

Millsaps conjures images of activism during the 1960s, desegregation, and protests, and Ward said she hoped that “Millsaps continues to be Millsaps. It was created with a unique mission and a unique heritage. And so I would love for us to be very confident in Millsaps.”

Ward said she had been discussing a series of seminars called “Journey to the Light.”

“We were touring great historic locations of the civil rights movement,” she said. “We stopped at Tougaloo College and it was great to hear of the partnership between Millsaps and Tougaloo. As I sat there, in their wonderful chapel, I gave silent thanks for Millsaps and that heritage.” —John Sawyer A political science major, John Sawyer, B.A. 2005, will enter the Jesuit Novitiate in August.

Garvin Is Named College Chaplain The Reverend Elisabeth Anne (Lisa) Garvin has been named chaplain of Millsaps College.

Garvin has been a deacon in the United Methodist Church and served in the Mississippi Conference with responsibilities for youth camps, higher education, and campus ministry. She is filling the opening created with the retirement this year of Dr. Don Fortenberry.

“Lisa Garvin brings intelligence, creativity, compassion, and vision to the strong program of religious life at Millsaps,” said Hope Ward, resident bishop of the Mississippi Area of the United Methodist Church. “Lisa’s leadership will gift the entire Millsaps community in remarkable ways in the years to come.”

Garvin, B.A. 1993, is a Hattiesburg native. While a student at Millsaps, she was a European studies major, second vice president of the Student Body Association, an athlete, an active member of the Campus Ministry Team, and president of her sorority.

Garvin earned her master of divinity degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University, completed a year’s hospital chaplaincy at Baptist Health Systems in Jackson, and served for four years as director of programs and education at Crossgates United Methodist Church in Brandon. “She gained invaluable campus ministry experience by working with two of our nation’s finest chaplains: Don Fortenberry at Millsaps and Susan HenryCrowe at Emory,” said Frances Lucas, president of the College.

“She brings to the position of chaplain a deep commitment to spiritual exploration and worship, ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, and the ongoing task of connecting Millsaps to the wider community in modes of respect, service, and mutual transformation.”

“The chaplain plays a crucial role in the life of the College, ministering to a diverse group of students, faculty, and staff and helping us connect to the wider world in modes of compassion and justice,” said Dr. Darby Ray, director of the Millsaps Faith & Work Initiative and a member of the Department of Religious Studies. “I feel confident that Lisa has the experience, sensibilities, commitment, and deep spiritual grounding to fill that role with grace and courage.”

Garvin’s appointment is the culmination of a competitive national search overseen by a diverse committee of students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

—Jesse Yancy

Professions of Faith The Reverend Rebecca Youngblood, B.A. 1973, an elder in the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church, became executive director of the Center for Ministry at Millsaps College in February. She succeeded the Reverend Andy Johnson, the center’s founding director. The Center for Ministry is a shared work of the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church and Millsaps. Johnson is now the pastor of Asbury UMC in Petal. The Reverend Sherry Johnson, an ordained deacon in the Mississippi Conference, joined the staff in July as associate director, with responsibility for implementing the Pastoral Excellence Project funded by the Lilly Endowment. Johnson comes to the Center for Ministry from Bethlehem Center in Jackson, where she has served as s pexecutive r i n gdirector – s u for m mnine e ryears.

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More Perspectives On Our Southern Literary Heritage The Millsaps College campus is familiar territory to award-winning authors. Eudora Welty taught at Millsaps and served on the Board of Trustees, and James Whitehead and Miller Williams were on the Millsaps faculty.

Turner Cassity, John Stone, Joe Edd Morris, Lewis Nordan, and Ellen Gilchrist were students at the College. Among the distinguished Southern writers and critics who have been visiting professors and speakers at Millsaps are Walker Percy, Ellen Douglas, Cleanth Brooks, Reynolds Price, Clyde Edgerton, Susan Ketchin, Larry Brown, and Beth Henley.

This tradition was continued during the spring semester, when Millsaps College welcomed authors Edward P. Jones and Elizabeth Spencer to campus, as well as two French scholars, one specializing in William Faulkner and the other in Welty.

Jones was on campus to read a selection from his latest novel, The KnownWorld, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Although Jones is a native and resident of Washington, D.C., he is widely considered by critics to be a Southern writer. Jones’s presence on campus was so valued that he was made the subject of the interview portion of the campus literary magazine, the Stylus.

François Pitavy and Danièle Pitavy-Souques of Burgundy, France, lecturing on Faulkner and Welty.

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Elizabeth Spencer came to campus to read from her collection of old and new short stories, The SouthernWoman. Spencer is a native of Carrollton, Mississippi, and has spent a significant amount of time in the Jackson area. Most recently, Spencer is enjoying success from the musical adaptation of her novella The Light in the Piazza. The show, which has been playing at Lincoln Center, won six Tony Awards in June.

During their visits, both authors spent time in discussions with Dr. Suzanne Marrs’s Contemporary Southern Writers class. The students spent their semester reading several 20th century Southern works, including The KnownWorld and The SouthernWoman.

Marrs, whose book Eudora Welty: A Biography will be published in August, said she felt that having the authors in class was a great learning experience for her students. “It tremendously increased our understanding of their work, of the ways experience sparked their imaginations, of the work involved in writing and revising, of the extent to which an author consciously controls his material,” she said.

Danièle Pitavy-Souques and François Pitavy, French specialists on Southern writers, came to campus in April. The Alliance Française of Jackson, with Millsaps support, made Jackson part of their national lecture tour. It was Mme Pitavy who delivered the address when Welty was honored with the French Legion of Honor at the Old Capitol in 1996.

M. and Mme Pitavy, who live in Burgundy, France, wrote their doctoral dissertations on Faulkner and Welty, respectively. Mme Pitavy knew Eudora Welty personally and in 1992 organized in Dijon the first international symposium on her work.

M. Pitavy’s topic was “The Making of a French Faulkner.” He said French translations had deregionalized Faulkner and made him a universal classic there. M. Pitavy’s explanation of translation practices provoked lively discussion, as did his

Pondering the Heart Of Welty’s Stories Dr. Suzanne Marrs, professor of English, discussed several Eudora Welty short stories at a series of Writer’s Choice seminars in June at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building. Each session focused on a favorite story of one of Welty’s fellow writers.

Marrs’s book Eudora Welty: A Biography will be published in August. Marrs has written “a book that debunks the myths and quotes enough of the writing to make you hunger for the novels and stories,” according to Dorothy Allison in a review for Publishers Weekly.

“Marrs takes pains to refute the image of Eudora as a perfect ‘Southern Lady,’ a ‘nearly petrified woman holding to the mores of the Southern past’—myths strengthened and reinforced by Ann Waldron’s 1998 biography and the lengthy New Yorker article by Claudia Roth Pierpont. . . . Here we have the necessary counterpoint: not Eudora the pitiful old maid nor Eudora the homely, the victim of her domineering mother, but the real deal: Eudora the writer who loved fiercely but never married . . .”

—John Webb

comment that the French had no writers like Faulkner and Hemingway in the 1920s and ’30s and that they actively sought American fiction after World War II. “Eudora Welty: Language and Politics” was Mme Pitavy’s topic. She believes that Welty’s stance is more American than Southern, more concerned with the universal than the anecdotal. In particular, she saw a strong allusion to the horrors of McCarthyism in The Ponder Heart. She also saw a raucous mockery of frontier evils in The Robber Bridegroom.

The receptions after both lectures included the Millsaps community, other local and national authors, French-speaking Alliance members, and many from the

Jackson area. “So many strong opinions expressed, even in different languages, made for two unforgettable evenings,” said Gail Buzhardt, a scholar in French and director of the language lab. “It was an incredible three days. People like Ellen Douglas, Austin Wilson, and Peggy Prenshaw brought their perspectives to bear on the lectures, and it was moving to see evidence of the strong friendship that had existed between the Pitavys and Miss Welty.”

—Clint Kimberling, with Gail Buzhardt

A Share in $17.5M For Gene Research Millsaps College has been selected as one of seven partner institutions in a $17.5 million grant to the University of Southern Mississippi to continue funding the Mississippi Functional Genomics Network.

Genomics is the study of genes and their function. To help train and retain biomedical researchers in the state, the genomics project has established fi ve research facilities, providing the cuttingedge instruments needed for scientists and students. The facilities also serve the project’s regional partner institutions, which, besides Millsaps, are Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Mississippi College, Mississippi University for Women, and Tougaloo College.

“The Mississippi Functional Genomics Network was basically begun about four years ago, and it was the result of a threeyear grant program through the National Institutes of Health,” said Dr. Sarah Lea McGuire of the Millsaps College biology department. “The program was called the Bioinformatics Research Infrastructure Network. The target group for these grants was states that were traditionally underfunded by the National Institutes of Health.”

In 2002, Mississippi ranked 42nd in

With guidance from Dr. Sarah Lea McGuire, as well as other faculty, students gain research experience.

NIH funding with total awards of $34.8 million. Mississippi received one sixth the funding its population would predicate.

“The group at Southern Miss was awarded one of these fi rstgrants to establish the genomics network,” McGuire explained. “Through that, they were able to involve a number of students and set up research centers across the state. We’re now in the second phase of that, called the Idea Network of Molecular Biology Research Excellence.”

“Millsaps College has created a nucleus of biomedical research-active teacherscholars and students who are publishing and presenting the same quality of undergraduate research that is produced at some of the nation’s top comprehensive universities,” said Dr. Timothy Ward, interim associate dean of sciences at Millsaps College. “This grant establishes Millsaps College as a major player in biomedical research within Mississippi, and a leader among undergraduate colleges nationally.”

The second phase of the molecular biology project involves including a number of smaller institutions and enhancing the research capabilities at those smaller institutions, while continuing to build this infrastructure within Mississippi.

This will allow students and researchers to work together.

“An important mission of the Mississippi Functional Genomics Network is to provide students and their mentors with the resources they need to be successful, including the highly technical and expensive instrumentation that is now

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an essential component of the modern biomedical research enterprise,” said Dr. George Santangelo, genomics network director and professor of biological sciences at Southern Miss.

“The concept of the Mississippi Functional Genomics Network is truly visionary,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong, chair of the biology department. “It creates a network of research laboratories and specialized equipment that is available to genomics researchers throughout the state.

Our students have the opportunity to work not just with their own research supervisor, but also with others around the state.”

The grant has provided the College with a new faculty member, Dr. Bernadette Connors, formerly of Gettysburg College, a specialist in yeast genetics who will be joining the faculty in August.The grant is also providing signifi cantequipment funding, almost $200,000 in the fi rstyear, which will go toward updating the labs. It is also providing funds for technicians as well as student salaries.

McGuire explained that the group involved in the molecular biology project is researching yeast, the organism used to make bread. “As it turns out, the celldivision processes are conserved from yeast to man, which means that they’re the same processes and very similar genes and proteins,” McGuire said. “What we study in yeast can be transferred to what goes on in humans. The information obtained from studying yeast has been transferred to higher organisms, including man, and it has done a lot to help us understand how cancer cells go wrong so that we can design drugs that knock them out.

“Because we understand the proteins and processes involved, drug companies are using that information to develop drugs that target specifi cmolecules which affect cell growth.”

— J. Y.

spring– summer 2005

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Zine and Heard: Dispatches from Central America

The Scoop on Casey While most Millsaps seniors were spending their last months in college celebrating and job hunting, Casey Parks had already found her nine to five.

Parks, a 2005 graduate and winner of the Frank and Rachel Anne Laney Award, has spent the last year as assistant editor of the Jackson Free Press.

Her job is a laundry list of responsibilities.

She assigns many of the stories and coordinates photographs or art to go with them. And, as a type of mentor, Parks workshops stories with new writers and coordinates projects and other learning experiences for the interns. On press night, Parks stays late to help with final edits after writing articles and helping with layout.

The English major also had classes, homework, an honors project, and was editor of the Purple & White. Her typical day lasted from about 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., excluding homework or days before either of her two papers went to print. On those nights (typically Mondays and Tuesdays), Parks left the office around 1:30 a.m.

These would seem like impossible time demands for any other student, but she thrived on her hectic schedule. “I find that the busier I am, the more I get done,” she said. “But I had to be extremely scheduled to fit it all in.”

Parks plans to continue working at the Free Press until October, when she is scheduled to move to France to teach English. “I’d like to get involved with a student paper over there—it’s kind of hard to just let it go cold turkey,” she said.

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Meg Hyneman, B.A. 2005, was not the type of student to take the beaten path. For one thing, Hyneman designed her own major.

And following her 2003 semester abroad in Central America, Hyneman not only recorded her experiences in a journal but also chose to self-publish her writings in a medium commonly referred to as a “zine.”

Hyneman’s Testimonies from Central America is a collection of personalized stories that she placed into a brief historical and political context.

Zines are underground publications, usually photocopied and distributed by the writer without the expectation of a profit.

Hyneman said she enjoyed the format of a zine, which is at once personal and political. She explained that zines are “easy Eventually, Parks would like to pursue a master’s degree in journalism, but she has changed her mind regarding the type of journalism she would like to pursue. “I like the idea of the Free Press,” she said. “It is a social justice paper but still retains its journalistic integrity. I used to want to do daily newspapers, but I’ve learned so much here.”

Parks goes on to cite Millsaps and Dr. Paula Garrett as influential in honing and refining her journalistic skills. Garrett’s journalism class was particularly helpful in teaching her what types of stories are appropriate, as well as how to edit efficiently. Garrett was also Parks’s adviser for her honors project on feature journalism and encouraged her to look at different types of articles and alternative papers. Parks’s four years of experience on the Purple & White, particularly her two years as managing editor and this year as editor in chief, have taught her how to successfully manage a paper. “Both experiences, the Jackson Free Press and attending Millsaps, have really prepared me for a future in journalism,” she said.

—Becca Day

to put together, self-publish, and distribute to a wide group of people.”

During her time in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, Hyneman realized that she wanted to raise awareness and foster compassion for the citizens of these Central American countries. Hyneman’s main motivation for publishing her zine was a self-described “overwhelming need” to share the stories she heard. “I took detailed notes on everybody’s testimonies because they seemed so important, but I didn’t realize until near the end of the semester that a zine would be the best way to share these stories,” she said.

During her semester in Central America, Hyneman was enrolled in the Sustainable Development and Social Change program offered through Augsburg College’s Center for Global Education.

Hyneman describes the curriculum as experiential learning, meaning that educators “wanted us to learn from our experiences with the countries and the people in them, not simply from one teacher in a classroom.”

Hyneman embraced the spirit of the program by interviewing coffee workers, massacre survivors, revolutionaries, exguerrilla fighters, and political leaders. This assortment of testimonies and interviews gives Hyneman’s zine a genuine appeal to readers and communicates the importance of her journey.

Hyneman didn’t write her zine exclusively for Millsaps students. Rather, she said, her intended readership was “mostly people who were already interested in some kind of ‘social justice’ issues but didn’t really know much about Central America.”

Since her zine has been completed, Hyneman has distributed about 100 copies to Millsaps students in addition to the 200 copies distributed in the Jackson community.

For a copy of Testimonies from Central America, contact Meg Hyneman at meghyneman@gmail.com. —C. K.

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A Millsaps Tree Grows In New Zealand

Finding Meaning, Purpose in Brazil Junior Theon Johnson III of Sharon, Mississippi, traveled to Brazil in January to meet with a group of 60 young adults to explore their common religious heritage and apply it to social issues in the larger world. In addition, he took part in an antiglobalization rally that drew more than 230,000 young people from all over the world.

On the agenda in Porto Alegre was a two-day mission seminar on Wesleyan identity, sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries; a one-day ecumenical youth day organized by the Council of Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean, the World Student Christian Federation, and the World Council of Churches; and a six-day intercontinental youth camp related to the 2005 World Social Forum, a grassroots organization seeking creative alternatives to global economics driven by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

“Even though we have experienced times of war, disease, and poverty throughout history, the voices of 230,000-plus individuals stood as living witnesses that progress can be made,” Johnson said. “At least for a small amount of time, people were willing to put aside their differences in search for commonality.

People were willing to renounce hatred in favor of unconditional love. People were willing to repudiate war in favor of acknowledging the power that lies in peace.”

Johnson, who is majoring in philosophy and religious studies, said that issues ranging from economics to human rights and religion to industry dominated the Social Forum camp. “These lectures

Theon Johnson of Millsaps and Kim Wutherich of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church at the 2005 World Social Forum in Brazil.

and discussions were established primarily by grassroots organizations,” he said. “I believe that these workshops were very helpful because they provided grounds upon which people could peacefully gather to discuss some of the large issues that plague the individual, political, and governmental systems of the world.”

The ministries group included church youth from the United States, Cambodia, Indonesia, Angola, Mozambique, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Chile, and a 20-member youth delegation from the Methodist Church in Brazil.

“It was through spending time with members from the Brazilian, world, and U.S. Methodist delegations at this event that I was able to gain a greater insight about what it means to be an active part of a genuine global church,” said Johnson. “For a few moments in time, I was privileged to view a snapshot of what God is calling people to do.”

Johnson said the experience had transformed his perspective on the world. “It is easy to remain in the comforts of my surroundings and reflect upon the people and events of the world, but to stand face-to-face with someone who has experiences that are somewhat different from my own is —J. W. another thing entirely.”

Millsaps College’s spirit of environmental and cultural activism reached a new quarter of the globe this past fall when Lauren Theobald, B.S. 2004, along with classmates Kate Bruce, B.A. 2004, and Megan Parks, B.A. 2004, went gadding about Down Under.

To show her appreciation to Millsaps College, especially the biology department, for helping her understand “what a good education really is” and how to push herself “by continually inviting new challenges,” Theobald had a kauri tree (Agathis australis) planted in one of the regenerating forests on the Coromandel Peninsula of the North Island of New Zealand.

The kauri tree is second in height only to giant sequoias, but the kauri contains more timber. Theobald said that efforts to restore their numbers are important to natives of the country due to the tree’s cultural and economic significance. The newly planted tree is marked with a silver tag that reads “Millsaps College MS, USA.” “I hope that someday another graduate of Millsaps will have the chance to travel to New Zealand and track down the tree to view the progress it has made,” Theobald said.

—J. Y.

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Taking the Trail Less Traveled The Appalachian Trail runs from Maine to Georgia, some 2,160 miles through 14 states, attracting campers and hikers from all over the world. This spring, a group of hikers from Millsaps took a jaunt along a short section of the trail, while last summer and fall one intrepid alumnus undertook to become a “2,000-miler,” an achievement duplicated by only about 3,000 people in the last century.

The group trip was organized by sophomore Bahen Privett through the Millsaps College Outdoor Adventure Club. The Outdoor Adventure Club is a group of students who plan outings around the country, providing members with a limited amount of equipment and supplies for the journey.

Privett, along with junior Drew Harmon, freshman Will Benton, freshman Clay Kirkpatrick, junior Andrew Harris, and Ben Ross, B.S. 2005, hiked 45 miles between Erwin, Tennessee, and Elk Park, North Carolina, during spring break.

The area is known as one of the most beautiful sections of the trail. “We went over several bald mountains that had absolutely breathtaking views,” Privett said. “We traveled with everything we needed on our backs. We cooked out every night and purified our drinking water out of streams we would pass. The weather couldn’t have been better. Highs were in the 50s every day and we never saw a drop of rain. It took us five days to cover the 45 miles.”

“I enjoyed the whole winter camping experience,” Ross said. “Down here, we don’t get a lot of winter weather, so the ice hiking was pretty intense.”

Robert (Burt) Thuston, B.B.A. 2004, took on the far more ambitious endeavor of hiking the entire trail from

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Millsaps in Iraq: One Soldier’s Story Andrew Harris, left, and Will Benton on Jane Bald in the Roan Highlands of North Carolina, part of the Appalachian Trail.

Maine to Georgia, in one continuous southerly journey. “Southbounders” represent about 10 percent of total reported 2,000-milers, and on the average only 19 percent of those who undertake the journey complete it.

“Over the course of 150 days, I came across some of the most generous people imagined, and I also came across people I did not care too much for,” Thuston wrote in his journal. “On the trail I experienced my best nights’ sleep ever, and also my worst nights’ sleep ever—it was absolutely miserable, cold, and wet.

“But regardless, I got up the next morning and pressed on because that’s what I did: I hiked,” Thuston said.

“There were times on the trail when I actually thought it would be nice if I were to conveniently roll my ankle so I could have an excuse to go home, but there were also times when I would walk down the trail exalted by the fact that I was doing it and had no worries other than survival, no obligations to answer phone calls, do homework, or pay bills. At these times I was thrilled at the simplicity of my life and joyful about the meaningful people and experiences I had come across.

“The second most rewarding part of the trail was personal accomplishment on a daily basis. Each day I would get stronger and stronger, and push myself harder and harder. I pushed myself to physical limits I never thought I could reach.

