MILLSAPS MAGAZINE
SPRING-SUMMER 2016
“I don’t want to live in a state where ignorance is accepted as
1919. Ericka will enroll at Oxford College in the fall for two years
the norm, where racial bigotry is tolerated, where intellectual
of study, before returning to the states to enter medical school. We
achievement is not applauded. I don’t want to live where music
also congratulate Diane Bravenec for being a Rhodes Scholar final-
and art are not appreciated, where ethical behavior is not required of office holders, where literature is not prized, where intellectual freedom is not secure. I don’t want to live where honesty and honor are not revered. I don’t want to live in a state without Millsaps College.” — Leila Wynn, Millsaps Life Trustee, Founders’ Day, 1996 I shared these words from Leila Wynn in my remarks to the graduating class of 2016 on May 7, a beautiful, cloudless, and relatively cool morning and a magnificent day for commencement in the Bowl. These words from Ms. Wynn remind us of the value of a Millsaps education, one that challenges, inspires, and guides young men and women to lives and careers of meaning and significance. As I watched the class of 2016 walk across the stage, I could not help but to consider some of the important moments from the past year. In August, the incoming class of 2019 began their Millsaps experience under the new Compass Curriculum. This innovative new curriculum offers students a learning path designed to align with our strategic vision of engaging students in a “transformative learning and leadership experience that results in personal and intellectual growth, commitment to good citizenship in our global society, and a desire to succeed and make a difference in every community they touch.” I am excited about the implementation of the Compass Curriculum, and grateful for the tremendous work of our faculty, particularly Dean Keith Dunn and Dr. Holly Sypniewski, in the research and development that led to it. In November, we celebrated the selection of Ericka Wheeler as the sixth Rhodes Scholar from Millsaps, and the first AfricanAmerican female from Mississippi ever to earn this prestigious
ist – she and Ericka were the only two finalists from Mississippi, and both represented Millsaps with great poise. Millsaps was one of four schools in the country to boast both a Rhodes Scholar and an inductee into the National College Football Hall of Fame (the others being Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Yale). The first Millsaps player inducted into the Hall of Fame, Sean Brewer accepted his honor during a dinner at the WaldorfAstoria in December. His fellow inductees represented Division I football powerhouses like Nebraska, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Texas, so it was with no small amount of pride that we made the trip to New York City and applauded Sean for his accomplishments. In April, we formally announced the creation of the Institute for Civic and Professional Engagement at Millsaps. Under the leadership of Kenneth Townsend, B.A, 2004, the Institute will help ensure that Millsaps students graduate with the best classical education and with career goals, civic commitments, and professional skills that equip them for lives of meaning, good citizenship, and leadership. And, as a reminder of something we already knew, Forbes.com this year ranked Millsaps as the “best college in Mississippi.” All of the work and successes of the past year, combined with this affirmation, have helped us recruit an incoming class for the fall that, at this writing, is the largest entering class since 2009! All of this reinforces the power of the Millsaps experience, and demonstrates to us once again that, in so many ways, Millsaps matters. It matters to our students, faculty, and staff, and to the broader community beyond our campus, extending across the street and around the globe. As you read the stories in this issue of our magazine, I encourage you to think about the ways that Millsaps has mattered in your own life, and to reflect upon how we all can ensure that Millsaps matters for many, many years to come.
scholarship. Also the first female Rhodes Scholar from Millsaps, Ericka is in good company with those who have made this journey from Millsaps to England ahead of her: Kenneth Townsend, B.A. 2004; Brad Chism, B.A. 1982; Gaston Hall, B.A. 1952; Mack Buckley Swearingen, B.A., 1922; and Frank Kirby Mitchell, B.A.
Dr. Robert W. Pearigen President
Making History
Alums in the UK
30
20
On Campus Commencement
Campus Events Accolades
Farewell Concert Spider Discovery Eubanks and Welty Summers Lecture Brexit
2 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Major Sports New Athletic Director
College Football Hall of Fame
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
EXECUTIVE STAFF Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, President
EXECUTIVE EDITOR John Sewell*
Dr. S. Keith Dunn, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College
DESIGN Kelley Matthews
Dr. Robert Alexander, Vice President of Enrollment and Marketing
PUBLICATIONS MANAGER Nell Luter Floyd
Terri Hudson, Vice President for Institutional Planning and Assessment
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ruth Cummins, Nell Luter Floyd, Susan Marquez, and John Webb WEB Lucy Molinaro* and Emma Stockton CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Greg Campbell, Frank Farmer, Jacob Langston, Chris Todd, UMMC Division of Public Affairs, and Sophie McNeil Wolf
Dan Hungerford, Vice President of Finance Dr. R. Brit Katz, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Kenneth Townsend*, Special Assistant to the President BOARD OF TRUSTEES J. Thomas Fowlkes*, Chair; The Rev. Jerry Bostick Beam*; The Rev. Zachary C. Beasley; Paul T. Benton*; Carol A. Biedenharn*; The Rev. Warren Black*;
36 37
Alumni
Lamees El-sadek Scott Holley
Class Notes
In Memoriam
Katherine B. Brady; William Bynum; James A. Coggin; The Rev. Claire Dobbs; William R. Flatt*; Mark R. Freeman*; The Rev. Elisabeth Anne Garvin*; Dr. Cristina P. Glick; William F. Goodman III*; Judge James E. Graves Jr.*; Maurice H. Hall Jr.*; Monica Sethi Harrigill*; The Rev. Heather K. Hensarling; Richard G. Hickson; William R. James; Peder R. Johnson*; The Rev. W. Geoffrey Joyner*; Charles R. Lathem*; John L. Lindsey; Paul F. McNeill*; Vaughan W. McRae; Michael T. McRee; Jean N. Medley*; Richard H. Mills*; Monte Rector*; Donna Ruth Else Roberts; Dr. Robert C. Robbins*; E. B. Robinson Jr.; Toddy Porter Sanders*; The Rev. Dr. J. Joseph Shelton IV*; Mike Sturdivant Jr.*; Bishop James E. Swanson Sr.; Ward Van Skiver*; J. Mack Varner*; William G. Yates III HONORARY TRUSTEES Robert H. Dunlap*; Robert W. Pittman*; Ruth W. Watson*
38 41 44 47
LIFE TRUSTEES Gale L. Galloway; William T. Jeanes*; Robert N. Leggett Jr.*; J. Con Maloney Jr.*; Rowan H. Taylor; John C. Vaughey; Leila Clark Wynn *Denotes Millsaps Alumnus/Alumnae
Editor’s Note: The UK’s historic vote to exit the European Union occurred just as we were going to press with this magazine, which features as its centerpiece a story about our alumni in England. We turned to our resident economist, Dr. Walter Neely, who figures prominently in the story about our alumni, to offer his reaction to the vote. We also called upon British-born Millsaps alumnus Paul McNeill, an investment professional in Jackson and a member of the Millsaps Board of Trustees, to offer commentary. Their columns appear on pages 18 and 19. Millsaps Magazine is published by Millsaps College, 1701 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39210, for distribution to alumni, parents of students, and friends of the College. For the online magazine, visit www.millsaps.edu/magazine.
{ON CAMPUS} {ON CAMPUS}
The class of 2016 fills the Bowl During the 122nd Commencement on May 7 in the Bowl, Millsaps President Robert W. Pearigen encouraged the Class of 2016 to hold closely its membership in the Millsaps community and to consider the ways to apply and translate Millsaps’ values to life and work. “As you well know, Millsaps matters,” he said. “It matters in ways truly unique to liberal arts colleges. It matters to this city, this state, this nation, and this world, and I look forward to seeing the ways that you, as graduates, will reflect, embody, and extend Millsaps’ influence and legacy both across the street and around the globe.” Pearigen shared remarks from Lelia Wynn, a community leader, philanthropist, and long-time member of the Millsaps Board of Trustees, made during a Founders’ Day celebration several years ago. He offered her words as a tribute to the College and its courageous stand on important matters of the day. “Ms. Wynn said, ‘I don’t want to live in a state where ignorance is accepted as the norm, where racial bigotry is tolerated, where intellectual achievement is not applauded. I don’t want to live where music and art are not appreciated, where ethical behavior is not required of office holders, where literature is not prized, where intellectual freedom is not secure. I don’t want to live where honesty and honor are not revered. I don’t want to live in a state without Millsaps College.’” “What a powerful statement of Millsaps’ role in this community and what a charge to us all.” Pearigen offered these final words to the Class of 2016: “May God bless and keep you as we send you forth today, transformed, with a high sense of honor, a desire to be worthy citizens and leaders, an abiding devotion to your alma mater, and a commitment—indeed, a determination—to make the world a better place.” Katie Lane Kirkland of Birmingham, Ala., recipient of the Millsaps Founders’ Medal, awarded to the graduating senior with the highest grade point average for their entire college course of study and a grade of excellent on comprehensive examinations, also addressed the audience and reflected on the role Millsaps plays in shaping lives. “As those of us graduating today end our time here at Millsaps, I invite all of you to think about one question: When you tell your story, what will you say about the village of Millsaps?” said Kirkland. Sarah Catherine Peterman of Alexandria, La., recipient of the Outstanding Master of Accountancy Award, another featured student speaker, described the thought she put into deciding whether to pursue a master’s of accountancy and an M.B.A. at Millsaps, where she also obtained her bachelor’s degree. “Over the last year, I realized that the reasons that drew me back to this place were those that define and make Millsaps so special—the
opportunities for breadth and depth of learning and the people who make those opportunities possible,” she said.
GRADUATES AND FACULTY WHO ALSO RECEIVED AWARDS DURING COMMENCEMENT: Hannah Grace Saulters of Jackson, recipient of the Frank and Rachel Ann Laney Award, given for the best essay about the value of a Millsaps liberal arts education. Laura Claire Kebert of McComb, recipient of the Charles Sewell Award for the Outstanding M.B.A. Graduate. Kandice Bailey of Lorman, recipient of the Don Fortenberry Award, which recognizes the graduating senior who has demonstrated the most notable, meritorious, diligent, and devoted service to the college with no expectation of recognition, reward, or public remembrance. Dr. James Bowley of Jackson, professor of religious studies and chair of the religious studies department, recipient of the 2016 Millsaps College Distinguished Professor Award. The College conferred honorary degrees on the Rev. David A. McIntosh of Madison, a 1949 graduate of Millsaps College and the father of two Millsaps graduates, and Jerry W. Mitchell, an investigative reporter for The Clarion-Ledger who is known for his work in bringing justice to civil rights cases. A graduate of Candler School of Theology at Emory University, McIntosh has a long history of service and pastoral leadership in the Methodist Church. While his career as a minister led him through eight different churches in the state, McIntosh is most well-known for his appointment at Jackson’s Christ United Methodist Church, the largest United Methodist Church in Mississippi, from 1972 to 1983, during which time he organized the church’s response to the devastating Easter Flood of 1979. As a result of his thoughtful management during this crisis, the Christ United Methodist Foundation was created to serve as a resource for emergency aid. After his retirement in 1990, McIntosh served for the next 20 years as the minister of hospital care at Christ United Methodist Church. Mitchell’s work has helped put four Ku Klux Klansmen behind bars: Byron De La Beckwith, for the 1963 assassination of NAACP leader Medgar Evers; Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers, for ordering the fatal firebombing of NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer in 1966; Bobby Cherry, for the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church that killed four girls; and Edgar Ray Killen, for helping organize the June 21, 1964, killings of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Schwerner (popularized by the fictional movie about that case, Mississippi Burning). For his work, Mitchell has received more than 30 national awards. In 2006, the Pulitzer Prize Board named him a Pulitzer Prize finalist, praising him “for his relentless and masterly stories on the successful prosecution of a man accused of orchestrating the killing of three civil rights workers in 1964.” After winning the prestigious George Polk Award for a second time, Mitchell received a MacArthur “genius” grant —the second investigative reporter to ever receive the $500,000 award.
2
www.millsaps.edu
{ON CAMPUS}
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
3
{ON CAMPUS}
Meet Benton Brown, of New Orleans, a rising senior who is majoring in business administration. He admits his goal of becoming a college president may seem a bit ambitious, but he knows Millsaps has given him the tools and the network to make it happen. He plans to enter the M.B.A. Plus Program, which allows seniors to take graduate classes a semester early, in January 2017, and then go on to complete his M.B.A. at the Else School of Management, and then earn a doctorate in higher education leadership. He serves as director of Presidential Ambassadors and is a residence hall director, an Else School intern at Midtown Public Charter School, and a member of the African-American Student Advisory Circle. He is a Management/Business Administration Honors Project participant, founder of the Millsaps Retention Advocates, and co-chair of the Hall of Fame Committee. He has played football for the Millsaps Majors and serves as the team’s senior counsel. Q: WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND MOST TRANSFORMATIVE ABOUT BEING A STUDENT AT MILLSAPS?
A: My freshman year I took introduction to management with Dr. Diane Baker, professor of management. We had to work in groups for almost every assignment, including taking tests. I was the only freshman in a junior-level class, so you can imagine how nervous I felt every day. As the semester went on, I found myself becoming the leader of the group at times.
4
www.millsaps.edu
As the year ended, both Dr. Baker and our team shared evaluations of one another. To this day, my peer evaluation and Dr. Baker’s evaluation are on the wall in my room. It states “very warm personality, a good listener, and knows how to connect with people. Although young and probably sometimes too quiet, he naturally understands what it means to work with and care for people.” Dr. Baker’s style of teaching gave me an intellectual curiosity that I have carried with me throughout my years here. I was honored to be in a class where I could look up to upperclassmen, learn from intellectually driven minds, and find myself.
Q: WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE TO ATTEND MILLSAPS?
A: My mother, in all of her motherly intuition, liked Millsaps and made me visit four times. Looking back, I chose Millsaps because of the College’s strong tradition with the United Methodist Church. It is important to me to know that the College is built on a foundation rooted in Christian values and will give students who are Methodist an opportunity to grow within their own denomination. It reassures me that any major decision the College makes will take into consideration the values that it shares with the Methodist Church. Another factor was the one-year M.B.A. program open to Millsaps graduates. Having a program that I could finish within five years, in comparison to most schools where it would be six, was important. My interest falls in management theory and studying effective leaders, and the Else School offers classes that allow students, like myself, with a unique interest to further their study. Last but not least, faculty, staff, and students at Millsaps care and are invested.
{ON CAMPUS}
Meet Dr. Nathan Shrader, an assistant professor of political science at Millsaps College. He earned his B.A. from Thiel College, a master’s degree from Suffolk University, and a doctorate from Temple University. Before arriving at Millsaps in fall 2014, Shrader served successively as legislative aide and deputy director of communications to Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, legislative aide to Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter in the Virginia General Assembly, and research analyst at Abrams Learning and Information Systems under General John N. Abrams (retired). He worked from 2009 to 2014 at the Center on Regional Politics at Temple University and was an adjunct professor at Drexel and Neumann Universities. Shrader earlier served as legislative intern in Washington for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, legislative intern to Pennsylvania State Representative Rod E. Wilt, and as a clerk under Westmoreland County (Pa.) Recorder of Deeds Tom Murphy. He has worked as a consultant, manager, staffer, and volunteer on more than two dozen campaigns.
Q: WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE CALLED UPON FREQUENTLY BY LOCAL MEDIA TO DISCUSS POLITICS?
Q: WHAT IS THE VALUE FOR STUDENTS AND OTHERS IN ENGAGING WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS?
Q: ANY ELECTION PREDICTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE?
A: Students are often surprised to learn that elected officials who visit campus or host them for internships are accessible and interested in hearing their ideas. An exciting thing is when an elected leader, governmental official, or political consultant visits campus and takes out a pen and a pad to jot down thoughts or suggestions from students.
A: This is a truly fun part of the job. In a previous career I regularly did political communication work for elected officials and candidates, hosted a radio show for three years as an undergrad, and was a correspondent for a weekly political newspaper in Philadelphia, Pa. during grad school. It is vital for political scientists to help explain to the public what is happening in politics and why. Those of us with expertise should use that knowledge to inform the public for the sake of improving understanding and dialogue.
Q: WHAT DREW YOU TO STUDY POLITICAL SCIENCE? A: I decided to study political science as an academic discipline because it encompasses a blend of government, politics, history, economics, philosophy, and public policy. There are few limitations on what one can choose to study or focus on because of the vast scope of what falls under the banner of political science and the acceptance of numerous types of methodologies and approaches.
A: The only prediction I am willing to make is that the 2016 presidential election is going to go down as one of the most fascinating in history, regardless of who wins the party nominations or the general election. It has demonstrated that the “old rules” of presidential election politics that have been followed for generations are going to be rewritten moving forward. Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
5
{ON CAMPUS}
CAMPUS EVENTS
SCHOLARS, AUTHORS, AND MUSICIANS WERE AMONG VISITORS IN RECENT MONTHS.
Paul Thorn
Wolf Stephenson
John Donvan and Caryn Zucker
Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey
Dr. Richard Sylla
Charles Overby
Dr. Leslie McLemore
Hank Klibanoff
Fred Anklam
6
www.millsaps.edu
{ON CAMPUS}
MILLSAPS ARTS & LECTURE SERIES Popular roots-rock songwriter and performer Paul Thorn presented a solo acoustic concert featuring songs from his 2014 album, Too Blessed to
be Stressed, and earlier works in January as part of the Millsaps Arts & Lecture Series. Dr. Woody Sistrunk, a Jackson physician who has studied the recording industry in Jackson as a hobby for many years, joined Wolf Stephenson, who has produced and engineered more than 400 records for Malaco Records in Jackson, to speak about “An Overview of the Recording Industry in Jackson, Mississippi” in April.
LECTURE AND BOOK SIGNING John Donvan, a correspondent for ABC News, and host/moderator of the Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates, and Caryn Zucker, a 25-year veteran of ABC News and producer and co-writer of the PBS series Autism Now, spoke in January about their book, In a Different Key: The Story
of Autism. A key figure in the book is Donald Triplett, B.A. 1958, who became the first child in history diagnosed with autism.
DUNBAR LECTURE Philosopher, astrobiology theorist, and NASA advisor Carol Cleland discussed the problems of defining life and the implications for studying extra-terrestrial biology, artificial life, and even the possibility of invisible lifeforms on Earth in January as part of the Dunbar Lecture. Cleland is a professor of philosophy and an investigator in the Center for Astrobiology at the University of Colorado in Boulder and an affiliated scholar of the NASA Institute for Astrobiology.
VISITING WRITERS SERIES Poet Natasha Trethewey read selected excerpts from her poetry and participated in a question-and-answer session with author Katy Simpson Smith in February. Trethewey, a Gulfport native who received an honorary degree from Millsaps in 2015, was named in 2012 the Poet Laureate of the state of Mississippi and the 19th Poet Laureate of the United States. The event was made possible through the English Department Visiting Writers Series and the Eudora Welty Foundation.
ELSE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND PHI BETA KAPPA Dr. Richard Sylla, the Henry Kaufman Professor of the History of Financial Institutions and Markets and a professor of economics at New York University Stern School of Business, discussed “Lessons from Financial Crises” in February during a program sponsored by the Millsaps College Phi Beta Kappa chapter and the economics program.
MILLSAPS FORUMS David Dodson, president of the North Carolina nonprofit MDC, spoke about “Building an Infrastructure of Opportunity in Mississippi” at a Millsaps Forum in March. The forum was co-sponsored by the Mississippi Association of Grantmakers, the Mississippi Economic Council, and the College. Dodson’s talk featured highlights from MDC’s current State of the South report, taking a deep look at youth mobility in the South and featuring analysis of data from Mississippi, other states, and the region as a whole. The data covered include an overview of K-12 and higher education spending and state-by-state looks at where young people are dropping out of the education-to-career continuum. The presentation also highlighted Southern communities that are working to create an “infrastructure of opportunity.” “Journalism and Social Change” was the topic of a panel discussion at Millsaps in April in partnership with the Mississippi Humanities Council and the Overby Center at the University of Mississippi. The panel featured longtime USA Today editor Fred Anklam, who is now co-editor of the Mississippi News and Information Corp.; Hank Klibanoff, former managing editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and deputy managing editor for The Philadelphia Inquirer, and now director of the journalism program at Emory University; and Dr. Leslie McLemore, founding director of the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy who has worked in Mississippi as an educator, activist, and higher education administrator. Charles Overby, former chairman and CEO of the Freedom Forum, Newseum, and Diversity Institute and current chairman of the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics, served as moderator. This program was a Winter Series Forum.
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
7
{ON CAMPUS}
ACCOLADES Millsaps faculty spend time in the classroom, but that's not all that they do. They find time for research and creative endeavors, and they participate in professional activities that expand their knowledge and enhance their teaching. Our staff members stay busy, too. Here are some of their recent professional activities.
Faculty GEORGE BEY, professor of anthropology and associate dean of international education, published a chapter entitled “On the Count of Three: Magic, New Knowledge, and Learning at Walt Disney World” in Disney, Culture and Curriculum (Routledge Press, 2016). He also published two entries, one on the site of Kiuic and the other on Kabah, in the Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016).
