Winter 2011 Millsaps Magazine by Millsaps College

Millsaps Magazine

Winter 2011

From the President his semester I’m delighted to be back in the classroom, teaching constitutional law. Last year was the ﬁrst time in 30 years that I have not taught an undergraduate course in political science. It’s good to step out of my administrative position and back into my role as a teacher. It connects me to the core academic mission of the College and provides an opportunity to teach and get to know our students. It also connects me to the experience of our faculty and reinforces my appreciation for the multiple roles our faculty members play as teachers, scholars, and mentors.

I’ve seen ﬁrsthand that Millsaps students are intellectually curious, hard-working, and committed to success. They are also spirited, civic-minded, and grateful (especially for the chocolate candy I pass around during the break in our two-and-a-half-hour class). Our class is enlivened by the presence of two retired attorneys—Newt Harrison, B.A. 1957, and Hal Miller, B.A. 1957—who are auditing the class and who are obligated to full participation in classroom assignments and discussion. To our beneﬁt and pleasure, they have offered insights about important events in our nation’s history, such as the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and the Supreme Court’s limitation on presidential power during the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations. I love teaching our traditional and “veteran” students, and I leave the classroom each week renewed, inspired, and grateful to teach among faculty ranked by The Princeton Review this year as the eighth best in the nation.

Dr. Robert W. Pearigen

MILLSAPS Magazine

Executive Editor Patti P. Wade* Director of Communications and Marketing

FEATURES

Design Kelley Matthews Publications Manager Nell Luter Floyd Contributing Editors Jason Bronson*; Lucy Molinaro*; Kara G. Paulk; Marc Rolph Student Assistants Jesse Crow; Alison Montgomery; Lauren Williams Contributing Photographers Jay Ferchaud; Casey Holloway; Bolton Kirchner; Susan McClellan; Danny Rawls; Alan Waxler; Frank Williams Administrative Officers Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, President Louise Burney*, Vice President for Finance; Dr. Keith Dunn, Dean of the College; and Dr. R. Brit Katz, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students

Board of Trustees Tom Fowlkes*, Chair The Rev. Jerry Bostick Beam* The Rev. Zachary Beasley Paul Benton* Dan Bowling* Bill Bynum James A. Coggin Elaine Crystal Robert H. Dunlap* Will Flatt* Mark Freeman* Gale L. Galloway The Rev. Lisa Garvin* Dr. Cris Glick William F. Goodman III* Maurice H. Hall Jr.* Monica Sethi Harrigill* Richard G. Hickson William R. James William Jeanes* Peder Johnson* Earle F. Jones The Rev. Geoffrey Joyner* R. Eason Leake* Robert N. Leggett Jr.* John L. Lindsey Hal Malchow* J. Con Maloney Jr.*

The Rev. William T. McAlilly* Vaughan W. McRae Richard D. McRae Michael T. McRee Richard Mills* Dr. Don Q. Mitchell* Cooper Morrison* Robert R. Morrison Jr. Paul Ogden* The Rev. Luther S. Ott* Robert W. Pittman* Dr. Bobby Robbins* E. B. Robinson Jr. Nat S. Rogers* Toddy Sanders* The Rev. Joey Shelton* Steven Smith* Mike Sturdivant Jr.* Mike P. Sturdivant Rowan H. Taylor J. Murray Underwood* Mack Varner* John C. Vaughey Bishop Hope Ward Ruth W. Watson* Leila C. Wynn William G. Yates III

*Denotes Millsaps Alumni 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. Send alumni updates and address corrections to Millsaps Magazine, care of the above address. You can also reach us at 601-974-1033 or communications@millsaps.edu. For the online magazine, visit www.millsaps.edu.