“And third, I was able to say to myself, ‘I set out to do it, and I did it.’

It’s rewarding to take on an endeavor that large and finish it.” — J.Y.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, junior Wayne West reported to the Military Entrance Processing Station in Jackson to sign his six-year commitment to the Mississippi National Guard. “I was driving from Monroe when our country was attacked,” West recalled. “By the time I arrived, the entire military complex was on high alert. The recruiter wouldn’t even sign me up. In fact, he had already called my mother to say he was sending me home to let things settle down and to give us time to decide whether to proceed with the enlistment. I turned around and drove back to Monroe.

“A couple of weeks later, I was on a plane to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for basic training during what would have been my first semester at Millsaps.”

West returned to Jackson in time to spend the holidays with his family, just before he finally started classes as a business major in the spring of 2002. As a weekend warrior, he traveled either to Carthage or Hattiesburg once a month to train with Alpha Company of the 150th Combat Engineers. During his last semester before deployment, West worked with local recruiting officials, visiting area high schools to promote the benefits of serving with the Mississippi Army National Guard.

“Once the United States started sending troops to Iraq, our unit knew it was pretty much just a matter of time before we would be called up,” he said. “That call came early last summer. We reported to Camp Shelby on August 29 for additional training before we were sent to Fort Irwin, California, for advanced desert training.

Fortunately, we had a few days with our families during the holidays before we deployed to Iraq on January 12.

“Before we arrived in the country, I really didn’t have an opinion one way or another about the war. I was going whether I liked it or not, so there was no use in complaining or forming negative opinions

that would only make the year-long deployment feel like a decade.”

The first two weeks, however, proved to be a rude awakening for the troops from Mississippi. Two soldiers from the 155th Brigade Combat Team were killed in action.

“The first memorial service held on base was almost more than I could bear,” West said. “Looking at the soldier’s helmet hung over his weapon, propped up in his shoes, tore me up. Listening to the chaplain and the commander talk about what a good father and brave soldier he had been made me think, ‘What if that were me?’ ” After four months in Iraq, Sergeant West says he has new perspectives. “I’ve actually seen firsthand what we are doing for these people. Although I don’t get as much time around the locals as others do, each time I’ve traveled outside the wire, we usually see 10 people smiling and waving for every mean-looking face.”

said. “Not a happy place by comparison, but we have made it home. We have come to a place with minimum assets such a shortage of water, which means no showers at times, only two meals a day, Iraqi summer and winter, dust for days, no gym, no phones, and a very small Internet café. Despite all this—with the camaraderie of the soldiers, the support from home, and just sheer determination—we have made the surrounding community safer.

We have also made it known that we are here to help and that we are peaceful, but powerful.”

For more on West’s activities, including contact information, go to www.waynesworld2005.blogspot.com.

—Rebecca McCormick, an independent feature writer based in Hot Springs, Arkansas, is also Wayne West’s mother.

From the Bowl To the National Mall

Sergeant Wayne West, right, and a friend at Camp Shelby.

Soldiers from Mississippi have been busy. “We are constantly finding terrorists and detaining them, catching mortar men and people setting out improvised explosive devices or roadside bombs,” he said. “We are finding weapons caches and anti-aircraft launchers. In short, we are making this place a lot safer. The people here know it, and they appreciate it.”

West says living conditions for Alpha Company are sparse at best.

“We live in the ghetto of Baghdad, about 30 miles southwest of the city,” he

Rather than focusing on regular class lectures, sophomores Amanda Simpson, Keelie Broom, and Ben Buckner attended speeches given by such powerful figures as CBS News journalist Bob Schieffer and publisher Steve Forbes. Instead of walking between Sullivan Harrell and the Academic Complex, these students spent their time commuting between classes on Capitol Hill and at the White House, as well as the Supreme Court and the Smithsonian Institution.

The three were participating in the Washington Semester Program, offered through American University. It allows students to apply the principles they have learned in textbooks to the real world while gaining credit for a full semester.

Each semester approximately 400 students representing more than 150 colleges and universities around the nation participate in one of 12 programs that range from American politics to journalism to law enforcement.

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Broom said she had found her Washington Semester to be enlightening and challenging on both an academic and a personal level. “You learn a lot about yourself when you remove yourself from a comfort zone and move into a totally different atmosphere with which you have very little familiarity,” she said.

Students participating in the Washington Semester apply for internships at those places that pique their interest.

The internships are as varied as the curriculum and include positions at the White House, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives offices, the Washington, D.C., Police Department, Republican and Democratic National Committees, and various special-interest groups.

Buckner chose to complete his internship in broadcast journalism. Two days of the week, Buckner worked as an intern at Cox Broadcasting, a Washington bureau for 12 affiliate stations around the country. “This semester has been an incredible learning tool and not only puts me one step ahead in all of my political science classes at Millsaps, but it has also been very valuable in the sense that it has given me experience working in a real job setting,” Buckner said.

Simpson spent her time in the office of U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln, Democrat of Arkansas. “Not only am I learning what goes on behind the scenes of the Senate, but I am also learning how to communicate with constituents, how a good office is run, and how to get issues on the agenda,” she said. “The work that I have done here is priceless and will hopefully help me in the future when I enter the political sphere.”

Broom interned at the office of Senator Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi.

Broom sees her Washington Semester as an opportunity for professional advancement.

“I feel like I’ve put myself way ahead of the game by making connections that will help me get where I’m trying to go after graduation,” Broom said. —C.K.

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Marks Family Endows Haughton Scholarship In 1942, Helen Murphy and her twin sister, Evelyn, didn’t think a college education was in their future. Their father, who had a grocery store at Rawls Springs, just north of Hattiesburg, couldn’t afford the tuition. It was assumed that they would stay at home and work.

In their teenage years, the Murphy sisters moved with their family to the city of Hattiesburg. Helen recalls the one person

Pepper Rally Jennifer Paradise, B.S. 2005, left, and Meghan Pigott, B.A. 2005, represented the E.A.R.T.H. team with the only vegetarian entry in the Chili Bowl in March. Featuring record attendance and the most teams entered in the event’s five-year history, the fund-raiser was sponsored by the Mississippi Delta chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The cook-off, benefiting the Lifeshare Foundation, raised about $6,000 for Jackson’s less fortunate families. “We are investing our time and energy in this project because we believe in it,” said co-chair Matt Marston, B.A. 2005. “We are having a good time, and we are inviting everyone to share in the excitement.”

—B. D.

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who changed the course of her life. The Reverend L. D. Haughton was the minister at Court Street Methodist Church, and he baptized the sisters when they were 14 years old.

“We were greatly influenced by his sermons and his genuine interest in us,” she said. “He was a kind, gentle, sensitive man who preached the word of God and sought out ways to live as Christ would want us to live.”

Haughton did not attend Millsaps, but he knew the Murphy sisters had graduated near the top of their high school class and that they would succeed there. So he encouraged them to pursue a Millsaps education.

“He urged us to save our money and go on to college,” Helen said. Few scholarships were available in the early 1940s, but after eight months of work they had enough money, with $100 from the Methodist Women at Court Street and a $100 scholarship from Millsaps, to enroll.

After they arrived at Millsaps, the sisters found that they had jobs in the Navy cafeteria, which was set up for the Navy V12 program held at the College from 1943 to 1945. “I’m sure Reverend Haughton had been in touch with President Marion Smith or someone to line up those jobs,” Helen said. They worked in the cafeteria as long as the Navy program lasted, and then Helen found work with the telephone company downtown and paid Millsaps every month. “We went through college on faith and hard work,” she said.

The Murphy sisters (Helen Murphy Marks and Evelyn Murphy McIntyre) taught elementary school for a combination of 63 years. But for the influence of a Methodist minister who encouraged them to realize their potential, hundreds of children would have missed their caring influence.

The Reverend Warren Pittman wrote of Haughton, in the 1979 Conference Journal: “Though his earthly life is over, his ministry continues through the lives of those whom he touched and the Church that was strengthened through his dedicated service.”

And Haughton will continue to be remembered at Millsaps. In July 2003, Helen, B.A. 1947, and her husband, Sutton Marks, B.S. 1948, created The Reverend L. D. Haughton Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund. Preference for the scholarship will be given to a student who is in absolute need of financial aid in order to obtain a college education.

“Reverend Haughton was a crucial turning point in my life,” Helen said. “I never cease to thank God for his interest in my sister and me. With this scholarship money, the College will be able to give some students the chance that was given to us. We are both very appreciative of our education at Millsaps.” —Kay Barksdale

Jennifer Smith, with Dr. Bill Brister, left, graduate admissions director, and James Coggin, the father of Allison Coggin Lee.

Lee Scholarship Goes To 2003 Alumna Jennifer Smith of Jackson has been awarded the Allison Coggin Lee Scholarship for the 2005–06 academic year.

Smith is a graduate of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and received her bachelor of business administration from Millsaps College in 2003. As an undergraduate student, Smith was a President’s Scholar and was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the business honorary society. Smith is currently employed by Nejam Properties in Jackson, where she is a leasing manager.

She is beginning the M.B.A. program this summer.

The $10,000 scholarship is the largest awarded to a Millsaps M.B.A. student. It was established in memory of Allison Coggin Lee, an Else School graduate. The recipient must exemplify exceptional aptitude for graduate business study, exhibit involvement in College and community activities, and demonstrate business professionalism and highly developed communication abilities.

Babbitt, Cochran Headline 2005 Commencement It was a road trip from Princeton University that brought Milton Babbitt, one of the most revered and influential figures in 20th century music, back to his childhood home of Jackson to receive an honorary doctor of arts degree at the Commencement ceremony in May. “Babbitt’s music is discussed in virtually every music history textbook in use today,” said Dr. Frances Lucas, president of the College, in her

introductory remarks. “For the past five decades he has had an unparalleled influence on serious music and thinking about music.”

While Babbitt’s impact is felt in music, it is in politics that Senator Thad Cochran, keynote speaker, wields his own considerable authority. The son of a principal and teacher in the schools of Pontotoc, Mississippi, and an accomplished scholar who has worked tirelessly on behalf of education, the Mississippi Republican received the honorary degree of doctor of laws.

Cochran, now chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, challenged the Class of 2005 to stay involved in the political process. “I heard once of a recent college graduate who was contemplating what to do with his or her life after college and a friend suggested politics as an option,” he said.

“The response was, ‘I am certainly not going to have anything to do with politics.’

Whereupon another friend who was listening in on the conversation said, ‘Well, politics is certainly going to have a lot to do with you.’

“That is something to think about, maybe not in the sense that it should be a

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Student Body Association President Paige Henderson leading the Class of 2005 into the Bowl at Commencement.

profession everyone should consider, but in the context that we all are affected by political decisions that someone makes every day, and it means we should take part in the process.”

Honorary degrees also went to Kathryn Loeb Wiener and Howard McMillan Jr. Wiener received the doctor of public service degree for her work on behalf of such cultural institutions as the Mississippi Museum of Art, Mississippians for Public Broadcasting, and the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience.

The Else School of Management’s executive in residence, Howard McMillan Jr., who has served as the president of Deposit Guaranty National Bank and a director of the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta, was honored with a doctor of laws degree.

The Founders’ Medal, which is awarded to the graduating senior with the highest grade point average for the entire College course of study and has received a grade of “Excellent” on the comprehensive

From left, honorees Thad Cochran, Milton Babbitt, Howard McMillan Jr., and Katherine Wiener at Commencement.

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examinations, went to Ryan Day. Day planned to move to St. Louis to become a research technician at Washington University School of Medicine and to apply to M.D./Ph.D. programs over the course of the year.

The Frank and Rachel Anne Laney Award, which recognizes the graduating senior who has written the finest essay reflecting on the value of a Millsaps liberal arts education—required reading for incoming freshmen—went to Casey Parks, who not only served as editor in chief of the Purple & White but also is assistant editor of the award-winning alternative weekly the Jackson Free Press. (See related story, page 6.) The award was established in honor of Frank and Rachel Anne Laney as a tribute to their commitment to excellence in higher education. Parks’s winning paper was entitled “Your Silence Will Not Protect You,” and she is a passionate advocate of free speech. In October, she will be going to Nantes, France, to teach English to middle school classes.

The Don Fortenberry Award, which recognizes the senior considered to have performed the most notable, meritorious, diligent, and devoted service to the College with no expectation of recognition, was bestowed upon Paige Henderson.

Henderson claimed the senior year trifecta of student body president, Homecoming Queen, and Most Distinguished Woman, and she served as Campus Ministry Team co-chair, chair of the Senior Year Experience, and Team Captain for Up ’Til Dawn. The award is named for Don Fortenberry, the retiring chaplain. “My sense is that Paige is a quiet and steady contributor to the common good, just like Don Fortenberry,” said Dr. Darby Ray, director of the Faith & Work Initiative.

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“She is not a flashy leader, but I’ll bet she will live a life of dignity, vision, purpose, and compassion.”

Dr. Elise Lawton Smith, professor of art history, was the recipient of the 2005 Millsaps College Distinguished Professor Award, which recognizes faculty members who inspire students and whose writing, research, and artistic accomplishments are of the highest quality.

The award carries a cash prize of $5,000.

Dr. David Davis, associate dean of Arts and Letters, said that Smith’s “life as a teacher, scholar, mentor, and friend remind us all of what it means to be an active and positive force in society.”

The baccalaureate speaker was the Reverend Hope Ward, bishop of the Mississippi Area of the United Methodist Church and vice-chair of the Millsaps Board of Trustees. (See story, page 2.) — J. W.

Beta Gamma Sigma The Beta Gamma Sigma business honorary society at Millsaps College inducted 13 students into the chapter in April. Pictured are, back (from left), Dr. Bill Brister, president, Beta Gamma Sigma; Scott Ehrgott, 2004 M.B.A. member; Dr. Kevin Pauli, secretary, Beta Gamma Sigma; center, James A. Coggin, president and chief administrative officer, Saks Incorporated; Rob McKnight, 2005 M.B.A. inductee; Rich Knox, 2005 M.B.A. inductee; Dr. Ken Harmon, dean of the Else School of Management; front, Jennifer Smith, 2002 member; Kelly Miller, 2004 member; Lane Williamson, 2005 inductee; Megan Holcomb, 2005 inductee; Amberley Etheridge, 2005 inductee, and Anjali Pahwa, 2005 inductee. Not pictured are inductees David Metxner, Brent Guitreau, Chunfang Zhu, Jason Eastlack, Dana Van Deman, Vimala Gutti, and Terry Glenn Tullos.

Phi Beta Kappa This year’s Phi Beta Kappa inductees are standing (from left), Daniel Monroe Taylor, Doc McAlister Billingsley, Robert John Sawyer II, Matthew Hunter Marston, Trevor Clanton Theilen, Ryan Brent Day, James Benjamin Brock; seated, Kelly Ann Maddox, Natacha Marie Touchette, Arlene Rose Chiemprabha, Jennifer Dee Baynham, Adryon Mai-Lee Wong, Carly Neda Dessauer, Jamie Lynn Holcomb, Michelle Cormier, Sarah Esma Gardner-Cox, Nora Thoa Oliver, Lindsey Anne Topp, Tina Huettenrauch, Christina Leigh Giurintano, Angela Denise Ward, Stacey Elizabeth Douglas, and Alexa Rae Golliher. Not pictured are Margaret Ferrell Hyneman, Angela Bordelon Pell.

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OnCampus a gifted narrative—the same music actually played musician who and sung by those women inmates.

Stevens provided all the music, playing survived the the piano, even taking up the drums atrocities of the when her character was forced to expand concentration her repertoire or face extermination. camp by being Stevens’s voice was equally as powerful selected to an instrument, lending nuance to her perform in a character and ranging from a soaring “concentration operatic aria to raggedly whispered, hushed camp music tones as her character reached the brink of ensemble” for death.

Nazi officers.

Though Stevens’s background is The issue of providing music primarily musical, her acting is truly to be commended. With an impeccable French for their brutal accent, flawless mannerisms, and incredible oppressors as intensity, Stevens’s portrayal of a survivor their friends haunted by her own memories was and family were murdered, believable and mesmerizing. Each moment was thoughtfully rendered. Moving deftly rather than Dr. Claudia Stevens depicting moral dilemmas of the Holocaust in An Evening with Madame F. from defensive to pleading, being on the going to their verge of breakdown to gathering a quiet own deaths, is the driving moral dilemma inner strength, the emotions registered in of the piece: Was “prostituting their art” Stevens’s character were clear in her face, a crime, or did these artists simply do her posture, and her voice. what they needed to do to survive? No Stevens, herself a daughter easy answers were provided, of Holocaust survivors, gave Millsaps students and the Jackson forcing the audience to wrestle a sensational performance. community came together in February for with the horrors of that reality.

Though the stark truths about An Evening with Madame F, a wrenching There was little one-woman show about the choice-less such tragedy are difficult to encounter, a background or context provided within choices faced by victims of the Holocaust. the performance. The piece clearly assumed message of hope in the face of terror and The production was sponsored by the survival against all odds shone through some knowledge about the Holocaust on Millsaps Faith & Work Initiative, the the piece. An Evening with Madame F will the part of the audience. However, even Millsaps Jewish Culture Organization, long linger in the minds of all who sat in observers without prior knowledge of the the Chaplain’s Office, and the Millsaps Nazi horrors would be touched by the pain the auditorium and witnessed Dr. Claudia Arts & Lecture Series, as well as Beth Stevens’s opus. and power of the narrative.

Israel Congregation and the Goldring/ — Beth Kander, an actor, Music was woven through the Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish playwright, and theatre critic .

Life.

Created and performed by Dr. Claudia Stevens, the piece was originally commissioned by the Richmond, Virginia, Jewish Federation. An Evening with Madame F has been performed in more than 100 Nicole Marie Walter, B.A. 2005, of San Diego beneath one of her sculptures for her senior art exhibit. Tentatively communities, featured on radio broadcasts, entitled Cocoon, the sculpture is made of newspapers and and produced for television by PBS. The other discarded materials to reflect the artist’s interest in piece, at once provocative, insightful, and recycling. She also said she wanted to make sculptural forms heartbreaking, riveted the audience at reminiscent of cocoons, pods, nests, and other natural forms.

Millsaps just as it has riveted the nation.

—J. Y. An Evening with Madame F tells the story of an elderly Holocaust survivor,

Singing to Survive Amid the Holocaust

REVIEW

Cocooning

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Arts & Lecture Series ‘Best Ticket in Town’ The Millsaps College Arts & Lecture Series, the longest-running cultural events venue in the city of Jackson, continues its outstanding tradition of entertainment and enrichment with a stellar lineup for the 2005–06 season.

This year’s series kicks off the season on September 29 with its traditional salute to Southern writers, featuring Mark Childress and Inman Majors. Childress, a native of Alabama, completed high school in Clinton. His novels include A World Made of Fire, V forVictor, Tender, and Crazy in Alabama. Poet and novelist Inman Majors has been published in literary journals including Antioch Review, the Connecticut Review, and the Laurel Review. He is the author of two novels: Swimming in Sky and

Wonderdog. He teaches creative writing at Hollins University.

At a date in November yet to be announced, the art of forensic science will come under investigation when Dr. Louis Cataldie, coroner for Baton Rouge parish for over 10 years, comes to campus.

Cataldie, the author of Coroner’s Journal: Stalking Death in Louisiana, worked on such high profile cases as the Malvo/ Muhammad “Beltway Sniper” shootings and the Derrick Todd Lee serial murders.

Also on the fall schedule is a program on Southern songwriters featuring Will Kimbrough, Kate Campbell, and Carey Hudson, B.S. 1985. Kimbrough almost single-handedly crafted the hugely popular southern independent pop movement.

Campbell’s unique vision has earned her more comparisons to authors than to fellow musicians. EntertainmentWeekly referred to her as a “musical Eudora Welty.”

Hudson led two influential roots-rock

bands (Blue Mountain and the Hilltops) before striking out on his own brilliant career as a musician and songwriter.

Other programs on the Arts & Lecture bill include an appearance by internationally known garden designer Phillip Watson on January 17, and Laurie Smith, of The Learning Channel’s Trading Spaces and a Madison native, will appear February 9. Writer and theologian Revi Aslan, author of No god but God, an examination of Islam, is also slated to appear February 22, and the season wraps up on March 7 with the spectacular East European folk dance troupe FRULA. “We hope to top the super successes of last year,” said Luran Buchanan, executive director of the Arts & Lecture Series.“We are expanding to seven programs and planning something for everyone: writing, music, current events, the creative arts, and family entertainment. This is the best ticket in town.” —J.Y.