JAMES E. BOWLEY, professor of religious studies, and Martin Abegg and Edward Cook published
The Dead Sea Scroll Concordance Volume Two: The Non-Qumran Documents and Texts. This final volume is the culmination of a 20-year project (volumes 1 and 3 were published in 2003, 2009; yes, volume 3 was published before volume 2). This last volume has 23,531 entries. The total work has 1,988 pages and 250,538 entries, all of which Bowley glossed and grammatically categorized. This work is the only and official concordance of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Judean Desert texts, is published in hard copy and electronically, is incorporated into text data software, and will be the basis for scholarly analysis for many decades to come. Bowley also published “Prophecy, False Prophecy, and War in the Dead Sea Scrolls” in The War
Scroll, War and Peace in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature, edited by Kipp Davis, et al. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
DAMON CAMPBELL, associate professor of information systems, has two forthcoming articles: “Using Decision Support Systems to Sense Opportunities for Innovation: Integrating Post-Adoptive IT Use Behaviors with the Dynamic Managerial Capability Perspective” in Journal of Management Infor-
mation Systems and “Electronic medical record system avoidance in a turbulent environment” in
Information & Management.
ASIF KHANDKER, associate professor of physics, has retired after teaching at Millsaps since 1985.
MARYAM EMAMI-KHANSARI, visiting assistant professor of chemistry, presented “Influence of dimensionality and size on anion binding in thioureabased acyclic receptors” in The American Chemical Society 251st National meeting (March 2016). 8
www.millsaps.edu
RACHEL HEARD, associate professor of music,
STEPHANIE ROLPH, B.A. 1999, assistant professor of
released her third solo compact disc, “Six Sonatas,
history, had her article, “The Citizens’ Council in
Op. 5 for Fortepiano, by Johann Christian Bach,”
Africa: White Supremacy in Global Perspective,”
on the NAXOS International label (August 2015).
accepted for publication in the Journal of Southern
History. It is scheduled to be in print in August
BRENT E. HENDRIXSON, associate professor of biol-
2016.
ogy, and colleagues published “Taxonomic Revision of the Tarantula Genus Aphonopelma Pocock,
JULIE RUST, assistant professor of education, col-
1901 (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae)
laborated with Sarah Ballard, an English teacher
within the United States” in the journal ZooKeys
at Murrah High School, in presenting a session
(February 2016). The 340-page monograph was
entitled “Technology and Collaboration” at the
featured in numerous local, national, and inter-
Mississippi National Board Certified Teacher
national media including the BBC and National
Summit (September 2015) and publishing “I Am/
Geographic.
You See: Traversing Literacies from Page to Screen to Body” in an upcoming issue of English Journal
MONICA JOVANOVICH-KELLEY, faculty teaching fellow, co-edited Patronage, Inc.: Corporate Commissions
of Art and Architecture in the United States, 1886– 2010 with Bloomsbury Academic in early 2017.
(May 2016). In the fall of 2015, Rust authored “Making Visible the Dance: Strategies and Tactics in Teacher and Student Classroom Interactions” in English
Teaching Practice and Critique. Rust presented
YVETTE LANGDON, assistant professor of biology,
“Bridge Building: From Page to Screen to Bodies”
published “Split top: a maternal Cathepsin B that
at the Journal of Language and Literacy Educa-
regulates dorsoventral patterning and morphogen-
tion Conference in January of 2016 and “’Stay in
esis” in Development (March 2016)
School’: Transliteracies and the Stories We Tell” at the National Council of Teachers of English
EMLEE NICHOLSON, assistant professor of math-
Research Assembly in February of 2016. In April
ematics, published “Degree conditions for weakly
2016 she presented two papers at the American
geodesic pancyclic graphs and their exceptions” in
Education Research Association Conference:
the Journal of Combinatorial Optimization (2016)
“Making Meaning from Page to Screen to Stage”
Volume 31.
and “‘Let’s Tear Everything Down . . . Start Over . . . Change the World’s Youth’s Perception of Injustice
SHELLI M. POE, visiting assistant professor of
in Society.”
religious studies and director of Vocation, Ethics, and Society, published “Friedrich Schleiermacher’s
NATHAN R. SHRADER, assistant professor of politi-
Theology as a Resource for Ecological Econom-
cal science, published “A Book Review: Toomey’s
ics” in Theology Today (April 2016); and “Schlei-
Triumph” in the political science journal Com-
ermacher’s Transcendental Reasoning: Toward a
monwealth (2016). Shrader also presented a paper
Feminist Affirmation of Divine Personhood” in
titled “All Politics is Organizational: An Analysis of
Feminist Theology (January 2016). She also pub-
Candidate Recruitment, Political Influence, and
lished a paper co-authored with Emily O. Gravett,
Coordination in Pennsylvania School Board Elec-
“Acknowledging Students’ Collaboration through
tions” at the 47th Annual Northeastern Political
Peer-Review: A Footnoting Practice” in College
Science Association Meeting in Philadelphia, Pa.
Teaching (February 2016). She presented two
in November 2015. Shrader heard Trey Vernaci,
papers at recent conferences: “Acknowledging Stu-
a senior political science major and Ford Fellow,
dents’ Collaborations through Peer-Review: A Foot-
present a research paper titled “A Case Study of
noting Practice,” Southeastern Commission for the
Religious Free Exercise Law and Mississippi’s SB
Study of Religion, American Academy of Religion
2681” during the undergraduate research panel at
(March 2016); and “Feminist Thought, Evangelical
the meeting.
Christians, and Submission: Unholy Trinity or the Future of Feminist Studies of Religion?” Associated
STEVE SMITH, professor of philosophy and religious
Colleges of the South Gender Studies Conference,
studies, delivered the presidential address on “Kan-
Southwestern University (February 2016).
tian Freedom and Moral Attention” at the 2016
{ON CAMPUS}
Mississippi Philosophical Association meeting on
BRITTNEY RANEA PAXTON, coordinator of campus
ceived a scholarship from the ACPA Coalition for
March 19. He also presented a paper on “A Philo-
life, was named the Outstanding New Professional
Graduate Students and New Professionals in order
sophically Interesting Conception of Scripture” at
for 2015 by the National Association for Campus
to attend the conference.
the 2015 American Academy of Religion national
Activities South Region and received the award in
meeting in Atlanta in November 2015.
October 2015. She presented “The Glamorous Life
cilitator for Sigma Kappa and Alpha Chi Omega
Takewell was also selected to be a guest fa-
of Inclusion,” during the National Association for
Sororities in January at both organizations’ annual
BILL STOREY, professor of history, had his article,
Campus Activities National conference in Febru-
leadership trainings for undergraduate members
“Cecil Rhodes and the Making of a Sociotechnical
ary 2016 and at the NACA South regional confer-
from across the country. He also received a schol-
Imaginary,” published in September 2015 by the
ence in October 2015.
University of Chicago Press in a volume entitled
arship to attend the Association for Fraternity and Sorority Advisors Annual Meeting in December
Dreamscapes of Modernity: Sociotechnical Imagi-
STEVEN G. ROGERS, executive-in-residence at the
2015 in Fort Worth, Texas, because of his work at
naries and the Fabrication of Power, edited by
Else School of Management, was elected as an
Millsaps as the fraternity and sorority advisor.
Sheila Jasanoff and Sang-Hyun Kim.
independent director of Cedar Realty Trust, Inc., a fully-integrated real estate investment trust that
KEN THOMPSON, director of institutional research,
HENRY SVEC, assistant professor of communications,
focuses on the ownership and operation of primar-
completed his Ph.D. in educational research and
published “iHootenanny: A Folk Archaeology of So-
ily grocery-anchored shopping centers straddling
statistics in July 2015. His dissertation explored
cial Media” in The Fibreculture Journal 25 in 2015.
the Washington D.C. to Boston corridor. The com-
techniques to better estimate student growth when
pany’s board of directors also appointed Rogers as
using standardized tests from multiple years.
HOLLY SYPNIEWSKI, associate professor of classical
a member of the Audit Committee. His term will
Grounded in prior research concerning errors re-
studies, and Rebecca Benefiel, assistant profes-
run until the 2016 annual meeting of stockholders
lated to Item Response Theory-based scale scores,
sor of classics at Washington & Lee University,
of the Company.
his dissertation examined using Item Response
published “Images and Text on the walls of Hercu-
Theory as the measurement model in a struc-
laneum: Designing the Ancient Graffiti Project,”
THERESA SURBER, manager of development infor-
tural equation model by including item response
in A. Felle & A. Rocco, eds. Off the Beaten Track:
mation systems, spoke at the Ellucian Live 2016
patterns, rather than scale scores, as indicators
Epigraphy at the Borders. Proceedings of the VI
Conference that was held April 16-21 in Denver.
of ability. For his dissertation, which has already
EAGLE International Meeting (pp. 26-45). Oxford:
She made three presentations: “Scholarship to
been downloaded 170 times in 35 countries, he
Archaeopress, 2016.
Student Matching,” “Using Data to Support the
received the J.R. Rachal Dissertation of the Year
Annual Fund,” and “What’s My Picture? Dash-
Award, presented on March 29 during the College
KRISTEN TORDELLA-WILLIAMS, professor of art, traveled
boards and Analytics for Campaign Planning and
of Education and Psychology awards day at the
to Shanghai, China to exhibit recent digital prints
Reporting.” She was appointed to the Ellucian
University of Southern Mississippi.
in the group show “Translating the Intangible” at
Client Advisory Team for the 2016-2017 academic
203Art Gallery and participated in 5x5 - US-Chinese
year. Ellucian is the leading provider of software
Arts & Cultural Exchange Dialogue at the Vanke
and services to the higher education community.
Center in Shanghai. She also gave the lecture “Intersections of Papermaking, Print, & the Studio”
SELENA SWARTZFAGER, president of the Mississippi
at the Shanghai Institute of Technology Fine Arts
Council on Economic Education that is housed in
College. Tordella-Williams won Best in Show in the
the Millsaps College Else School of Management,
exhibition Potsdam Prints at SUNY Potsdam’s Art
received the Governor’s Award for District and
Museum, juried by Harvey Breverman.
Community Partnership on behalf of the Council on Economic Education. The council serves all
Staff BRIT KATZ, vice president for student life, dean of students, and assistant professor of education, published “Career Development As Wellness: From Great Depression, Through Great Recession, to Great Ascension,” a chapter in Further Wellness
Issues for Higher Education: How To Promote Student Health During and After College, volume edited by David Anderson (Summer 2016).
Mississippi school districts from the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education.
WILL TAKEWELL, director of campus life, was selected to present research at the international convention of ACPA College Student Educators International in Montreal in March. Takewell is a part of a research team that presented “Bumpin’ Up Against People’s Beliefs: Senior Level Student Affairs Administrators Working for Change for LGBTQ Individuals in the South.” Takewell reMillsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
9
{ON CAMPUS}
An end to an era More than 100 friends of Millsaps College and alumni who were members of the Millsaps Singers joined with the current Singers for a concert in April honoring Dr. Tim Coker, who retired at the end of the 2015-2016 academic year. A native Mississippian, Coker has taught at Millsaps since 1984. He received a bachelor’s of music in piano, a master’s of music in conducting, and Ph.D. in choral music from the University of Southern Mississippi. While at Millsaps College, Coker has taken choral groups to Europe performing in such prestigious places as the Duomo in Florence, the Chiesa di San Marco de Miracoli in Rome, El Escorial in Spain, and Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria. Other performance venues have been in Berlin, Prague, Brno, Dresden, Venice, Salzburg, Vienna, Regensburg, St. Gilgen, and Rome. For his last trip with the Singers, Coker chose to lead a trip to Ireland. National tours have included such venues as the United Nations Chapel, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City; the National Cathedral and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.; and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. With countless performances to his name, perhaps one of Coker’s most memorable was in 2011. That’s when the choir premiered Meditations, a three-movement a cappella work by Samuel Jones, B.A. 1957, that was commissioned by the College in memory of “Pop” King, founder of the Millsaps Singers.
10
www.millsaps.edu
{ON CAMPUS}
Fresh faces on the Board Millsaps College welcomes four new members of the Board of Trustees: Katherine Bissell Brady, the Reverend Claire Elizabeth Dobbs, Monte D. Rector, and Ward Van Skiver.
Katherine Bissell Brady is a volunteer and philanthropist who graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 with a B.A. in sociology. She is a member of the Junior League of Houston, Texas, and Medical Bridges, Inc. She is married to Alfred Bernard “Trey� Brady III, and they have two sons, Beau, B.B.A. 2015, and Jack Brady, sophomore at Millsaps.
Rev. Claire Elizabeth Dobbs is the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Gulfport. She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, where she earned a bachelor of social work, and Duke University, where she earned a master of divinity. She is a board member of Methodist Senior Services and the Mississippi Conference of Ordained Ministry, and a member of the Mississippi Conference Committee on Episcopacy and the Standing Rules Committee for the Mississippi Annual Conference.
Monte D. Rector, B.B.A. 1982, is the southeast director for education for Apple, Inc. He attended the Else School of Management for various courses from 1982-1986, and did graduate studies at Oxford University, Babson College, the University of Virginia, and Emory University. He is a member of the board of directors of Allen Sports Association. He is married to the former Patricia Lynn Cooper, B.S. 1986, and they have three children, Laura, Robert, and Matthew, B.S. 2015.
Ward Van Skiver, B.A. 1966, is the branch manager and regis-
tered principal at Raymond James Financial Services in Jackson. He received the Jim Livesay Service Award from the College in 2009 and has served on the Estate Planning Council for the College. He is a former chairman of the Rotary Club of Jackson, a member of the Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship Committee, and belongs to Northminster Baptist Church. He is married to the former Kay Hataway Atwood, and they have two children, Ward William Van Skiver Jr. and Virginia Tabb Van Skiver Wallace.
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
11
{ON CAMPUS}
Along came a spider... A 340-page article recently published by Dr. Brent E. Hendrixson, associate professor and chair of the Biology Department, and his colleagues from Auburn University garnered media attention from national and international news outlets (e.g., AP, BBC, National Geographic, EurekAlert). In their monograph, the arachnologists document the diversity,
That is where he spends his summers searching for the hairy, large-bodied spiders known as tarantulas that have been the focus of his research since coming to Millsaps College in 2008. “I’ve been fascinated with spiders for as long as I can remember,” said Hendrixson. By the time he was six years old, he had already captured his first black widow and kept a large South American tarantula as a pet. His collection of exotic tarantulas grew from a single spider to several hundred during his undergraduate years at the University of Northern Colorado. “You couldn’t walk into my bedroom because cages were stacked to the
distribution, natural history, and conservation status of the 29 species of ta-
ceiling,” Hendrixson recalled about his college hobby. “I was enamored by
rantulas known to occur in the United States, including 14 species of which
their diversity and interesting behaviors.”
are brand new to science. The article, published in the open-access journal
In June 1998, Hendrixson followed up on a tip provided by his col-
ZooKeys, is the culmination of nearly two decades worth of research and
lege biology professor and embarked on the first of dozens of trips into
represents the most comprehensive taxonomic study ever conducted for a
the American Southwest to collect native tarantulas. He drove four hours
group of tarantulas.
south to Vogel Canyon near La Junta, Colorado where he searched for the spiders. Hendrixson found them but had questions.
BIRTH OF A TARANTULA BIOLOGIST The deserts and mountains of the American Southwest are near and dear to Hendrixson, who grew up in the suburbs of Denver. 12
www.millsaps.edu
“I poured through the literature in an attempt to identify the species I found but became frustrated because there was very little useful information available. Tarantulas are conspicuous and charismatic spiders, so I figured biologists had a good understanding of what species could be found
{ON CAMPUS} in the area. That was far from true,” he said. “That’s when I became obsessed with our native tarantulas.” Hendrixson spent the next several years in graduate school at West
Dustin Garig, B.S. 2015, now a graduate student at Southeast Missouri State University who is studying to become a field biologist, entered Millsaps convinced that he wanted to pursue a career in medicine. He
Texas A&M University and East Carolina University where he studied
decided to sign up for Hendrixson’s field course “Biogeography and
scorpions and trapdoor spiders, respectively. He began a close relation-
Biodiversity of the American Southwest” and spent two weeks during the
ship with the American Tarantula Society, where he helped establish a
summer between his sophomore and junior years camping in the desert
citizen-based science program by which the public could get involved
and studying a wide variety of organisms.
with tarantula research. Shortly after Hendrixson accepted the position
“Dr. Hendrixson’s passion for tarantulas generated such excitement
at Millsaps, he and his mentor submitted a research grant proposal to the
in the entire class and we couldn’t wait to find the next animal or get to
National Science Foundation to document the diversity and distributions
the next stop. As I learned more about spiders, I didn’t fear them as much
of native tarantulas. In February 2009, they were awarded more than
and I actually started to really like them.”
$350,000 for the project. “The idea for the project was conceived more than a decade earlier
Garig continued to study arthropods during his junior year and decided to make a second trip to the American Southwest with Hendrixson.
when I was still an undergrad and to know that we finally had the re-
When they returned, Garig learned how to sequence and analyze genetic
sources to do the research, I was ecstatic.”
data from spiders in the laboratory.
MILLSAPS STUDENTS CONTRIBUTE TO RESEARCH
thing that could not be taught from a textbook or in a lecture hall,” Garig
Hendrixson used his portion of the funding mostly to support undergraduate research at Millsaps. More than a dozen students were engaged in field- and laboratory-based research and played a significant role in various projects by helping Hendrixson gather hundreds of tarantulas throughout the American Southwest and by collecting DNA sequence data in the lab.
was all I needed to help make my decision to go to graduate school and
“This was unlike any learning I had ever received and it was someexplained. “Participating in the step-by-step process of field research become a field biologist. Dr. Hendrixson guided me through the process to ensure that I was accepted into a graduate program.” Lacie Newton, B.S. 2015, tells a similar story. She had planned on a career in healthcare but that all changed after she enrolled in two other field courses offered by Hendrixson: “Arizona Arachnology” during summer 2014 and “Biology of Scorpions” during
“This project afforded
summer 2015.
many of our students an op-
Newton was so driven
portunity to acquire skills they
by Hendrixson’s passion for
could not get in a traditional
tarantulas and scorpions that
classroom setting. I had four
she plans to pursue a graduate
Honors students whose proj-
degree in biology. She would
ects directly contributed to
like to study the phylogenetic
the monograph my colleagues
relationships of arachnids.
and I just published,” said
“Holding my first tarantula
Hendrixson, who is also direc-
out in the field further sparked
tor of the Honors Program at
my own passion for these crea-
Millsaps.
tures,” she said. “Dr. Hendrixson
Two of Hendrixson’s
helped me realize that I could
former Honors students, Ber-
make a career out of studying
nadette DeRussy, B.S. 2010, and Alexis Guice, B.A. and B.S. 2014, are co-authors on separate articles that were published in reputable peer-reviewed journals. Guice was recognized by the American Arachnological Society for her outstanding conference presentation, where she took home first place in the student research competition. “The best part of my job is being able to mentor students” he said. “All students should take advantage of the many opportunities Millsaps offers to work closely with a faculty mentor. These relationships are incredibly important, foster intellectual development, and help students gain a competitive advantage when applying for graduate and professional schools.”
them.” Kayla Pavlick, a senior biology major, also intended to pursue medicine but now plans to go to graduate school for entomology after doing field research with Hendrixson. “I assisted with a spider project in Central Texas and I am currently doing research on a group of scorpions in Arizona,” she said. “I see how Dr. Hendrixson’s profession works outside of the campus setting, and that has played a major part in my decision to pursue graduate degrees in entomology.” When asked how he felt about the impact he has had on his students, Hendrixson replied, “I’m flattered but I’m sure Student Life isn’t too thrilled with me because students always come home from these field
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES CHANGE CAREER PLANS
courses with new pets—sorry!”