22 Wellspring Students learn to work together while serving others as part of the Wellspring program.

26 BAP Medical professionals seek business education.

ON CAMPUS 6 Research 8 Creative Endeavors 11 Music That Matters

BEYOND CAMPUS 14 National Geographic 15 Casa Millsaps

AROUND THE WORLD 16 Fulbright Fellow 17 Theological Award

FACULTY & STAFF 21 Humanities Award

SPORTS 27 Halbrook Award 29 Janice Okeke

ALUMNI 31 39 42 48

Meet Alums Alumni President Class Notes In Memoriam

Cover: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Robert Johnsonâ&#x20AC;? is an acrylic paint and pencil work by Millsaps College Professor of Art Sandra Murchison. It is from her series inspired by the Mississippi Blues Trail.

Meet a Student

Dylan Broussard Dylan Broussard, a senior from Lafayette, La., is one busy guy. He is captain of the men’s varsity soccer team, president of Kappa Alpha Order, and a member of the Student Conduct Council, Senior Year Experience, Campus Ministry Team, Project Midtown Committee, Physics Club, and College Republicans. In addition, he created a selfdesigned major of engineering studies. Q: What made you decide to attend Millsaps? A: Millsaps provides a great education and has a competitive athletic arena and a comfortable social scene that would have been hard to ﬁnd anywhere else. The professors are caring and professional, and it is easy to get involved on campus. Millsaps is what you make of it. It has completely changed my life and made me into the person I am. The prestige of Millsaps and its great education speaks volumes. Q: What has your experience as a Millsaps student been like? A: It has changed me from an unorganized and immature individual who was mostly a follower into a driven, well2

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respected, and involved individual. Millsaps offers every student this opportunity. It is up to the student to utilize it. Q: What advice would you give to a student pursuing a self-designed major? A: Sit down and understand what is required to design a major. I combined the curriculums of physics, mathematics, and computer science to form my engineering studies major. It has worked out great for me in that I was able to take all classes in those curricula that dealt with engineering. I also was able to add directed studies and a few other classes to my major that pertained to engineering. It is an interesting process that has deﬁnitely given me the freedom to study what I would like. Q: What are your career plans? A: I plan to get a master’s degree in civil engineering and also an M.B.A. I want to work on large scale civil projects for a private company while starting a family of my own in the South. Later in life I plan to pursue a dream of cooking and opening my own restaurant.

Meet a Professor

Ledora Overby Harris Ledora Overby Harris, an assistant professor of education, directs the Principals’ Institute at Millsaps College. She graduated from college at age 19, taught middle school math and later third grade before becoming an elementary school principal. She has worked for the Mississippi Department of Education and been part of efforts to improve low performing schools. Q: How old is the Principals’ Institute at Millsaps? A: It was founded in 1992 and patterned after the Principals’ Center at Harvard Graduate School of Education. It will celebrate its 20th anniversary in June. Q: How has the Principals’ Institute impacted education in Mississippi and beyond? A: Roland Barth, founder of the Principals’ Center at Harvard and a presenter for the Millsaps Principals’ Summer Institute for 11 years, described our institute as “not merely informative” but “transformative,” and I believe that’s true. More than 2,000 school leaders from all 152 public school districts and private and parochial schools in

the state have attended the institute to learn about emerging educational issues and meet with colleagues to discuss common problems, frustrations, and successes. Q: What does the job of being a principal entail? A: A principal is the school’s instructional leader, but he or she is so much more than that. He or she is also an administrator, a manager, an analyst, an encourager, a consensus builder, and a mentor, all of which means a principal must be highly skilled and better prepared than ever to meet high accountability standards and demands of today’s schools. Q: How do our students benefit from the institute? A: Students in the Millsaps Department of Education have job prospects thanks to our closer ties with principals. Q: What else does your job entail? A: I supervise Millsaps students who are student teaching. Every education class at Millsaps puts students out in the ﬁeld to gain real-world experience.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

ON CAMPUS

Opher Aviran

Campus Visitors Academic scholars, authors, and musicians were among visitors on campus during the spring semester.

Movie producer Brunson Green, a Jackson native, returned to his hometown to speak about The Help and kick off the Millsaps College 2011-2012 Arts & Lecture series in September. Green, a childhood friend of Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, discussed the process of turning the book into a movie. Israeli Consul General of the Southeast, Opher Aviran, spoke on campus in September about the prospects and challenges facing Israel. The Political Science Club co-sponsored his visit.