Piano Benchmark Music major Ben Tomlinson (seated at piano) performed Beethoven’s Sonata in E major, Op. 109, and Chopin’s Ballade in F major, Op. 38, at his junior piano recital in May in the recital hall of the Ford Academic Complex. “It was certainly one of the finest junior recitals we’ve ever had,” said Dr. Jonathan Sweat, emeritus professor of music.

It is thanks to Sweat that Tomlinson, recipient of a Sweat scholarship, has had the opportunity to study music here, and the two have had a long and enduring friendship. “He taught me at music camp when I was very young, and he has always been generous with his encouragement and advice,” Tomlinson said.

“I share with many people who know him a tremendous respect for him as a person.”

“You know, Ben and I are the only two native Corinthians on campus,” Sweat said, proudly.

Tomlinson said it was his piano teacher, Dr. Rachel Heard, who helped him most in the months leading up to his performance. “I’m very appreciative to have had the opportunity to work with such a high-caliber musician and teacher,” Tomlinson said. “I’m looking forward to preparing for my senior recital and graduate auditions with Dr. Heard, who has been as much a friend and supporter as a professor to me.”

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“It was a pleasure working with Ben on the Op. 109 Sonata,” Heard said. “Because of their musical depth, the last three of Beethoven’s sonatas are not usually studied until graduate school or later. But when a student like Ben comes along who has such a special affinity for Beethoven’s works, it makes it very difficult to say no.”

The recital program, by all accounts, presented a formidable challenge. “Playing the Beethoven sonata was a great accomplishment for me because I spent a year working on it, and it’s the most rigorous piece I’ve played so far,” Tomlinson said.

“The Beethoven sonata is rarely performed,” Sweat said. “Not only is it technically demanding, but it was written in the last part of his life and is considered almost transcendental. Ben’s musical understanding is such that he sounds as if he has really lived.”

“Not yet,” Tomlinson said, grinning. —J.W.

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Taking part in the presentation of the Taylor Collection were, from left, Debra McIntosh, College archivist; Mabel Pittman Middleton, church historian; Richard A. Smith, senior vice president and dean of the College; Tom Henderson, College librarian; the Reverend Wendell Taylor, and his wife, Geneva.

A New Chapter “So much of early For Wilson Library African-American Methodist history in the state was handed down by oral tradition.

Not much exists in written form, which makes Reverend Taylor’s collection of Journals all the more significant.”

This year, the Millsaps-Wilson Library has seen a flood of gifts, as well as honors and awards for its staff, helping to expand the library’s already considerable resources and exhibitions.

The additions include new materials on 19th-century African-American Mississippi Methodism, as well as a stained glass window to be donated by the Class of 2005 in honor of the Reverend Don Fortenberry, who this year retired from active service after 30 years as Millsaps chaplain. The library is also receiving gifts from one of its own, Dr. Thomasina Blissard, who passed away in September 2004.

The collection on early Mississippi Methodism comes thanks to Reverend Wendell Taylor, longtime minister of Central Methodist Church in Jackson and former superintendent of the Hattiesburg District. In March, the 90-year-old minister presented his collection of the Annual Conference Journal to the J. B. Cain Archives of Mississippi Methodism, a special collection in the Millsaps-Wilson Library.

His Journal collection is from the conference of black churches in the southern half of the state, and the writings date from the 1880s to 1972. They include the minutes of the Mississippi Annual Conference of the Methodist Church, former Central Jurisdiction, and the Mississippi Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church (North). This donation fulfills a promise made by Taylor when the Methodist archives were established 23 years ago by the College and the Church.

Taylor and his gift to the J. B. Cain Archives have enriched the Millsaps-Wilson Library. “Twenty-three of the 61 journals Reverend Taylor donated to the archives are original material, new information that fills in the gaps in our records,” said Debra McIntosh, College archivist. “So much of early African-American Methodist history in the state was handed down by oral tradition. Not much exists in written form, which makes Reverend Taylor’s collection of Journals all the more significant.”

Dr. Thomasina Blissard left a bequest to the library in honor of Bethany Swearingen, who served as the library director from 1951 to 1963. Blissard worked there from 1953 to 1955 as an assistant librarian. “We appreciate Dr. Blissard’s generous gift to the Millsaps Library,” said Dudley Marble, of the Millsaps College advancement office. “She knew Miss Swearingen was a vital part of Millsaps as head librarian, and the gift will assist the Millsaps-Wilson Library in so many ways.”

In April, Dr. James Cavett, B.A. 1941, presented to the College archives an American flag that was flown over the USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 2004, to honor the memory of Millsaps classmate Pemble Field, who was on the battleship at the time of the bombing on Dec. 7, 1941. According to U.S. Navy records, Ensign Field, stationed in the lower handling room in turret III, was among the last sailors to leave the ship alive after confirming everyone in the turret had gotten out and battling the fires on deck.

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The flag, a dark cherry folded flag case, and a framed certificate of presentation were given to the College archives by Cavett and his son, Dr. Clinton Cavett, 1970, of Roanoke, Virginia. Clinton Cavett recently visited the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor and arranged for the flag acquisition.

Gifts for the library are even projected to continue into the future, as in the case of the stained-glass window donated by this year’s senior class in honor of Fortenberry.

Students raised funds for the window as part of the Senior Year Experience, and the window will most likely be installed in late summer.

The library staff itself was the recipient of the Harrilyn Sallis Quality Service Award this December. The Sallis Awards are presented annually to the individual employee and the department that best exemplify excellence in service to the community. These awards are named for Harrilyn G. Sallis, retired dean of adult education at Millsaps, who founded the staff council. The Sallis Award recipients are nominated by their colleagues, those who are in the best position to see the quality of their work.

In addition, the Mississippi Library Association Scholarship Committee has awarded the 2005 Peggy May Scholarship

to circulation supervisor Ryan Roy. Criteria for the scholarship include academic excellence, leadership capabilities, and an evidence of commitment to a career in the field of library and information science in Mississippi.

“The scholarship is named for Peggy Jane May, who devoted her time and energy to the advancement of libraries in the state of Mississippi, and was established after her death to support her commitment to recruiting talented individuals to the profession,” said June Schmidt, associate dean for technical services for the Mitchell Memorial Library at Mississippi State University and chair of the scholarship committee. “Ryan Roy was highly recommended by his colleagues at the Millsaps-Wilson Library as intelligent, dedicated, patient, and possessing tremendous potential as a truly excellent librarian.”

Roy is working on his master’s degree in library science from the University of Southern Mississippi, and the scholarship money will go toward his tuition for the fall semester. He expects to complete the degree in the fall of 2007.

“I’m thrilled to be the recipient of the 2005 Peggy May Scholarship,” he said. “It’s an honor to be recognized by the Mississippi Library Association, and I look forward to upholding a quality of service worthy of this award. Working in the Millsaps-Wilson Library has been extremely rewarding. All the staff here have been great mentors, and I can only hope that my career in librarianship continues to be as pleasant as it has been thus far.” —Chris Spear, J.Y.

The framed certificate of presentation for the American flag from the USS Arizona Memorial (shown here in its cherry case) was given to the College archives by Dr. James Cavett and his son, Dr. Clinton Cavett.

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Dr. James E. Bowley and Lindsey Topp, B.A. 2005, in summer 2004 at Qumran Cave 11, where Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

Bowley Brings Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit to Life Dr. James E. Bowley, associate professor of religious studies, served as the consultant for the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Gulf Coast Exploreum in Mobile, Alabama, from February 2004 to April 2005. Bowley assisted the museum directors in designing the presentation’s layout, content, and audio guides.

He also led tours, spoke to church, synagogue, and community groups, was interviewed by numerous newspapers, and was one of 10 of the world’s leading Scrolls scholars who lectured at the exhibit. He spoke on “The Mysterious Copper Scrolls” to an audience of 500 in April.

Bowley earned his Ph.D. in 1992 from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he first studied the Dead Sea Scrolls with senior scholar Ben Zion Wacholder. In addition to writing many articles about the Scrolls, Bowley is an editor for the official Dead Sea Scroll Concordance, a multivolume and multiyear project published by E. J. Brill, a leading European academic publisher.

Since coming to Millsaps in 2002, Bowley has taught courses related to many aspects of the Bible, ancient Judaism, and Christianity and has led students to Israel for archaeological digging.

Next year, Prentice Hall will release his Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: A Guided Tour of Israel’s Sacred Library. It will incorporate more material from the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls than any other textbook to date. Bowley wrote this introduction over the course of several years, specifically for undergraduates, and it

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has been “tested” by Millsaps classes.

“My Millsaps students, and especially my assistant Matthew Marston [B.A. 2005], have given me excellent feedback as I seek to make my work accessible, appealing, and of the highest intellectual quality,” Bowley said. “They have improved the book greatly and in so doing will have helped students all over the country in the coming years learn more about the ancient culture and literature of Israel and the Bible.”

For more information, visit home.millsaps.edu/bowleje/ and www.millsaps.edu/religion/index.shtml.

Wade Is Chosen To Lead the Offi ce Of Communications Patti Wade has been named director of communications and marketing.

Wade brings more than 20 years of experience as a public relations professional to the communications offi ce.

Prior to coming to Millsaps, she had led departments of marketing and public relations in two health-care institutions, taught college public speaking and journalism, and operated a small business for communication consulting. At both health-care institutions, she developed the communications departments into wellstaffed, organized, and effective resources.

She has worked with advertising agencies to develop communications campaigns that succeeded in raising top-of-mind awareness and in increasing market share.

Wade, who joined the College in September 2001 as special assistant to the president and later that year was asked to serve as Commencement director, has

addressed classes at the Else School of Management and presented a paper at a regional business conference on campus.

“Patti is a highly organized professional who brings to the Millsaps communications offi cea dynamic background in corporate community relations, and she knows how to articulate the evolving needs of this College with skill and grace,” said President Frances Lucas.

She holds a master’s degree in public relations and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at The University of Southern Mississippi. She has completed additional graduate course work at USM and the Else School of Management.

Wade is certifi edby the American Hospital Association Society of Hospital Marketing and Public Relations and is a current member of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi and Crossgates United Methodist Church.

Just Outstanding Dora Robertson, faculty secretary for the Division of Arts and Letters and the Division of Sciences, has won the Harrilyn Sallis Quality Service Award in the individual excellence category. The Sallis Award, named in honor of Dr. Harrylyn Sallis, dean emerita of adult learning and a strong proponent of the Millsaps College quality service initiative, goes to Millsaps College staff members and departments in recognition of outstanding service within and outside the College community. The award for excellence by a department went to the staff of the MillsapsWilson Library (see related story, page 15).

Kf^ebZ_d] 7 I j h e d ]

JhWZ_j_ed Each year, the Millsaps Annual Fund provides fi nancial resources that directly affect the quality of teaching and student life at Millsaps. Through scholarships, academic programs, and faculty or library support, your Annual Fund gift is the keystone that helps the College build on its excellence.

As Millsaps shapes its learning environment, cultivates its students and constructs new areas of study, your gift offers the support the College needs to remain one of the nation’s fi nest liberal arts colleges.

Give to the Millsaps Annual Fund today to ensure our success for generations to come.

Millsaps Annual Fund 1701 North State Street • Jackson, MS 39210 -0001 601-974 -1037 • www. millsaps.edu

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FacultyStaff & Arts and Letters Eric Griffin (English) presented a paper at Cambridge University in a joint meeting of the Renaissance Society of America and the Society for Renaissance Studies, U.K. Griffin also published an essay, “The Specter of Spain in the Colonial Writing of Captain John Smith,” in Envisioning an English

Empire: Jamestown and the Making of the North Atlantic World (Philadelphia:

University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005) and a review article on Thomas Kyd in Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England (winter-spring 2005).

In February, Paula Garrett (English), writing program director, and Griffin, along with two peer writing tutors— sophomore biology major Becky Lasoski and junior English major Anna Ellis— presented a panel discussion on “Making the Connection: The Writing Program’s Role in Fostering Critical Thinking as a Liberal Arts Ability” at the Southeastern Writing Center Association conference in Charleston, S.C. This panel discussed various levels of interaction between the Writing Center and College-wide efforts to teach critical thinking skills.

Patrick Hopkins (philosophy) wrote two

entries for the new second edition of the 10-volume

Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

Kathi Griffin (Writing Center) and four peer tutors—history major Wes French, English major Michael Pickard, and sociology major Megan Parks, all 2004 graduates, and classics major Mike Parks, B.A. 2005—wrote an article, “Becoming Mindful of the Absent Professor: Teacher/Tutor Relationships at a Small College,” which has been accepted for the fall 2005 edition of the International Writing Center Association Newsletter, Purdue University. In addition, Griffin was invited to the Southwest Mississippi Writing Conference at Alcorn State University to discuss the types, purpose, and assessment of writing portfolios.

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published by the Gale/ Thomson group.

One is on “Heterosexism” and the other is on “Natural Law.” He also guest edited the October issue of Calliope, an educational children’s magazine on history. That included the article “Is Anyone Wiser Than Socrates?” and a play, based on Plato’s dialogue “Phaedo,” Why the Philosopher Is Happy to Die: A Play. He also had an article accepted for publication in the Journal of Evolution and Technology entitled “Transcending the Animal: How Transhumanism and Religion Are and Are Not Alike,” to appear in late 2005.

Last June, he was a guest on Mississippi public television’s Statewide Live public affairs talk show on stem-cell research.

In October, he was a guest on the Chicago-based radio talk show Odyssey: A Daily Talk Show of Ideas, hosted by

Gretchen Helfrich and distributed by Public Radio International. He discussed women and technology.

Suzanne Marrs (English) will have her book Eudora Welty: A Biography, published in August by Harcourt.

During August, she discussed the book at Lemuria in Jackson, the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, and Pass Christian Books on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. (See related story, page 4.)

This past spring, Sandra Murchison (art) had a solo exhibition of her work at the Upper Iowa University Art Gallery.

She also assisted with a printmaking demonstration at the Southern Graphics Council Conference in Washington, D.C., in March. An edition of Murchison’s prints has been included in an exchange portfolio of professional printmakers. This portfolio will be exhibited at The Center for Book Arts in New York City, Fordham University, Long Island University, Anderson Arts Center in Kenosha, Wis., Louisiana State University, and our own Lewis Art Gallery at Millsaps in the spring of 2006. Murchison also had a print accepted into the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel for a juried exhibition of Mississippi art professors. One other combination print of hers was accepted into a highly competitive national exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center.

Darby Ray (religious studies)

contributed to a new theology textbook,

Constructive Theology: A Contemporary Approach to Classical Themes, published

by Fortress Press in 2005. This book was the collaborative effort of 40 major North American theologians. She served as contributing editor of the chapter on sin and evil. In March, Ray delivered the Arrington Lecture at the University of the South’s School of Theology.

The lecture was entitled “Incarnation, Ingenuity, and Imagination” and based on Ray’s book in progress, Christic

campus community f a c u l t y & s t a f f

Imagination: An Ethic of Incarnation and Ingenuity.

Hollis Robbins (English) presented

a paper entitled “Toward a Theory of Postal Narrative” at the 2005 International Conference of the Society for the Study of Narrative Literature in Louisville, Ky., in April. In November, she contributed a chapter to the forthcoming volume Menstruation: A Cultural History (Palgrave 2005), entitled “A Menstrual Lesson for Girls: Maria Edgeworth’s ‘The Purple Jar.’” Also, Robbins and Paula Garrett (English) have recently contracted with Oxford University Press to edit a volume of the selected works of William Wells Brown.

W. Charles Sallis, emeritus professor (history), has recently been named a member of the Five Star Society of Omicron Delta Kappa. This is in “recognition and appreciation of long and significant service” to ODK. He also was the 2005 recipient of the Mississippi Historical Society’s Dunbar Rowland Award for lifetime contributions to the study and interpretation of Mississippi history. Dr. Sallis taught at Millsaps from 1968 until his retirement in 2000.

Holly Sypniewski (classical studies) presented two papers at professional conferences in the past year including one on Plato’s Symposium and the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which she is currently developing into an article to be published in a journal volume devoted to the musical and its literary influences.

Additionally, she has been awarded a fellowship by the National Endowment for the Humanities to attend a summer seminar for six weeks in Rome, where she will study Roman religion in its cultural context.

Science Kamilla Bahbahani (education) copresented two papers at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Montreal in April. She participated in a roundtable discussion with Linda Bol, Old Dominion University, and Douglas Hacker, University of Utah, on “Can Calibration Accuracy Be Improved?” and presented a paper on “Inclusion: An Unanticipated Outcome of School Improvement” with Lynn Doyle, Old Dominion University.

George Bey III (anthropology and

sociology) co-authored a paper and chaired a session at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association in December. In March, he presented two co-authored papers and chaired a session at the Second Congress of Maya Studies in Mérida, Yucatán, and another at the annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in April. He also gave an invited lecture in April at the University of Kentucky on his work at Kiuic. During that visit he presented a talk at the University of Kentucky Museum of Art related to the traveling exhibit he curated showcasing the Pre-Columbian art of the Mississippi Museum of Art. In April, Michael Galaty (sociologyanthropology) attended an international conference in Zagreb, Croatia, “Between the Aegean and Baltic Seas: Prehistory Across Borders,” at which he presented the paper “There Are Prehistoric Cities Up There: The Bronze and Iron Ages in Northern Albania.”

A paper by Jamie Harris (geology), “Observation of Shear-Wave Splitting in Quaternary Sediments: An Indicator of In-Situ Stress Conditions?,” presented at the recent 2005 Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems (SAGEEP

2005) in Atlanta, was selected as one of the top SAGEEP 2005 Best Presentations.

The paper was selected from more than 100 oral presentations. As a SAGEEP 2005 Best Paper author, Harris has been invited to present his paper at the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers Near Surface Geoscience Division conference, Near Surface 2005.

The conference will be held Sept. 4–7, 2005, in Palermo, Italy.

Debora Mann (biology) presented a seminar on “Environmental Contaminants and Breastfeeding” at the eighth annual Breastfeeding: The Gold Standard conference in Jackson in April. Co-sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Health WIC Program and La Leche League of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the conference provides continuing education credits for nurses, dieticians, lactation consultants, and other health professionals.

Else School of Management Diane Baker (management) will be presenting a paper, “In Search of a Liberal Business Education,” at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management in Honolulu in August.

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“Assessing Economic Damages in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation: The State of Mississippi,” an article by Carl Brooking (economics), Blakely Fox Fender (economics), and Harvey Fiser (business law) is forthcoming in the Journal of Forensic Economics.

vice presidents and deans of student affairs for the 16 institutions in the ACS, including Davidson, Rollins, University of Richmond, Sewanee, Rhodes, Southwestern, and BirminghamSouthern.

Georgianna Martin (student affairs)

Ken Harmon (dean) published the

article “A Model for Investigating Telework in Accounting” in the

International Journal of Accounting Information Systems.

Walter Neely (finance) co-wrote a

paper entitled “The Role of Growth in Long-Term Investment Returns,” with John Broussard, M.B.A. 2005, and Dave Michayluk, a University of Rhode Island professor. It was published by the CIBER Research Institute and focuses on both theoretical and applied research in all areas of business and economics. The paper addresses applied research on longterm returns to stock investors.

Neely also presented a paper entitled “Teaching Security Analysis: Equity Valuation Using Value Line and MSN Stock Screener” at the Orlando annual conference of the Financial Education Association. The association focuses on teaching and educational research. The paper seeks to explain the approach used in managing the General Louis Wilson Fund.

A paper by Penelope Prenshaw (marketing) and Kimberly Burke (accounting) entitled “The Impact of Involvement on Satisfaction for New Nontraditional Service Offerings” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Services Marketing.

The Southern Economic Journal published the article “Unraveling the Productivity of Academic Economists: The Opportunity Costs of Teaching and Service,” by Susan Washburn Taylor (economics), Blakely Fox Fender, and Kimberly Gladden Burke (accounting).

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Their article, “Explaining Gender Differentials in Scholarly Productivity: The Case of Academic Economists,” is to be published in the Journal of College Teaching and Learning.

Staff Brit Katz (student affairs) has been invited to serve on the faculty for the New Professionals’ Institute, as well as the Mid-Managers Institute. Both organizations are co-sponsored by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the Southern Association of College Student Affairs. As one of five faculty in residence for both institutes, Katz will educate and train young professionals who are career-tracking in higher education administration and student-personnel services. The New Professionals’ Institute will take place at Trinity University of San Antonio. The Mid-Managers’ Institute will be held at North Carolina State University.

Both were scheduled for June 2005.

Katz has been contracted to perform consulting work for the University of North Carolina-Pembroke Division of Student Affairs. He will carry out the strategic planning and team-building retreat for the 30 professionals in the division. Katz has been named the chairperson-designate for the Associated Colleges of the South’s senior student affairs officers. Beginning in November 2005, he will chair the twice-yearly gatherings of the

presented at the American College Personnel Association Annual Conference in Nashville in April with Dr. Carney Strange of Bowling Green State University. The presentation, entitled “Responding to Spiritual Questions: Is Student Affairs Ready and Willing?” discussed assessment of spirituality among college students and raised significant issues about the readiness of student affairs administrators to integrate the spiritual dimensions of the student experience.