It is not surprising that most students majoring in biology at Millsaps are interested in health-related careers. For some students, however, their field research experiences have been so rich that they have completely changed their career plans. Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
13
{ON CAMPUS}
Documenting the world with pen and lens Eudora Welty’s photography and one of her well-known essays provided the focus for two classes W. Ralph Eubanks taught during the spring semester as the Eudora Welty Professor of Southern Studies. Eubanks, a Mississippi-born author lauded for works about race, civil justice, and southern culture, developed a photography and literature class that encouraged students to think about the relationship
2013), I sometimes worked as a photo editor, where I gained experience working with curators and other photo editors.” Wondering how much of Welty’s work was influenced by photography, Eubanks connected with Forrest Galey, special projects officer at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and learned that Welty typically took a photo then forgot about it. “I learned that she wrote almost entirely from memory.” The Photography and Literature class began with a study of Susan Sontag’s On Photography, before diving into works by James Agee and Walker Evans. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, written by Agee with photography by Evans, was first published in 1941. The book documents the lives of impoverished sharecroppers during the Great Depression. Eubanks also had students read a shorter piece, Cotton
Tenants: Three Families. “It’s believed to be a piece that would have appeared in Fortune magazine had it ever been published,” explained Eubanks. “I tell my students it serves as a gateway to Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. It introduces them to Agee’s style of writing, which in Let Us Now
Praise Famous Men can be very long, rambling, and frustrating, but very beautiful. I encourage my students to stick with it. There is a lot to be learned as a way of writing to bear witness.” Eubanks recalled working on the book Eyes of the Nation by Vincent Virga while at the Library of Congress. “I had seen the images before, but the Library of Congress has large bound volumes of all the photographs that were taken by Evans. That’s what really led me to read Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. I began thinking of it more along the lines of documentary evidence rather than literature, so I taught it more as literature in a class of photography and literature.” Eubanks taught students to see how a writer can incorporate photography in fiction. “There are different ways of seeing. In some ways, a camera can be a pencil for the eye. And then you translate what it is that you see onto the page so that the person reading it sees that same thing that you’re seeing,” he said. Eubanks also developed the class “Must the Writer Crusade? Civil Rights and Activism in Literature,” based on Welty’s essay, “Must the Novelist Crusade?” The essay ponders whether works of literature should take crusading positions. Rachel Long, a senior from McComb, said discussions in Eubanks’ Photography and Literature class were always enlightening, between photography and literature by reading 20th and 21st century authors who incorporated photographs into their works. “What connects the readings for this course—and one that is a focus of class discussions—is how authors turn to photographs to explore the connections between fictional narratives, personal memory, and the historical past,” said Eubanks, a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the University of Michigan and author of The House
at the End of the Road: The Story of Three Generations of an Interracial Family in the American South (2009) and Ever Is a Long Time: A Journey Into Mississippi’s Dark Past (2003). “I was familiar with Miss Welty’s photography. At the Library of Congress (where Eubanks served as director of publishing from 199514
www.millsaps.edu
complex, and fun. “I’ve learned more about ethics in this class than I ever thought I would—such as the ethics behind taking photos, publishing them, or displaying them in a gallery,” she said. Eubanks said the classes reaffirmed his love of working with students. “I am working as an editor and agent on a book about Napa Valley, and I have realized that I love working with books and I love working with students. I have learned so much from my students, and I’ve tried to meet them where they are. I want my students to understand how our past relates to the way we live now.” — SUSAN MARQUEZ
{ON CAMPUS}
Promoting interreligious awareness among healthcare providers Understanding the role of religion in a patient’s life may be crucial for one’s work as a healer and healthcare provider. That’s the message that Dr. James Bowley, professor and chair of religious studies at Millsaps College, delivered when he spoke in April to firstyear medical students at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. It was his third time to give such a lecture at UMMC. Dr. Gaarmel E. Funches, director of community education and outreach in the Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UMMC, invited Bowley as part of the M1 Lecture Series. In our growing diverse cultures, healthcare workers can no long assume religious identity about any patient, and there is a growing awareness in healthcare literature that providers may need to ask questions about religious identity and practice, Bowley said. Religions often provide for people their most fundamental views of the world, and their very identity, he said. Knowing these things about a patient will help healthcare providers treat them with respect and without causing stress. Even if a patient does not claim to be religious, it’s important that a physician not make assumptions and ask the patient and his or her family about such, so appropriate actions can be taken, he said. Empathy is the most important human interpersonal skill, Bowley said, and physicians who are trained in interreligious understanding are often excellent at providing wonderful empathetic care to those whom they serve. “I had a person at a local hospital tell me that when she was facing serious surgery, a minister came in and just started reading prayers,” he said. “She, though accustomed to Christianity her whole life, was Hindu, but at that time she found she did not want those ‘foreign’ prayers. On the flip side, a Christian may not have much liked someone reading from the Qur’an or a Hindu chant.” Bowley, who received the 2016 Millsaps College Distinguished Professor of the Year Award, said he has spoken with Millsaps graduates who majored in religious studies and who went on to graduate from medical school to gain their perspectives. “Dr. Khyati Gupta (B.S. 2006) a religious studies major, told me ‘every single day religions affect what I do’ with my patients,” he said. “Dr. Woods Curry (B.S. 2008) told me, ‘my patients don’t want to be just illnesses that are diagnosed, they want to be treated as people. My ability to form a deep personal relationship with my patients, and to try to understand their needs on an emotional and spiritual level, is firmly founded in my time as a religious studies major. Studying religions has provided me the ability to think of my patients less as a pathology that needs to be fixed and more as whole people, humans, with all the messy, beautiful, and complex things that go along with that condition.’”
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
15
{ON CAMPUS}
Race and religion in Mississippi in the 1960s
The pastors who signed it sought to speak to and for a mostly silent yet significant minority of Mississippians, and to lead white Methodists to join the conversation on the need for racial justice. The document additionally expressed support for public schools and opposition to any attempt to close them, and affirmed the signers’ opposition to Communism. Though a few individuals, both laity and clergy, voiced public affirmation of the Born of Convic-
Dr. Joseph T. Reiff, B.A. 1976, returned to campus in February to present the 2016 Summers Lecture, “Stories Nobody Knows: Mississippi Methodists and Race Relations in the 1960s.” Currently professor of religion and chair of the Religion Department at
tion statement, the overwhelming reaction was negative. By mid-1964, 18 of the signers had left Mississippi, evidence of the challenges faced by whites who offered even mild dissent to massive resistance in the Deep South. A panel discussion of “Race and Religion in Mississippi: Past and Present”
Emory & Henry College, Reiff spoke about the role of religion in response to
was held after Reiff ’s lecture. Panelists included include an original signer of
the civil rights movement. Reiff is the author of Born of Conviction: White
the Born of Conviction statement, the Rev. Keith Tonkel, B.A. 1958; Millsaps
Methodists and Mississippi’s Closed Society (Oxford University Press, 2015).
College Rhodes Scholar Ericka Wheeler, B.A., B.S. 2016; civil rights historian,
The book tells the story of the Born of Conviction statement, signed by 28 white Methodist pastors and published in the Mississippi Methodist Advocate on January 2, 1963. The statement called for freedom of the pulpit and reminded readers that the teachings of Jesus permit “no discrimination because of race, color, or creed.”
16
www.millsaps.edu
Dr. Stephanie Rolph, B.A. 1999, assistant professor of history at Millsaps; and longtime Mississippi NAACP attorney, Carroll Rhodes.
{ON CAMPUS}
New Institute for Civic and Professional Engagement established Millsaps College has announced the creation of a distinctive leadership development program, known as the Institute for Civic and Professional Engagement. Identified as a key goal in the College’s strategic plan, Across the Street and Around the Globe: Partnerships and Influence at Millsaps College, the Institute was developed by a task force of campus faculty, staff, and students during the course of the past year. “Millsaps’ distinctive strengths as a liberal arts college include providing our students an intimate teaching and learning environment as well as opportunities for them to engage in civic and professional experiences beyond campus that are rich, varied, and connected to their classroom experience,” said Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps. “Individuals, academic programs, and communities can be transformed when students have opportunities for experiential learning that connect deeply to their education. The Institute will build upon our unique location in a capital city and opportunities to provide a concrete, systematic, and imaginative approach for connecting classroom and non-classroom experiences with civic and professional exploration.” The Institute will facilitate student development along a continuum of engagement from living and learning communities, in-depth student research projects, and study abroad to co-curricular service projects and professional internships. The Institute will also help ensure that Millsaps students graduate with the best classical education and with career goals, civic commitments, and professional skills that equip them for lives of meaning, good citizenship, and leadership. Kenneth Townsend, who currently serves as special assistant to Pearigen and as an assistant professor of political science, has been appointed as executive director of the Institute. “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this important new initiative, and to support the growth of exciting partnerships between Millsaps College, our students, and communities near and far from Millsaps,” Townsend said. “As a native Mississippian, I see tremendous potential for this Institute and how it can support engaged learning and service that benefit all involved.” A native of Attala County, Townsend is a 2004 graduate of Millsaps with an M. Phil. from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and an M.A. from Yale Divinity School and J.D. from Yale Law School. “The Institute is a natural outgrowth of our mission, location, and Wesleyan heritage,” Townsend continued. “A dedicated Institute for Civic and Professional Engagement will expand current experiential learning programs to reach more students, and will provide the structure to coordinate these programs in ways that make specific connections to the academic environment and larger community, all while building upon the College’s distinctive mission and helping address the needs of the city, state, and region.”
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
17
{ON CAMPUS}
Millsaps finance professor offers insight into Brexit
BY DR. WALTER NEELY
In 1986, when Millsaps faculty began teaching Else School classes in London, we were excited about globalization and the European Community (later the European Union), but the June 23 referendum now commonly known as Brexit seems to call an end to the experiment, at least for the United Kingdom. The EU has grown from nine large European countries in the mid-1970s to nearly 30 now, and the complications caused by a large EU bureaucracy, the global great recession, and wars in the Middle East have resulted in the UK vote to exit the EU. The unexpected UK vote has resulted in a predicted decline in the value of the UK pound and declines in stock markets around the western world, especially in Europe. The lasting implications of Brexit, both positive and negative, will play out over a period of years, not days. Globalization, with its interconnection of capital, technology, and international trade, should increase economic growth and result in increasing standards of living. Since the founding of the EU, Europe and the UK have prospered in part due to the reduced inter-country regulations and fewer barriers to trade. At the same time, the rest of the world has similarly prospered. Europe’s progress was particularly good prior to the great recession, and particularly poor since 2007. Europe has lagged behind the progress of the Far East and even the US, which has dealt with the aftermath of the great recession better than Europe. The UK has been the brightest part of the EU since
18
www.millsaps.edu
2007. The UK’s economy was driven in part by growing employment in the London financial and banking center, and by a real estate boom in London. Now both of these centers of economic growth are likely to be hard hit by Brexit. The rest of England’s voters seem to have not prospered as have London voters, and these less metropolitan voters outnumbered the primarily London (and Northern Ireland and Scotland) voters who advocated remaining in the EU. An underlying dissatisfaction on the part of Brexit supporters comes from the lack of economic growth outside of London and other UK bright spots. This slow growth seems to be a worldwide phenomenon that hurts some groups, like the less educated and retired, more than others. The EU has seemed to be less able to deal with the slow recovery than other areas of the world, and that lack of economic growth is a key driver of the dissatisfaction exhibited by the Brexit vote. It is not clear that the UK, apart from the London banking and real estate sectors, will be permanently disadvantaged by not being part of the EU. Norway negotiated an EU deal, during better times, and the UK will seek to do the same. The EU leaders will need to exhibit greater flexibility to satisfy the varied needs of its member states. The EU needs the UK as much as the UK needs to trade and continue to be integrated with Europe. It will take years to assess the wisdom of Brexit, but there is no reason to despair as the markets of human sentiments seem to suggest during these days following the vote. Let’s hope and expect that cool heads find ways for resumption of growth and globalization.
Dr. Walter Neely is a professor of finance at Millsaps College. His teaching interests include corporate finance, portfolio management, and international finance. He has traveled and taught extensively throughout Europe.
{ON CAMPUS}
Brexit from the view of a British-born Millsaps alumnus
BY PAUL MCNEILL
As a British subject who has not lived in Britain for 25 years, my perspective on the Brexit referendum may not be the most useful, but I hope to provide some insight here. My personal opinion (and I’m definitely no intellectual) is that, with the European Union, Germany peacefully accomplished what it couldn’t do in two World Wars, and there are more than a few Brits who resent this, especially among the older generations. As a child in Oxford in the ’60s and ’70s, I can vividly remember World War II still being very relevant in the public mind. However, today there is a dichotomy (a big word, but I looked it up) in Britain. A visitor to Britain will see the roads full of German cars with the very English Mini being owned by BMW. They even own Rolls Royce, and Volkswagen owns Bentley! This would have been absolutely inconceivable some 40-odd years ago when we joined the Common Market, yet it is today’s reality. Would Britain and the EU have prospered apart, or are they both better off having been together? It is an unanswerable question that is still debated endlessly, and is about as useful as a political “discussion” between Clinton and Trump supporters. The majority of this referendum’s vote show the voters feel Britain is being held back and dictated to by the EU, whether that be
ment of the curvature of a cucumber—too curvy and it could not be sold! Noise levels of lawnmowers are dictated by the EU, as are the designs of desk lamps. Makers of bottled water are not allowed to say that water provides hydration, and diabetics are banned from driving (though this one is not currently being enforced). These are not exactly issues with which the average Brit drinking a pint down at the pub is concerned. Fortunately, the rumour that the EU has banned Corgis, though, is not true. That would’ve created a revolution, not a referendum! Speaking of Corgis, the Queen hinted at her opinion prior to the referendum vote when she asked her dinner guests to give her three reasons why Britain should remain in the EU. While I couldn’t give her an answer, the news of Boris Johnson stepping down as a candidate for prime minister suggests that he realized this is a case of “be careful what you wish for!” I feel as if I’m saying that I am in the Leave camp. Because I am most probably selfish, Leave dashes any chance of me spending my declining years in Italy, and my EU passport is now worth considerably less than what I paid for it (the consolation is we’ll now get the hardbound passports back, there was probably an EU regulation against that). Anyway, Leave or Remain, I’ll “leave” you with this: the British have always shown grit, determination, and resilience (I call it fatalistic optimism, others stubbornness), and will no doubt come through this, ultimately making the best of it. Keep Calm and Carry On…
A 1987 graduate of Millsaps College, Paul McNeill is resident director and senior vice president at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in Jackson. In addition to serving on a number of community boards, McNeill is a trustee of the College.
immigration, regulations, or such things as VAT (Value Added Tax, an oxymoron if there ever was). How about the banning of curved cucumbers? There was once an EU law that dictated the measure-
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
19
{FEATURE}
20
www.millsaps.edu
{FEATURE}
From Catfish and Hushpuppies to
FISH AND CHIPS BY JOHN WEBB
IN THE SUMMER OF 2015, ROB AND PHOEBE PEARIGEN TRAVELED TO ENGLAND. THEY MET WITH SEVERAL MILLSAPS ALUMNI WHO LIVE THERE AND ARE ENGAGED IN CAREERS OF EXTRAORDINARY INFLUENCE AROUND THE GLOBE. WE SHARE SOME OF THEIR STORIES. Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
21
{FEATURE}
David Morrow, B.A., B.S. 1995 • Millsaps Player • Originally from Jackson • Lives in London • A managing director in sales for Deutsche Asset Management
Shakespeare, who has been celebrated this year across the globe in honor of the 400th anniversary of his death, said “all the world’s a stage.” And that could hardly be more true for for-
in architecture from Harvard, he received a job offer from a professor who had an office in London, and Marci followed. “Since my study
on the London business stage not by an interna-
abroad program at Millsaps, I had always been
tional economics or business professor but—un-
drawn to Europe,” Songcharoen said. Together, Songcharoen and her husband run an architecture and lighting design firm,
“Ironically, I ended up in business, and I
SEAM Design LTD. Recent projects include the
didn’t take a single business course at Millsaps,”
Ritz-Carlton ressidences in Bangkik, Thailand;
said Morrow, a managing director in sales for
the Stone Towers development in Cairo, Egypt;
Deutsche Asset Management. “Probably the
the Jinsha Footsbridge in Hangzhou, China;
biggest impact Millsaps had on me was Lance
Beirut City Centre in Beirut, Lebanon; and the
Goss. I ended up doing seven shows, and the
Dubai Mall in Dubai, UAE.
confidence I gained from the theater helped
“It’s a bit crazy that a small international
lead me to London. The theater connection has
design company in London is led by two souls
helped me tremendously with preparing for a
from Jackson, Mississippi,” Songcharoen said.
career in sales.”
“My major in art history introduced me to a lot
Morrow is one of a half dozen or so alumni
of European art and architecture, and fine-
who say that Millsaps’ multidisciplinary empha-
tuned my critical thought in aesthetics and the
sis on communication skills, critical thinking,
design process in relation to the built environ-
and a broad worldview, not to mention the men-
ment. And my liberal arts foundation from
tored entrée it affords students to international
Millsaps broadened my multicultural perspec-
internships, fellowships, and study, helped pave
tive, critical thinking, understanding of cultural
their 5,000-mile journey from Jackson to living
history, and worldview, which is applicable to
and working in the U.K., often in very high-
the kind of work we do.
profile international jobs.
www.millsaps.edu
After Songcharoen’s husband and fellow Jacksonian Emory Smith earned his master’s
1995, who said he was best prepared for his role
legendary drama teacher and director.
22
Marci Songcharoen, B.A. 1995.
mer Millsaps Player David Morrow, B.A., B.S.
expectedly—the late Lance Goss, the College’s
Probably the biggest impact Millsaps had on me was Lance Goss... the confidence I gained from the theater helped lead me to London.
In London with Morrow are his Millsaps contemporaries Julie Wallace, B.A. 1993, and
“In our practice, we are lucky to have proj-
{FEATURE}
Julie Wallace, B.A. 1993 • Received her M.B.A. from Oxford University • Originally from Nashville ects all over the world where we get introduced
Adam Haywood, B.B.A. 2011, M.Acc.
to a site in a new region that brings with it new
2012, and his wife, Jordan, B.A. 2008, wound
design and cultural dynamics and, of course, a
up in Birmingham (Adam is from Alabama,
new business culture.”
coincidentally), in the West Midlands of
Also working in London is Wallace, who
England, where both work for the accounting
moved to Britain nine years ago to get her
firm of KPMG. In early 2014, while Adam was
M.B.A. from Oxford and soon found herself on
working for KPMG Jackson, he applied for an
the corporate sustainability team at an interna-
international assignment, and that fall he was
tional bank. Wallace leads teams across London
contacted by KPMG UK about an opportunity
and Singapore, formulating sustainability
in the Birmingham office. “He accepted in early
strategy and overseeing community investment
2015 and we moved across the pond on May 1,”
programs with annual contributions of more
Jordan said. “The contract is for two years.”
than $50 million. “Community Investment pro-
Their professional paths joined when
grams are basically our corporate philanthropy
Jordan, who was working in business develop-
programs that we deliver with out country
ment for a regional accounting firm in Jackson,
offices across Africa, Asia and the Middle East,”
applied for similar positions in the U.K. “As fate
she said.
would have it, a position came open at KPMG
Wallace said that among the Millsaps faculty who most influenced her ascent into international economics were Dr. Iren Omo-Bare,
and I started working for the U.K. office in October 2015,” she said. Both cited Millsaps’ multicultural perspec-
chair of the political science department; Dr.
tive as excellent preparation. “In all of your
Claudine Chadeyras, who retired in 2013 after
classes you learn about cultures beyond your
25 years in the modern languages department;
own and how each impacts society today,”
and John Quincy Adams, who retired in 1994
Jordan said. “Over here, we live and work in a
after teaching political science for 29 years and
much more diverse community than we did in
now lives in Washington, D.C.
Mississippi and Alabama, but we feel prepared.
“We had some really great debates in our political science classes that emphasized the
• Lives in London • Sustainability team member of an international bank
We had some really great debates in our political science classes that emphasized the importance of thinking beyond your own city, state, and country.
Our co-workers and clients are from all over the world, not just England.”
importance of thinking beyond your own city, state, and country,” she said.
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
23
{FEATURE}
Marci Songcharoen, B.A. 1995 • Originally from Jackson • Lives in London • Runs an architecture and lighting design firm with her husband
It’s a bit crazy that a small international design company in London is led by two souls from Jackson, Mississippi.
The ‘long and winding road’ Penned by that famous Englishman Sir Paul McCartney, those lyrics could be applied to the circuitous journeys through international scholarships, internships, fellowships, foreign exchanges, and job transfers that led these Millsaps alumni to their British destiny’s door. Take Niels Kirk, B.B.A. 1984. Growing up in a family whose business was international shipping and logistics, Kirk says he “grew up pretty much like carry-on luggage. Travelling, living, and working overseas have always been part of my DNA.” One week after graduation, he started a two-year internship to become a shipbroker in Denmark. “During that time I started to apply the corporate finance theory to raising capital for shipping assets, and basically I stumbled into structured finance and from there into banking,” said Kirk, who counts among his most memorable Millsaps mentors the late Paul Hardin (English), the late Dr. Eugene Cain (chemistry), the late James Montgomery, Dr.