Jim Barksdale

Dr. Joe Rife, associate professor of classics and anthropology at Vanderbilt University, lectured in September on the history and archaeology of a Roman port. For several years he has led an international team of researchers at the major site of Kenchreai, the Roman era port at Corinth, Greece. His presentation demonstrated how one well-preserved site teaches us a great deal about society, religion, and culture in the eastern Roman provinces. Composer and musician Eve Beglarian spoke in October about the three months in 2009 she spent kayaking on the Mississippi River from Lake Itasca, Minn. to the Gulf of Mexico. She appeared as part of the Arts & Lecture Series. Mississippi business leader Jim Barksdale spoke about “big, hairy, bodacious ideas” during the Else School of Management Fall Forum in October. In his keynote address, titled “Public Education...The Big Idea,” the former chief executive officer of Netscape and AT&T Wireless and chief operating officer of FedEx explained that high school graduates make $250,000 more in their lifetimes than dropouts, while college graduates make $1 million more than high school graduates. Barksdale said if the rate of high school and college graduates increased by only 3 percent every year for the next decade, it would grow the state economy by $11 billion. Sandra Beasley, poet, essayist, and author of Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life, discussed her work when she visited campus in October as part of the Millsaps Visiting Writers Series. Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl tells the story of Beasley’s allergies—severe and lifelong—including dairy, egg, soy, beef, shrimp, pine nuts, cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, swordfish, and mustard, and covers the scientific, cultural, and sociological terrain of allergies. Ross Jahnke, professor of printmaking at Nicholls State University, gave a gallery talk in November about his exhibit, “Fast Food.” The exhibit included both prints and paintings of fast foods that showed both the enticing and repulsive sides of common fast food.

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Sandra Beasley

Sinauer Associates, Inc.

Psychology 3110: Introduction to Perception is an option for students in the Neuroscience and Cognitive Studies program at Millsaps. Students in Dr. Melissa Lea’s Psychology 3110: Introduction to Perception class study different kinds of perception that arise from the senses, such as taste, hearing, and smell. The class mainly concentrates on visual perception. Why vision? It is one of the most, if not the most, rigorous and well deﬁned topics studied in psychology, and the cerebral cortex is largely devoted to vision. Leia Golden, a senior from Monroe, La., majoring in neuroscience and cognitive studies, enrolled in the class because she wanted in-depth knowledge about perception. “I want to learn not only how I understand the world, but also why sometimes I can misunderstand it,” she said. The class blends psychology, physiology, and the social sciences and includes lectures and hands-on assignments that are most often conducted outside in the Bowl. When the class covers the brain anatomy and physiology that is involved in “attention,” it conducts an experiment the next day that tests the limitations of attention. Then later that week, the class discusses the psychological, such as disorders of attention, maximizing attention for children and young adults, and also psychological theories that may help explain attentional processes. Golden said she’s found the lab assignments illuminating. “In one lab assignment, we learned that two eyes are really not necessary for our brains to be able to process depth, by simply measuring our ability to catch a ball when using both eyes compared to when we only used one,” she said. “To most people’s surprise, there was no signiﬁcant difference.” Another assignment required students to be blindfolded and walk around campus, then later write about the experience. “Distances became a lot larger and noises seemed to contain information that is normally just disregarded,” Golden said. Students also get an idea about what it’s like to be hearing impaired when they wear ear plugs for a class. Lissa McManus, a senior from Natchez, took the class last year and now is a Ford Fellow who helps create assignments and activities and gets to teach the class. One of her favorite assignments is music perception, in which students analyze three songs from three different genres.