Molly Signs (library) systems librarian, and Allison Mays (library), acquisitions librarian, are chairperson and secretary, respectively, of the Mississippi Sirsi Users Group this year. Sirsi is the library’s online catalog, acquisitions, and circulation system.

Jesse Yancy (communications), associate director of media relations, won second place in the feature food columnist category at the 2005 Alternative Newsweekly Awards. This is the 10th year of the annual awards, which recognize the best work in the 123 newsweeklies that belong to the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies.

Yancy, who placed second out of five finalists, is a frequent contributor to the local alternative newsweekly the Jackson Free Press.

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FacultyStaff & What Millsaps faculty and staff are reading, including their own reviews and comments: Dr. Kristen Brown, professor of philosophy, has been reading McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, which she said she loves “because of its main character, a resourceful and caring middleaged woman who opens a detective agency in her home country, Botswana.”

Her favorite book this year, however, was Expecting Adam, a memoir that she says reads like a novel and is funny, too.

The author, Martha Beck, is a woman seeking her third degree from Harvard who decides, to the perplexity of the “intelligence-before-all” Harvardites around her, not to abort her Down syndrome baby.

“It’s a fun and heartwarming read that broaches a confl ictbetween ‘intelligence’ and caring.”

Frances Coker, professor of sociology, has been reading Freedom Is a Constant Struggle,

by Kenneth (Andy) Andrews, a Millsaps and Harvard graduate, now professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina. “This book is a critical account of the history and legacy of the Mississippi civil rights movement.”

Dr. Michael Galaty, professor of anthropology, recently fi nishedreading Bill Bryson’s AWalk in theWoods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, which chronicles the author’s attempt, along with a friend, to through-walk (start to fi nish,Georgia to Maine) the Appalachian Trail. “The punch line is that they are both middle-aged, overweight, and entirely out of shape, and his friend is a recovering alcoholic. It is absolutely hilarious, and enlightening, too.”

Dr. Eric Griffi n, associate professor of English, said he found Philip Roth’s latest

novel, The Plot Against America, to be a real page-turner. “Roth’s ‘what-if’ vision of a 1940s America turning its back on its European allies while pandering to the Third Reich is truly chilling. Some have suggested that Roth’s allegory is heavy-handed in the parallels it draws with our contemporary political climate. I understand where these readers are coming from but don’t fi ndthis quality of the book objectionable. We’re living in an era in which subtlety gets drowned out. So, go, Roth, show us what we might have been, and just might be becoming.”

Dr. Ken Harmon, dean of the Else School

of Management, has been reading two books: The Art of War, by Sun Tzu, “a classic reference that can be applied to strategic planning,” and Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, by Natalie Goldberg, who “combines whimsical anecdotes, Zen principles, and good practical advice on being a better writer.”

Allison Mays, acquisitions/serials librarian,

has been reading Ten Big Ones, by Janet Evanovich. “The adventures of bounty hunter Stephanie Plum continue with a cast of zany characters, including her Grandmother Mazur, her sometimes boyfriend Joe Morelli, and Ranger, Man of Mystery. In this book, a gang has a contract out on Stephanie and as she tries to avoid being terminated, she can’t seem to help burning up yet another car.”

Jim Parks, College librarian emeritus, is

reading Tony Hillerman’s Skeleton Man, the latest in the series of mysteries by Hillerman set in the Four Corners area of the West. “These novels have a unique fl avorof contemporary life and ancient lore of Native Americans mixed into crime-solving by Navajo detective Joe Leaphorn and Sergeant Jim Chee. Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, by Thich Nhat Hanh, is a promising start on my efforts

to understand the ‘core teachings of Buddhism’ as promised on the cover. In 1995, I was a participant in a Millsaps Leadership Seminar, taught by then-Dean Robert King, on ‘Contemplation and Action.’

This remarkable seminar dealt with many aspects of contemplation, the world of Zen, and mindfulness in a way that has stayed with me since; thus my search for a good book on basic Buddhism.”

Dr. Darby Ray, professor of religion and director of the Faith & Work Initiative, has fi nishedLinden Hills, by Gloria Naylor, “a gripping fi ctionalexploration into the pressures and demons of black uppermiddle-class existence: part mystery novel, part gothic, with sharp doses of class, race, and gender analysis. Naylor uses Dante’s Inferno as a model for commenting on the price of success in contemporary consumer culture.”

Dr. Steven Smith, professor of religion and philosophy, has been reading Patrick Allitt’s I’m the Teacher, You’re the Student, which he calls “an Emory professor’s beautifully written day-to-day account of teaching his U.S. History 1877–2000 course one recent spring semester, with wide-ranging refl ectionson higher education and contemporary American culture. Allitt’s experiences are similar to ours here at Millsaps but with interesting differences, too.” Smith has also been reading David Kherdian’s Monkey: A Journey to theWest.

“The classic 16th-century spiritual quest ‘novel,’ a rich stew of Chinese religion and culture, is hugely entertaining in Kherdian’s retelling. It’s funny as all get-out and allegorically provocative at the same time (that rascal Monkey stands of course for the human mind). I’m glad this is back in print so I can use it in my Core 3 (Premodern World) class this spring.”

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Meet Millsaps TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2005

THE CLARKSDALE PRESS REGISTER

3B

DELTA KIDS “The Millsaps students,

Dr. Kamilla Bahbahani’s Early Literacy I answers to what are often challenging and who had bylines in the sophisticated brain teasers.“In one case, a local and Field Research in Reading class has put principles of elementary education into doctor sent word for me to put the answers in paper as contributing circulation—to the tune of 6,300 readers the paper!” Larson said. every week—with the Clarksdale Press And educators seem pleased with editors, worked to Register’s Delta Kids page, which is aimed the results.“We were able to use it for at fostering literacy among children in the create multidisciplinary supplementary activities for second, fourth, Mississippi Delta.The page is distributed in fifth, and sixth graders, both for large and activities, linking Coahoma, Bolivar,Tallahatchie, Quitman, small groups and individual work,” said Susan and Tunica counties, and other newspapers Berryhill, principal of St. George’s Episcopal math problems with have expressed interest in creating a similar Day School.“The information that the kids page. was good, and it was personalized. I language arts concepts, received The Delta Kids page reaches into also think the activities were varied enough to approximately 50 school settings, including keep the children interested and stimulated.” and exploring science GED classes, according to Flo Larson, “It is an extremely effective program through new vocabulary.” because it’s tied into the educational Newspapers in Education coordinator for the Press Register. NIE circulates the paper curriculum that is taught daily by teachers to about 3,700 children every Tuesday, in in our district,” said Sadie Dorsey, assistant addition to the daily paper’s regular readership, Larson said. superintendent and federal programs director for Clarksdale Municipal Last summer, Larson spoke with Dr. Connie Schimmel, chair of the School District.“When Millsaps students intervened, personalities were education department at Millsaps College, and together they conceived revealed and structure and content improved.” of a project that would deploy Millsaps students to help create exercises The Millsaps students, who had bylines in the paper as contributing for the paper’s existing education page, which has incorporated editors, worked to create multidisciplinary activities, linking math standards for the Mississippi Curriculum Test into games and activities. problems with language arts concepts, and exploring science through From there, Bahbahani, assistant professor of education, asked her new vocabulary, Bahbahani said. Jokes were used to help students work students to develop integrated sets of activities that would link subject on skills of prediction, understand cause and effect, recognize order in areas and allow students to learn and use new knowledge in multiple language, learn about parts of speech, and find ways that words can be ways. used.

These educational activities are popular with readers of all ages, The students critiqued one another’s work in small groups, received encouraging development of language and math abilities, Bahbahani feedback from the professor, and then revised their projects before said.“For example, Millsaps students might select a related set of publication. vocabulary for a week’s worth of activities,” Bahbahani said.“They Jewel Johnson, a junior from Houston, Mississippi, took part in the would use these words in multiple ways, figuring out their meanings, Delta Kids project and reports her experiences here. — J.W. using the words in context, and finding antonyms or synonyms.”

The page has a readership that extends beyond the schools, Larson said, with readers from all walks of life constantly writing in requesting

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By Jewel Johnson

T

he class listened attentively as Dr. Kamilla Bahbahani enthusiastically explained that we would all be creating individual activity pages to submit for publication into a small Mississippi newspaper.

Although some students had experience submitting activities for the newspaper from other classes, I was one of the few students who had not.

With the help of education department professors, students design activities in areas such as math, reading comprehension, language arts, social studies, and science according to the Mississippi Department of Education’s standards and curriculum. Teachers in the Clarksdale area use the page as an educational resource in the classroom.

My initial thought of the assignment was one of excitement. I would not only have the opportunity to tutor students in reading, but also to develop exercises that would enrich their classroom experience.

As I began searching for samples of various subject activities, I realized that it is not an easy task to create new and original learning activities. Normally, I am a bit of a procrastinator, but I was so excited about the assignment that I started working on it immediately.

After a couple days of reviewing sample activities and previous Delta Kids pages, I felt ready to begin my own. Beginning with the language arts section, I decided to design a homophone activity. My directions asked students to match the homophones (e.g., plane and plain), and in the following activity to complete sentences using the words they matched in the previous activity.

These fi rstexercises were not diffi cult to design, but I had trouble thinking of

other fun language arts activities, so I decided to skip to the math section. After writing several word problems, creating a number pattern exercise, and designing a series of multiplication problems that were required to solve a riddle, I was fi nished.

The most diffi cultsection for me was geography. I had no idea what to include in this section. Since the assignment was not due for another week, I could afford to take a few days to brainstorm, and that is exactly what I did. When I began working on my Delta Kids assignment again, I had decided to create an activity using Mississippi counties. As a child, I loved word scrambles, so I chose 10 counties, and scrambled their names. In the next exercise, I asked the students to match the counties from the word scramble with the county seats I had listed.

This geography section gave me an idea for a fi nallanguage arts activity. Choctaw County was one of the counties I used in the word scramble. I searched the website of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and found information to use in a reading comprehension exercise. The exercise included a paragraph about the history of the Choctaws and comprehension questions for students to answer.

When I submitted my completed Delta Kids assignment, I knew I had done my best, but I was not altogether confi dentin my work. So I decided to take copies of my activities to third grade students I tutor in reading as a fi eld test for the exercises.

The students enjoyed working the activities, and I fi nallyfelt a bit of pride and confi dencein what I had created. To my surprise, a few weeks later, my very fi rstsubmission was chosen for publication on the Delta Kids page. These activities were the result of hard work that Delta Kids page readers do not see.

While creating activities was a fun learning experience, it took a great deal of work. And that work was worth the reward of knowing that children would benefi t.

“I would not only have the opportunity to tutor students in reading, but also to develop exercises that would enrich their classroom experience.”

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‘O ‘I

verall, I believe that The Meaning of Work is the best class that I have taken this semester. I think that it should be made into one of the core requirements.”

—Freshman Anansa Bailey

think Dr. Ray tried to give every group a difficult challenge. (For instance, my profile included a severe asthma problem; some profiles dealt with children or a lack of transportation.) But these are realistic challenges that people face.”

—Freshman Danielle Cook

By Jesse Yancy

Let’s face it: Millsaps students are highly motivated, able-bodied, good-looking young people.In other words, people with a future. But what if they never finished college?What if their only motivation was subsistence?What if they couldn’t afford health care? What if they weren’t even goodlooking? They would still have to work. And work is what Dr. Darby Ray’s class is all about; at Millsaps, the mind hits the streets.

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hrough the College’s Faith & Work Initiative, students have the opportunity to make connections between academic learning and personal, professional, and spiritual growth.

The Meaning of Work course, a subset of the initiative, is an investigation into work itself: who works and who doesn’t, what makes work work as opposed to leisure, when people work, where people work, and why people work, all questions that provide a rich mixture for intellectual exploration.

The course explores issues of value, purpose, function, organization, and justice in relation to the meaning of work from several perspectives, including philosophy, theology, sociology, psychology, and management. Ray uses a variety of texts to stimulate questions and provoke discussion.

But the heart of the course is a project designed to bring students face-to-face with reality: “Getting Real in Jackson.”

The working text for the course was written by essayist and cultural critic Barbara Ehrenreich. When she pitched to her publisher the idea of doing a book on how anyone lives on unskilled wages, Ehrenreich proposed that “someone ought to get out there and try it for themselves,” proposing an exercise in good, old-fashioned journalism that sets out to discover just how to survive by working jobs that pay only half of what is

considered a “living wage.”

“I meant someone much younger than myself (Ehrenreich was 60 at the time), some hungry neophyte journalist with time on her hands.” But her editor “got this crazy-looking half smile on his face and ended life as I knew it, for long stretches at least, with the single word ‘you.’”

So Ehrenreich, who has a doctorate in biology from Rockefeller University, undertook the task of abandoning her relatively secure, sedate, upper-middleclass life and casting herself adrift among the crowded flotsam and jetsam of America’s job market. Like millions of other people do every day, she looked for a job and a place to live, worked, and tried to make ends meet.

The result, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, describes an exercise in futility. Ehrenreich found work as a waitress in Florida, as a cleaning woman in Maine, and as a Wal-Mart associate in Minnesota. None of these (with the possible exception of the maid job in Maine) turned into a career opportunity; the work was demeaning and demoralizing, the hours were brutal, and the tests—both written and physical—were dehumanizing.

For obvious reasons, Ray’s students could not take a similar tack since that would have obligated them to (among other things) drop out of school. So Ray devised an ingenious method of taking her students to the streets by dividing them into teams and assigning s p r i n g – s u m m e r 2 0 0 5

25

A ‘

t first, we were proud of our tacos and spaghetti dinners every other night, only water

to drink, and half a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. We thought we had learned how to budget. Then, we compared that to how we grew up, how we live in college, and how we planned to live after graduation and began to see how blessed and naïve we really are. We weren’t just getting real for our project; we were getting a real understanding of how things are.”

each one a personal scenario from which they would work through the challenges of making a living.

One such scenario was that of a 25-year-old African-American male, “Andy,” just back from the war in Iraq, where he had served for 22 months in a U.S. Marines infantry division. His grandmother, who had raised him from a baby, had developed late-stage heart disease, and he had come home to Jackson to care for her. His grandmother lives with her aging sister, her sister’s two grown daughters, and their three children in a small home. His grandmother sleeps on the couch, and he sleeps on the living room floor; she needs oxygen and help with her meals and sanitary necessities because her movements are restricted.

Andy has $1,400 and his grandfather’s old Dodge pickup, which is not running so well. He dropped out of high school during the 10th grade, took the train to Chicago, and lived there on the streets for six years before getting his life together. He worked as a janitor in a large Chicago church for six months while he prepared to join the Marines. He had hoped to stay in the service long enough to learn a trade, but when his grandmother’s health deteriorated, his aunt called him to come home to care for her.

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—Becca Day, B.A. 2005 Freshmen Anansa Bailey, John Kellogg, and Terrel Sugar and junior Andrea Dewey were assigned to Andy’s case.

According to their team evaluation, “Since Andy had enlisted in the Marines, we first sought to find him an opportunity affiliated with the armed forces.”

The team contacted a local marine enlisting office and read their description of Andy over the telephone. The recruiter concluded that since Andy did not finish his term in the military, he must have been given some sort of hardship discharge, which disqualifies him not only for a job with the armed services, but also for benefits.

During these initial stages of the project, the students were introduced to one of the most fundamental texts imaginable: the classified ads. And Ray’s students, like millions of other Americans, found the classified ads a gateway to disillusionment.

“Students find out how useless the classifieds are when they try to respond to them,” Ray said. “They discover that most of these ads are there simply because it’s cheaper and more convenient for employers to keep them in print rather than to resubmit them again and again and again for the same old high-turnover jobs. Phone calls are rarely returned, and interviews are never scheduled.”

‘I

always thought that if you really tried to make it in America, you would—that all it took was hard work, dedication, and desire. The project blew this notion out of the water. Even if you are gung-ho about finding a job (or three) and getting cheap housing and finding those low-cost groceries, it is downright hard and sometimes impossible to truly make it. I think the class and the project forced me to take a more realistic approach to life.”

—Danielle Cook

Discovering that the world is largely indifferent to their attempts to gain employment and housing is often the first step in a student’s road toward becoming more aware of how close to the edge many Americans live. Unemployment statistics take on a new meaning. For many, it’s a first look at the bare bulb that illuminates a harsh reality.

Yet through the classifieds, Andy found a job listed at a local car wash as an auto glass technician, which began with six days of training. Andy’s in-service week paid $6 an hour, the evaluation said, “and after training, his rate of pay was $5.15 an hour, with an extra dollar per every six cars that he serviced. Andy was to work five days a week for eight hours a day. On his sixth day, he received time and a half for eight hours, at a rate of $7.73 an hour.”

The group also explored the possibility of taking on another job for Andy, an exterminator’s, but concluded that, for the time being at least, the job at the car wash would have to work. They found a small house for Andy and his grandmother in Belhaven, priced the bare essentials of furnishings from the Salvation Army, and arranged hypothetical health care for his grandmother.

The students didn’t neglect his future. According to the group

statement, “Though Andy is only making minimum wage, even with the occasional bonus, he does have some room for upward mobility.

Being one of two auto glass technicians at the car wash, Andy could get a promotion if he chooses to stay with the job long enough.

We also looked into continuing education opportunities; since our description provided that Andy hoped to stay in the Marines long enough to earn a trade, we investigated local trade schools.” The group determined that their subject had resolved to continue his education; a local community college might be a feasible option.

What would become of Andy is perhaps anyone’s guess. But one thing is for certain: These students parted Ray’s class with a new appreciation for the chasm between relative wealth and poverty in this nation.

As group member Andrea Dewey summed up the project, “Finding a job for myself is one thing, but changing me and challenging me is another thing altogether.”

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Right

Money on the

Else Dean Ken Harmon and restaurateur Jeff Good discuss the evolving role of business in education

O “You have to develop the

sponge and give students a thirst

for knowledge, for absorbing.”

—Ken Harmon

28 mm ii ll ll ss aa pp ss

m aa gg aa zz ii nn e e m

n a busy morning at Bravo!—one of Jackson’s more successful restaurants—the kitchen is preparing for the lunch crowd.With a sweeping, rhythmic motion, a cook uses a long-handled peel to slide plump loaves of bread into the wood-burning brick oven.The pungent aroma of yeast and smoldering embers mingles with the smell of coffee, olive oil, and garlic to evoke a heady ambience of abundance.There is a quiet swirl of activity as the staff prepares the dining room.

It is against this backdrop of plenty, amid the banquettes of the sun-splashed dining room, that Dr. Ken Harmon, dean of the Else School of Management, and Jeff Good, B.B.A. 1986 and owner of Bravo! and the Broad Street Baking Co., are discussing the future of the business program at Millsaps.

This conversation comes at a time when the Else School is seeking to position its strategically driven branding message, one designed to further distinguish the Millsaps M.B.A. program, which—judged by most any standard, from value to academic excellence—trumps any other M.B.A. available in the state.

But there are obstacles. Applications to business schools are down. Many students want a faster, cheaper, and easier M.B.A. to add to their résumés.The Millsaps business program has had limited visibility, and Jackson colleges must still overcome nagging prejudices about Mississippi to attract students from afar.

Making Jackson attractive has long been a priority for Good, a force behind many community-based initiatives to improve the city’s image. Part of that effort has been his contributions to the Jackson restaurant scene. Indeed, that Good, the product of a Millsaps business education, would conceive of an award-winning establishment like Bravo! makes perfect sense. After all, Bravo! draws its inspiration from the Mediterranean, cradle of the Renaissance, to serve a fusion style of cuisine that he says “brings together elements of different ethnic cooking styles and ingredients that harmonize with one another such that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Similarly, the Else School has looked to the Renaissance as a model for its own fusion menu—which creates from both business

and liberal arts disciplines a curriculum that, too, is greater than the sum of its parts.

Good, as a successful entrepreneur, and Harmon, as a leading educator, are two of the best business minds in town. And it is with an eye toward creative problem-solving that they are discussing, over Good’s special 50-50 blend of dark and mild roast coffee, the strengths of the Millsaps business program, its future, and the changing landscape of the business culture worldwide.

—J.W.

HARMON: So, Jeff, what was your business experience at Millsaps?

GOOD: I graduated in ’86 with a B.B.A. I had two mentors: Ray Phelps, associate professor of marketing, and Walter Neely, professor of finance. I was focusing on marketing and statistical research. Ray had given me the opportunity to do a directed study. I did two, one for a hospital and one for a funeral home, where I interviewed the principals, found out what their issues were that they wanted to uncover, created a survey, and did the survey. It was a fascinating experience that took everything that I’d learned to that point and put it into a practical sense.