24
www.millsaps.edu
Shirley Olson (management), Dr. Walter Neely (finance), and the late John Christmas, who was dean of admissions. “English literature, in particular Paul Hardin’s passion for Shakespeare and Pope (‘misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows’ and ‘words are like leaves’), helped build a strong base—especially around communication,” Kirk said. Corporate finance with Walter Neely, he added, “brought everything together for me commerce-wise.” Kirk’s banking career started in Copenhagen and led him from there to Paris, London, New York, and back to London. “Today, I remain in banking and manage Citibank’s energy business across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa,” Kirk said. He also manages CitiBank’s Climate & Sustainability Council in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Millsaps’ influence continued even after graduation. “When I graduated, a career in banking was not on the agenda, but two years later I found myself as a shipbroker but with a career change into banking—as a credit analyst for a French bank, which did not have a training program,” Kirk said. “Walter knew exactly what to do and airlifted in the required continuing education stuff !” Dr. Hugh Gaston Hall, B.A. and Founders’ Medal, 1952 (M.A. [Oxford] and Ph.D. [Yale]),
{FEATURE}
Adam Haywood, B.B.A. 2011, M.Acc. 2012 • Originally from Alabama Jordan Haywood, B.A. 2008 of Kenilworth, near Coventry in the British
afternoon of my arrival at St. John’s. We were
Midlands, was Millsaps’ third Rhodes Scholar
married during final examinations in 1955.”
and is a poet, translator, university professor,
Hall revisited England many times in the
and leading authority on the French playwright
next 10 years, the first five of which were mostly
Molière. Hall, who was awarded the Millsaps
spent at Yale earning a Ph.D. and teaching,
honorary doctor of humane letters degree in
and the next five lecturing at the universities of
2009, said the College helped foster his future
Glasgow, California at Berkeley, and Monash
overseas by providing access to prestigious
in Melbourne, Australia. Hall became so well
international scholarships.
acquainted with the U.K. that he was appointed
“My Millsaps experience prepared me ini-
university” expansion of higher education, to
firstly with my obtaining a Fulbright and then
help create the University of Warwick, near Cov-
a Rhodes scholarship, and secondly in my sub-
entry, where he is an emeritus professor.
sequent academic career with a broad range of
In the summer of 2015, Millsaps Presi-
preparation in French, history, English, drama,
dent Rob Pearigen and his daughter, Carolyn,
and philosophy, along with many excellent role
attended Gaston and Gillian’s 60th wedding
models for undergraduate teaching.”
anniversary party, and that fall Hall served as Millsaps’ Scholar-in-Residence. Hall added
set foot on British soil over 60 years ago. “A BEA
that he has been visited over the years by many
plane took me to London as a tourist just before
Millsaps acquaintances.
my 21st birthday in 1952 from Paris, where I was
Like Hall, Morrow, who was student body
a Fulbright Scholar,” he said. “I returned the fol-
president at Millsaps, came to London via fel-
lowing October to England as a Rhodes Scholar,
lowships and an exchange program. “By virtue
and was assigned the rooms in St. John’s
of having a great experience at Millsaps, I was
College that were later used for Millsaps and
awarded a Fulbright scholarship, a German
associated colleges in their summer programs
Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, and a
at Oxford.”
Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship, all three
There, he met his wife, Gillian Lund. “She was reading English at St. Anne’s College, Oxford, and had knocked on my door on the
• Live in Birmingham, England • Both work for KPMG UK
in the mid-1960s, during Britain’s “plate-glass
tially for living and working overseas by helping
Hall is not new to England. In fact, he first
• Originally from Pascagoula
In all of your classes you learn about cultures beyond your own and how each impacts society today.
of which led me to living abroad,” Morrow said. While living in Germany, he learned the language. “Then I got a job with UBS in Zurich,
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
25
{FEATURE}
Niels Kirk, B.B.A. 1984 • Was a shipbroker in Denmark for two years • Has lived in Copenhagen, Paris, and New York • Lives in London • Banker
and then moved back to Washington, D.C., to work at a boutique firm focusing on sustainable investments,” said Morrow. “I was recruited by that boutique to move to London to help a large bank there grow its sustainable investments business. That led me into my role as a managing director in sales for Deutsche Asset Management. In this position, Morrow oversees a sales team of 40 employees managing assests of over $75 billion. “Dr. Edward Schrader, who taught geology
English literature, in particular Paul Hardin’s passion for Shakespeare and Pope... helped build a strong base— especially around communication.
26
www.millsaps.edu
at Millsaps, convinced me to major in that discipline, which indirectly led me abroad, because I developed an interest in sustainable development, which led to sustainable investments, which led to my current role,” said Morrow, who also credited faculty mentors like Dr. Austin Wilson, the retired English professor, and Dr. Michael Mitias, the retired philosophy professor, with challenging him to think creatively— and look beyond his own backyard.
of international business programs. “Dr. Beeler invited me last summer and has invited me back this summer to speak to accounting students during their summer program in London,” Adam Haywood said. “Last year, we also had the chance to have dinner with a few of the professors and graduate students.” “I’ve watched through the years as students enrolled in the Else School of Management European Business Program have been exposed to and learned from leaders of many of the world’s most important businesses,” said Beeler, adding that he had shepherded students through London, Munich, and Florence more than a dozen times, and that 600 to 800 business students had participated since the program’s inception 30 years ago. In London, Millsaps business courses focus on the financial services sector. Students stay in a London School of Economics dorm and study
Bloomsbury groups
in the John Maynard Keynes classroom build-
Nurturing the Millsaps-U.K. connection are class trips led by Dr. Jesse Beeler, professor of accounting in the Else School of Management, and director
year for the last 25 years. “About 30 years ago,
ing at Birkbeck College in Bloomsbury. Kirk has met with Beeler’s students every Dr. Neely championed the Millsaps international education program,” Kirk said. “He asked me to arrange for his group of students to visit the Paris headquarters of my bank—which, without
{FEATURE}
hesitation, I did. I never let Walter know but at the time my bosses suggested that a visit to Crazy Horse might be more enlightening.” Kirk said he feels fortunate to have been able to interact with Millsaps students every year. “It has been an honor to listen to their questions and to share my experiences with them,” he said. Beeler said five alumni working in London plan to meet this summer with Millsaps C E F
students. “For instance, Adam Haywood will talk about his experiences as a young alumnus
K
working in England,” Beeler said. “He’ll talk to
L
them about some of the opportunities as well as
M P S
challenges.” Beeler’s students plan to meet with
V
Songcharoen, as well. “I hope my experience in
W
starting up a small design company is informative and perhaps inspiring to them,” Songcharoen said. Such encounters take the possibility of working internationally out of the realm of imagination and put a human face on it, Beeler said. “One of the most meaningful experiences students have is to see people doing what they could envision doing.” On a somber note, Beeler said, his class was in London on 7/7, that dark day of the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings on the London Underground and a double-decker bus. “We saw how they reacted with very calm, strong resolve and did not panic,” Beeler said. “It shows you the strength of the British people and is a lesson for all of us that we cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated. “It was a very scary time for students, myself, and parents, but we continued with the program. In the wake of 9/11, we continued as well. It was a reaffirmation of our commitment to not being intimidated into abandoning the freedoms that we have.”
Mind the culture gap The London Underground warns passengers to “mind the gap” between the platform and the train. But Americans also have a cultural divide to conquer. “There are many ways the two countries are different, but most notably in daily life, and to put it concisely I’d say the U.K. is more socially
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
27
{FEATURE}
Dr. Hugh Gaston Hall, B.A. 1952 • Founders’ Medal recipient • Rhodes Scholar • Originally from Jackson
modern and progressive while the U.S. is more technologically modern and advanced,” Jordan Haywood said. Take laundry, European style. A complete
• Lives in Kenilworth, England
cycle can take hours and machines are noto-
• Poet, translator, professor
the U.K., I find the lack of an American-style
riously unreliable. “Even after nine years in washer and dryer is my greatest challenge,” Wallace said. “It takes forever to do laundry here!” Other issues? “The weather!” Wallace said, of the city’s notoriously damp and dreary days. For all his love of the British national pastime of football (known in America as soccer),
My Millsaps experience prepared me initially for living and working overseas...
Morrow said he misses American sports. “I played soccer at Millsaps for two seasons, and I still play once a week here,” he said. “I owe the sport for some of my best friendships in both places. But I miss watching and talking to people about American sports.” Europeans are as passionate about the World Cup as Americans are about the Super Bowl, Songcharoen said. “The World Cup tournament lasts for almost a month during the summer,” she said. “The city pretty much comes to a standstill when a game is on.” While soccer might bring Brits cheering to their feet, the business culture reflects that famous British reserve. “The English are known
28
www.millsaps.edu
for avoiding conflict, which is in deep contrast to my experience in New York, where one must be tough and to the point in a competitive environment,” Songcharoen said. “But my Southern charm goes a long way here in the U.K.” But there’s British charm, too. “It is great to have local pubs all around where neighbors really hang out and get to know each other,” Wallace said. And talk politics, perhaps, without coming to blows. “To me it feels like the political system is much more balanced here than in the U.S., with fewer extreme views,” Wallace said. “Of course there are left and right elements to the political parties here, but there is much more of a middle-ground consensus.” “I think, most significantly, we also feel more connected to the greater global community,” Adam Haywood said. “With the U.K. being so close geographically to other countries, global news and issues are much more prominently discussed than they are in the States.” Songcharoen said that working with others in similar circumstances had helped her adjust. “Both my husband and I landed in offices with culturally and linguistically diverse design teams where he and I were two of many rather than the sole American expats in a British office,” she said. “Our profession and the intensity of the offices brought us quickly into
{FEATURE}
international-London social circles. Also, we have lived and worked in East London, which is one of the top creative capitals in the world. I am inspired every day just being here. “And I like the lifestyle here where public transport can take you almost everywhere, people have smaller homes and seem to consume less; there is affordable healthcare—despite reports in the U.S., the
we’ve seen so many new and exciting things come to the city.” Alumni try to stay in touch as time allows. “We used to get together during the early years to celebrate birthdays, Thanksgiving, and the occasional orphan Christmas,” Songcharoen said. “But as time goes on, we are busier and busier so the visits are fewer and further between.” Said Kirk: “There’s no formal Millsaps network that I am aware
healthcare system here works—it’s different from that of the U.S. but it
of—we tend to overlap around the Else School’s Summer Abroad
works; and fewer guns and less of the associated gun violence.”
Program. This summer I will host a more formal Millsaps gathering in
After moving from Madison, Miss., to Philadelphia, Pa., for ar-
London, together with Rob and Phoebe Pearigen, Tom Fowlkes, chair
chitecture school and then to New York for work, followed by Boston,
of the Millsaps Board of Trustees, and his wife, Donna, professors,
“moving to London was a piece of cake,” Songcharoen said.
students, and others—and who knows, this may lead to the formation
Meanwhile, dinner parties present a smorgasbord of accents from around the world. “I have co-workers doing the same program from Istanbul, Turkey; Monterey, Mexico; and Sydney, Australia,” Adam
of a London Millsaps alumni chapter.” The Millsaps international delegation would like to see their ranks swell not only in the U.K. but around the world.
Haywood said. “It’s nice to have friends who understand what you’re going through, but dinner also makes for interesting conversations as it’s quite the international group! These are friends we hope we’ll have for life.” It’s not all Champagne wishes and caviar dreams, though. “I work with global and multinational companies, and thus have to deal with different currencies, regulations, and cultural challenges on a day-today basis,” Adam Haywood said. “The learning curve for this is huge!”
“In America they haven’t used it for years.” So says My Fair Lady’s Professor Henry Higgins of his native tongue. And, indeed, “the language was surprisingly difficult to learn,” Jordan Haywood said. “While it’s English, words have different meanings and pronunciations. As in the U.S., there are several different accents across the regions and it takes some time for the ears to adjust.” Said Hall, who writes for an international readership: “One can get used to adapting to the different spellings–and different vocabulary—between British and American English. When writing I try to remember not only the country of publication, which might be France, Australia, the U.S., England, or elsewhere, but the house style of the publisher or periodical.” Accents aside, there are parallels between Southern towns and London Town, Wallace said. For instance, “both cultures are really polite and considerate, so I think that helps Southerners adjust to the U.K.,” she said. “And, of course, Brits and Southerners both love tea— just in different forms.” Birmingham shares some traits with Jackson, Jordan Haywood said, including a perceived image problem. “It’s a city with big pride
“With a little bit of bloomin’ luck” For those Millsaps fair ladies and gents who might want to cross the pond, Kirk has a few pointers: • Seek a vocation/career path that you enjoy and can grow in. • Treat yourself like an equity—add value every day (new skills, etc.) and be different. • Constantly adjust your approach—excellence is a moving target. • Build networks of mentors and peers—nurture them. • Be culturally aware, travel, and learn languages. • Be a risk taker—go ahead and jump! • Throw in little a bit of luck. “Do it!” Jordan Haywood said. “It’s hard and scary and lifechanging, but worth every bit. We’ve been given the chance to expand our personal and professional horizons and knew almost immediately upon arriving here that we’d come back stronger people. We also have this incredible chance to see the world and are making the most of our time. We’ve been to nine countries already with plans to hit at as many as possible before crossing the pond again.” “The current Compass Curriculum that Millsaps offers seems ideal in preparing students for the rapidly changing world in front of them,” Kirk said. “There are a lot of opportunities,” Wallace said. “Just do it. Don’t wait. Apply for exchanges, use your network. Apply for grad programs at companies that have major international operations.” Hall’s advice to Millsaps graduates wanting to live abroad? “Learn the language, and if the country is in the “one-half world” [as Shakespeare put it in Macbeth] that drives on the left, look both ways before crossing a street. It is quite scary if you wait until the—or your—last minute to do so!”
and big dreams,” she said. “The city has a lot to offer, but often fights a negative reputation because it’s not as glamorous as London. However, the business community is thriving, and in the year we’ve been here
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
29
{FEATURE}
30
www.millsaps.edu
{FEATURE}
Making history and joining an elite group of Millsaps scholars Ericka Wheeler began her freshman year at Millsaps College with, in her own assessment, “a very narrow view of the world.” “I’d been very much shaped by what my parents wanted,” said Wheeler, 22, one of seven children raised in rural Carrollton, Mississippi by parents who are physicians. “I came from a very religious family. My dad also was a pastor.” Wheeler didn’t know just how much she didn’t know. But two of her Millsaps professors, Dr. Robert McElvaine and Dr. Stephanie Rolph, helped her to figure it out on her own. Her world expanded far beyond her family’s farm in the Delta after she took Rolph’s Mississippi History class and traveled abroad with McElvaine to Vietnam and Cambodia. “She helped me to understand the history in race,” Wheeler said of Rolph, assistant professor of history. “I’d be in her office, and she’d go to her bookshelf and say, ‘Read this. Read this.’ She picked up on my curiosity and gave me the tools to be better acquainted with my own identity.” Wheeler enrolled in the Sex, Religion, and Prehistory class led by McElvaine, the Elizabeth Chisholm Professor of Arts and Letters and professor of history. “He taught me to question my gender, my race, my religion – parts of my identity that I assumed,” she said. It was a time of discovery, of self-searching, and of coming to the realization that unless she truly knew herself, she wouldn’t find her calling. “I felt like I’d been thrown in a dark tunnel and was reaching for something to grab,” Wheeler said of her first months at Millsaps. “I had to pull my identity outside of myself, tweak it, and then place it back inside of me when I was comfortable enough with it. And I couldn’t do that until about a year later.” Wheeler, who graduated in May 2016 with degrees in English and history, is the first African-American woman in Mississippi to be named a Rhodes Scholar. The sixth Millsaps student to receive the prestigious honor, Wheeler will begin studies this fall at Oxford University in England, with plans to return to the United States for medical school. Her comprehensive liberal arts studies, travel abroad, and servant leadership prepared her well for the rigors of the Rhodes Scholar selection process. But her search for the path to international academic excellence began four years ago, as Wheeler grappled with a decision that might have seemed easy, but wasn’t. As she completed her final two years of high school at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science on the campus of Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Wheeler compiled her short list of college options. Millsaps was already part of her family history, counting as graduates her mother, Valencia Martin Wheeler, B.S. 1979, and uncle, Hiawatha Martin, B.S. 1987. “I didn’t want to be treated like a number. At the time, I had two sisters at Millsaps, and they loved it,” Wheeler said. “Among the top characteristics for a college that I wanted were a small campus and very low teacher-to-student ratio.” Her oldest sister, Lydia, is a Princeton graduate and current Mayo Medical School student. “She told me to choose the college that would allow me to do what I wanted to do,” Wheeler said. Their sister Candace is a Millsaps sophomore. Brother Joshua is a Delta State University graduate, and youngest sibling John attends Mississippi State University. So with a little sisterly urging from Victoria Wheeler, B.S. 2013, and Michelle Wheeler, B.S. 2014, both now students at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Ericka Wheeler plunged into classes at Millsaps, discovering quickly that education and extracurriculars often go hand in hand. “I became involved with the Intercultural, Accents and Connections Club, and then I volunteered at Rowan Middle School with the Wellspring program,” Wheeler said. “I was an after-school science teacher Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
31
{FEATURE}
in a mobile enrichment program. Every two weeks, we’d go to a differ-
Wheeler said. “Her determination and drive as a student was
ent area in Jackson and teach a science curriculum in a different area
increased because she loved the subjects she was learning, and she
of Jackson.”
loved the teachers.”
Ericka and Victoria even shared a class—Introduction to Psychol-
As she became more aware of issues impacting her generation and their historical roots, “I became more passionate about them. I
ogy—in Ericka’s first year and Victoria’s last. “It was fun. Ericka was a quick learner, and a deep learner,” Victoria Wheeler said. “I learned from studying with her. She was always
started reaching out to those around me,” Ericka Wheeler said. As a junior, she organized a “Black Lives Matter” candlelight vigil with the Millsaps Gospel Choir in the wake of the Ferguson riots.
relating things in the class to her personal life.” By the end of her freshman year, Wheeler began giving more seri-
“The summer before my senior year, I’d been pushing to get con-
ous thought to her academic track. “I’d planned to major in chemistry
nected to the Mississippi Alzheimer’s Association. I was able to reach
and graduate in three years,” Wheeler said. But after traveling to
out to patients with early onset Alzheimer’s and record their stories.
Vietnam and Cambodia the summer after her freshman year with
I’d write creative nonfiction for them so that when their memories
a student group led by McElvaine, Wheeler realized she wanted the
faded, they and their families would have something to remember.” When she began her final year at Millsaps, the gospel choir
four-year experience, and as a history major. “I went to Vietnam first. It was a very strange experience,” Wheeler remembered. “A lot of the native people were astounded with
changed its name to Major Harmony. Wheeler became president of the College’s Intercultural Student Organization, and served as a racial dialogue facilitator and a
me, a tall African-American. If I turned around for a second, I saw that people were staring. “I remember climbing to the top of a temple and looking out into the sunset, and thinking, ‘Why would I want to graduate early?’ That was a spiritual time. I was still thinking about the way religion shapes who we are.” “Her family was very religious, and in a literalist way, when she began Sex, Religion, and Prehis-
“Don’t be surprised if you find some people and politics, about as daft in England as they can be in Mississippi and the other places you have traveled,” he said. “Keep focused on whatever project you have in mind, estimate its dimensions, divide it up, and take it a bit at a time, especially when writing.”
tory,” said McElvaine, who taught Wheeler’s mother in addition to
–HUGH GASTON HALL, B.A. 1952, RHODES SCHOLAR
diversity council member. She organized themed programs throughout Black History Month, culminating this year in a campus-wide “Negro Necropolis” interactive theater performance spotlighting black history and the civil rights movement. “Students played activists from the dead who commented on what the climate was like when they were living,” Wheeler said. “We haunted the Christian Center. I was Ida B. Wells, and there was Jackie Robinson, Anne Moody, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, and
sisters Michelle and Victoria. “I had Ericka’s class read the first two chapters of Genesis to see how they are
Ed King, one of the living activists. We had dead, present, and future
totally contradictory in terms of the order in which creation takes place.
activists.”
“For a while, she was just thrown for a loop by this. But she was
Rolph said she and Wheeler, through their own personal experi-
the best student I ever had in that course, and I was convinced she
ences, connected on racial violence. “I’m her honors project advisor,
was someone who would be a contender for the Rhodes. She stood out
and she was working on historical fiction on three generations of
that much, by the middle of her freshman year.”
black men affected by incarceration and poverty,” Rolph said. “She
“It changed my identity,” Wheeler said of the class. “That made me question things a little more. It made me know I really didn’t know who I was. It got my brain juices churning, and I decided to pursue history a little more, and to find my identity.” The fall semester of her sophomore year found Wheeler rebuilding Millsaps’ student gospel choir from the ground up. “The entire choir had graduated out,” Wheeler said. She and a friend became choir co-presidents and recruited new singers. Layered in with academics were new activities: joining the Student Conduct Council, tutoring in English and poetry at Brown
was writing this as the Charleston shootings happened. We’d been talking about the Mississippi flag issue, too. “That projected us both into much more passionate places. We contribute to each other’s understanding of what it means to be black, what it means to be white, what it means to be mid-career. I think we drew energy from each other.” Even as she maintained a near-perfect grade point average and immersed herself in campus and community outreach, Wheeler said, “I never thought of myself as a Rhodes Scholar. But in my junior year when they brought us all in and told us about it, Dr. McElvaine said to
Elementary, singing with the jazz ensemble, playing flag football, and
apply—but that I had a snowball’s chance of getting it. He said apply-
organizing the College’s first Christmas in Kava holiday event.
ing would be a good experience for me, and he kept checking on me to
Rolph helped Wheeler discover her intimate connection with the state’s history. “Mississippi is a place she clearly and deeply loves, and
make sure I did it.” McElvaine connected her with Kenneth Townsend, B.A. 2004,
feels very protective of,” she said. “Ericka was searching for an honest
special assistant to Millsaps President Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, an as-
assessment of the state’s history so that she could understand the
sistant professor of political science and recently appointed executive
complexity of it.”
director of the new Institute for Civic and Professional Engagement.