ON CAMPUS

Syllabus

PROFESSOR Dr. Melissa A. Lea is an assistant professor of psychology and director of the Neuroscience and Cognitive Studies program at Millsaps College. Dr. Lea earned her B.S. in cognitive science from the University of Michigan-Flint in 1999, her M.A. in psychology at Miami University in 2003, and her Ph.D. in cognitive science from Miami University in 2005. Her areas of expertise are categorization and face processing. While at Millsaps she has also branched out to study food perception and food behaviors that lead to eating disorders, as well as how social roles influence team dynamics of sports teams. PREREQUISITES None READINGS Textbook: (Wolfe, J.M., Kluender, K.R., Levi, D.M., Bartoshuk, L.M., Herz, R.S., Klatzky, R.L., Lederman, S.J., and Merfeld, D.M. (2008). Sensation & Perception (2nd ed.) Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.) Scientific readings are from peer-reviewed primary journal articles; for example, a reading about tactile amnesia (the inability to identify textures). ASSIGNMENTS Hands-on experiments Scientific readings from peer-reviewed primary journal articles

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

ON CAMPUS

Research Millsaps partners with research institutions to enhance biomedical knowledge. BY KARA G. PAULK

Millsaps student Teal Brechtel gets hands-on experience in biomedical research.

illsaps faculty and student researchers are making signiﬁcant contributions to biomedical research issues such as cancer and E. coli metabolism. They’re part of the Mississippi IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) project. Millsaps has partnered with Mississippi IDeA since 2005 and has worked with public and private universities in the state to support the project’s mission: enhancing the state’s biomedical research capacity. Mississippi IDeA strives to develop a multidisciplinary statewide network of faculty, students, and technical staff. It aims to train and mentor faculty and students, particularly at undergraduate institutions; develop an efﬁcient pipeline to encourage students to continue in health-related careers; build a state-wide bioinformatics network; and provide critical research infrastructure. Dr. Sarah Lea Anglin, professor of biology, leads Millsaps’ work with Mississippi IDeA. “It’s provided a network of equipment, intellectual support, and vibrant interactions where faculty and students come together at least once a year for a sym-

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posium, and more often by phone. The network has allowed us to conduct research at a much higher level than would otherwise be possible and allowed our undergraduate students to be involved in graduate-level work.” Anglin’s research focuses on cancer biology. She and her student researchers use a fungal system to look for genes and proteins that control cell division. “We have discovered a previously unidentiﬁed gene that is involved in controlling cell division and are in the process of getting that published now,” she said. “It’s been submitted to a major biomedical research journal and describes a new function for a class of proteins.” Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Wolfgang Kramer also conducts cancer research, but his work explores a novel approach in photodynamic cancer therapy. Photodynamic therapy uses both light and a photosensitizing agent drug in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. When photosensitizers are exposed to a speciﬁc wavelength of light, a reactive form of oxygen is produced that kills nearby cells. “We synthesize photoactivatable molecules and optimize

ON CAMPUS

their properties so they can be used to selectively destroy tumor cells,” Kramer said. “This is an interdisciplinary effort that involves synthetic organic, photochemical, photophysical, biochemical, and biophysical experiments.” About 10 students a year have worked on projects funded by the grant, with some going on to pursue medical degrees or doctorates at top-tier biomedical institutions. Four students work with Dr. Cory Toyota, assistant professor of chemistry, to understand the function of unassigned genes of several strains of E. coli. The function of about 25 percent of known E. coli genes is unknown. “Although the genomes of several organisms have been solved, not all genes have been assigned function. Even knowing the enzyme activity on a molecular level doesn’t tell us why the organism has the gene,” Toyota said. “Specifically, we are working on finding the role of three proteins in E. coli, two of which we know the in vitro activity for. These proteins seem to work together to mediate acid resistance in E. coli. We are studying this new acidresistance system using microbiological and molecular biological techniques.” Also conducting research is Dr. Naila Mamoon, assistant professor of biology. She’s studying epigenetic changes in two disease states—cancer and chronic stress-related depression. “We know that there is a higher incidence of depression in people who are under chronic stress. What is interesting is, not everyone responds to stress the same way; some individuals develop depression, while others don’t,” Mamoon said. “Response to stress may be different even between identical twins. We use an animal model to examine what molecular changes occur in the brain as a result of chronic stress.” To identify depression in animal models exposed to chronic stress, Mamoon and her students look for the animals to lose their preference for sweetened water, similar to the loss of pleasure observed in patients with depression. The researchers collaborate with experts in animal behavior research at the Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience at the University of Mississippi Medical Center to help them identify depression-like behavior in animal models. Another aspect of her research focuses on histones, proteins that package our genes so that all the DNA molecules, which when unraveled and laid end to end would occupy a football field, fit into something as small as a cell. Knowledge of the structure and func-