That was your senior year?

Yes, but it turned out to be a lifetime of experience. My two mentors, those two gentlemen, helped mold my ability to take the book stuff and to make some form of tangible output come from that, and those two projects were the apex of my Millsaps career because they constituted every discipline, from Heritage to learning how to write.

What I have found is that we think more about the whole person, the liberal arts, the writing, the communication, the bigger picture of business. Even though we’re teaching skills like everybody else, we’re doing something different.

Some of that is a manifestation of small classes.You sit in a room with 10-15 people in a seminar-style setting and it’s a whole different experience from sitting in a room with 220 people.That distinguishes Millsaps from any other experience I’ve had.

Tell me about the curriculum currently in place. They come to Millsaps as freshmen, they feel their oats, they may or may not know whether they have an inclination to go to business school. How does the business school carve out its target base?

Oftentimes it’s just by exposure. We’re a small campus, and we are starting on a strategic initiative with the divisions of Arts & Letters and Sciences to say, “Here are ways to incorporate business into any degree at Millsaps.” We feel that business is a strategic leverage point. If you look at national liberal arts institutions with Phi Beta Kappa and AACSB-accredited business schools, there are only a few like us in the country.

“Practically, what I learned at

Millsaps was how to think

creatively and think specifically.”

—Jeff Good

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I would think in recruiting that would be a big thing. You can say to students that you can not only have your cake but eat it, too.

Bingo.The strong selling point is that they could go into premed, art, or music, and they can get a business minor if they want to. We’re also structuring ways for them to think about an M.B.A. from the start.They could begin as a history major and add one year and come out with an M.B.A. We have a fifthyear program, and they can take the foundation courses that lead to the M.B.A. as their electives.

Am I wrong to think that the folks who are prelaw are excellent candidates for your program?

Not at all. Some schools have a combination M.B.A. and J.D. program, where they can just add this one-year M.B.A. It’s a great combination. We’ve already been having conversations with the medical community.They say one of the biggest gaps in many of the doctors’ education is business.They’re running small businesses.They need to know about budgets, forecasting, human resources, and legal issues.

I was talking to a physician who said doctors themselves often have no idea how to interface with employees. It was an eye-opener for me because that is my daily life. Part of aligning an organization is keeping people on the track. How does one motivate and energize and direct people? It seems like that could be part of a business curriculum.

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I was having a conversation with one of our management professors, Dr. Diane Baker, a few months ago. She is an expert in human resources, and she wants us to develop that area because it is such an emerging field. We’ve always dealt with personnel and management issues, but at fairly lofty levels.

She wants to bring more of that kind of expertise into the classroom. I was talking to a vice president at Coca-Cola about labor issues and how much different they are today from even 10 years ago.

There’s no sense that “I’m going to work for this company all my life.” And as a result, we have a scenario where high-level, whitecollar employees may use the company to their benefit. As an employer that is a real challenge because you’ve got to mitigate the risk of turnover.

There’s a lot of talk in business management today about “incentivising”—a new word. We’re tying to develop measures that get at the heart of people’s payoff from the company, what those measures mean, and how do those things come back around to providing incentives.

More and more studies are saying there are more heart-based reasons for staying with a company. My best employees, those that move into management, that get it, that have “drunk the KoolAid,” understand what we’re doing. The employee sees value and sees that we’re doing the right thing and they want to be part of a team that is doing the right thing. People crave structure and genuine altruism.

Research shows money does not buy happiness, beyond a basic threshold of a sustenance level. How do we incorporate that into education and management issues? We have the Faith & Work Initiative. We talk about calling.The people I’ve watched become successful, whether attorneys or songwriters, did it because they loved it, and they happened to make good money at it later on. Students come into our business classes and we maintain that liberal arts focus, and a lot of that is about the person, their place in the world and ethical behavior, which is acting from within rather than on external factors.

And now I understand the school is, through branding, making a new push to spread the word about the special kind of enlightenment you can experience through the Millsaps M.B.A. program.

If you go back to the Industrial Revolution days and talk about the old theory of management, which is truly kind of the enslavement where I’m giving you money therefore I can do whatever, that creates a horrible corporate environment.

We’ve progressed and evolved over time.

But if you think of what is happening at a macro level, issues facing the U.S. government, when you start talking about privatizing Social Security, about a societal safety net that continues to erode, we are more and more of a privatized state. Are we stepping back into the Industrial Age, where people are units to perform work?

Can you engage the heart and soul of the guy who is working on the sewer line in Jackson?

Exactly. When I came in, it seemed like we had this great thing here, and somebody mentioned that it was one of the world’s best-kept secrets. I don’t want it to be a secret. So we hired the Ramey Agency, and they took us through a branding journey.

Who are we? What do we do? What do we not do? We keep talking about the elevator conversation. Do you have long enough to explain who we are and what we are? I don’t think we need to be ashamed to say that if you come to us you get something different. We need to advertise it.

Yes, you do get something different. I had an extraordinary experience. I was asked to talk to a Faith & Work group. There were probably 15 kids in the room, all well-dressed and very smart, mostly freshmen and sophomores. When they went around the room introducing themselves, every student knew what they were going to do. Many had these dual degrees, sociology and business, religious studies and business, philosophy and business. It blew my mind.

In my day, the people that went to the Christian Center and the people that went to Murrah Hall would never cross paths.

If you look at what Faith & Work does and what we do, it’s discovering a sense of place in the world. It helps all business students to discover what types of intrinsic things motivate them.

When you look at the scandals that have happened, it appears that the corporate culture was about money and only money.

Millsaps has a history and a place in the civil rights fight, and you can transfer some of the terms of the civil rights struggle—“Never be silent”— to business scandals, corporate cultures gone wrong.

A company is a domination system. The bottom line is you sign on to work for someone who has dominion over you. The problem is, it’s like the John Grisham novel The Firm, what happens when you wake up and find that you’re doing evil stuff? I would think developing that voice from within can become a powerful impact on the market at large if you have a lot of strong, centered folks in the marketplace helping steer policy and having the guts to speak up when things are wrong.

In the long run, yes. But you have to look at the individual and say, first of all, “Is this something you enjoy doing? Do you like being outside? Do you like working with these people?” And if they say yes, you say, “How can I help that to be a good environment for you?” Then in the long run you have people who feel more motivated.They’re happy to be there.They don’t feel enslaved.

I graduated from Millsaps and went to work where I was immediately put into a top-down, don’t-tell-us-what-you-think environment. I lost my soul. One reason I got into business for myself was I wanted to be the master of my own world and not be enslaved to someone else. I would never have been able to do it if it wasn’t for some of the practical skills I learned at Millsaps. We had to raise the spring– summer 2005

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money through the open marketplace. Practically, what I learned at Millsaps was how to think creatively and think specifically. I was on the Emory business team. We were given a simulated business problem every week and you had to go to Emory to present. That does hone one’s practical skills. Millsaps faculty helped me develop them. And now you have invaluable people like Howard McMillan on campus.

Howard, our executive in residence, is very connected throughout the state and the country. I walk into Howard’s office for a lot of things. I walk in for him be a sounding board, to say, “Here’s a management or leadership issue I’m wrestling with; talk to me about that.” Howard and I meet with executives from the region, and we just sit down and talk about what’s happening. What is the environment like? What do you need? Is there any way we can play a role in that?

You learn from them and then are able to tell them what’s happening at Millsaps.

There are a number of opportunities for us to say, “We are a premier institution. We have things to offer Jackson, the state, and even the southeast region. It’s not always degree-related.

We might bring you to campus for a couple of weeks in the summer and put you in dorms and give you an intense experience and something you can walk away from saying, ‘Wow!’ ”

Extraordinary. Something people can commit to because they can make plans to break away for a few weeks to truly do something.

And we are trying to construct a certificate program for people in the health professions, where they could have a health-management certificate or some other kind of management-related certificate. We’re also talking to the accounting community.The accounting faculty and I are going to firms and saying, “What are your needs? I’m sure there some ways we can meet those needs and provide that type of education right here.You don’t have to send your people somewhere else.”

THERE ARE

EASIER WAYS TO

GET AN MBA. THERE ARE ALSO EASIER JOBS THAN CEO.

In business, vision is more vital than memory. So we don’t just open books in our MBA classes. We open minds.

FOR MORE INFOMATION CALL 601-974-1253 OR GO TO MILLSAPS.EDU.

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Isn’t there a push for much stronger auditing, and doesn’t that present a challenge for the current C.P.A. groups of the world?

The No. 1 area for recruiting right now for business is accounting.The 2002 Sarbanese-Oxley Act dramatically increases the transparency and oversight requirements of corporate governance.

People are out there struggling with this, and we have folks in-house who are experts. We could provide a day or a weekend for a Sarbanese-Oxley certificate.

From a branding standpoint that’s a great idea because it says what it is.

We can also connect to the larger community through service. Our M.B.A. students last year raised enough money to provide people and money to build a Habitat house. It was a big management project for them to pull together.They solicited the funds. And they provided the personnel and they connected to the family.

We’re going through our accreditation review, which used to happen every 10 years, but now it’s every five years.That’s an immediate challenge. And we’re trying to think strategically about raising capital for the Else School.

Capital campaign or sustained giving?

Once a student has said he or she is going into the M.B.A. program, what type of mentoring exists? What differentiates a Millsaps business school student in how they’re handled and coached, versus the 220-student classrooms?

A lot of mentoring happens because you have a small environment, and service projects like that Habitat house create bonds that pull together students and faculty. So does international study. We take people to London, Munich, Florence.They come into the class for three or so hours every morning, and then they go on a field trip.They might go to Lloyd’s of London.

Or BMW. I’ve had students say this is a life-changing event.

It provides a cohesive element to the program and to the individuals. In Mérida, the capital of the Yucatán, students and faculty can explore different levels of economies—an agrarian economy, a developing economy, and an advanced economy, all within a three-hour drive.

Both. Howard McMillan is helping as far as leadership.The biggest challenge is that you have to be very careful to remain focused around your core competency, around who you are, and say you’re going to do certain things and do them very well.

I look forward to seeing what happens with the branding campaign.

It’s very creative, interesting stuff. People change careers on an average of seven times in their lives. It would be myopic for a business school to come to someone and say, “I’m going to hand you this set of basic tactical skills and send you out the door and you’re going to be successful.” No one can predict where they’re going to be in 20 years.You have to develop the sponge and give students a thirst for knowledge, for absorbing.

As our ads on public radio say, “we don’t just open books, we open minds.”

What is your biggest challenge now? You started last July. You’ve gotten a feel for things. spring– summer 2005

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Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest ...

For the Millsaps Players, a Rotating Director’s Chair

By John Webb

‘A

play has only one plot, but it contains many potential stories,” says Michael Bloom, author of the theatrical handbook Thinking Like a Director.

“One of the most important functions a director fulfills is determining, with the actors and designers, which story to tell and how to tell it coherently.”

Just as a play may contain many potential stories, the Millsaps Players are tapping many potential directors to fulfill that function of determining which tale to tell—and how to tell it in the thought-provoking, compelling, and entertaining tradition of Millsaps theatre. From Denise Halbach, president of the prestigious Southeastern Theatre Conference, to Kos Kostmayer, whose script On the Money was awarded 1983–84’s Best Play of the Year by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, these artists have dramatically shifted the dynamics of the theatre department, bringing world-class perspectives to the director’s chair at the Christian Center.

And thanks to the guest directors’ diverse styles and techniques, students here are experiencing the kind of challenges they might face from Broadway to Hollywood, where the actor must adapt to a spectrum of visions and techniques. “That becomes a strength here,” said Brent Lefavor, associate professor of performing arts. “It makes us competitive with universities that have much larger faculties, because students can get that same type of experience working with different directors that normally you couldn’t have at a smaller liberal arts college.”

“Directing, like acting, is all about choices,” said James Anderson, B.A. 1969, who directed The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) in the fall. “I think it’s great that the guest directing program allows the students to experience the range of choices made by different directors and, within the parameters of each director’s style, to make their own choices as actors or technical artists.”

“Once the students leave and step onto new stages, they will have to face new directors all the time,” said Peter Zapletal, the Emmy-winning puppeteer who staged Hansel & Gretel during the Players’ 2003–04 season. “The guest-directing program prepares them well for the future.”

The program also adds breadth and scope to the students’ training. “Students get a broader range of experience in the types of roles that they play because they are seen and perceived by different directors as having different capabilities,” Lefavor said. “It’s important for students to have experience working under assorted directorial styles. Each of us has been trained differently and brings certain strengths and ways of working to the rehearsal process. If actors are going to work professionally, they’re going to be working under a lot of directors for whom they will have to learn to adapt their technique.”

Sam Sparks, B.A. 2003, has seen this program work as both a student and a director. “The beneficial essence of the guest director program is variety,” he said. “Both the students and the audience are exposed to different styles, different methods, and different backgrounds.”

Sarah Wilkinson, B.A. 2005, said she was grateful for the opportunity to be directed by Denise Halbach in the comedy Lend Me a Tenor. “It was fabulous,” she said. “An extremely gifted and experienced individual who can bring a brand-new and innovative perspective to a production is invaluable. Not only did we have a blast getting to know someone different, but we also formed new relationships that remained after the last show.”

Indeed, the program helps enlarge each student’s universe of professional associates. “Each guest director brings his or her own network of business contacts into the fold, which being a collaborative art is essential to survival in this industry,” Sparks said. “The students really have to learn to adapt to new people, which will help them in a business where directors, designers, and actors often fly spring– summer 2005

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“If actors are going to work professionally, they’re going to be working under a lot of directors for whom they will have to learn to adapt their technique.”

in to work on one particular show and then move on to another project.”

Plus, students in a close-knit campus community benefit from outside viewpoints. “Millsaps leadership is very much aware of this—to wit, all the programs including those that offer the students to step out into the ‘real world,’ ” Zapletal said.

Furthermore, visiting directors level the playing field, helping subvert the cliquishness that can emerge when one director works repeatedly with favored students while others wait in the wings for parts that never come. “Directors have certain visions for the way they want a show to look, and directors have their favorites, actors they bond with and communicate with,” Lefavor said. “One director can determine a specific casting pool for a long time without varying it a lot. Outside directors may see qualities and potentials in certain students that another director might not see.”

Likewise, Halbach said the process brings professionalism to the students’ experiences. “As a guest director, I cast a production from what I see in the audition, not what I’ve seen a student-actor do in classes and other productions,” said Halbach. “It removes personality from the choices and puts the students on a more professional level.”

Ironically, perhaps, what has become a particular strength of the performing arts department emerged from loss.

For 45 years, the late Lance Goss was a revered but lone directorial voice at Millsaps. It was a reign only twice interrupted: Lefavor stepped in to direct during the 1986 season, when Goss twisted a knee during the production of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, and again in 1995, when Goss’s health began failing during a production of Who’s Happy Now? “I was taking on Lance’s teaching load as well as my own, and I knew I couldn’t build sets and direct the plays that semester,” Lefavor said.

So the department transcended Millsaps’ own fourth wall by looking to the broader community, and in 1995 Anne Sullivan, who had taught theatre at Mississippi College, became both the Players’ first guest director and first woman director with that season’s production of Jake’sWomen.

As Goss eased toward retirement in 1996, the College brought in theatre professor Morgan Gadd, and Lefavor continued to direct.

“At that time I talked to Dr. Tim Coker, chair of the Department of Performing Arts, and proposed this idea of giving students a broader experience,” Lefavor said.

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Richard A. Smith, now senior vice president and dean of the College, endorsed the idea, Lefavor said, opting to alternate between hiring guest directors and scenic designers every year. “That way, because we were a small department, we would each have some relief,” Lefavor said. “It was decided that the dean would pay out of his funds for one of these guest positions each year, and that’s been true since 1996.”

When Gadd departed in 2002, he was not replaced. Thus, what has emerged is a system in which each season features three to four directors: Lefavor, a guest director funded by the dean, and one or two guest directors underwritten by the Players. This season, for instance, Anderson directed The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged), Sullivan directed The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, Halbach directed Lend Me a Tenor, and Lefavor directed Nunsense.

The arrangement not only enhances students’ theatrical education, but it also creates a dialogue within Jackson’s theatre community. “The beauty of true learning is that it never ends,” Anderson said. “I’ve gained many insights from the students themselves and, in separate venues, from many of my fellow guest directors.”

Sullivan calls her ow n o p p o r t u n i t y t o direct the Players the role of a lifetime. “In the early ’70s, I was an undergraduate student at Mississippi College and was seriously interested in theatre,” she said. “It didn’t take long to learn that the place for college theatre at the time w a s o u r c r o s s - t ow n rival, Millsaps. I began attending plays in the Christian Center to check out the competition and fell in love with the collaborative art itself and the opportunity to tell a story with universal significance. Above all, I fell in love with the direction of Lance Goss.”

Sullivan’s artistic journey took her back to Mississippi College in 1986, where she was an instructor and director for eight years, but all that time, she says, she continued to learn from and be inspired by the Millsaps Players. She also forged a lifelong friendship with Lefavor as colleagues in the graduate program at the University of Southern Mississippi. “Brent is one of those rare individuals who can do any job connected with theatrical productions,” Sullivan said. “He has my utmost respect in the areas of direction, set design and construction, all technical aspects of the theatre—he may be one of the best lighting designers in the field today—and acting.

Having directed him as C. S. Lewis in Shadowlands (2000) at Galloway United Methodist Church and then seeing him in Fiddler on the Roof (2003), I am in awe of his onstage presence and skill.”

Sullivan said she was “humbled and amazed” when she was invited to guest direct in 1995. “I remember walking out on the stage in the Christian Center before our first rehearsal,” she said. “I knew I was standing on holy ground. The students were bright and enthusiastic, and Brent was everything one would dream of as a producer—seeing to it that every detail was done, and done well.”

“I really did okay until I walked in and saw Lance’s rocking chair sitting in one corner of our arena stage before one of the performances. When I saw it, I knew Mr. Goss was coming and I was extremely intimidated. I was in his house—on his stage. I knew that not only was I the first guest director at Millsaps, but I was also the first female director. There are no words to tell you how insecure I felt when the curtain went up that night. After the play, however, Mr. Goss complimented the show, the students, and even my direction.

Nothing could have been more satisfying.”

In 1997, Sullivan returned to Millsaps to direct A Man for All Seasons, a tribute to Goss. Sullivan’s most recent production, in November 2004, was The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. “With only two cots on stage—in an arena setting, we were able to share with the audience an account of the civil disobedience of Henry David Thoreau and his unconventional friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson,” Sullivan said. “This play spoke to issues we face today and it spoke in a solid academic setting.”

The theatre program at Millsaps is facing issues, too. With the department down by one full-time faculty member, Lefavor said that adjunct faculty had been brought in to help handle the course load—for instance, Patrick Benton, artistic director of Jackson’s New Stage Theatre, teaches the fundamentals course “From Page to Stage.” But Lefavor pointed out that those instructors were not involved in actual productions.

Halbach agrees that the guest directors program could be augmented by more full-time teachers. “The student-actors are intelligent, hardworking, and talented,” she said. “I would just like to see the theatre program at Millsaps expand so that the actors have more variety of classroom training. There are classes that the students need before they go out into the professional world, and they need the mentoring and networking that more on-site, full-time theatre professors could provide.”

Nevertheless, by bringing new levels of professionalism to the Christian Center, the guest directors program is putting excellence in the spotlight, a standard born of relentlessly fresh voices and demands. “My experiences as a student and then as a guest director were not easy,” Sparks said. “As artists, students, as well as directors, are constantly being challenged, which is good. If producing a show is easy, then something hasn’t been fully thought out or nothing is being learned. Either way, the Millsaps audience doesn’t accept mediocrity. We know that as directors, and while to some this may be intimidating, it also serves as a pressure cooker in which grand things are born.”

Veteran Player Wins OBIE For Off-Broadway Triumph Playwright Lisa D’Amour, B.A. 1990, recently accepted a Village Voice OffBroadway Theater Award (OBIE) for her dramatic production Nita and Zita.

D’Amour wrote and directed Nita and Zita (pictured below), a play about Hungarian sisters who came to this country in 1922 and became burlesque performers. The OBIE Award recognizes the collaborative, grassroots effort that fueled the production. Nita and Zita played to packed houses and rave reviews in New Orleans, Minneapolis, and New York in January of this year.

D’Amour is a veteran of the Millsaps Players and is quick to credit the success of Nita and Zita to the well-rounded theatre education she received at Millsaps under the tutelage of Lance Goss and Brent Lefavor. “I often refer back to my Millsaps training as being absolutely integral to the artist I am today,” she said. “I had to act, direct, design lights, build sets, and make production calendars. My theatre career has really been a do-it-yourself effort.”