“Ericka found her passion in history and writing,” Michelle
Townsend was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University from 2004(continued on page 35)
32
www.millsaps.edu
{FEATURE}
Being a Rhodes Scholar Ericka Wheeler, B.A. 2016 and B.S. 2016, the newest Rhodes Scholar from Millsaps, will head this fall to Oxford University in England to study. The College’s three most recent Rhodes Scholars offer suggestions for Wheeler, based on their own experiences at Oxford, one of the world’s most prestigious universities.
KENNETH TOWNSEND, B.A. 2004 AND FOUNDERS’ MEDAL RECIPIENT, enrolled at Trinity College Oxford in 2004 and received an M.Phil. in political theory in 2006. After Oxford, Townsend taught at the University of Mississippi Honors College before earning an M.A. and J.D. from Yale University. In 2012, he returned to his alma mater to serve as special assistant to Millsaps President Robert W. Pearigen and as assistant professor of political science. In April 2016 he became the inaugural executive director of the Institute for Civic and Professional Engagement at Millsaps (see story on page 17). He offers the following advice for Ericka: • Remember that you belong. You will interact with some of the smartest and most educated people in the world during your time at Oxford. If you’re anything like me, you will have moments when you find yourself asking, ‘Do I really belong here with these people?’ Yes, yes you do. • Embrace change but remember who you are and where you’ve come from. It’s appropriate to evolve as a person, and Oxford will provide no shortage of opportunities for personal growth. But, as you develop new interests, skills, and approaches to the world, keep in mind your core commitments. • Be grateful and don’t be afraid to embrace wonder and awe. You will have experiences at Oxford and during your travels that you probably never dreamed possible. I sometimes felt like I needed to “act like I’d been there before” so as not to reveal to my classmates just how sheltered I had been. Don’t do that! And I occasionally felt reluctant to share all my experiences with friends and family out of concern that it would seem like I was bragging about the truly amazing opportunities I was given. Your loved ones are proud of you and will live vicariously through your adventures, so keep them updated. I have no doubt that you will embrace wonder with humility and gratitude. • Live in the present and try something new. You’ve achieved so much success at this early stage of your life in part because you have always been preparing for the next step. Oxford will no doubt help you prepare for your future, but it also provides a chance for you to take a deep breath and explore opportunities you may never have again. Pick up a hobby or return to one previously abandoned. I had let basketball go while at Millsaps in order to focus on other things, but, at Oxford, I picked up basketball again—playing on the University men’s team and coaching the University women’s team. I’ve not since had a job where basketball was directly relevant, but I’m so grateful that I spent that time at Oxford returning to the game I loved as a child but which had gotten cut from my busy undergraduate days at Millsaps.
BRAD CHISM, B.A. 1982, studied at the University of Oxford from October 1982 through May 1984 and found the experience gave him a broader view of the world. “Many of the world’s treasures will never be closer or more affordable to access,” said Chism, who was a member of a rowing team for a year and a rugby team for two years when he attended Oxford. “Before Oxford, I had never traveled much, and never abroad. In visiting different cities and countries and experiencing so many different cultures, I returned with a greater appreciation for my own heritage.” Chism said he returned to Mississippi after his two years of study where his concentration was in economics, understanding that with scholarship came obligations of service. “Rhodes Scholars must give back. I take that to be a lifelong commitment to work to make the world a better place,” said Chism, who grew up in the small Mississippi town of Tunica. Chism founded Chism Strategies in early 2013 after several years as senior partner at Zata|3 Consulting. Chism Strategies has served more than 2,500 clients in all 50 states with a range of direct voter contact services. Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
33
{FEATURE}
Hugh Gaston Hall, B.A. 1952, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters 2009, and Founders’ Medal Recipient, majored in French at Millsaps and earned
numerous awards, including the Founders’ Medal. He spent a year as a Fulbright scholar in France at the Universities of Paris and Toulouse. He studied at Oxford from 1953 until 1955 at St. John’s College, one of the semi-independent colleges that compose Oxford, where he read modern languages (French and Italian). He recalls he was “constantly reminded of how ignorant I still was and my curiosity about many things was stimulated: from the mind/brain problem through a wide spectrum of historical and literary perspectives down to how to write the next sentence in English or French.” Hall received B.A. and M.A. degrees in French and Italian from Oxford and a doctorate from Yale University. A poet, translator, and leading authority on the French playwright Moliere, Hall is emeritus professor at the University of Warwick, England, and has held visiting appointments at numerous other universities. He has written, translated, or edited 26 books and contributed to some 40 other books and to 60 different periodicals. He served as scholar-in-residence at Millsaps in 2015. He presented his research on Shakespeare, which was featured in last year’s Rhodes Scholar magazine. Like Chism, Hall recommends that Wheeler see as much of the world as possible while she is at Oxford. Hall has visited 120 sovereign nations, Antarctica and more—and kept detailed records. He has practical advice for Wheeler, too. “Don’t be surprised if you find some people and politics, about as daft in England as they can be in Mississippi and the other places you have traveled,” he said. “Keep focused on whatever project you have in mind, estimate its dimensions, divide it up, and take it a bit at a time, especially when writing.”
Mack Buckley Swearingen, B.A. 1922 (Feb. 5, 1902 - Oct. 10, 1969) earned a B.A. from Millsaps, an
M.A. in history from the University of Chicago, studied at Oxford from 1924-1927, and received a doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1932. Mack Buckley Swearingen’s father, Dr. George C. Swearingen, was a member of the first faculty who taught classic languages at Millsaps. In a speech commemorating Founders’ Day in 1965, Mack Buckley Swearingen recalled how his father and his bird dog, Doc, hunted quail with Major Reuben Webster Millsaps, for whom the College is named, how he also knew Bishop William B. Murrah, another founder of the College, and how his sisters told him he also knew Bishop Charles B. Galloway. Both of Mack Buckley Swearingen’s sisters attended Millsaps, and one of them served as a librarian at the College. He did his first teaching as a member of the Mllsaps faculty from 1927 until 1929. Mack Buckley Swearingen was associate professor of history at Tulane University from 1931 until 1938, and professor of history and chair of the Division of Social Sciences at Georgia State College for Women from 1938 until 1942. He spent most of his career at Elmira College where he was professor of history and chairman of the Division of Social Sciences from 1942 until 1966 and 1943 until 1952. From 1966 until 1968, he was professor of history at Lake Erie College, Ohio. He was the author of The Early Life of George Poindexter 1934; Contemporary Georgia (Ed) 1942, and Contemporary Civilization 1933 and 1934. The Mack Buckley Swearingen Papers, which cover the years 1920 until 1969, are housed in 24 boxes at Cornell University Library in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections. Among the papers are his certificate of registration at Oxford and his passports from that time, his diplomas, and correspondence with Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor.
Frank Kirby Mitchell, B.A. 1919 (Sept. 2, 1898 - Jan. 28, 1967) served as president of his senior class at Millsaps, which consisted of 13 members. At Millsaps, he was a member of Kappa Alpha, Sigma Upsilon literary fraternity, the track team, editor-in-chief of the Purple and White, and assistant editor of the Bobashela. During the summer of 1918, Mitchell served with the Student Army Training Corps at Fort Sheridan, Ill. He returned to Millsaps as an instructor in the Student Army Training Corps. Mitchell earned an M.A. from the University of Michigan and worked as an instructor in rhetoric at the University of Michigan from 1920-1921. He researched the history of the English language when he studied at Oxford from 1921-1924. Mitchell taught English at what was then Mississippi Delta State Teachers’ College (now Delta State University) in Cleveland from 1925 until 1926. He was an associate professor of English at Duke University from 1926 until 1965; for 11 years, he supervised freshman English, the system of majors, and the system in honors. He served as secretary for the Rhodes Committee in North Carolina. He is the author of An English Grammar for College Students (Macmillan, 1930).
34
www.millsaps.edu
{FEATURE}
2006. Rhodes Scholarship winners are selected “not only for their
to that. She said that it doesn’t matter if you have money or not, and
outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commit-
that she didn’t have all the experiences that poorer black people
ment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for
would have, but that she had some of them.”
leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead,” the organization’s website says. Wheeler was chosen one of the 12 regional finalists. “He was there
“Ericka is good. She is smart. She has accomplished a lot academically. She has invested in social justice,” Rolph said. “She is so well adjusted in her vision of the world around her. She’s honest, and
for me the entire way through, including preparing for my interview,
she’s also hopeful. That is a hard combination to strike. She sees her
the night before the interview, and the day of the interview,” Wheeler
environment honestly, and she doesn’t see it as something she has to
said of Townsend. “I had Kenneth on speed dial.
accept. The scholarship committee saw that very early with her.”
“I was taking about 21 hours that semester. On my first mock
Wheeler and sister Candace joined a group traveling in May with
interview, I completely locked up. But for my last mock interview, the
McElvaine to Beijing, Tibet and Nepal. Come fall, she’ll be making no
week of the real one, I’d been paying more attention to what had been
predictions as to how being a Rhodes Scholar will shape her life.
going on nationally and internationally. At the end of that last mock interview, I claimed it that night. I said, ‘I have this.’ ” Hers was one of just two names called out after interviews concluded Nov. 21, 2015 in Birmingham. “I sent a text to Dr. McElvaine and Kenneth saying I got it, with a lot of exclamation marks,” Wheeler said. “Then I called Dr. McElvaine. He had already posted it on Facebook, and it was blowing up on social media before I’d even left the building. “Millsaps was with me the entire time. All my professors were rooting for me.” Said McElvaine: “I always try to tamp down expectations, because
“I’m so open to it,” she said. “I thought I had all my ducks in a row when I came to Millsaps, and now look where I am. I try not to make too many decisions ahead of time, but I know I’ll be able to visit a lot more countries.” “She’s the exact opposite of the ugly American. She adapts to other cultures and gets along with everyone,” McElvaine said. Wheeler is deferring medical school for two years and chose Mayo Medical School over offers from institutions including the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Emory University in Atlanta, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “Ericka is so multi-talented,” continued McElvaine. “She’s
no matter how great you are, the odds are against you. But after that
committed to doing something that not only will advance herself,
last set of practice interviews, I didn’t tell her, but I figured she had
but make the world a better place, and it doesn’t have to be on the
about an 80 percent chance of getting it.
worldwide stage. Being with brilliant people from around the world
“We thought the question would come up: ‘You may be AfricanAmerican, but you’re not from a disadvantaged background.’ By that last interview, Ericka came up with a totally truthful way to respond
who also are Rhodes Scholars could help to point her in the right direction.” —RUTH CUMMINS
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
35
{MAJOR SPORTS}
Welcome to the land of purple, Donnie Brooks Donald “Donnie” Brooks, who most recently served as assistant director of athletics for peak performance at Dartmouth College, is the new director of athletics at Millsaps College. “We are excited about working with Donnie to build on our record of athletic and academic excellence,” said Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps. “His record of work at Dartmouth and the other schools at which he’s served demonstrates a commitment to helping scholar-athletes achieve success on the fields of play, and in their fields of study.” Brooks brings a strong resume to the athletics program at Millsaps. Before his time at Dartmouth, he served as an assistant professor of physical education, assistant director of athletics, assistant football coach, and lacrosse coach at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. He has also worked as athletic director and assistant dean of students at New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, Mass., as a graduate assistant football coach at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass., and as a scouting assistant and football operations intern with the Houston Texans. He is a 2014 graduate of the NCAA’s Leadership Institute, a two-year professional development program for emerging administrators. Brooks was a starter on the offensive line for Springfield College in 2000, a season in which the team led the nation in rushing with a Division III record average of 427.5 yards per game. “I would like to thank President Pearigen and Dr. Brit Katz, vice president for student life and dean of students, for the opportunity to serve as the director of a program with such great history and traditions,” Brooks said. “President Pearigen’s vision for the college, as well as the welcoming campus and vibrant greater Jackson community, make this one of the best athletic director positions in the country. “I would also like to thank all of the colleagues and mentors at Springfield, Williams, and Dartmouth who have helped prepare me for this role. I’m excited to work with a great group of coaches and capitalize on some of the great work already underway. The enhancement of the student athlete experience has been the cornerstone of success at my previous institutions and I look forward to working with our staff to develop and implement strategies that help our Majors excel in all areas of their Millsaps experience.” A native of Houston, Texas, Brooks earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in sports management, both at Springfield College. He and his wife, Shevie, have two daughters, Alannah and Peyton.
36
www.millsaps.edu
{MAJOR SPORTS}
From Millsaps defensive lineman to College Football Hall of Fame inductee The only defensive lineman in Division III history to earn First Team All-America honors three times, Sean Brewer became the first Millsaps Major to enter the College Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the College Hall of Fame on Dec. 8, 2015 at the 58th annual National Football Foundation Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Brewer joined 14 other players and two coaches for the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2015. He has been selected to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2016, with his induction to take place in July. His father, Johnny Brewer, was inducted in 2004. As a player, Brewer rewrote the Millsaps, Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, and Division-III record books. He is the lone defensive lineman in Division-III history to be a three-time first-team All-American, a feat he accomplished in his sophomore to senior seasons (90-92). Brewer was also a two-time Champion USA All-America First Team honoree (1991 and 1992). He headlined the SCAC’s 15-year anniversary team where he was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year (91-92). He holds the Majors’ all-time records in solo tackles (332), quarterback sacks (52) and is second in total tackles (435), a mark that still stands fourth in SCAC history. He also holds the Millsaps and SCAC single-season record in solo tackles (99) and the Millsaps’ record for sacks (15). He was inducted into the Millsaps Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. Brewer has also been an ambassador for Millsaps both on and off the field of play. In 2010, he was named the National Association of Secondary School and Principals/Virco Assistant Principal of the Year for the state of Mississippi while working at Ridgeland High School. Brewer currently serves as principal at Rosa Scott High School in Madison. While in New York, Brewer took the opportunity to help others. With assistance from his daughters and wife, Margaret, Brewer brought and distributed care packages to the homeless in New York.
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
37
{ALUMNI}
Religion, education, and the Deep South As a child growing up in Crystal Springs, Lamees Elsadek was tied to two worlds: Mississippi and Egypt. “People will laugh when I say this, but Mississippi and Egypt are very similar,” said El-sadek, a 2011 Millsaps College graduate who earned a B.S. in biology and had a selfdesigned major in international health and economics. She found that similarity to be true as the child of Egyptian-born parents who have lived in the state for more than 30 years. People in Crystal Springs share a love of faith, she said, and a love of family—and through that, her family and their community have embraced their cultural differences. “Egyptians tend to be very lighthearted. They tend to be very communal,” she said. “Being immersed in a culture that puts people first was very comfortable for me. You see that in Mississippi. We tend to be more relaxed than the rest of the country, and we put family first and our friends first. At the end of the day, that’s what matters.” A devout Muslim, El-sadek cherishes her faith in a state firmly entrenched in the Bible Belt. She’s more than willing to explain her beliefs so that her friends of all religions can appreciate their commonalities rather than be separated by their differences. An epidemiologist and program evaluator for the Mississippi State Department of Health for almost three years,
38
www.millsaps.edu
{ALUMNI}
El-sadek earned her master of health sciences at Johns Hopkins
“I was looking at Duke, Millsaps, and Emory as my final choices,”
University. Her Millsaps experience played a role in her decision to
she said. “I felt like Millsaps was a strong school, close to home, and
come home and start her career at a time when she could have used
would allow me to be near my family during challenging familial
her talents and servant leadership to enrich other communities.
times. I always thought I’d be going to Duke. My sister graduated from
Her return to her Mississippi roots is also linked to her deep connection to the state, intermingled with her desire to affect change in the lives of those held back by education, health, and sociodemographic disparities. “I’ve traveled to 16 countries and over 30 states. At the end of the
Duke. That was the plan, but an admissions counselor kept Millsaps on the radar for me.” Millsaps, she said, was “the first time I’d lived in a white community, and one that was predominantly upper class. Your language is a little bit different, the humor, and joke references are a little bit dif-
day, we’re all human beings and have routine in our lives,” she said.
ferent. Everything was a little different than what I’d known. I didn’t
“We go make a living and come home and take care of the people
know if I’d made the right decision.”
we love, and then repeat the cycle. It’s good to do those things with people you have a deep connection to. “There’s no better place to make an impact than in Mississippi,” she said. “We struggle more than any other state. The level of poverty is unbelievable. The ramifications for communities are very depressing. If it’s in your capacity, why not stay and make a change?” The journey that led her parents to Crystal Springs is a story in
Studying abroad after her freshman year helped her find her sense of place at Millsaps, she said. “I wanted to study abroad in the Arab world, but Millsaps had no programs in the Middle East. The closest country was Albania. I couldn’t even locate Albania on a map.” Her experience in Albania was “transformational and thoughtprovoking,” El-sadek said. “That immersion encouraged me to take ownership over my Millsaps experience, and it showed me I could
itself. Her father came to the United States to earn a master’s degree,
have a strong and enlightening experience there—but I’d need to be
working for several years in New Jersey as he looked for a job as a
more deliberate about how I spent my time.”
chemical engineer. “He couldn’t find anything in his specialty, so he decided to go back to Egypt and booked a flight,” El-sadek said. On the day he was to leave, he got a call alerting him to two job
“Growing up Muslim in Mississippi meant that Millsaps was a very significant experience for her,” said Raymond Clothier, who as Millsaps’ associate director of the College’s Faith and Work Initiative
opportunities, one in Chicago and one in Mississippi. “Dad said that
and interim chaplain helped guide El-sadek through the course The
he was on his way to Egypt, but asked if they were willing to wait a
Meaning of Work and its related internship.
month before he came back for an interview,” El-sadek said. “During that one month in Egypt, he met my mom,” she said. Her
“I’m amazed at how she was able to be herself and define herself in an environment that defined her as very different, “ said Clothier,
father accepted a job with Magnetek in Mississippi as a safer alterna-
who today is associate multi-faith chaplain at Bates College, a small
tive to Chicago, “and he loved how friendly and hospitable it was. He
liberal arts institution in Lewiston, Maine. “She never resented the
loved the state’s quiet and fertile soil. He’s probably the most diehard
necessity of teaching people about who she is.”
Mississippian you could meet.” Their immersion in Mississippi sparked thoughtful conversations
Early in her sophomore year, she helped start a multicultural faith organization on campus, deliberately calling it the Islamic Cultural
with fellow Crystal Springs residents, opening the door for under-
Organization. “There were only a couple of us Muslim students, and
standing and acceptance of their different religious backgrounds.
we wanted this group to be a space for people to learn about Islam.
“Crystal Springs is a typical conservative town. A lot of people
“It was probably the most meaningful extracurricular activity for
would come to our home to teach us about Jesus,” El-sadek said.
me,” she said. Later renamed the Muslim Student Association, it grew
“We saw that as an opportunity to have dialogue. We love Jesus as all
to about 70 members, “and over 90 percent were not Muslim. When
Christians do, and we believe in Jesus.
I founded the organization, I didn’t expect that much interest from
“Those conversations never bothered me,” she said. “In small towns, there are more opportunities to dispel stereotypes than in big cities. It’s a small town, so the El-sadeks are very well known in
people who weren’t connected to the religion. That was really eyeopening for me. “They were raised in a very different culture than I was, and yet I
Crystal Springs, and I appreciate growing up in a community where I
saw how much support I had from my peers.” El-sadek said. “This was
was surrounded by people who appreciated the presence of faith and
also an opportunity to engage in dialogue. They didn’t have to show
family.”
interest or go out of their way to learn about my faith, but they did. It’s
Her enrollment at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS), a public residential high school for academically gifted teens on the campus of Mississippi University for Women, gave El-sadek her first experience with true diversity. Her school in Crystal Springs was more than 90 percent black, she said, “and MSMS was the most diverse high school that existed in the state. I never felt out of place there.” She was accepted to 13 colleges across the country and received a prestigious Coca-Cola Foundation Scholarship and the Gates Millen-
a lesson I always will carry with me.” “She is one of those people who was never uncomfortable with being of a different religion. She never tried to hide it. She was never defensive,” said Dr. James Bowley, professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies, who taught El-Sadek in his class World Religions and How to Study Them. “Some people use religion as an excuse not to engage in other ideas. She was never like that,” Bowley said. El-sadek took the dialogue a step further when she started the
nium Foundation Scholarship, but settled on Millsaps “by accident,”
“Throw What You Know” initiative, a student-led effort to educate
El-sadek explained.
Millsaps and the greater community on the similarities and differ-
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
39
{ALUMNI}
ences between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. “We designed a curriculum that explained the basics of each
The critical thinking skills taught by her professors “have been critical for me in my job. There have been several times where I’ve
religion, and then we brought up the stereotypes. We’d go out and ad-
questioned whether I should simply fulfill my job duties, as asked, or
dress this head on. The point was to show how context is so impor-
push my work a step above to ensure it advocates for equity.”
tant,” she said. They spoke at public and private schools, area churches, and to
When she had these internal conversations, she often found herself thinking back to her Meaning of Work class and internship series.