tion of these proteins is important, as currently a number of agents that target histone proteins are now in clinical trials as anti-cancer drugs. Two current students and two alums work alongside Mamoon in her research lab, all funded by the Mississippi IDeA grant. The original INBRE grant proposal was written by a group of investigators led by the University of Southern Mississippi, and faculty members at other colleges and universities wrote sub-proposals that were sent in for funding through the National Institutes of Health.

About 10 students a year have worked on projects funded by the grant, with some going on to pursue medical degrees or doctorates. Anglin was contacted by faculty members at USM, and she put together a plan for Millsaps that was included in the grant proposal. Her proposal included funding for two biology faculty members’ research programs, major equipment to enhance the College’s research laboratory facilities, student stipends, faculty member salary support for release time from course work, and salary support for research technicians. “Once the overall grant was funded, we became part of a network that shared resources and ideas that created a vibrant and active network of researchers that were formerly isolated at their institutions,” Anglin said. An advantage to being connected to the larger network is access to large equipment at major universities and improvements at Millsaps. “Within two years, we had built a research laboratory at Millsaps that had the best equipment that we could get to do biomedical research, and we also had access to large pieces of equipment that are housed at the large institutions,” Anglin said. Millsaps’ contribution in the network is a circular dichroism spectrophotometer that is widely used by researchers at UMC, Jackson State University, and Tougaloo College. Students have presented their ﬁndings at conferences including the national IDeA conference, and the annual meeting of the Southeastern Association of Biologists in Greenville, N.C., where they have won awards in competition with graduate students from major research universities.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

ON CAMPUS

Creative Endeavors Hammons finds his voice as a Millsaps music major. BY JASON BRONSON

unior music major Jordan Hammons may have been born to sing, but he needed convincing from within. “When I came to Millsaps, I had it all ﬁgured out, or so I thought,” Hammons said. “I entered with the intention of pursuing a biochemistry degree as preparation for medical school.” However, he also auditioned for a voice scholarship and was accepted into Dr. Cheryl Coker’s studio, joining the Millsaps Singers and Chamber Singers. Like many college students before him, Hammons had an academic awakening. “About halfway into my ﬁrst semester, I realized that despite being fascinated by them, I personally didn't enjoy science classes,” he said. “I was talking with my chemistry teacher when I realized that premed wasn't the right track for me.” She told him that the academic rigor of Millsaps’ premed program would likely demand he give up voice lessons and performing with the Millsaps Singers before his senior year. “When she said that, I thought, ‘I can't quit those. Music is what I love. It’s always had a place in my life.’ A few weeks later, I began the process of shifting toward pursuing a music degree.”

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Although he never took a private voice lesson before coming to Millsaps, Hammons has a long history of vocal performance. “I grew up being in children's choir in church,” he said. “I first formally became involved with music through the Alabama Boychoir in Tuscaloosa. In high school, I did musical theater, show choir, and choir. Music and singing was part of who I was.” Last year, he won National Association of Teachers of Singing competitions in his categories of entry at both the state and regional level—a tremendous accomplishment. “Regional and state NATS last year were awesome experiences for me,” he said. “Last year, I can remember getting ready for regional NATS and being excited simply for the opportunity to get feedback from voice professors from other schools. I can remember being in shock when I found out I was in the second round. Needless to say, I was a little more shocked when I first made finals and then won my division. “What meant more than winning was when a faculty member from another school told me that my performance touched him, and that he hoped to hear me sing that role professionally one day.”

ON CAMPUS

Millsaps Miscellaneous Salute the spirit of the College, and read these news snippets.