D’Amour has used this extensive knowledge to create several site-specific performances in nontraditional locations such as parking garages, bridges, and vacant boutiques.

After graduating from Millsaps, D’Amour received a master of fine arts from the University of Texas–Austin. Although D’Amour speaks well of the Austin campus, she also sings the praises of Millsaps. “I feel blessed to have gone to a college with small class sizes and accessible teachers who made me write, write, and write.”

D’Amour lives in Brooklyn but spends a lot of time in Minneapolis and New Orleans. She looks forward to beginning her residency at Infernal Bridegroom Productions in Houston, Texas. D’Amour’s next project will include taking road trips to various Texas ghost towns and then writing a play about her experience. Despite her status as a globetrotter, D’Amour maintains affection for Mississippi. “I have such fond memories of Jackson,” she said.

“It is one of several reasons that I hope to move back to the South sometime in the future.”

—C. K.

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2EB *FDEQ FK QEB -RQCFBIA Alumnus Archie Lamb’s brilliant contribution to Twenty Field

By Nancy Seepe and Brian Emory

spring– summer 2005

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t was a Febr uar y g a m e b e t we e n t h e Mississippi College C h o c t aw s a n d t h e Millsaps Majors. After a few introductory remarks at a news conference, Archie Lamb—the prominent Birmingham attorney and Millsaps alumnus—excused himself for a few practice pitches.

The onlookers—press, other alumni, and school offi cials—dutifully followed him to Twenty Field, and Lamb threw out the fi rst pitch. A perfect strike that popped the catcher’s mitt. He then walked over to the dugout and fl ippedthe breaker switch, and as the brilliant white lights fl oodedthe fi eldthere was an explosion of applause among the 800-plus fans in attendance.

For this was the fi rstgame at Twenty Field ever to be played under lights. And not just any lights. The new lights on the Millsaps Majors fi eldsurpass Division III standards, and are equal to those of the Atlanta Braves Double-A affi liate,the Mississippi Braves, located in nearby Pearl, Mississippi.

This moment in history was made possible by a Millsaps alumnus who played baseball as a student, and still loves the game. Lamb, B.B.A. 1977, wanted the Majors to have the opportunity to play night baseball, drawing more fans to the game. His generous gift of nearly a quarter million dollars provided eight 30,000-pound concrete poles, holding enough lights to illuminate the highest point in Jackson, and made several aesthetic additions to Twenty Field.

“What a wonderful day for Millsaps College!” President Frances Lucas said to the crowd sandwiched in the skybox overlooking Harper Davis Field at the news conference. “Because of alumni like Archie Lamb, Millsaps can attract the very best scholar athletes, offering them an excellent education and the chance to play on a world-class baseball fi eld.”

Lamb’s own remarks mirrored his devotion to Millsaps: “I love Millsaps College desperately. I feel so lucky and privileged to be in a position to do something as a token of my appreciation for my experience at Millsaps. The truth is, the tools that I take with me today and the success I’ve achieved, tools that were given to me by my experience at Millsaps—the diversity of learning, students from different walks of life—equipped me each and every day to deal with 176 some odd lawyers that I deal with on a day-to-day basis

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on a case. I can compete with anybody on any scale in any endeavor, and that confi dence is something you take with you from Millsaps, and it never leaves you.”

Lamb, a driving force i n n at i o n a l c l a s s - a c t i o n litigation concerning major health-care and business issues, is a sought-after speaker on legal issues facing health-care professionals. He has appeared before the American Medical Association as well as numerous state and local medical associations, bar groups and legal and medical educational seminars. A frequent contributor to business and legal publications in the area of health-care law, Lamb has appeared on CNN and National Public Radio, along with many regional and local television and radio programs.

“We’re just beginning, Dr. Lucas and I,” continued Lamb. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here in the beginning of the great expansion of our athletic facilities. I appreciate and love Millsaps more than ever.”

Twenty Field, named for 20 alumni who each gave $20,000 toward the fi eld,has undergone some needed changes. Along with the installation of the lights, a warning track now surrounds the grounds, and right fi eldsports a new 24-foot-high fence. A similar fence was installed in left fi eldand covered with a dark windscreen to help shield the sun from the fi rstbaseman’s eyes during late afternoon games.

Millsaps starting pitcher John Fox threw the fi rstoffi cialpitch to Mississippi College second baseman J.T. Hardcastle, a strike right down the middle. The Majors took the lead early, due in part to a homerun by junior Garner Wetzel that cleared the high right fi eld fence. Strong pitching, timely hitting, and cohesive teamwork solidifi edthe Majors’ lead over the Choctaws.

The seventh-inning stretch entertainment was provided by Head Coach Jim Page’s sons, who enthusiastically sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Two more runs in the late innings only improved the Majors’ lead, and the game ended in a 7-2 win for the Purple and White.

“The improvements to the baseball fi eldare great, not only for the players but the fans as well,” said Patrick Barb, B.A. 2005, of Memphis. “This past year, the area behind right fi eldwas the perfect location for students and young alumni to socialize, eat crawfi sh,

Because of Archie Lamb’s “love for the game and for Millsaps College, our players are under the lights for the very fi rsttime.”

heckle the other teams’ outfi elders,and, of course, cheer on the ed Jurney’s appreciation of Lamb. “We play baseball here at Millsaps Majors. It’s certainly the best sports-watching experience that the for no other reason than love of the game,” declared Page. “And SCAC has to offer.”

Archie Lamb loves the game as much as we do. We are so fortunate Following the game, players, parents to have a friend like Archie. Because of and friends of Majors Baseball gathered his love for the game and for Millsaps in the Robert and Dee Leggett Special College, our players are under the lights Events Center for a celebratory dinner. for the very fi rsttime.”

Athletic Director Ron Jurney chronicled Page thanked others in the room, inthe events leading up to the historic cluding Con Maloney, another alumnus game, citing the generous gift from whose generous gift provided an indoor Lamb, and detailing the efforts of the hitting and pitching facility adjacent to baseball staff and the Millsaps grounds Twenty Field. The players then awarded and maintenance departments.

Maloney with a team jacket.

“None of this would have happened, Maloney, clearly moved by the tribnor would the events during the day ute, said, “I see baseball played all across have gone as well, without the help and the country, but nowhere do I see basededication of many people on our camball played the way it is at Millsaps, for pus,” Jurney said. “And because I played the sheer love of baseball.”

Millsaps sports with Archie Lamb, I know how much this day means to him.”

Jurney then turned the program Archie Lamb, right, wore No.12 during his days on the Millsaps Majors baseball team. Sophomore Joe Blades is the current No.12. over to an emotional Page, who second- The photo was taken by Blades’s grandmother, Parr Jeko. spring– summer 2005

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Athletics From Crimson Tide To Purple Pride

“Revered by his peers as one of the best defensive coaches in the nation, Mike’s experience, expertise, and history of winning at a championship level make him an exciting addition to the Millsaps College football staff.”

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Mike DuBose, head football coach of the University of Alabama from 1996 to 2000, has become the newest member of the Millsaps College football coaching staff.

DuBose assumes the role of defensive coordinator after serving as head coach at Luverne High School in Luverne, Alabama, near Montgomery, a small 2A school that DuBose led to a state championship in 2003.

“We’re delighted to have a coach of Mike DuBose’s caliber at Millsaps College,” said Ron Jurney, director of athletics. “He will be a welcome addition to our great group of assistant coaches.”

DuBose was an assistant for the Crimson Tide from 1983 to 1986 and then again from 1990 to 1996, when he was named head coach of the Crimson Tide.

Picked as Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in 1999, DuBose led the Tide to an SEC Championship and a Bowl Championship Series Orange Bowl appearance in 2000.

DuBose said he felt Millsaps was the right choice at the right time. “We’ve talked about it and prayed about it,” DuBose said.

“My wife, Polly, and I looked at possibly staying at Luverne in a part-time role. We tried to make some sense out of it, and it didn’t work. It wasn’t all about getting back into college coaching. I had some talks with high schools in Florida. The timing didn’t work out.”

Then DuBose got a phone call from a friend of Millsaps Head Coach David Saunders. “He asked if I would be interested,” DuBose said. “From that point on, we began to talk and got the details worked out.”

“At every hiring opportunity, we have been fortunate to attract great coaches and assemble one of the best football staffs in the country,” Saunders said.

“The hiring of Mike DuBose continues that trend of hiring great coaches. Revered

by his peers as one of the best defensive coaches in the nation, Mike’s experience, expertise, and history of winning at a championship level make him an exciting addition to the Millsaps College football staff. During this process, we discussed our program putting a mark on Division III football by competing for and winning championships. Mike understands that language, that mindset, and wanted to be a part of it. I am pleased to have him as a member of our staff.”

In 13 years of coaching at the University of Alabama, DuBose served as defensive line coach, defensive coordinator, and head coach.

A native of Opp, Alabama, Dubose was a standout athlete for Opp High School, earning four varsity letters. While playing for the Tide from 1972 to 1974, DuBose, a defensive lineman, led his teams to three SEC Championships, three bowl games, and with teammate Sylvester Croom, now the head football coach at Mississippi State University, a national championship in 1973.

DuBose remained at Alabama when Ray Perkins arrived as head coach and he followed Perkins to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1987 and coached the defensive line for three seasons before returning to Alabama in 1990 under new head coach Gene Stallings.

DuBose’s defense was ranked eighth or better against the run a total of four times, including the nation’s best rushing defense in the 1992 national championship season.

The Tide allowed just 55.0 yards per game on the ground to lead the nation. DuBose has supplied the NFL with five first-round selections, five first-team All-Americans, and 10 All-SEC team selections. —B. E.

Friends and Family Cope with Sudden Loss of Ned Welles Ned Welles was lovingly called “Grandpa” by his former soccer teammates, current players, and colleagues. And judging from his memorial service on campus and the large number who traveled to Ponchatoula, Louisiana, to his funeral, they loved him like they love their own grandparents.

“Grandpa” just fit his personality.

Welles, the men’s soccer graduate assistant coach, was killed in an automobile accident in Ponchatoula in December.

The campus memorial service, attended by many of the Millsaps family, as well as current soccer players and friends of the program, was held in January. The Welles family, along with Millsaps Men’s Soccer Coach Lee Johnson and several of Ned’s friends, spread his ashes in Ponchatoula and on the grass soccer field, on the north end of campus, where he played every game during his career as a Millsaps Major.

“He was a teacher, director, and leader of young people, and he had real potential that was starting to blossom,” said his father, John (Sparky) Welles, at the campus memorial. “He had a passion for sports, especially soccer.”

His leadership role on the team, especially during his senior year, earned him the nickname “The Ned.” For those with problems or needing to talk, he was always there.

“He was always someone we could look up to,” said junior Franklin Childress, a teammate. “He was never afraid to lead by example, which became most evident when he took on the role of graduate assistant this past season. His personality demanded respect, and his leadership skills and passion on the field earned him that.”

“He also firmly believed in being fair to people,” said Lee Johnson, current head coach of the men’s soccer program.

“Opponents respected him because of how

“He was a teacher, director, and leader of young people, and he had real potential that was starting to blossom.” fairly he played the game. Welles would also let the referees know if they were not being fair.”

He never hesitated to pull out the rule book during a game and explain why he thought the referee’s call was incorrect. “I will never forget the day that he convinced a referee to change a penalty kick to an indirect kick in our box,” said Johnson.

Welles just knew he was right. He was also on the right track to a bright future. A member of Kappa Alpha fraternity, Welles was set to receive an M.B.A. from the College in May. An intensely motivated player and student, Welles was remembered for his ability to relax and enjoy the company of friends and family. “We all saw Ned work and play hard, but there was a much softer side,” said Sparky Welles. “He loved his parents, sister, girlfriend, and grandmother almost to extremes.”

This, according to all accounts, was a trait his parents passed down to him.

Sparky and Cathy Welles “loved Ned and it shows in how involved they were in everything he took part in at Millsaps,” said Childress. They “hardly ever missed a game, they would take us out to eat after games, even hang out in the fraternity house with us. I hope they understand that even though Ned has left us for a while, we still need them in our lives, even more now than ever.”

“Having Ned as a friend really influenced my life,” said Johnson. “If you were a friend of Ned’s, you were also a son or daughter to Sparky and Cathy.”

The players on the 2005 fall season’s team have decided to play in the memory of their friend, coach, and motivator.

They hope to play the game as Ned Welles played, with “real desire and love for what you are doing,” his father said. “It cannot be masked—it was genuine, and he enjoyed every moment.”

“I will miss the opportunity to have that lifelong friendship with Ned,” said Johnson. “But I know he is in a better place. We will all miss him, but we will never forget him.”

A memorial fund has been established in Welles’s name. For further information, please contact Colleen Fagan at 601-9741037 or fagancs@millsaps.edu. —B. E.

Wetzel Is Drafted

By MLB’s Rockies Millsaps College junior shortstop Garner Wetzel was taken in the 10th round of Major League Baseball’s June Amateur Draft by the Colorado Rockies.

The slugging 6-foot-2 215-pound shortstop from Gulfport was the fifth native Mississippian taken in the draft. Some experts predict Wetzel could eventually make the move to third base. Wetzel is the fourth player drafted from a Millsaps College ball club coached by Jim Page.

The Majors won their seventh Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship under Page in 2005.

Page was named SCAC Coach of the Year for a conference record sixth time.

Wetzel was named SCAC Player of the Year after leading the conference in nearly every offensive category. —B. E.

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MajorNotes College Honors Alumnus of theYear, Livesay Winners Millsaps College honored Dr. Hiram Polk as the 2005 Alumnus of the Year in recognition of his outstanding contributions to and leadership in his profession as a surgeon and an academic.

In his acceptance speech, Polk said: “Higher education is under more pressure now than it has ever been in my lifetime. It is under pressure for funding everywhere. But special little private colleges like Millsaps, which are bastions of excellence, will go on no matter what. I think we should leave here tonight knowing that what we have here is special and precious and is worth preserving for the future.”

A native of Jackson, Polk was educated in its public school system and graduated from Millsaps in 1956. Polk attended Harvard Medical School and completed his internship and residency at Barnes Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis. His initial faculty appointment was at the University of Miami in Florida as an assistant professor of surgery with interest in infection, burns, cancer, and pediatric surgery.

Polk assumed the chair of surgery at the University of Louisville in 1971 and has served in this position since that time. Polk is the current president of the American Surgical Association and is the recipient of the distinguished Honorary Fellowship

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of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh.

The College also bestowed the prestigious Livesay Award upon four distinguished individuals, Dr. John Wofford, Colonel Kenneth and Mrs. Rosemary McRae, and Mark Herbert.

Along with Polk, they were honored at the 2005 College Awards and Recognition Dinner, held in March in the Leggett Center.

Wofford graduated cum laude in 1950 and attended Thomas Jefferson University Medical College in Philadelphia, where he earned a medical degree in 1954.

He completed both his internship and residency in Memphis, and after serving as senior medical resident at the University Medical Center in Jackson, he worked as the Millsaps College physician from 1958 to 1962. He has been affiliated with several medical facilities in Mississippi, namely UMC, where he was a member of the attending medical staff until his retirement in 1991 and served as clinical associate professor until 2004. In 1974, he was named Doctor of the Year by the Mississippi Association of Medical Assistants.

Ken and Rosemary McRae have shown great commitment to the Millsaps community for the past several years through their tireless service to the Parents Council. The couple, who live in Birmingham, have served on the council since spring 2002 and led the organization as co-presidents in 2002–03.

Parents Council Director Kay Barksdale commended the McRaes for their loyal service to the College, saying Ken and Rosemary were always on campus a day early to handle details and preparations for council events. “We have so many loyal parents, and the McRaes have really set the standard for service to Millsaps,” Barksdale said. “They have been involved in their son’s activities on campus—from Chamber Singers to chili cook-offs—and have worked with our student life staff in addition to their many responsibilities on the Parents Council.”

Herbert has practiced law in Jackson for 26 years and is currently a partner in the firm of Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, where he specializes in construction litigation. In 1984, he was named Outstanding Young Lawyer by the Mississippi State Bar Association; he has also received the association’s Award of Merit.

Herbert has served on the Mississippi Bar Foundation’s board of trustees and as that organization’s president in 1995. He was named the first president of the newly formed Millsaps College Alumni Association in the fall of 2003. —J.Y.

A Marriage Made In Millsaps Heaven

She was student body president and a computer buff by trade. He was an athlete and the voice of the Millsaps Majors. Never was there a couple with more school pride.

After graduation, she left to engineer software in Silicon Valley and he went off to study law in the Grove. Life and distance separated them for a few years. But now, these two college sweethearts have found each other again, promising to stay together forever in true Millsaps fashion.

April Slayden, B.S. 2001, and Jeff Mitchell, B.A. 2001, are planning their

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New Year’s Eve wedding, but it is Mitchell’s proposal that is so unique to their collegiate heritage. Mitchell surprised Slayden with a spontaneous trip to Millsaps on November 24, 2004, when he brought her to the legendary M-Bench. The stone seat is fabled for its ability to assure marriage and eternal love with a kiss. Seated under a requisite full moon at a makeshift table adorned with Champagne, chocolate, and pictures from their Millsaps years, Mitchell asked Slayden to marry him.

Slayden now lives near San Francisco and has worked for Hewlett-Packard as a software engineer and researcher since completing graduate school in Rochester, New York. However, it’s not all bits and bytes for the bride to be.

She has helped design an innovative music device known as the DJammer for HP Labs. HP and MTV have a global alliance, and Slayden, along with professional DJ Gavin O’Connor, demonstrated the DJammer at an HP event that coincided with the MTV Music Awards. The demonstration was such a success that they were both invited to demonstrate the DJammer again at pop mogul P. Diddy’s after-show party.

Since completing the M.B.A. program at Millsaps in 2003 while also serving as the college’s sports information director, Mitchell has been pursuing a law degree at the University of Mississippi. Now in his third year, he also acts as a mediarelations assistant in the Ole Miss athletic department, as well as using

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that familiar voice to announce Rebel baseball, basketball, volleyball, and football games. Following his graduation from law school in December and their Madison nuptials, Mitchell plans to join Slayden in California to continue his career in —B. D. sports management.

Campus Leader As Leading Man Hollywood has a way of preparing its residents to be catapulted from the stage and screen into the world of politics; recent governors and a former commanderin-chief come to mind. However, it has worked the other way around for Paul Gagliano, B.A. 2002, and Millsaps seems destined to have a former president become a familiar face in entertainment.

Gagliano served as student body president for the 2001–02 term at Millsaps and was known for his energetic speeches and notable presence. “I have always felt comfortable in the public eye, whether in an elected position or as a character on film or in front of an audience,” said Gagliano, a native of Birmingham.

Even while carrying out the extensive duties of heading the student government, he starred in countless theatrical productions, even directing a few.

Gagliano said he was inspired and motivated by his directors at Millsaps, including Brent Lefavor, associate professor,

and Morgan Gadd, a former theatre professor.

They gave him the skills and assurance to make the leap to La-La Land following graduation, as he moved out to Burbank to pursue his dreams. Working as a bartender and waiter by day, Gagliano has used his time to perfect his craft. “Right now, my life is like that of any actor getting started,” he said. “I go to auditions. I go to workshops. I take classes. I go to networking events. I book a job here and there. I anticipate the next gig. The process repeats.”

It seems the process is working, as Gagliano’s résumé has become increasingly impressive, the most notable addition being his recent work on the History Channel series BreakingVegas, starring as the lead in the episode “Card Count King.” Gagliano will also be appearing in an advertisement for Diet Pepsi that will run in several newspapers and magazines, including EntertainmentWeekly, US, and People. —B. D.

Location, Location, Location . . .

John Johnston, B.B.A. 1989, worked as a location manager for several films (Pulp Fiction, Volcano, The Rising Place, and others) before being given the pilot script of the Fox drama series 24 four years ago. Now as the Emmy Award-winning thriller enters its fifth season, Johnston is still finding sites that form the backdrop for suspense sequences. Johnston and his crew scour downtown Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley for houses, streets, alleys and other urban fixtures. After finding a site and getting approval from the producers, Johnston makes contact with the owners and works with 24’s legal and risk management departments to ensure that the site is available when the film crew is ready to shoot. “A lot of times, it comes down to simply being able to bargain with people,” Johnston said. Johnston and his location partner won Location Professional of the Year/Television honors at the 2004 On Location Awards this past October.

— J. Y.

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MajorNotes Send It In: Millsaps Magazine would like you to know that its Major Notes policy has changed. The magazine is now printing only information sent in specifically for Major Notes. In the past, material was gleaned from newspaper clippings and other sources. The change was made to protect the privacy of alumni and to simplify the editing process. We would like to encourage all alumni to send in their news, whether big or small, personal or professional, to Tanya Newkirk, Major Notes Editor, Office of Alumni Relations, Millsaps College, 1701 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39210-0001. Or fax : 601-974-1088.