Millsaps’ Introduction to Religious Studies classes. “We were em-
“Why did I invest so much time exploring the meaning of vocation
braced very strongly by the community.”
during college to only settle for mediocre effort in my job now,” she
El-sadek “was the person in class that you could rely on to have
said. “My Millsaps experience taught me to not accept the status quo
insightful comments,” Clothier said. “But what stands out the most
if it’s unjust, and if it can be changed. Millsaps gave me the critical
about her is her sharing her Islamic faith with people.”
tools to know how to frame questions and encourage people to come
As she deliberated about where she’d attend graduate school, or work and study on a Fulbright Fellowship to Egypt, she applied to
up with sustainable solutions. “I never realized how important writing is, and I didn’t realize
Johns Hopkins. “I never thought I’d get accepted. Columbia was my
how little practice and training non-Millsapsians got in writing,”
first choice. I had my acceptance letter and told them I was coming,”
El-sadek said. “Millsaps heavily emphasized that in all of my classes,
El-sadek said. “But a few days later, I got a letter from Johns Hopkins.
including science-based classes. Good communication and organiza-
“It was in a small envelope, not a big one. I just left it at home, but
tion of your ideas is very important. That has translated well for me
two or three days later, I opened
in writing grants and evaluating
it. It was an acceptance. That
performance.” Outside of work, El-sadek
was a blessing.”
tutors four teenage boys “in
At the Department of Health, El-sadek has been
everything, but I focus on read-
exploring issues surround-
ing, science, and math. At every
ing chronic diseases such as
stage in my life, I’ve always done
diabetes and obesity. “I do a lot
some sort of tutoring. You get
of surveillance and presentation
immediate gratification from
of data in a language that people
teaching that you don’t get in
will understand,” she said. “I in-
most other roles.” El-sadek also goes to mosque
vestigate whether the programs we are running are getting the
every Friday and volunteers for
desired outcomes, and if not,
the International Museum of
why and how we can mitigate
Muslim Culture. “One of the
the gaps.
influences of Millsaps is that you identify what your principles
“My favorite part of the job is
are, and then you stick to them,”
when I can explain the numbers
she said. “I told my boss that
and get community people to care about the data, and to do something about it.” She has been using lessons learned at Millsaps in her quest to create a healthier and more equitable Mississippi. She appreciates her professors, including Dr. Patrick Hopkins, professor of philosophy. “He probably pushed me the most of any professor I had,” said Elsadek, who enrolled in Hopkins’ biomedical ethics course. “He trained me to think at an extremely high level. That was very valuable to me when I got to Johns Hopkins.” Clothier, she said, was “hugely important in my Millsaps life. He helped connect me to every fellowship and internship, and my very first connection to public health.” She credits Dr. Blakely Fender, B.A. 1992, professor of economics and the J. Armistead Brown Chair of Business Administration, and Dr. Susan Taylor, professor of economics and the Selby and Richard
every Friday at 1, we have prayers at the mosque. Every Friday, I will be taking my lunch at 1 p.m.” Recently, El-sadek found herself leaving the state for an advanced degree, one that will help her to help others less fortunate. She has been accepted into the Harvard University public health doctoral program. “It has a heavy emphasis on leadership,” she said. Her plan is to come back to Mississippi and open her own think tank. Bowley sees El-sadek as a thinker who will lead people to view problems and their solutions in a new way. “I see her bringing creative solutions to everyday problems,” Bowley said. “She’s not the kind of person who wants to go out and be the next millionaire. She has a genuine interest in helping to solve social problems. “I wouldn’t be surprised to find her down the road at the Centers
D. McRae Chair of Business Administration, for helping her to design
for Disease Control, or for a president to be calling on her to be a
her second major, a pivotal chapter in her education. “I became very
major player in solving social problems.”
interested in public health through the Meaning of Work and the internship. We didn’t have a public health major, so they worked with me to create it and design it.”
40
www.millsaps.edu
BY RUTH CUMMINS
{ALUMNI}
Alumnus makes his mark through research When he arrived at Millsaps College in 1987, Jackson native Scott Holley had his plans laid: Major in biology, and then go on to medical school. When he graduated in 1991, Holley was poised not to become a physician, but instead to make his mark through research that is leading to greater understanding of the genetic basis for cancer and structural birth defects such as scoliosis. An associate professor in Yale University’s Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Holley is training tomorrow’s scientists in understanding how interactions among molecules give rise to cell behavior, then how cell behavior gives rise to tissue properties, and then how tissue properties give rise to the development of the organism. He operates at Yale the Holley Lab, which “focuses on the systems biology and biomechanics of the development of the vertebral column, ribs, and associated muscles.” The lab has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and the March of Dimes.
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
41
{ALUMNI}
Holley was a student at Northwest Rankin High in Flowood, a Jackson suburb, when he met a Millsaps recruiter while attending the Mississippi Governors School, a summer residential program for academically gifted teens. “My intention was to go to medical school, and Millsaps had a
When he had oral exams at the end of his senior year, Holley said, Nevins asked him a science history question, and he knew the answer. “I walked in to take the exam, and I’d just bought a pair of Birkenstock sandals. Dr. Nevins looked down at my sandals and mentioned
high placement rate,” Holley said. Born Scott Holley, his name was
a famous biologist, and said he wore sandals. He said, ‘Maybe that’s
changed after his parents divorced. He went by Scott Barr while at
a sign of great things to come.’ And then he paused and said dryly,
Millsaps, but changed his name back to Holley while in graduate
‘Maybe not.’ ”
school. At Millsaps, he said, “everything was more or less going to plan
Immediately after receiving his bachelor of science in biology from Millsaps, Holley began graduate school at the University of Chi-
until I worked as a nursing assistant at the Veterans Administration
cago. He earned his doctorate in molecular genetics and cell biology
Medical Center nursing home the summer after my sophomore year.
in 1997.
The experience revealed to me that I didn’t want to be a physician.” A new door opened for Holley when he took a genetics course
“I’d decided I wanted to be a professor, but you don’t go straight from getting your Ph.D. to being a professor,” Holley said. He wrote to
taught by Dr. Brit Shell, then a Millsaps assistant professor of biology.
a German researcher, Dr. Christaini Nusslein-Volhard, and asked if
“That really got me thinking about research,” Holley said. “I liked
he could work in her laboratory.
the logic of genetics. The way he taught the class emphasized critical thinking. The next semester, I took his molecular biology course, and I found out that maybe I could make a career doing research. “I’d always grown up interested in biology, and you naturally
“Two weeks later, she won the Nobel Prize,” Holley said. “It was good timing on my part.” In 1997, he moved to Germany to join her lab. Holley had been named a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchel Cancer Research Founda-
think of going into medicine,” Holley said. “But, I decided it wasn’t
tion Postdoctoral Fellow. He worked at the Max Planck Institute for
a good fit for me, and I was at a loss as to what to do. My professors
Developmental Biology in Tübingen, “an idyllic little university town
at Millsaps got me to start thinking more about being, essentially, a
about a half hour from the Black Forest,” Holley said. He met his wife,
professional biologist, and my junior year was when I decided to go to
research scientist Dorthe Julich, when she was a graduate student at
graduate school.”
the institute.
Holley joined Pi Kappa Alpha at Millsaps, and one of his pledge
Holley’s research in Germany at a small but elite institution was
brothers was John Montgomery, B.A. 1991, who today is a psychiatrist
significant, Nevins said. “He’s one of our winning stories, and he was
living in Ocean Springs. Holley was shy, he said, but became inspired
pretty adamant about the fact that you don’t have to know how to
by his mentors in molecular biology.
speak German in order to study in a German graduate school. I’m still
“Scott kind of had an intellectual breakthrough, and really be-
working at it, but he was managing to get along quite well without it.”
came driven and successful,” Montgomery remembered. “He had an
“I did take some German lessons and at one time could make
epiphany … a huge explosion of interest in a lot of things, including
simple conversation in German. My American accent is so thick that
molecular biology. He came out of his shell, and was almost argumen-
people would often just reply to me in English,” Holley said.
tative at times because of his ideas.” “Mostly, I studied a lot,” Holley said. “That and social life in the fraternity took up most of my time.” That wasn’t the case the summer he left the classroom for the cotton fields as a student worker for Dr. Jim McKeown, emeritus professor of biology who retired from Millsaps in 2011. “One of his
In 2002, Holley was offered a professorship at Yale. His expertise, simply put, is rooted in the biology of how an embryo develops into an adult. Since his days in the laboratory in Germany, he’s worked extensively with zebrafish. “Every pet store has them,” Holley said. “They’re small and easy to grow.” Their use in research, however, can help the medical community
expertises was entomology,” Holley said. “He would hire four students
better understand how genetics play a role in cancer and birth defects
to survey cotton for boll weevils, and we’d go out in the fields and
such as scoliosis, a potentially debilitating malformation of the back-
inspect the plants. If we saw insects, we’d count them. He’d use the
bone that affects one of every 100 people. Holley, a research scholar
information to tell growers what they needed to spray on the cotton.
for the American Cancer Society from 2007-2010, hopes his labora-
“After I left Millsaps, I’d tell people that I’m from Mississippi, and that I worked in the cotton fields. I remember it being so hot that summer, and I got the darkest tan I’d ever had.”
tory studies of early development will unlock the secrets of how genes control spinal column development. “We have zebrafish mutants that have defective genes that are
“He is one heck of a cotton entomologist,” remembered McKe-
also mutated in some humans, and in both zebrafish and humans the
own. “Scott is bright. He is articulate. He has a wonderful personality.
mutation causes scoliosis,” Holley explained. “We want to understand
He has a keen sense of observation, and you don’t have to tell him
how these genes work together, and we can do that in a simple small
something but one time. Scott is good at most everything he tries.”
organism like a zebrafish and its embryo. We’ve learned over the past
Holley remembers a particularly hard lesson he learned from another favorite teacher, Robert Nevins, emeritus associate professor of biology, who retired in 2014. “He asked a question about the history
42
ink back on that exam.”
20 years that fruit flies, zebrafish, mice and humans all have essentially the same genes. “These genes regulate cell behavior in both the developing
of immunology on a test,” Holley said. “I didn’t have an answer to his
organism and in the adult. If the gene is mutated in an embryo while
question, so I wrote a critique of the question. I got half a page of red
it’s developing, you have a birth defect. If instead the gene is later
www.millsaps.edu
{ALUMNI}
mutated in an adult, the mutation can cause cancer. Cancer arises
“I remember getting together with Scott and others about 12 years
when a cell doesn’t do what it’s supposed to due to mutations in genes
ago for a quiet New Year’s Eve at William Hussey’s place, back when
that regulate cell behavior. Some mutations cause cells to proliferate
Will was attending law school upstate New York,” Montgomery said
uncontrollably. What we learn will be applicable to how genes func-
of their mutual college friend. “We were having dinner that night, and
tion in humans.”
each person was given the responsibility of making a dish.
Through his research, Holley is helping specialists succeed in early diagnosis and treatment of birth defects and cancers.
“Scott’s was making the salad dressing. Now this would normally seem like a simple, relatively modest component of any dinner, but not
“We’re also trying to understand how to apply our research to
when it came to Scott. He must have brought in two grocery bags full
tissue engineering,” Holley said. “The development of an organism is
of ingredients, including expensive champagne and all sorts of fresh
an amazingly complicated process. If we understand it well enough,
herbs and roots, and took control of the kitchen,” Montgomery said.
we will be able to engineer a tissue, say cartilage or liver, in a test tube
“We all stood back as he started a series of intricate preparing,
to replace damaged tissue in a patient. We will eventually be able do
sautéing, and processing,” Montgomery said. “I remember thinking
this.”
that such a meticulous level of preparation must be partly what makes
Lessons learned from Millsaps, Holley said, have aided him not just as a researcher, but as a teacher. “A broad-based education helps you to think independently, to write well, and to present clearly,” Holley said. “Now I’m lecturing to students, and I have to do that well. Even for someone going into science, you benefit from a strong liberal arts education.” Holley and his wife live in Guilford, Conn., with their French bulldog, Zelda. The two have an affinity for cooking. “I make a pretty good seafood gumbo,” Holley said.
him a great scientist.” During visits back home, Holley said, he enjoys spending time with his grandmothers and getting together with college friends, including Montgomery, to fish for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. “Scott, of all of us, has made the most of his career,” Montgomery said. “He honors the College,” McKeown said. “It was an honor for me to have had him as a student.” BY RUTH CUMMINS
Montgomery can attest to Holley’s creativity in cooking.
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
43
{CLASS NOTES}
Class Notes
Check out Class Notes to find out who has celebrated a major milestone. We would like to encourage all alumni to send in their news items, large or small, personal or professional, to Nell Luter Floyd, Office of Communications, Millsaps College, 1701 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39210-0001. Fax : 601-974-1456. Phone: 601-974-1033 or 1-86-MILLSAPS (1-866 - 455-7277). Email: communications@ 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. Photographs should be no less than 300 dpi. We reserve the right to not include a photo that doesn’t meet our standards. If you are aware of alumni who are not receiving the magazine, please send us their names and addresses.
team’s history, which spans more than 50 years. He covered the Astros for Harry Shattuck, right, is congratulated by Nolan Ryan, baseball’s all-time no-hit king and strikeout leader.
Members of the Class of 1965, who met in Atlanta for a luncheon, are from left, Mabel Mullins Greene, B.A. 1965, of Cleveland, Tenn.; Kathy Khayat Murray, B.A. 1965, Moss Point; Joanne Edgar, B.A. 1965, of New York, N.Y.; Celane McCowan Roden, B.A. 1965, of Saluda, Va.; Fentress Boone Waits, B.A. 1965, Atlanta; Ann Henley, B.A. 1965, Chapel Hill, N.C.; and Betty Siemsen Wilkins, Annandale, Va.
the Houston
Chronicle for 15 years. Shattuck, whose
journalism career was inspired by his tenure as
Purple & White editor at Millsaps, retired in 2009 after 39 years at the Chronicle as a sports reporter, assistant sports editor, and editor of the travel section. In the latter position, he and his wife of 33 years, Joan, were blessed to travel to India, China,
Russia, Australia, Argentina, Chile, and many other parts of the world and the United States.
George Pickett , B.A. 1966, of Jackson, was inducted in April as an honorary member of Dr. Bill Brister and George Pickett
the Millsaps chapter of Beta
Gamma Sigma, the international honor society serving business programs accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. He is a principal in Pickett, Bradford & Associates, P.A., and CenterPoint Advantage, LLC, RIA. Current chair of the Advisory Board of the Else School of Management at Millsaps, Pickett has served as alumnus director for the Millsaps chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa, as an officer of the Millsaps Alumni Association, as chair of the Millsaps Estate Planning Council, and as chair of the Millsaps Annual Fund.
Harry Shattuck, B.A. 1967, was named to the Houston Astros’ Media Wall of Honor in September. Shattuck is the ninth recipient in the baseball
44
www.millsaps.edu
Accolades include selection as the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year for North America (2002), recognition for travel excellence by tourism officials in Texas and Mississippi (the latter for a
Chronicle story on the Mississippi Coast’s Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts), the Fred Hartman Award for long and meritorious service to baseball in Houston, and other national and regional sports and travel journalism awards. At a pregame presentation for the Astros’ Media Wall of Honor, Shattuck was greeted by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, Jose Cruz, Alan Ashby and former Astros General Manager and President Tal Smith.
Dr. Kay Pritchett , B.A. 1968, of Fayetteville, Ark., is retiring from the University of Arkansas after 33 years of service as professor of Spanish in world languages, literatures, and cultures. The national office of Sigma Delta Pi Spanish honor society recently selected her as a member of La Orden de los Descubridores, a distinction granted for outstanding research, teaching, and service in the field of Hispanic studies. She recently published her seventh book, Dark Assemblages: Pilar
Pedraza and the Gothic Story of Development (Bucknell University Press, 2015).
Taylor Kitchings, Class of 1973, of Ridgeland had his novel Yard War published by Wendy Lamb/Random House in August of 2015. Yard War is a Junior Library Selection, a Southern Independent Booksellers “OKRA Pick,” a Scholastic Book Fair selection, and a nominee for the SIBA/2016 Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize. Kitchings was recently named the 2016 recipient of the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Fiction.
The Tidings Tree, a sequel, will be published in the summer of 2017.
Dean Pittman, B.A. 1978, a career member of the Foreign Service, is the new U.S. ambassador to Mozambique. He was confirmed on Nov. 19, 2015 and sworn in on Dec. 23, 2015. It is the first such posting for Pittman, who majored in political science at Millsaps and earned an M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins in 1985.
Alan Ferguson, B.S. 1982, of Memphis, has joined Pinnacle Financial Partners in Memphis as a senior vice president and trust portfolio advisor. Before joining Pinnacle, Ferguson spent nine years with First Tennessee Bank in Memphis, where roles included serving as trust portfolio manager and vice president in the company’s private wealth advisory group. Prior roles were with Morgan Keegan & Company and American Express Financial Advisors. He achieved the rank of captain and served in the United States Naval Reserve until his retirement in 2015. Ferguson served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal.
{CLASS NOTES}
Bill Hetrick ,
the artist, Mark Rothko. Halverson was recently promoted to senior book designer at the University
B.A.1984, of Clin-
Rosanna P. Bahadur, B.S.
ton, with RE/MAX
1991, of Jackson,
Alliance, received
a board certified
the RE/MAX Life-
doctor of ophthal-
time Achievement
mology, has been
Award that honors
named section chief
successful agents
of ophthalmology
who have reached Bill Hetrick
Theatre’s production of “Red,” which was about
significant produc-
Rosanna P. Bahadur
Jason Loden, B.S. 1997, of Dallas, an attorney at Thompson & Knight, has been
at the G.V. “Sonny”
selected for inclu-
Montgomery Veter-
tion and service
ans Affairs Medical
milestones with
Center. A Greenwood native, Bahadur also serves
the company. Hetrick and his wife, Marilyn, were
as an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the
named Clinton’s Outstanding Citizens of the Year
University of Mississippi Medical Center and as
for 2015. Hetrick is on the Board of Trustees of the
site residency director at the VA Center.
Hinds County Economic Development Authority,
Press of Mississippi.
She earned her medical degree at UMMC,
the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Sports
where she also had her internship and was chief
Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Board of Di-
resident in ophthalmology. She completed a
rectors of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce.
cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery fellowship at Duke University Eye Center in Durham,
sion in Texas Rising
Stars® 2016 by Thomson Reuters. The list J ason Loden
was published in the April 2016 issue of
Texas Monthly. The Texas Rising Stars represent the top 2.5 percent of Texas attorneys who are 40 years old or younger, or those attorneys who have been practicing for 10 years or less. The selection process involves a nominating survey sent to all attorneys named to
Adrienne R. Smith, B.S. 1984, president and
N.C. Her board certification is from the American
chief executive officer of the New Mexico Direct
Board of Ophthalmology. She has participated in
Caregivers Coalition in Placitas, N.M., is a mem-
several research studies and publications. Bahadur
ber of the newly-appointed Community Advisory
previously was in private practice in the Atlanta
Council of the Federal Reserve Bank. The board
and Charlotte, N.C., regions for several years.
type of votes received, with higher scores given
internally generated nominations. These rankings
recently met with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. to outline their assessments of economic development, job loss and gain, markets, lending, and more. The 15 members of the Community Advisory Council have consumer and
Lee Anne Bryan, B.A. 1993, of Jackson, is the
community development expertise, and are tasked
new executive director of alumni and parent rela-
with bringing their unique insight and providing
tions at Millsaps College. Bryan previously served
recommendations to the Board for economic poli-
as education and outreach specialist at the Eudora
cies and issues.
Welty House and Garden, a museum of the Missis-
Angela Womble Rawls, B.M. 1989, of Pearl,
the Texas Super Lawyers® 2015 list, and a review of each nominee by an attorney-led research team. Nominees are ranked based on the number and to nominees from other law firms compared to are tallied and segregated based on firm size for the final selection.
Nicole Bradshaw, B.A. 1999, of Brandon,
sippi Department of Archives and History. She is a
is the president of the
member of St. James Episcopal Church, a sustain-
Public Relations Asso-
ing member of the Junior League of Jackson, and
ciation of Mississippi’s
a board member of Bookfriends, the fundraising
Central Chapter for
support group for University Press of Mississippi.
2016. The central
serves as state president of the Mississippi Music Educators Association, which has membership
chapter is the largest
Shawn R. O’Brien, B.B.A. 1993, a tax partner
from all levels of music education within the
with Mayer Brown, L.L.P., in Houston, Texas, is a
state and works in conjunction with the Ameri-
new member of the Internal Revenue Service Ad-
can Choral Directors Association to support and
visory Council. The council provides an organized
strengthen music education for the state of Mis-
public forum for IRS officials and representatives
sissippi. Rawls is the director of choral activities at
of the public to discuss key tax administration is-
Pearl High School. Rawls is a member of the Music
sues. O’Brien has more than 18 years of experience
Educators National Conference and the American
in practicing tax law.
Choral Directors Association. She has served as MMEA District VI Junior High chair and past
Pete Halverson, B.A. 1993, of Jackson, won an
president and Junior High Division president. She
honorable mention for his painting in the “Re-
currently serves as Mississippi ACDA treasurer.
fractions” art show that accompanied New Stage
Nicole Bradshaw
in the state and one of the largest in the
Southern Public Relations Federation. Bradshaw has previously served on the PRAM Central board as secretary, career development coordinator, and vice president of communications. She is employed as a senior lead communications specialist at Entergy.
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
45
{CLASS NOTES}
Margus Särglepp, B.A. 1999, of Tallinn,
Margus Särglepp
Estonia, traveled
Kenneth Townsend ,
Kelly Brignac, B.A.
from Estonia to
B.A. 2004, and Ann
2012, of Metairie, La.,
sing in the Millsaps
Phelps, of Jackson,
earned an M.A. in
Singers reunion
announce the birth of
history in December
concert that
their son, William Win-
2014 from Vanderbilt
featured former
ter Phelps Townsend,
University, where she
members of the
on Oct. 9, 2015. Ken-
conducted research in
Singers and honored Dr. Tim Coker, who at the end of the 2015-2016 academic year retired after 32 years of service. Since September 2014, Särglepp has worked in
William Winter Phelps Townsend, son of Ann Phelps and Kenneth Townsend
neth serves as executive director of the Institute
Kelly Brignac
for Civic & Professional Engagement, special
France and Martinique. In the fall of 2015, she started the
Ph.D. program in history at Harvard University.
the Estonian prime minister’s office, coordinating
assistant to Millsaps College President Rob Peari-
She is studying the 1848 abolition of slavery in the
government matters concerning European Union
gen, and assistant professor of political science.
French Empire, and is particularly interested in
policy. He worked for the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2002 until 2014 with assignments in Germany and India. Särglepp earned a master’s of theological stud-
labor relations among former slaves, indentured laborers, and former slave owners from the midnineteenth to the late-nineteenth centuries. Her research languages include French and Spanish,
ies in 2001 from Duke University Divinity School
Stephanie Bailey King , B.A. 2007, of Jackson,
and she is studying Wolof, a language indigenous
and a master’s of European government and
accepted a position with Millsaps College as the
to Senegal. Brignac expects to receive her Ph.D.
administration from a consortium of universities
Financial Aid Processing Coordinator in August
in 2020 or 2021, after completing dissertation
that includes the Paris-Sorbonne University and
2015. Stephanie and her husband Kelvin, were
research in France, Senegal, England, and other
the University of Potsdam in 2006.
married in 2008 and have two children, Ken-
French colonies. She hopes to teach history at the
dle and Karina. She is currently completing her
college level.
Särglepp first came to Mississippi in 1992 when he toured the state as part of a United Methodist
master’s in public policy and administration at
youth choir from Estonia. He returned the next
Belhaven University.
summer after Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church invited him back and was hosted by Dr. Billy Walker, M.B.A. 1993, and his wife, Sylvia Walker. The Walkers invited him to return to Mis-
B.A. 2012, of Jackson,
sissippi to attend Millsaps and served as surrogate
Ross LeBlanc, B.A. 2008, and Anne Berry
parents. “They opened their home and hearts to
LeBlanc were married on June 1, 2013 in Baton
me when I was a kid,” Särglepp said. “They taught
Rouge, La. Ross passed the Louisiana bar exam in
me so much about life and responsibility and to be
2012 and works as an attorney with the law firm of
open and generous. I appreciate all that they did.”
Dudley DeBosier.
Molly Jeffcoat
Nell Linton Knox , and her husband, William Goodman, Violet Corinne Goodman, daughter of Nell Linton Knox and William Goodman
announce the arrival of their daughter, Violet Corinne Goodman, on Jan.12, 2016.
Tiffany Townsend, B.A. 2013, of Jackson, will begin study in August at the Curtis Institute of Mu-
Molly Jeffcoat , B.A.
Lloyd Gray, B.A. 2010, of Jackson, has returned
sic, a prestigious conservatory in Philadelphia, Pa.
and B.B.A. 2002, of
to Millsaps as Director of Foundation Giving and
With an average acceptance rate around 4 percent,
Ridgeland, has joined
Advancement Communications. He previously
Curtis is one of the most selective schools in the
Watkins & Eager law
worked as an ACA navigator for the University
United States. Curtis provides full-tuition scholar-
firm. She is a trans-
of Mississippi Medical Center, where he advised
ships to all students to ensure that admissions are
actional attorney,
consumers on health plans available through the
based solely on artistic promise.
with an emphasis on
Affordable Care Act. Lloyd earned an M.A. in
Townsend, who earned a master’s of music
commercial transac-
liberal arts from St. John’s College in Santa Fe,
from The Juilliard School, will pursue a profession-
tions and complex
N.M. in 2013.
al studies certificate in opera. Townsend said the
financing. Jeffcoat,
two years she spends at Curtis will help her pursue
along with M. Binford Williams, Jr., is a co-author
her goal of becoming a full-time opera singer. “I
of Commercial Finance 701, a continuing series on
want to go to Germany and audition for the houses
commercial loans written exclusively for the Mis-
there,” she said.
sissippi Business Journal.
46
www.millsaps.edu
{IN MEMORIAM} {IN MEMORIAM}
In Memoriam Millsaps College remembers those in our alumni family and College community who have died. These In Memoriam listings reflect those received from Aug. 3, 2015 to March 31, 2016.
Pauline Frances Allred, B.S. 1934, of Jackson,
James P. Scott Sr., B.S. 1941, of Bay Springs
Harold Feinberg, Class of 1944, of Brandon, died
died Nov. 30, 2015. She taught school in Hinds
died July 20, 2015. He was a chemical consultant
March 23, 2015. He attended Notre Dame Univer-
County and Jackson for 12 years and then worked
to numerous companies in the United States and
sity and was in the Navy V-12 program at Millsaps.
for Girl Scouts of America for 32 years, holding a
overseas, and in retirement lived on his family
He was assigned to Fort Pierce, Fla. for training
variety of jobs, directing and building camps, train-
farm. He served as a deacon in several Baptist
for underwater demolition and was among the last
ing women in leadership roles, and mentoring and
churches and was a member of Gideons Interna-
class to be trained there. While waiting to be as-
encouraging thousands of girls. After retirement,
tional for many years.
signed to a team, it was announced that World War
she spent almost 20 years traveling the U.S. and
II was over. In the 1950’s Feinberg founded Fein-
Ethel Roell Jones, Class of 1942, died Feb. 22,
berg-Moore Insurance & Real Estate, Inc. and later
2016. She earned her degree at Belhaven College.
sold his business to Brown and Brown Inc., where
Catharine Jones Miller Thomas, Class of 1934,
She and her husband owned and operated the
he worked before retiring. He was active involved
of Madison, died Aug. 19. She was a 1934 graduate
Travelodge Motels in downtown Jackson and at
with the Independent Fee Appraisers Association
of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Terre Haute,
Thompson Field at the Jackson Municipal Airport.
and the Civitan Club, and was a past president of
Ind. She was a founding member of the Vicksburg
After her husband’s untimely death, Jones began
the North Tampa Civic Association.
Junior Auxiliary and served as president of the
a career with the Mississippi Highway Patrol and
Junior League of Jackson from 1942 to 1944. For
retired at the age of 62 as the secretary to the com-
Clyde Irvin Yates, B.S. 1944, of Tulsa, Okla.,
almost 25 years, she was employed in the Chan-
missioner of public safety.
died on October 4, 2014. He joined the Navy V-12
Canada with her sister.
cery Office of the Catholic Diocese of Jackson. She
program at Millsaps, graduated with a degree in
lived in Mobile, Ala., where she was a member of
Miriam Jones, B.A.1942, of El Dorado, Ark.,
chemistry, and became a chemical engineer. He
St. Ignatius Catholic Church, the Junior League
died Nov. 6, 2015. She served as a hostess for the
was a specialist in composite materials, leading to
of Mobile, and the National Society of Colonial
GM&O Railroad and ultimately enjoyed a long
his work on the space program and later the space
Dames of the Seventeenth Century of Alabama.
career in banking until she retired as vice president
shuttle program.
of Trustmark National Bank in Jackson. She was
William “Bill” Bizzell, B.S. 1939, of Cleveland,
a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson
James Lowell “Jim” Basham, Class of 1945, of
died March 12, 2016. He went to Duke University
where she served as treasurer and attended First
Fort Worth, Texas, died Jan. 25, 2016. He was part of
to complete an internship before he served in the
Baptist Church, El Dorado.
the Navy V-12 program at Millsaps and was a World
U.S. Navy. During his time in the Navy, he was
War II veteran. He graduated from Southern Meth-
a pilot, and he flew a plane through the English
Mirl Wesley Whitaker, B.A. 1943, of Spring-
odist University and worked for IBM until he took
Channel looking for German submarines during
field, Ill., died June 10, 2015. He was a consci-
an early retirement to pursue his true love, painting.
World War II. He earned a law degree from the
entious objector, serving in the Civilian Public
University of Mississippi and moved to Cleveland
Service from December 1942 to May 1946. He went
Martha W. Guess, Class of 1945, of Shreve-
to practice law. He was a chancery judge for 26
on to earn a master’s degree from the University
port, La., died Aug. 5, 2015. She belonged to Noel
years serving Bolivar, Coahoma, Tallahatchie,
of Chicago School of Social Service Administra-
Memorial United Methodist Church in Shreveport,
Leflore, Quitman, and Tunica counties. He was in-
tion in 1951. He worked in children’s homes in
La., served on many PTA and community boards,
strumental in the building of East Bolivar County
Lake Bluff, Illinois and Walla Walla, Wash. He
and was president of The Glen Retirement Board.
Hospital, now known as Bolivar Medical Center.
was the administrator of the Gateway Children’s Home in Williamsville, N.Y., and the Methodist
Naomi Ware Williamson, Class of 1945, of
Lillian Douglas “Duggie” Swayze Breedlove, B.A. 1940, of Baton Rouge, La., died May
Board of Hospitals and Homes in Evanston, Ill.
Hoover, Ala., died Jan. 26, 2016. She lived her life
before becoming executive director of the Child
with courage, dignity, and grace.
11, 2015. She was skilled in the crafts of home and
Care Association of Illinois in 1968. He earned his
heart and quick to assist anyone in need. She spent
real estate license in 1977 and sold residential real
J. William Cliburn, B.S. 1947, of Hattiesburg,
many hours in the kitchen surrounded by family
estate for REMAX.
died Sept. 2, 2015. He earned a master’s degree in
and friends, and everything she cooked was said to be delicious.
biology at the University of Southern Mississippi
Shelby P. Regan Jr., Class of 1944, of Columbia,
in Hattiesburg, and his doctorate at the University
died Jan. 10, 2016. He served in the U.S. Navy.
of Alabama. He was professor emeritus of biology
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
47
{IN MEMORIAM}
at U.S.M., where he taught for more than 25 years,
months. Returning to Millsaps, he graduated with
Tiny Belle Anthony, Class of 1951, of Brandon,
and later an adjunct professor at William Carey
honors in 1948. He received his medical degree
died Feb. 2, 2016. She received a master’s degree
University in Hattiesburg.
from Emory University, completed an internship
from Mississippi State University and taught el-
at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, and moved
ementary school in Vicksburg, Ware, and Jackson
Evan Leonidas Ragland III, Class of 1947, of
to Mississippi to form a general medical practice,
before becoming an academic counselor at Cal-
Diamondhead, died Sept. 15, 2015. After attending
working both in Moss Point and at Singing River
laway High School in Jackson for 25 years.
Millsaps College for two years, Ragland was sworn
Hospital in Pascagoula. In 1982, he enlisted for
into the U.S. Navy. He completed his B.S. in elec-
a two-year period in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a
Virginia Anne Hughes England , B.A. 1951,
trical engineering at Mississippi State in 1949 and
captain and was assigned to the Naval Hospital in
of Jackson, died Sept. 22, 2015. She was a teacher
accepted an engineering position with Victor Elec-
Pensacola, Fla. serving periodically as a ship sur-
for more than 60 years, most recently at Jackson
tronics in Chicago. His career included tenures
geon aboard the USS America. He returned to his
Academy. She was a longtime member of First
at Motorola and Friden, and he then established
general surgery practice at Singing River Hospital
Baptist Church in Jackson, and a member of the
American Regitel, one of the first point-of-sale
in 1984, and retired in 1988.
Sanctuary Choir for more than 60 years.
systems companies. He was awarded numerous patents for technologies he developed, including
Jack Tarvin Lewis, B.S. 1948, of Vicksburg, died
James Houston Alvis, Class of 1952, of Jackson,
the daisy print wheel, bar code technologies, and
Feb. 19, 2016. He entered the Army Corp in 1943
died Oct. 7, 2015. He attended Millsaps College be-
most recently, cold fusion technology.
and served in World War II as a bombardier on a
fore leaving to join the Air Force during his junior
B-17 Flying Fortress. He worked with the Corps of
year. From the ages of 19 to 84, he sold municipal
Kirk Taylor, Class of 1947, of Jackson, died Feb.
Engineers’ Southwestern Division Laboratory in
bonds, and was well known for his knowledge and
7, 2016. He was a graduate of the University of Mis-
Dallas for seven years before moving back to Mis-
expertise of investment securities. He often gave
sissippi. He was associated with Hederman Broth-
sissippi. Upon his return to Mississippi, he owned
his time and love to causes for children, especially
ers Printing Company for more than 40 years and
Lewis Hardware in Jackson and later moved to
at the School for the Deaf and the Mississippi State
was a member of Northminster Baptist Church.
Vicksburg where he worked and retired with Water-
Hospital. His hobby was creating and flying radio
ways Experiment Station as a geologist.
control airplanes, and he served as president of
Mary Sue Ridgway Wofford, B.S. 1947, of Jack-
Mid-Mississippi Radio Control Club.
son, died Jan. 13, 2016. She met her husband, Dr.
Mary B. Loftin, B.A. 1948, of Charlotte, N.C,
Jesse L. “Bud” Wofford at Millsaps, and they were
died Nov. 5, 2014. She was an elementary school
Donald Hubert Anderson, B.A. 1952, of Rome,
married in 1952. After a few years in New Orleans
teacher and the wife of a United Methodist pastor.
Ga., died Sept. 7, 2015. He earned a master’s of di-
during his medical training, they returned to Jack-
vinity at the Candler School of Theology at Emory
son and reared their four children in the Belhaven
Joe Byrd Sills, B.S. 1948, of Manchester, Ga.,
University and a master’s of science at the Uni-
area. She was a member of Capitol Street United
died June 23, 2015. He served as a pilot in the U.S.
versity of Southern Mississippi. After graduating
Methodist Church and later, St. Luke’s United
Army Air Corps during World War II. He was
from seminary, he served seven United Methodist
Methodist Church.
employed as a chemist at Filtrol Corp. in Jackson
Churches for a total of 18 years, at various loca-
for 10 years, and by the Mississippi Game and Fish
tions throughout Mississippi. His favorite appoint-
Byron Arthur “Pat” Clendinning , B.A.
Commission for six years. He then joined the U.S.
ment was as the Wesley Foundation director and
1948, of Brandon, died Feb. 16, 2016. He earned a
Fish and Wildlife Service as a research chemist in
campus minister at the University of Mississippi,
master’s degree and doctorate in education from
Stuttgart, Ark., and later in Warm Springs, Ga.
where he witnessed the admission of James Mer-
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He
edith. In 1970, Anderson and his family moved to
served as minister of education at First Baptist
George Winston Cutrer Sr., B.A. 1949, of Tyler-
Rome, Ga., where he accepted a job with the State
Church of Jackson during the 1950s and helped
town, died Dec. 11, 2015.
of Georgia as a vocational rehabilitation counselor
organize the Boy Scouts’ Order of the Arrow.
and continued to serve numerous United Meth-
Clendinning and his wife served as Southern Bap-
Alonzo Lewis DeCell, B.A. 1950, of Houston,
odist churches. He also worked as the director
tist missionaries in Ruschlikon, Switzerland. He
Texas, died Feb. 20, 2014. Known to his friends
of rehabilitation for the State Board of Worker’s
then worked for the Sunday School Board of the
and family as Lonnie, he served in the Navy dur-
Compensation for five years.
Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tenn.,
ing the Korean War on the USS Betelgeuse. He
and went on to serve as minister of counseling at
started his own oil & gas drill collar and casing
Claire Luster Bell, B.A. 1952, of Mansfield, Tex-
Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta.
company known as DeCell & Associates, and fin-
as, died Dec. 2, 2015. She lived in California, and
Clendinning joined the faculty of Southwestern
ished his career as a partner and president of LSI,
started a business that she lovingly named Ms T.
Baptist Theological Seminary in 1979, where he
an offshore oil and gas cable company.
She was a member of Aldersgate United Methodist
served until his retirement in 1995 as a professor
Church and active in Walk to Emmaus.
of religious education and family and marriage
Eva R. McDonald, B.A. 1950, of Jackson, died
counseling.
Feb. 15, 2016. She earned a master’s degree from
Winnie F. McCaskill, B.A. 1953, of Oxford,
Mississippi College. She taught at Provine High
died Jan. 11, 2016. She met her husband, Joe, at
Clyde H. Gunn Jr., B.S.1948, of Moss Point
School in Jackson, where she was twice chosen as
Millsaps College and they were married in 1953.
died Jan. 16, 2016. He studied one year at Millsaps
Star Teacher. She belonged to St. Luke’s United
She was a former teacher in the Oxford Public
College before training with the U.S. Navy for 18
Methodist Church.
School System. A member of St. Andrew’s United
48
www.millsaps.edu
{IN MEMORIAM}
Methodist Church, she was a member of the
Christine Vianna Covington, B.A. 1954, of
cal engineering, but left there for the University
church choir and participated in women’s pro-
Kosciusko, died March 24, 2016. She was a teacher
of Mississippi. He entered the School of Medicine
grams, adult fellowships, and football game day
at Holmes Junior College in Goodman and a mem-
in 1956 and was a member of the second four-year
program sales.
ber of Shrock United Methodist Church.
class to graduate. He returned to Louisville to en-
William “Bill” Edwin Smallwood, B.A. 1953,
Louis Wendell Hodges, B.A. 1954, of Lexing-
of Roswell, Ga., died Dec. 25, 2015. He continued
ton, Va., died Feb. 8, 2015. He earned a bachelor
DeWitt Andrew Dixon, Class of 1956, of
his studies at Louisiana State University. He served
of divinity and a doctorate in theological studies
Benton, died Aug. 20, 2015. He went on to earn a
in the United States Air Force from 1951-1957.
from Duke Divinity School at Duke University. He
degree in animal husbandry from Mississippi State
He served on many philanthropic boards and
was an ordained minister in the United Method-
University. He had a 40-year career with Mississip-
was president of Goodwill Industries.. He was a
ist Church. He joined the religion department at
pi Chemical Corp., serving as director of domestic
member of Trinity United Methodist Church, the
Washington and Lee University in 1960. In 1974 he
and foreign sales. He was a member of Benton
Gulfport Yacht Club, and Windance Country Club.
created an ethics program entitled Society and the
United Methodist Church and helped establish
Professions, conducting seminars for undergradu-
Benton Academy, for which he served as chairman
Betty Adele Small Wright , B.A. 1953, of
ates in medicine, law, business, and journalism.
of the board for 18 years.
Jackson, died Oct. 27, 2015. She often credited
From 1981 to 1986, he was academic director of the
the quality liberal arts education she received at
Institute for Executives. He taught at the Poynter
Billy Calvin Greenlee, B.A. 1956, of Madison,
Millsaps for her ability to view the world with an
Institute for Media Studies in Florida in 1985.
died Aug. 25, 2015. He received a football scholar-
open mind and an open heart. After graduating,
In 1987, he was named a Fellow at the Hastings
ship from the University of Mississippi, which
she traveled the world with the Maid of Cotton,
Center, New York and appointed the Fletcher Odie
was postponed while serving in the United States
who was a goodwill ambassador for the National
Thomas Professor of Religion at W&L. During the
Army during the Korean War. After returning from
Cotton Council. She also worked for Standard
winter of 1995-1996, he was the Fulbright Scholar
service, he worked for Stuart C. Irby Company and
Oil in Jackson and was a first-grade teacher at St.
in Journalism Ethics, appointed to Osmania Uni-
graduated from Millsaps College while playing
Andrew’s Episcopal School.
versity in Hyderabad, India, visiting in 17 different
tailback for the Majors. During his career, Green-
universities and meeting with the Press Council of
lee worked in every division of Irby Co., eventually
Minnie Farlow Alvis, B.S. 1954, of Jackson, died
India during his four-month stay. In 1997 he was
serving as senior vice president upon retirement.