Phone: 601-974-1038 or 1-86-MILLSAPS (1-866 - 455-7277), the alumni relations toll-free number. Email: alumni @ millsaps.edu. Please include your name, address, phone numbers, email address, graduation year and degree, and any news you want to share. Appropriate items include births, weddings, advanced degrees, awards, job promotions, etc. Photographs are also welcome. If you are aware of alumni who are not receiving the magazine, please send us their names and addresses.

2004 issue of Stanislaus Connections, a newsletter published by the Modesto Peace/ Life Center. A retired English instructor, Nicholson inspired young poets during three decades of teaching at Modesto Junior College. He continues to write and publish and is a regular contributor to the newsletter.

1961 Beta Sigma Omicron Alumni members of Beta Sigma Omicron sorority gathered on campus Saturday, June 25, to celebrate their days at Millsaps. After lunch and a tour of the campus, members of the group, which was at Millsaps from the mid ‘50s until 1964, saw old composites, yearbooks, and snapshots. Pauline Dickson Akers of Clinton and Judy Michael of Madison coordinated this first reunion. Plans are in the works for another reunion in 2007 and possibly every two years afterward.

a Small Southern Town: Memories of Shubuta, Mississippi, published by the Louisiana State

University Press in March 2004. It is a cultural history written in memoir style.

Yates had a Mississippi book tour in May 2004, with readings and signings at the Waynesboro Public Library, Square Books in Oxford, and Lemuria Bookstore in Jackson.

She is a professor emerita of American studies at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

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1953 Dr. Neil R. Covington, B.S. 1953, of Rock Hill,

S.C., was recognized at a November 2004 reception by the Department of Social Work at Winthrop University in Rock Hill for his dedicated service to the university and his contributions to the South Carolina community. In fall 2004 the department created the Covington Scholarship Award to memorialize his contributions on an annual basis by recognizing students who best exemplify Covington’s spirit of teaching and interest in the promotion of gerontology throughout the curriculum and community. He has been a professor in the Department of Social Work for more than 35 years.

1957 C. (Lee) Nicholson, B.A. 1957, of Modesto,

Calif., published two poems in the December

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Dr. Gayle Graham Yates, B.A. 1961, of Minneapolis is the author of Life and Death in

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Nancy G. (Grisham) Anderson, B.A. 1962, of Montgomery, Ala., is director of the Actions Build Community program at Auburn University Montgomery. The program, which uses high school and college volunteers to teach reading and writing at two public housing complexes, was one of the 10 charitable organizations to receive a $10,000 Make a Difference Day Award by the Paul Newman Foundation in October 2003.

Anderson is an associate professor of English at Auburn.

1963 Sarah M. (McInnis) Allen, B.A. 1963, of Bartlett, Tenn., is director of guidance at West Memphis High School in West Memphis, Ark. Her husband, David L. Allen, 1964, is retired from his position as business manager of Theatre Memphis. He serves on the boards of

the American Association of Community Theatre and the Southeastern Theatre Conference. He serves as the Regional Community Theatre Festival chair for the annual SETC convention. As an official festival representative for the AACT, he oversees state festivals held throughout the country.

1964 Mary Dell (Fleming) Palazzolo, B.A. 1964, of Jekyll Island, Ga., taught conversational English in the Puglia region of Italy in October 2004 with the nonprofit organization Global Volunteers. Based in St. Paul, Minn., the organization has provided service opportunities around the world for 20 years.

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Ernest J. (Joe) Roberts, B.A. 1965, of Jackson presented a paper entitled “How Baker-Miller Pink Reduces Aggression” at the IX Workshop Aggression at the University of Berne, Switzerland, during the group’s annual meeting in November 2004. The term “Baker-Miller Pink” refers to the bubble gumpink color developed for use in correctional facilities to deter aggressive behavior. Roberts, who holds a master of counseling psychology degree, has a practice at Lakeland Counseling Associates in Jackson.

1968 Alec C.Valentine, B.A. 1968, of Clinton

served as a teaching assistant in English at People’s Friendship University in Sochi, Russia, in fall 2004 as part of an exchange program with Hinds Community College.

His wife, Kay King Valentine, served as a teaching assistant in French. Alec teaches English at the Hinds campus in Raymond.

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Millsaps at Mardi Gras From left, Cassidy Baker, a sophomore from Baton Rouge; Anne Verret Fulcher, B.A. 1991, of Cleveland, Miss., and Ivana Ventic, a freshman from Mobile. Fulcher met the current students during Mardi Gras 2005 in New Orleans, her hometown. The Millsaps T-shirt caught her attention and led to the meeting.

1970 Barry K. Plunkett, B.A. 1970, of Jackson was promoted to corporate vice president of St. Dominic Health Services in January 2005. He joined St. Dominic Hospital in 1985 as director of corporate communications. He was promoted to vice president of corporate communications in 1987 and again to senior vice president in 2000. In his new role with the corporate office, Plunkett will be more closely involved in the various entities of St. Dominic Health Services and will represent the organization in its many civic endeavors.

1971 Linda S. (Dorsey) Norman, B.S. 1971, of Merced, Calif., works as a programmer analyst III at the University of California, Merced.

1975 Reunion Class 1978 Steven G. Dean, B.B.A. 1978, of Memphis

serves as division controller for Buckeye Technologies in Memphis.

Theresa P. (Prescott) McKibben, B.A. 1978,

of Birmingham was certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in November 2004. She has taught music for grades K-5 at Edgewood Elementary School in Homewood, Ala., for 14 years. Her husband, John R. (Rob) McKibben, M.B.A.

1984, was promoted in September 2004 to senior member of the technical staff with BellSouth Science and Technology.

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Ann Roscopf Allen, B.A. 1980, of Salisbury,

Md., published her first book, A Serpent Cherished, in July 2004. Based on the true

story of an 1891 Memphis murder, this historical legal thriller has been selected as a finalist in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Contest. Allen is a full-time mother and writer currently working on her second novel.

Randy J. Johnson, B.S. 1980, of Vidalia, La.,

was awarded the Kiwanis International Outstanding Leadership plaque in October 2004. He served as president of the Kiwanis Club of the Natchez Trace for calendar year 2003–04 and has served on the organization’s board of directors since 1998. Johnson is a senior geoscientist with Callon Petroleum in Natchez.

1981 Dr. Joel C. Reynolds, 1981, of San Antonio, Texas, returned in May 2004 from a ninemonth deployment to Iraq, where he served as a field surgeon with the First Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan. He serves as chief of the nephrology department at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

His wife, Ionia (Oney) Plunk Reynolds, B.A. 1983, is a full-time mother for their two sons, Chase and Taylor.

1983 Dr. Sandra (Sandy) L. Frazier, B.S. 1983, of Pelham, Ala., is serving as a missionary doctor in Costa Rica through Agua Viva Ministries.

She has left her position as an assistant professor in the psychiatry department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she started the university’s addiction-recovery program in 1994. Frazier is living out of a church in Costa Rica, backpacking into the jungle with medical supplies to treat people in remote villages.

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Peter E. Langworthy, B.S. 1983, of Williamsburg, Va., is the director of the Automatic Identification Technology Center for Northrop Grumman in Williamsburg. The company provides information technology services and high-tech items for the Department of Defense. The AIT Center focuses on integrating automatic identification technology, including radio frequency identification, bar codes, handheld terminals, and smart cards.

1984 William (Bill) T. Hetrick,

B.A. 1984, of Clinton received his e-Pro designation from the National Association of Realtors in October 2004.

The e-Pro course includes Internet-learning applications to enhance Realtors’ technological skills and certifies real estate agents and brokers as Internet professionals. The course is designed to help Realtors stay at the leading edge of technology and identify, evaluate, and implement new Internet business models. Hetrick is one of only 53 Mississippi Realtors to achieve the designation. He and his wife, Marilyn, a fellow Realtor and Bill’s business partner, joined RE/MAX Alliance, a real estate brokerage serving the Jackson metropolitan area, in November 2004.

1985 Reunion Class 1987 Melissa L. (Cumbest) Groff, B.B.A. 1987, of Austin, Texas, is vice president of human resources for SigmaTel. Timothy M. (Mike) Patterson, B.A. 1987, of

Jackson is a paralegal for Stevens & Ward PA in Jackson.

David E. Sallis, B.A. 1987, of Bay St. Louis received a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Southern Mississippi on May 15, 2004.

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1988 Mark S. Shryock, M.B.A. 1988, of Downingtown, Pa., is a wealth manager with Mallard Advisors LLC in Newark, Del. Mallard Advisors is a financial advisory firm providing comprehensive financial planning and wealth management for individuals.

1989 Warren T. Burns, Jr., B.B.A. 1989, and Jennifer

Burns of Atlanta are the parents of Harrison Chant, born Feb. 10, 2005. He has one brother, Dylan. Warren is a technology architect for Coca-Cola.

1990 Rebecca Baker Alley, B.A. 1990, of Nashville

is an account executive for WUXP UPN-30, Nashville’s UPN affiliate station.

Carole Estes Murphey, B.A. 1990, and Smith

Murphey V of Batesville are the parents of twin boys, Archer Smith and Webb Smith, born Feb. 25, 2004. They have one sister, Carole. Carole Murphey is a staff attorney with the Mississippi Judicial College at the University of Mississippi. Her husband is an assistant district attorney for the 17th Circuit Court District.

1992 Amie Peele Carter, B.A. 1992, of Zionsville,

Ind., was named a partner with the law firm of Baker & Daniels in January 2005. She practices on the intellectual property team at the firm’s downtown Indianapolis office.

Douglas D. Mitchell, B.A. 1992, of Prattville, Ala., is a special investigator for the United States Investigation Services, based in Annandale, Pa. Milton M. (Trey) Ourso, B.A. 1992; William (Bill) D. Russell III, B.A. 1992, and Emeriti Professors of Political Science John Quincy Adams and Howard Bavender held a political

science reunion in Washington, D.C., in March. Ourso and Russell, who were both

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You’ve Got (Millsaps) Mail!

The Millsaps College alumni eNewsletter, with information on alumni happenings, College events, and more, is a great way to stay up-to-date with College news.

Found at www.millsaps.edu/enewsletter/, the newsletter has updates on the Millsaps Arts & Lecture Series, the Bell Concert Series, other performing arts events, Homecoming, the Southern Circuit Film Series, exhibitions at the Lewis Art Gallery, community enrichment, and other links.

This publication is in addition to mymillsaps.com, the alumni online community and a source for email addresses, the alumni directory, a calendar of events, and other member services.

For more information on the newsletter and other Millsaps alumni happenings, call toll free, 1-866-455-7277 (1-86-Millsaps), or contact Trenee Palmer, administrative assistant for alumni relations at 601-974-1038.

political science majors at Millsaps, have remained in the field—and remained close friends. Ourso, who was president of the Campus Democrats while at Millsaps, owns a political consulting firm in Baton Rouge and is working with the Democratic National Committee in the state of Louisiana. Russell headed the Millsaps College Republicans and now works in the department of Housing and Urban Development under the Bush administration.

David K. Pharr, B.A. 1992,

of Jackson was named a partner in the Jackson office of Bradley Arant Rose & White LLP in February. A member of the law firm’s Litigation Practice Group, Pharr focuses on product liability, complex business and commercial litigation, direct insurance and insurance coverage litigation, and employment litigation. He has also worked on significant cases involving environmental and premises liability, and personal injury. The law firm employs more than 200 attorneys and has offices in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Montgomery, Ala., Charlotte, N.C., Washington, D.C., and Jackson.

Natalie Burwell Ray, B.B.A. 1992, of Jackson has her own design studio, Natalie Ray Designs, in Jackson. She specializes in design

work, original paintings, decorative painting, and murals. In February, she designed two rooms for the St. Andrew’s Designer Showhouse in the Bridgewater subdivision in Ridgeland.

1993 Layla (Graham) Essary, B.A. 1993, of Hattiesburg was named communications director for the Area Development Partnership in December 2004. The organization provides Chamber of Commerce and economic development services to the greater Hattiesburg area of Forrest and Lamar counties.

Jonathan Hancock, B.S. 1993, of Memphis has been named a member of the law firm Glankler Brown PLLC. He concentrates his practice in the area of litigation with an emphasis on employment, commercial, and civil rights litigation. Hancock served as contributing editor in 1998, 1999, and 2000 for the Bureau of National Affairs’ Employment Discrimination Law and is listed in the 11th edition of Who’s Who in American Law. He is a member of the American, Tennessee, and Memphis bar associations.

J. (Alan) Lange, B.A. 1993, M.B.A. 1996, of Jackson was named one of Mississippi’s “Top 40 under 40” by the Mississippi Business Journal in January. That same month, he joined ClearLeverage as its managing director.

The company serves the nation’s 200 largest law firms for partner-level placement as well as strategic business development, staff placement, and training.

Mary Laurens (Montgomery) Seely, B.A. 1993, and Bryan Seely of Nashville are the parents of Eliza Grayson, born May 31, 2004.

She has one brother, Zimmerman (Zim).

Mary Laurens is the consultant for alternative assessment with the Tennessee Department of Education’s Division of Special Education.

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1999

1994 Dr. Hazel Gomez McCaughan, B.S. 1994, and

Danny McCaughan of Franklin, Tenn., are the parents of Ashley Marie, born Aug. 10, 2004.

She has one brother, Seth, and one sister, Abigail. Hazel, a dentist, is currently a fulltime mother. Danny is a pediatrician completing a fellowship in neonatology at Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Jennifer C.Waguespack-Labiche, B.S.

1994, and Dr. William B. (Brad) Roth of Jeanerette, La., are the parents of Sarah Catherine, born Oct. 5, 2004. She has one sister, Caroline. In October 2003, Waguespack-Labiche entered into private practice as a dermatologist in New Iberia, La.

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Michelle Dean Easterling, B.A. 1995, and

Thomas G. Easterling III of West Point are the parents of Harlan Jackson (Jack), born Sept.

24, 2004. He has one brother, Grayson.

Michelle is an attorney with Edwards, Storey, Marshall, & Helveston LLP in West Point.

Thomas teaches English at the Mississippi School for Math and Science in Columbus.

1996 Geney B. (Sanders) Galey, B.A. 1996, and

Colby Galey of Greenwood are the parents of Tate William, born Sept. 24, 2004. He has one sister, Callie.

Heather L. Gilliam, B.A. 1996, and William Frederick Young IV of Marietta, Ga., were married on Oct. 23, 2004, in Asheville, N.C.

of their duties and roles in the utility industry.

Gomillion is the director of special projects Dr. Jonathan P. Breazeale, M.B.A. 1999, of and communications for the Central Electric The Woodlands, Texas, received a Ph.D. in Power Association in Carthage. finance from Texas A&M University in May 2004. His dissertation was entitled “AcquirGavin C. Smith, B.A. 1996, of Fort Worth, ing Firm Long-Term Performance and Texas, is the trade compliance manager for Governance Characteristics.” Breazeale is vice Radio Shack in Fort Worth. president and asset manager for Parkway Properties in Houston.

1997

Halley A. Austin, B.A. 1997, of Naperville, Ill., is the manager of LTL (“Less Than a Truck Load”) procurement for Menlo Worldwide Logistics in Naperville.

Kenneth C. Ball, B.S. 1997, and Mary Boothe Ball, B.A. 1997, of Jackson are the parents of

Stephens Hilton, born Aug. 3, 2004. He has one brother, Samuel. Mary is a full-time mother. Kenneth is completing a residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Eddie L. Pope, M.B.A. 1997, of Magee is the director of management information services for Pioneer Health Services in Magee.

William B. (Ben) Skipper, B.A. 1997, and Jennifer Jones Skipper, B.A. 1999, of

Ridgeland announce the birth of their son, William (Will) Robert, on Dec. 2, 2004.

1998 Dr. Joshua F. Phillips, B.S. 1998, of Brandon will serve as chief resident in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for academic year 2006–07.

Ashley D. Doughty, B.S. 1999, and Charles F. Swearingen, B.S. 1999, of Brandon were

married July 31, 2004, in Darrow, La. The wedding party included Jason Adams, B.B.A. 1998, Charlie Malouf, B.A. 1998, Gordon Richardson, B.A. 1998, Brooks Brown, B.S. 1999, M.B.A. 2001, Misty A. Leon, B.A. 1999, and Ashley A. Martin, B.A. 1999. Doughty received an master of science degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in December 2002 in child development and developmental disabilities. She works as a psychometrist and research assistant in the neuropsychology department at Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson. Swearingen earned certification in emergency medical technology from the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Health Related Professions in December 2002. He is employed as a flight paramedic with Air Care at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and as a clinical instructor at the School of Health Related Professions.

Shannon W. (Husband) McLaughlin, B.A. 1999, of Gulfport is an advertising coordinator for the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi.

April Harris Roberson, B.S. 1998, and J. (Brian) Gomillion, B.S. 1996, of Walnut

Grove was selected to serve on the board of governors for the Public Education Forum of Mississippi in November 2004. In December, he completed the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association’s five-year Certified Power Executive Program. The professional certification program is specifically designed to provide managers of public power distribution systems with a better understanding

Richard Roberson of Jackson announce the birth of their daughter, Anne Barret, on May 26, 2004. April is a full-time mother and Richard, who serves as special assistant to the Attorney General’s Office, is senior legal counsel to the Division of Medicaid.

Christina (Christy) M. Robertson, B.B.A. 1998, of Memphis was promoted to manager at Ernst & Young LLP on Oct. 1, 2004.

Junko Fukuma, B.A. 1999, M.B.A. 2002, and Oscar Allen Barnes Jr., of Tampa, Fla., were married May 1, 2004, at Millsaps in the Christian Center’s Fitzhugh Chapel. She serves as human resources generalist for The Children’s

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Home CommUnity Inc. in Tampa. He is a design consultant for The Norwalk Furniture Idea, also in Tampa.

2000 Matthew A. Miller, B.A.

2000, and Ayako Asada,

B.A. 2003, of Ridgeland were married Oct. 9, 2004, in Natchez. An additional wedding reception was held in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 26, 2004. He is a claims investigator for The Barnett Group in Madison. She is a translator and interpreter with Nissan Motor Co. in Canton.

2001 Kelli Crossland,

B.B.A. 2001, and Michael Agnich of Redwood City, Calif., were married Oct. 11, 2003, in Dallas. All of her attendants were Millsaps alumnae: Leigh Brasuell, B.A. 2000; Erica A. (Adkins) Sweeney, B.A. 2000; Jenni Brown, B.A. 2001; April Slayden, B.S. 2001; and Caroline Stauffer, B.A. 2001.

Lauryn Bratton, 2003, was involved in the wedding as well. The couple lives just south of San Francisco in Silicon Valley, where Crossland works as a personal assistant to a family. She shops, runs errands, manages the household staff, and travels frequently with them. She is also pursuing a master’s degree in elementary education.

Charles D. (Daniel) Redmond, B.A. 2001, of

Hattiesburg is pursuing a master’s degree in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at The University of Southern Mississippi. He is

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a graduate assistant, teaching courses such as Introduction to Logic and Introduction to Philosophy.

Congeneric Ringed Sawback Turtle (Graptemys oculifera).”

2002

2004

Ryan P. Paul, B.B.A. 2002, of The Woodlands, Texas, is a construction manager for Jeff Paul Custom Homes in The Woodlands. He is in charge of building, managing, and overseeing the completion of multimillion-dollar homes.

This June will mark his third year with the company.

Lei Han, M.Acc. 2004, and Nian Huang of Arlington, Texas, were married April 23, 2004, in Las Vegas. Han is pursuing a Ph.D. in accounting at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Melissa (Missy) Skertich, B.S. 2002, and Robert Bradford Sutherlin Jr., B.A. 2003, of

New Orleans were married on Nov. 6, 2004, in New Orleans.

2003 Rose M. Hurder, B.A. 2003, of Cleveland, Miss., is coordinator of the Lighthouse Arts and Heritage After-School Program in Cleveland. The program, which meets four days a week and is based at D. M. Smith Middle School, emphasizes the rich culture of the Mississippi Delta while also providing academic support for the students. Activities have included reading the play A Raisin in the Sun, writing blues songs, and traveling to the Mississippi River Museum in Tunica. Students also produced a “photo roadshow,” for which they gathered historic photos of the Delta and students interviewed the photographers to gather the pictures’ oral histories. This project was made possible through a $10,000 grant from The History Channel. Hurder has been working with the program as part of her year of service with Americorps VISTA, which ends in July.