Sept. 9, 2015. She became one of the first profes-
appointed Knight Professor of Journalism Ethics
sional women in the exploration department of
at W&L, retiring from the university in that posi-
Earl Andrew Staires, Class of 1956, of Madison,
Shell Oil Company in Jackson. During her time
tion in 2003.
died March 12, 2016. He worked as a general con-
ter the practice of family medicine with his father.
there, she met the love of her life, Lester, with
struction estimator and had lengthy employments
whom she began a long and immensely happy life
Keith Wolverton, Class of 1954, of Jackson, died
with prominent Jackson construction companies,
together in 1958. She was a longtime member of
March 28, 2016. He was a 1957 graduate of the
as well as a period where he ran his own company.
St. James’ Episcopal Church and St. Stephen’s Re-
University of Tennessee College of Dentistry, and
He served in the Marine Corp for 15 years. First
formed Episcopal Church. Her talents contributed
retired in 2002 after practicing general dentistry
Baptist Church Ridgeland named him Deacon
to the miniature interiors of the Christmas Village
in Jackson for more than 40 years. His private
Emeritus for his life of service, wisdom, and com-
display she and Lester shared with the Jackson
practice followed his service with the Dental Corps
mitment. He served on the Development Council
area for more than 40 years, and which is still on
of the United States Army at Ft. Belvoir, Va. He
for Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary.
display each Christmas season in Madison.
served in the Mississippi National Guard, and was called to active duty during the Korean Conflict.
L.E “Buz” Buzarde Jr., B.S. 1954, of Vernal,
Ethel Clement West , Class of 1956, of Ridgeland, died Oct. 20, 2015. She worked beside her
Utah, died July 20, 2015. He earned a master’s of
John Lamar Copeland, B.A. 1956, of Shreve-
husband, Bob, at his veterinary clinic. She was
geology from Emory University and went on to
port, La., died April 15, 2013. He served in the
active with the South Jackson Junior League,
work at ARCO, Chevron, and Gulf Oil from 1956 to
U.S. Army Combat Engineers during the Korean
taught Sunday school, produced church plays,
1973. In 1971, he transferred from New Orleans to
Conflict. After moving to Shreveport in 1956, he
and was involved with school organizations at her
Lagos, Nigeria as supervisor of drilling engineer-
was employed as a petroleum landman with Carter
children’s schools.
ing for Gulf. From 1973 to 1976 he was appointed
Oil Company, now Exxon. In 1959, he became an
drilling manager, vice president, and president
independent petroleum landman. In 1969, John
Lawrence H. Shepherd Jr., B.S. 1957, of Baton
of Natomas Company’s Indonesian operations,
moved to Minden, Louisiana where he was owner
Rouge, La., died Sept. 10, 2015. He received a doc-
based in Jakarta. In 1979, he was named president
of John Copeland Chevrolet and a charter member
torate in organic chemistry from the University of
of Natomas International Corporation, oversee-
of Webster Bank. In 1972 he was active in indepen-
Illinois in 1962, and worked for 34 years in the re-
ing operations in Indonesia, the North Sea, the
dent oil and gas exploration, forming Copeland Oil
search and development division of the Ethyl and
People’s Republic of China, Australia, and New
Company.
Albemarle Corporations in Baton Rouge. He spent
Guinea. In 1986, he transferred to Dallas as senior
much time continuing his study of new findings in
vice president of Worldwide Operations for Dia-
Dewitt Grey Crawford, Class of 1956, of Louis-
mond Shamrock. In 1987, he established his own
ville, died January 17, 2016. He attended Georgia
company, Star Oil & Gas.
Tech for three quarters where he studied mechani-
chemistry, physics, and astronomy.
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
49
{IN MEMORIAM}
Howard Spencer Jones, B.A. 1958, of Jackson,
for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
a drapery business, obtaining advanced educa-
died Dec. 9, 2015. From 1975 through his retire-
Later, she became an instructor in French in the
tion degrees, and 20 years of teaching and school
ment in 2004, he sold insurance and securities,
Department of Modern Languages at the Univer-
administration. She volunteered at the George W.
spending the last decade of his career with Morgan
sity of Mississippi. Moreton served on the Oxford
Bush Presidential Library and Museum, helped
Keegan in Jackson. He earned his Mississippi
School Board from 1975 to 1985.
build the Texas A&M chapter of the Kappa Delta Sorority, and grew her antiques business.
realtor’s license in 2015 and was preparing to join Nix-Tann and Associates at the onset of his
Frank L. O’Keefe, Class of 1959, of Clinton,
final illness. He was a founder of Jackson’s New
died Feb.15, 2016. He graduated from Mississippi
Winifred A. Green, B.A. 1963, of New Orleans,
Stage Theatre and the New Bourbon Street Jazz
State University and went on to work for Lederle
died Feb. 6, 2016. She was a fifth-generation Mis-
Society in Jackson, playing Dixieland jazz every
Labortories where he earned several Top Sales-
sissippian from a prominent Jackson family who
Sunday and on all other occasions offered to him
man awards. His strong work ethic and hard work
defied tradition, threats, and family disapproval
for at least four decades. He could, and did, play
would prove beneficial when he joined his brothers
to join the civil rights movement in the 1960s. She
any instrument to which he put his hand, and he
as operations manager of Southwest Drug Stores.
helped establish Mississippians for Public Education and organized women to prevent the Missis-
loved every type of music from Bach through the Beatles to Beck. He was the original bass player for
Bryan Thornton Scarbrough, B.A. 1959, of
sippi Legislature from closing the public schools
The Vernon Brothers bluegrass band. For years he
Randolph, died, Jan. 3, 2016. He earned a master’s
to avoid integration. She worked for the American
worked with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
degree and a doctorate of divinity at Emory Univer-
Friends Service Committee, and traveled around
and the Youth Symphony Orchestra, emceed the
sity. He served as a United Methodist minister in
Mississippi with another AFSC staffer, Connie
first Atwood Bluegrass Festival in Monticello, and
various locations across Mississippi for more than
Curry, to find black parents willing to send their
entertained his adoring fans and family at “Bright
50 years. He served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy.
children to the white schools. She worked on voter registration and school desegregation in rural
Lights, Belhaven Nights”, and was the go-to guy
Samuel Elgin Scott , B.A. 1959, of New Orleans,
Georgia and directed the Alabama Community
died Nov. 21, 2015. He earned a law degree from
Relations Program of the AFSC. She returned to
Rupert H. Tullos, Class of 1958, of Mendenhall,
the University of Mississippi and practiced law for
Jackson in 1980 to found the Southern Coalition
died Nov. 7, 2015.
more than 50 years and taught at the graduate level
for Educational Equity, a non-profit dedicated
at the University of Mississippi and Jackson State
to equity and excellence in public schools. Since
Grover Upton Berry, Class of 1959, of Jackson,
University. He was a member of many professional
1992, Green has served as senior consultant to
died Aug. 21, 2015. He served in the Navy from
organizations, was named by his peers as one the
the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative to
1951 until 1953 and was a member of the Seabees,
Best Lawyers in America, and served as general
promote economic and social justice for rural black
the Navy Reserve. He was a private contractor for
counsel for several successful businesses in addi-
women in 77 counties in Alabama, Georgia, and
many years and a member of Woodland Hills Bap-
tion to writing for numerous professional and legal
Mississippi, with an emphasis on economic devel-
tist Church, where he served as an usher.
publications.
opment, human rights and youth leadership.
for any band seeking a replacement.
Fred Dowling , B.S. 1959, of Baton Rouge, La.,
William R. Lampkin, B.A. 1960, of O’Fallon,
William Eaves Clay Jr., B.A. 1965, of Ridge-
died June 27, 2015. He did graduate studies at
Ill., died Sept. 30, 2015. He was a veteran of the
land, Mississippi, died Feb. 10, 2016. He attended
Louisiana State University, was a founding partner
United States Air Force and served 40 years as a
the United States Air Force Academy before
of Kem-Tech Laboratories in the early 1960s, and
Methodist minister, most of that in the North Mis-
transferring to Millsaps College. In 1977, he started
spent a career in air-environmental work. He was a
sissippi Conference.
Mid South Uniform and Supply with two employees. This business grew over the next four decades
50-year member of the Air and Waste Management Association and a steering committee member and
Alfred Elliott Moreton III, 1960, of Oxford,
not only to be a thriving business, but a group
trustee for what became the Institute of Profes-
died Jan. 18, 2016. Moreton served in the United
of employees whom he loved and considered his
sional Environmental Practice. He was one of the
States Navy from 1952 to 1956 as a quartermaster’s
second family.
earliest environmental professionals to receive the
mate on the U.S.S. Hawk (AMS-17). He attended
Qualified Environmental Professional certifica-
the University of Mississippi, receiving his degree
Tru Rodgers Arcuri, B.A.1970, of LaPlace, La.,
tion. He was a founding partner and president of
in law in 1961 from the University of Mississippi
died Aug. 9, 2015. She was a retired teacher.
Emission Testing Services.
Law School. He was the assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi from 1962 to
Clara Frances Drake, B.A. 1971, of Vicksburg,
Rebecca Larche Moreton, Class of 1959, of
1963 and 1969 to 2004. In his first months on the
died Sept. 16, 2015. She received an M.B.A. in
Oxford, died Jan. 18, 2016. She graduated from
job, he prosecuted rioters who were trying to block
finance from the University of Southern Missis-
the University of Mississippi and earned a Ph.D.
the integration of the University of Mississippi by
sippi. She was an artist, a writer and a successful
in linguistics from Tulane University in 2001.
James Meredith.
equestrian in cross-country and dressage.
She worked as a linguist at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C. in the 1960s. After
Virginia C. Pierson, Class of 1961, of College
Janis McQueen May, B.A. 1971, of Hattiesburg,
returning to Oxford in the 1970s, she was a mem-
Station, Texas, died March 7, 2016. Her many
died Oct. 21, 2015. She earned a master’s degree in
ber of the League of Women Voters and worked
pursuits included a home decorating business,
speech pathology from the University of Southern
50
www.millsaps.edu
{IN MEMORIAM}
Mississippi. She worked for U.S.M. for almost two de-
Michael Duane Durst , B.A. 1991, of Jackson,
cades in various fundraising, student advising, and
died Feb. 29, 2016. He had a career in retail and
Evangelism and three times represented Missis-
public relations positions for the Business School,
banking, and was a parishioner of St. Therese
sippi Methodist Churches at the denomination’s
Science Department, and the Honors College.
Catholic Church.
international General Conferences. He retired
Reginald Sedberry Aycock, Class of 1972, of Jack-
William Thomas “Billy” Wynn II, B.A.
the United Methodist Mississippi Conference’
son, died Feb. 24, 2016. He was born in Memphis
2000, of Jackson, died Dec. 19, 2015. He helped
Council on Ministries, where he organized clusters
and graduated from Memphis University School.
people improve their lives through his work with
of churches to enhance the ministries of smaller
non-profits such as Stewpot, Harbor House, and
churches.
He served on the national Methodist Board of
from the active ministry in 1989 as director of
William Drake Elder Sr., B.S. 1974, of Brandon,
Partners to End Homelessness. He was president
died Aug. 14, 2015. He was a longtime fixture on
of the Straddlefork Foundation, a philanthropic
for students from Duke Divinity School to learn
the Jackson music scene. When he was unable to
organization that provides grant money to support
from Mississippi’s racial reconciliation efforts.
book a Dan Fogelberg concert on campus because
Mississippi non-profits.
He also supported several community ministries
of a conflict with the Millsaps Theater Department, Elder, along with friends Kathy Morrison and Wayne Harrison, relocated the Fogelberg
He established a summer fellowship program
including the United Methodist Church’s outreach
Trustees
to the Hispanic community in DeSoto County. He received an honorary degree from Millsaps in 2001.
concert to the Jackson City Auditorium (Thalia
The Warren and Lanita Pittman Servant Leader-
Mara Hall), which swiftly sold out the 2,500-seat
ship Scholarship was funded by their younger son,
auditorium. They used the concert profits to start
Robert Warren Pittman, who attended Millsaps
BeBop Record Shop in April of 1974, which grew to
from 1971-1972.
eight locations across Mississippi. For more than 30 years, BeBop Productions was responsible for bringing most of the major national touring acts to Jackson. For 13 years, Drake and his wife acted as the box office managers for the Mississippi Coliseum, the Jackson Convention Complex, Thalia Mara Hall, and Jackson State University Memorial Stadium, and set up shows on Ticketmaster for promoters and artists. Warren Pittman
Brad A. Alford, B.S. 1976, of Greentown, Pa., died June 21, 2016. A professor of psychology at The University of Scranton for 23 years, Alford contributed empirical, theoretical, and metatheoretical research on behaviorism and cognitive therapy. He completed his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Mississippi and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Cognitive Therapy, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Alford published several important books and numerous articles in the top psychotherapy journals. He worked closely with Dr. Aaron T. Beck, recognized as the father of cognitive therapy. Alford joined the faculty of the University’s Psychology Department in 1989 and was promoted
Warren Pittman, a member of the Class of 1945 and a Millsaps trustee from 1997 to 2005, of Olive Branch, died on Nov. 4, 2015. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi and earned a master of divinity degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. A Mississippi United Methodist minister for 74 years, he served churches in Jackson, Hattiesburg, Forest, Monticello, and Centerville, as well as superintendent for the Brookhaven and Hattiesburg districts of United Methodist churches. During the 1960s, when many of his fellow Methodist ministers left Mississippi, he stayed to participate in the state’s civil rights struggles. The
to professor of psychology in 1999.
day after President John F. Kennedy was assas-
John L. “Jack” McLemore, B.L.S. 1989, of
on local radio in Forest—even though the station
Madison, died Feb. 29, 2016. He was the regional service manager for Western Auto Corporation, but was most proud of returning to Millsaps College and receiving his degree in psychology in 1989. He worked at the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield until his second retirement.
Jack Reed Sr.
sinated, he delivered a message of faith and peace manager said he should not reveal his name for fear of violent reprisals. The broadcast was published in the local newspaper. Pittman later helped to initiate the merger of Mississippi’s two Methodist conferences that had been historically divided by race. In all, he believed in and practiced redemptive love.
Jack Reed Sr., a Millsaps College trustee from 1968 to 1974, of Tupelo, died Jan. 27, 2016. A lifelong resident of Tupelo, Reed earned degrees from Vanderbilt University and New York University before returning to a life of business and service in his home state. A veteran of the United States Army who served in Australia and Japan during the Second World War, Reed made a career in business, managing Reed’s Department Store and Reed Manufacturing Company. Reed was instrumental in building the Community Development Foundation, focused on regional economic development, and the CREATE Foundation, Mississippi’s first community foundation. Efforts to desegregate schools in the 1970s challenged communities across Mississippi, but Reed courageously supported public education in his community and throughout the state. Gov. William Winter acknowledged Reed’s commitment to public education by naming him chair of the Special Committee on Public Education, which
Millsaps Magazine Spring-Summer 2016
51
{IN MEMORIAM}
laid the groundwork for the historic Education
director, Houston Branch, of the Federal Reserve
learned from his travels and shared his knowledge
Reform Act of 1982.
Bank of Dallas. In 1969-1970 he served as the presi-
with his students at Millsaps.
He later chaired Mississippi’s first lay State
dent of the American Bankers Association. He also
Board of Education from 1982-87, and was tapped
served as Chairman of the Administrative Com-
by President George H.W. Bush to head the Na-
mittee of Galloway Memorial Methodist Church.
Friends
Faculty/Staff
Millsaps College Trustee William “Bill” Flournoy
Frances Ford Blissard Boeckman, instruc-
known Jackson artist and musician, who gradu-
tor and catalog librarian from 1966 until 1977, of
ated from Belhaven College and earned a master’s
Madison, died Aug. 27, 2015. She finished with
of music from Mississippi College. In the early
high honors at Belhaven College, received an M.A.
days of television, she regularly performed on
from Mississippi College, and an M.L.S. from the
“The June King Show,” a daytime program on
University of Mississippi.
WLBT-TV. She was also a member of the Maurice
tional Advisory Committee on Education Research and Improvement. His commitment to public education figured prominently in his campaign as the Republican nominee for governor in 1987. The Mississippi Association of Partners in Education’s Winter-Reed Partnership Award was established to honor the unique bipartisan relationship forged by Gov. Winter and Jack Reed. He received an honorary degree from Millsaps in 2015.
Edwina Anne McDuffie Goodman, wife of Goodman Jr., died Nov. 1, 2015. She was a well-
Thompson Singers, a professional group that was
Sara Louise Brooks a former director of records
in great demand to perform at conventions, meet-
at Millsaps, of Madison, died Oct. 4, 2015. She
ings, and civic events. For many years she was a
began work in the records office in 1955 and retired
member of and soloist with the Chancel Choir at
in 1991. During the 1991 graduation ceremony, she
Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church and
was honored with an honorary degree, according
participated in the Junior League Chorus.
to a story that appeared in the fall 1991 issue of
Nathaniel “Nat” S. Rogers
Nathaniel “Nat” S. Rogers, B.A. 1941, of Madison, died Feb. 22, 2016. Long a Trustee of Millsaps College, he served as Chairman of the Board in the mid 1960s and helped guide and support the College in its efforts to racially integrate. He met his wife, Helen, at Millsaps. During World War II, he served as a U.S. Navy lieutenant and was stationed in the Pacific and Asiatic theaters. His ship participated in and came under fire at the Battle for Okinawa. After the war, he attended Harvard Business School, earning his M.B.A. while becoming a George Baker Scholar. Rodgers joined Deposit Guaranty Bank in Jackson in 1947 and served as its president from 1959 until 1969. He resigned to become president of First City National Bank of Houston, Texas where he served as president or chairman of the board until his retirement in 1985. He also served as chairman of the board of First City Bancorporation of Texas. He served as president of the Mississippi Bankers Association, director of Reserve City Bankers, a member of the Bankers Advisory Committee to the U.S. Treasury, Advisory Council to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and
52
www.millsaps.edu
She sang with the Jackson Symphony Orches-
Major Notes. “Because Sara Brooks was someone
tra and performed with the Mississippi Opera
who kept such watchful attention to the details
Touring Company. She served as the president of
of our students’ academic credentials and was
the Jackson Opera Guild; president of the Mis-
responsible for verifying the academic require-
sissippi Opera Association, Inc.; co-chair of the
ments for nearly 7,000 students, the faculty of the
Mississippi Arts Festival; co-chair of the Sym-
College felt it was appropriate to honor her in this
phony Ball and of the Opera Gala; president of the
manner,” said then Associate Dean Robert Shive in
Millsaps Arts and Lectures Series; and president
the 1991 story.
of the Chaminade Club. She was a member of numerous other organizations, including the Junior
Sandra Jones Bunch, assistant director of the
League of Jackson, Play Readers, and the Hinds
Adult Degree Program, of Union Grove, died Jan.
County Lawyers’ Wives.
6, 2016. She received her AA degree from North-
She was a member of the Jackson Watercolor
east State Junior College, her bachelor of science
Group and served as the president of the Missis-
degree from Jacksonville State University, and
sippi Watercolor Society. For many years she was
did graduate work at the University of Alabama
represented by Brown’s Fine Art Gallery.
in Birmingham. In her career, she taught school, worked as a substitute teacher and worked in the
Mary Jo McAnally, former associate director
adult degree program at Millsaps College from
of Fondren Renaissance Foundation, of Jackson,
1987 until 1993.
died Nov. 3, 2015.
John Lemuel Guest , emeritus professor of
staff, Inc., served as a springboard into her involve-
German, of Jackson, died March 21, 2016. He
ment in even more projects. She established the
received degrees from the University of Texas and
Jackson Cancer League and the Jackson Women’s
Columbia University. He also studied Germanic
Council of Realtors, but her real passion lay in her
philosophy at Bonn University on an Ottendorfer
work for the Fondren community. A tireless cheer-
Fellowship and at the University of Vienna in
leader for this revitalized area, she served faithfully
Austria on a Fulbright Scholarship. He taught at
for more than 15 years as the associate director of
Rutgers University from 1953-1957 and at Millsaps
the Fondren Renaissance Foundation.
Her successful real estate firm, Mary Jo Bicker-
from 1957 until 1991. He served in the reserves during the Cuban Missile Crisis and was honorably
These submissions for In Memoriam reflect those
discharged with the rank of captain. Herr Guest,
received between Aug. 3, 2015 and March 31, 2016.
as his students called him, loved the arts and
For more information, contact Nell Luter Floyd at
spent many summers abroad. He brought what he
601-974-1089 or floydnl@millsaps.edu.
BECAUSE OF YOU, MILLSAPS CHANGES LIVES
ACROSS THE STREET AND AROUND THE GLOBE EVERYDAY
THE MILLSAPS ANNUAL FUND SUPPORTS EVERYTHING ON CAMPUS, FROM FINANCIAL AID TO ACADEMIC PROGRAMS TO OUTSTANDING FACULTY TO ATHLETIC EXPERIENCES TO HANGING OUT IN THE BOWL.
JOIN US OCTOBER 21Â23, 2016 FOR THE FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO MILLSAPS.EDU/HOMECOMING2016.