William W. Selman, B.S. 2003, of Hattiesburg

is pursuing a master’s degree in the Biological Sciences Department at The University of Southern Mississippi. His current focus is herpetology and his ongoing research is entitled “Steroid Hormone Levels and Reproduction of Yellow Blotched Sawback Turtles (Graptemys flavimaculata) and the

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MajorNotes Harvey Dwight Adcock, B.A. 1973, of Koscuisko died Jan. 18, 2005. At Millsaps, he was a member of Alpha Psi Omega, the Millsaps Players, and the Millsaps Singers. He also served as assistant editor of the Bobashela.

Jimmie Assaf, 1936, of Jackson died March

15, 2005. While at Millsaps, he played football and baseball.

Dr. Thomasina Blissard, 1962, of Jackson died Sept. 3, 2004. While at Millsaps, she was a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta. In the 1980s, she arranged for the artist Karl Wolfe to paint the portrait of Eudora Welty that now hangs in the Millsaps-Wilson Library.

Madge (Dinah) Brown Daniel, 1941, of Columbus died Nov. 14, 2004. While at Millsaps, she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority.

Nancye White Dean, 1938, of Colfax, La., died March 7, 2005.

Eleanor Barksdale Douglass, 1963, of Birmingham died Dec. 5, 2004. At Millsaps, she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority, the YWCA, the Millsaps Singers, and the Madrigals. She was a consistent supporter of the Millsaps Principals’ Institute.

Dr. Paul E. Edwards, B.S. 1953, of Brandon died April 4, 2005. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and played varsity football.

Clarine Rush Bradford, B.A. 1943, of Bullard, Texas, died Oct. 11, 2004. At Millsaps, she was a member of Beta Sigma Omicron sorority, Sigma Lambda, Kappa Delta Epsilon, the Student Executive Board, and the Panhellenic Council. She served as president of the Majorette Club and the Women’s Council. In 1943, she received the Panhellenic Award for Outstanding Girl Citizen. She was also named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.

Chestnut Hill, Mass., died Feb. 1, 2005. At Millsaps, she was a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, Eta Sigma, the Student Executive Board, the Ramblers Club, the Beethoven Club, and the Millsaps Singers. She served as president of Kappa Delta sorority and chair of the Millsaps Radio Program.

Merritt S. (Steve) Bumpas, 1959, of

Thomas C. Felt, M.B.A. 1986, of Vicksburg

Covington, La., died Jan. 29, 2005. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.

died Oct. 14, 2004.

William Dean Buntin, 1948, of Georgetown, Texas, died Feb. 2, 2005. He attended Millsaps as part of the Navy V-12 officer training program.

Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd J. (Blue) Caillavet,

1935, of Biloxi died Feb. 8, 2005.

James A. (J. A.) Callahan, B.S. 1956, of Jackson died Jan. 2, 2005.

Dr. James B. (Benny) Conerly, B.S. 1952, of

Collins died Sept. 10, 2004. At Millsaps, he was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity and Theta Nu Sigma.

Nancy Plummer Faxon, B.S. 1936, of

scholarship representative and a member of the Presidents Society.

Blanche Christine Field Holland, B.A. 1931, of Grenada died March 4, 2005.

Brigadier General Preston L. Jackson, B.A. 1949, of Madison died Nov. 9, 2004. At Millsaps, he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and participated in athletics.

James C. Jenkins Jr., 1942, of Jackson died April 4, 2005. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.

Maurice M. Jones, 1934, of Miami died March 14, 2005. At Millsaps, he was a member of Theta Kappa Nu fraternity.

Judge Thomas J. Kliebert, 1945, of Paulina, La., died May 28, 2002. He attended Millsaps as part of the Navy V-12 officer training program.

Charlene Fallin Wright Knox, 1939, of Jackson died Jan. 5, 2005. While at Millsaps, she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority.

Brigadier General John Tipton (Tip) Lewis, B.S. 1959, of Raymond died March 9, 2005.

Zelta Wiles Locke, 1958, of Clinton died

Sidney F. Graves Jr., B.A. 1968, of Hattiesburg

died Jan. 8, 2005. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Kit Kat, Gamma Gamma, the Social Science Forum, and participated in intramural sports. He served as vice president and scholarship chair for Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, business manager for Stylus literary magazine, and copy editor for the Bobashela. In 1968, he was awarded the Clark Essay Medal for the best original paper in an English course.

Bernice Flowers Hederman, 1936, of Jackson died Dec. 6, 2004. She was a founding member of the Millsaps chapter of Chi Omega sorority. A longstanding financial supporter of the College, she was a

April 10, 2005.

Dr. Charles F. Lowe, B.S. 1957, of McComb died Dec. 20, 2004. At Millsaps, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, Theta Nu Sigma, Alpha Epsilon Delta, the Purple & White staff, and the Bobashela staff. He also served on the Millsaps Alumni Association Board of Directors in the 1970s.

Dr. Curtis B. Magee, B.S. 1947, of Jackson died Dec. 5, 2004. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. He attended Millsaps as part of the Navy V-12 officer training program.

The Office of Alumni Relations would like to extend its sincerest apology for listing Elizabeth (Lib) Lampton Powell as deceased in the

Winter 2004–05 Millsaps Magazine. We regret the error and any hardship or inconvenience this may have caused. s p r i n g – s u m m e r 2 0 0 5

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Martha (Puff) Powell McGahey, B.A. 1941, of Leland died Oct. 25, 2004. At Millsaps, she was a member of Chi Omega sorority, the YWCA, and the Woman’s Association.

David M. McMullan, B.A. 1960, of Ridgeland

died Nov. 4, 2004. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Brenda Denson Melohn, M.B.A. 1988, of Brandon died Oct. 17, 2004.

Don M. Mizell, 1945, of Jackson died Oct. 5, 2004. At Millsaps, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Susan Wheeless Roberts, B.A. 1959, of Port Gibson died Oct. 16, 2004. At Millsaps, she was a member of the Purple & White staff, the Major Facts staff, and the Panhellenic Council.

She served as secretary for Chi Omega sorority and for the Majorette Club. She was selected as a “Favorite” and as Miss Millsaps in 1959.

Major Thomas G. Roberts, B.A. 1949, of Bay Springs died April 7, 2005. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Millsaps Players.

Dorothy Norwood Root, B.A. 1950, of Jackson died April 5, 2005.

she was a member of the Millsaps Singers and the YWCA. She served as president of Beta Sigma Omicron sorority.

Geraldine McCormack Whitaker, 1946, of Springfield, Ill., died Jan. 15, 2005. While at Millsaps, she was a member of Beta Sigma Omicron sorority.

Emaline F. Bullard Wilkinson, 1993, of

Vicksburg died April 5, 2005.

Fred Harris Williams Jr., B.A. 1956, of Clinton died April 5, 2005. At Millsaps, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and played varsity football.

Donald Lewis Moak, 1961, of Raymond died

Oct. 25, 2004.

Gertrude Triplett Morgan, 1944, of

Kosciusko died Sept. 28, 2004. While at Millsaps, she was a member of Phi Mu sorority.

Dr. Royce L. B. Morris, B.A. 1961, of Abingdon, Va., died March 29, 2005. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Eta Sigma Phi. Frances Gray Muncie, B.A. 1948, of

Raymond died Oct. 3, 2004. At Millsaps, she was a member of Beta Sigma Omicron, Kappa Delta Epsilon, and the YWCA. Dr. Richard (Dick) W. Naef, B.S. 1949, of Jackson died Jan. 20, 2005. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta and Omicron Delta Kappa. He also served as business manager for the Millsaps Singers.

William Miller Nelson Jr., B.A. 1950, of Columbus died Nov. 29, 2004. He contributed to the Beth Griffin Jones Sponsored Adult Scholarship Fund, established at Millsaps in the 1990s.

Dr. Dennis E. Salley, B.S. 1954, of Meridian died Dec. 15, 2004. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and the Bobashela staff.

Dr. Robert G. Shoemaker, B.A. 1963, of Conway, Ark., died Oct. 8, 2004. At Millsaps, he was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Schiller Gesellschaft, Eta Sigma, the Millsaps Players, and the Millsaps Singers.

Clarence R. Smith, 1945, of Cleveland died Oct. 17, 2004. He attended Millsaps as part of the Navy V-12 officer training program.

Mary Helen Utesch Smith, 1964, of Atlanta died Feb. 22, 2005. While at Millsaps, she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority and Eta Sigma Phi. Margaret Murphy Swayze, 1939, of Benton died Feb. 13, 2005. While at Millsaps, she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority, Chi Delta, and the Woman’s Panhellenic Council.

She served as secretary-treasurer for the sophomore class.

Laura Rodgers Tucker, 1942, of Brandon

died Dec. 20, 2004.

Dr. Dennis Ray Roberts, B.S. 1947, of Jackson

died Feb. 8, 2005.

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Rosa L. McKeithen Webb, B.S. 1930, of Columbus died Sept. 21, 2004. At Millsaps,

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Dr. Walter E. (Ellis) Williamson, B.A. 1943, of Tarboro, N.C., died Dec. 13, 2004. While at Millsaps, he was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, the Student Executive Board, and the YMCA. He served as president of the Christian Council and the Ministerial League.

He was also named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.

Joseph E.Wroten, B.S. 1945, of Aberdeen died March 17, 2005. At Millsaps, he was a member of the YMCA, the Millsaps Singers, the Millsaps Players, and the Purple & White staff. He served as president of Kappa Sigma fraternity. He attended Millsaps as part of the Navy V-12 officer training program.

Louise Havard Youngblood, B.A. 1949, of Hernando died April 9, 2005. While at Millsaps, she was a member of the Vikings.

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Richard (Dick) Dear Foxworth Esteemed Attorney, Former Trustee, Dedicated Fund Raiser

Richard Dear Foxworth, a former trustee and 1956 graduate of Millsaps, died on January 18 at his home in Columbia, Mississippi. He was 69.

Foxworth was born in the community of Foxworth in Marion County, Mississippi, on July 30, 1935. He graduated from Columbia High School, where friends remembered him as not only a “very studious young man” but also a “very likable person.” Among his many activities, he was a basketball player and a member of the debate team.

In 1956, Foxworth earned a bachelor of science degree in geology from Millsaps. He went on to earn a master’s degree in geology from the University of Missouri and a juris doctorate from the University of Mississippi. At Millsaps, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Though he worked as a geologist for Texaco from 1958 to 1962, Foxworth was in the private practice of law for 40 years, specializing in probate, estate and business planning, and oil and gas. He was “extremely principled,” a friend once said, and considered the practice of law to be a “true profession.” He served as president of the Mississippi Bar Association from 1996 to 1997. At the time of his death, he was managing partner of Foxworth, Shepard & Berry PA. He was married to the former Marilyn Dickson, B.A. 1965. A member of First United Methodist Church in Columbia, he served in many leadership roles, including chair of the trustees and a teacher in the men’s Bible class for many years.

Foxworth remained enthusiastic about Millsaps College, serving on the estate planning committee and, as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1986 to 1990, working on the business affairs committee. He served on the board of The Asbury Foundation of Hattiesburg and was instrumental in securing for the College a $1 million gift for scholarships.

“Dick Foxworth was a prince of a man,” President Frances Lucas said. “I have enjoyed his charm and wisdom on various occasions. When we gathered to salute him at the announcement of the scholarship given by The Asbury Foundation and one by his family, I noted that he appeared to be related to well over two dozen Millsaps graduates. I hope to recruit many more of his family members, and maybe some will win his scholarship.”

In addition to serving as a Millsaps trustee, Foxworth also served on the boards of the Methodist Hospital of Hattiesburg, Citizens Bank of Columbia, and Wesley Health Systems of Hattiesburg.

Two scholarships have been established in Foxworth’s memory. The Richard D. and Marilyn D. Foxworth Endowed Scholarship was created through a bequest from Foxworth’s own estate plans, and the Richard D. Foxworth Memorial Scholarship was established from a generous gift from The Asbury Foundation of Hattiesburg.

Both scholarships will ensure that generations of students benefit from Dick Foxworth’s love for Millsaps.

—K. B., N. S.

He“Quote was “extremely goes here”. principled” and considered the practice of law to be a “true profession.”

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Marsha McCarty Wells Valued Trustee, Committed Alumna, Civic Leader

“She was one of the most devoted trustees who ever served.”

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Marsha McCarty Wells, 50, who graduated summa cum laude in 1976, died on April 22 of complications from heart disease. She had been an active and dedicated alumna and a member of the Millsaps Board of Trustees since 1991.

“We remain stunned and in deep grief that Marsha is gone from this earth,” said President Frances Lucas. “She was one of the most devoted trustees who ever served. In fact, we teased her in our full board meeting about being one of the few trustees to read every single word of the thick board book we send out for every meeting. Her board book was always marked up with ink from beginning to end. No one was more thorough with a financial sheet than Marsha.”

Her devotion to the College began during her student days, when she majored in education and was involved in numerous campus activities, including Kappa Delta sorority, Kappa Delta Epsilon, the education honorary, and the yearbook, the Bobashela, which she edited in 1975. She was also a member of the academic honorary Eta Sigma and leadership honoraries Sigma Lambda and Omicron Delta Kappa. She earned an M.B.A. from Emory University in 1978.

Following her graduation from Emory, she returned to Jackson, where she served as treasurer of the family business, McCarty Farms, prior to the company’s sale in 1995. At the time of her death she was treasurer of McCarty Enterprises LLC and vice president of the H. F. McCarty Jr. Family Foundation.

Hers was a Millsaps family. The late Hyman F. (Mac) McCarty and Mary Ann McCarty of Magee were longtime supporters as United Methodists and parents of three daughters who attended Millsaps. Her father served as a trustee of the College, and the Millsaps Tower is a gift of the McCarty family. She was married to Terry Wells of Natchez, a 1976 graduate of Millsaps. They have two daughters, Ashley and Leslie.

Wells has served Millsaps as a member of the presidential search committee, the investment oversight committee of the board, and vice chairman of the advisory committee to the Else School of Management. She was a member of the Alumni Council’s executive committee and was treasurer of the house corporation for Kappa Delta sorority.

She was an active citizen of the Jackson community, serving on numerous boards and associations. Her love for the arts drew her to leadership positions with the Mississippi Symphony and the Mississippi Museum of Art. She was also a supporter of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, the Jackson Zoo, the Wilson Research Foundation, the Mississippi Methodist Rehabilitation Center, and Willowood Developmental Center. She received prestigious awards for her business accomplishments and her volunteer service.

Her energy and enthusiasm for Millsaps and her interest in young people is evident in a letter she received in 2002 from alumna Michelle Clingan, who wrote: “Thank you for caring enough to ask a waitress what she planned to do with her life, and thank you for convincing me that I could afford Millsaps. It was during the spring semester of 1999 when I waited on you and your husband, and you took the time to chat with me about school and later to set up an interview for me at Millsaps. Now, I am a first-year law student . . . Thank you for caring enough to believe that I could go to Millsaps and have success at a time in my life when I didn’t believe in myself.”

Millsaps has lost a valued trustee, a committed alumna, a treasured friend. —K. B.

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General Louis Wilson Combat Hero, Chief of Staff, Life Trustee General Louis Wilson, 85, former commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and a life trustee of Millsaps College, died on June 21 at his home in Birmingham.

Wilson, B.S. 1941, was born in Brandon on February 11, 1920, to Louis and Bertha Buchanan Wilson. While at the College, he competed in football and track. Wilson was commissioned a Marine officer upon graduation. As a platoon and later company commander in the Ninth Marine Regiment, Third Marine Division, he took part in combat operations in the Pacific, including the invasion of Guam in 1944. It was on Guam that Captain Wilson took part in a two-day company action for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

According to the citation, Wilson, ordered to take that portion of the hill within his zone of action, “initiated his attack in midafternoon, pushed up the rugged, open terrain against terrific machine-gun and rifle fire for 300 yards, and successfully captured the objective. Promptly assuming command of other disorganized units and motorized equipment, in addition to his own company and one reinforcing platoon, he organized his night defenses in the face of continuous hostile fire and, although wounded three times during the five-hour period, completed his disposition of men and guns before retiring to the company command post for medical attention.” He later rescued a wounded comrade and held the line in fierce hand-to-hand combat.

Returning stateside to recover from wounds sustained in that action, he was assigned to the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C. Later that year he married his Millsaps sweetheart, Jane Clark, of Pearson, Mississippi.

During his tenure as commandant, Wilson laid a firm foundation of high standards and demanding training that ensured that the Corps maintained a modern, mobile, combined arms force. General Michael Hagee, current commandant, said: “General Wilson was ahead of his time. As commandant, he stressed modernization, readiness, expeditionary capabilities, and integrated firepower, areas that we still concentrate on today.”

Following his retirement in 1979, Wilson sat on a number of corporate boards. He and his wife lived in Jackson at the time and later moved to San Marino, California. The Wilsons eventually returned to the South, settling in Birmingham to be near their only child, Janet Wilson Taylor, an attorney and mother of two.

Wilson was made a trustee of Millsaps College in 1978 and a life trustee in 1990. Wilson’s military decorations included the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Combat “V” and two Gold Stars, and the Purple Heart Medal with two Gold Stars. His civilian honors included the Iron Mike Award from the Marine Corps League, Distinguished Achievement Award from Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity (1946), and Outstanding Mississippian Award (1974). He was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa from Millsaps College (1976) and was also elected into the Millsaps College Sports Hall of Fame (1980).

Wilson is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. —J.Y.

Captain Wilson took part in a twoday company action in Guam for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

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Johnny,We Hardly KnewYe Mother Millsaps never asks too much of her children when they leave. Maybe a visit every now and then or a few dewy-eyed mentions of her name. Really, she wants what any mother wants— for her children to go out into the world and make her proud. Our Mother Millsaps gets her fair share of reasons to brag, her children leaving to become everything from bishops to Hollywood big shots.

We all recall what she meant to us, how she looked and felt when we would tread upon her campus. Whether we stayed under her tall oaks for years or left after a few short months, the smell of fresh-cut grass, the sound of enlightened conversation, wafts us back to the days we spent with our Mother Millsaps.

Kit Carson was here when her oaks were a little bit smaller and the Bell Tower didn’t exist. In its place was his dorm, Founders Hall.

He’d walk the dorm’s fl oorsperforming magic tricks; for 50 cents, he could make your coins disappear forever. His quiet demeanor and playful entertainment were welcomed by his friends on the hall, his fellow V-12 members. The Navy V-12 program was designed to give offi cercandidates preliminary training during World War II. On Friday and Saturday nights, they would meet on the roof of the old Heidelberg Hotel to hear Kit play the drums with the Millsaps Swing Band. Underneath the warm, Southern night skies, folks were able to forget their troubles for a while and just listen to Kit Carson play.

The V-12ers stayed around for only the last six months of the year, just long enough to feel the real heat of a Mississippi summer.

In January of 1944, they said goodbye to Mother Millsaps and went their separate ways. Some left for their naval assignments to be pilots; some, like Kit, went on to the sea. Kit made it through the war, even after his boat, the Pennsylvania, was torpedoed.

Somewhere along the line, Kit docked in Hollywood and changed his name to Johnny. He went on to host The Tonight Show and become one of the most famous television personalities of our time.

Guess all that fame kept Johnny Carson pretty busy, for he never could fi ndthe time to come back to visit Millsaps. But that’s just fi newith her—because Kit Carson made her plenty proud.You could almost feel her tall oak branches sink a little when he passed away this January. Mother Millsaps knew that Kit held a little piece of this sweet, Southern lady in his heart, just like every one of us who leaves this place.

—B. D.

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millsaps magazine

Rekindle old memories

Visit your alma mater today!

Join us for Homecoming 2005!

Make plans now to return to Millsaps for Homecoming 2005, the weekend of November 4–6. This is a wonderful time to rekindle old friendships, to visit with former classmates, faculty, and staff—and if you haven’t been back in a while—to see how the campus has changed since your days here! In addition to special activities for reunion classes (1955, 65, 75, 80, 85, and 95), there will be fun events for all alumni and the entire family.

Here are some of the happenings: Fri., Nov. 4—Welcome Reception for all reunion classes Sat., Nov. 5—5K Run/Walk —Alumni Association annual meeting —Sports Hall of Fame brunch —Faculty Showcase/Readings —Family fun and all-campus picnic in the Bowl (storytelling, face-painting, moonbounce, oldfashioned popcorn for the kids) —Football game vs. archrival Rhodes College —Special events for reunion classes —Young Alum Party Sun., Nov. 6—Sunday brunch in the Caf’ —Memorial service for alumni and friends —Men’s and women’s soccer games vs.

Oglethorpe Check www.millsaps.edu for schedule updates and additional details. For more information or to serve on a general alumni Homecoming planning committee, contact the Offi ce of Alumni Relations.

Millsaps Alumni Relations 1701 North State Street Jackson, MS 39210 -0001 601-974 -1038 • 1-86-MILLSAPS (toll-free) • alumni@millsaps.edu

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS 1701 NORTH STATE STREET JACKSON • MS • 39210-0001

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