Put on your pajamas. ton; Phillips; Robert Young, Dr. Jack C. Phillips, 1954, president emeritus of Union College of Kentucky, recognized himself as a Millsaps freshman in pajamas in a 1953 photo in the summer issue of Millsaps Magazine. He commented that during his 14 years as college president, he “attempted to emulate the same spirit of caring that I had experienced so many years ago as a student at Millsaps.” That photo also caught the attention of Mary Young, B.A. 1960, who supplied the names of some students in that photo. She recognized Jimmy Pickens; David Stain-

1957; and Roy Wolf, 1957. That leaves three students to be identiﬁed; let us know if you can help.

Fly the flag. That's what the College did on Oct. 19, flying the Millsaps V-12 flag to honor the 873 U.S. Navy and Marine officer candidates who attended Millsaps from 1943-1945. Each year on the third Wednesday of October, the College plans to fly the Millsaps V-12 flag.

Time for dinner. How about pigeon with herbs served with roasted barley

and herb pilaf and ninda-gal bread with onion seeds, sumac, and saffron topped off with date and pistachio cookies? No, it’s not in the Caf, but in the kitchen of Charles Hall. Students in the course, Women in the Ancient World, focused on daily life in the Fertile Crescent and prepared six ancient recipes translated from ancient texts.

Offer Hope. Students in the Else School of Management are offering hope to residents in the small towns of Utica and Edwards that have no bank branches. Make that Hope Community Credit

Corp., a nonproﬁt that provides banking services to underserved areas. Students distributed info about the credit union during community events.

E-reader vs. book. We asked in the Spring 2011 Millsaps Magazine if you prefer e-readers or old-fashioned books. Sutton Marks, B.A. 1948, responded that he has downloaded books on his iPad, but he prefers to hold a book. Becky Smith Taylor, B.A. 1960, plans to purchase a Kindle or Nook, but still wants a hard copy of her favorite books to display.

Forward March It's something you don't see every day: Millsaps students marching with seven-foot javelins in phalanx formation as though they were Greek hoplites. That's what classics students taught by Dr. David Yates and Dr. Holly Sypniewski did as an experiential learning project.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

ON CAMPUS

The Deans Recommend... Looking for a good book to read? Check out what is on the bookshelves of our deans.

Random House

The novel focuses on a fascinating character, Elizabeth Stone, and the unexplained death of her husband, John Stone, Europe's most powerful arms dealer. To solve the mystery we go backwards in time from London in 1909 to Paris in 1890 and ﬁnally Venice in 1867, with each section presented through the eyes of a different character. The story is set in the emerging world of international ﬁnance and espionage. Dr. David C. Davis, associate dean for arts and letters To the End of the Land by David Grossman (Knopf) David Grossman’s To the End of the Land has been called the formative novel of Hebrew literature in the 21st century by Israeli critics. This moving novel about family life and the cost of war is set against the backdrop of the beautiful hiking trail known as the Israel National Trail that crosses the whole country from Dan in the north to Eilat in the South. Dr. S. Keith Dunn, senior vice president of academic affairs and dean of the College The Social Animal by David Brooks (Random House)

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The Social Animal was a great companion read to our 2011 reading assignment for ﬁrst-year students, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Brooks used the parallel development of two individuals whose lives were closely linked as a narrative backdrop to talk about neuroscience, brain function, and learning. Brooks wove into the narrative several of the same neurological studies and conclusions that Gladwell used in Blink to show how environment and experience actually change the way the brain functions and how individuals react to different circumstances. Dr. R. Brit Katz, vice president of student life and dean of students The Heart of a Leader: Insights on the Art of Inﬂuence by Ken Blanchard (David C. Cook) Nationally known leadership expert Ken Blanchard is perhaps better known for penning The One-Minute Manager, but The Heart of a Leader is a small mint that can be raided for gems of information about leadership and core team values.

Random House

Dr. George Bey, associate dean for international education Stone’s Fall by Iain Pears (Spiegel & Grau)

Howard L. McMillan Jr., dean of the Else School of Management American Lion by Jon Meacham (Random House)

Jon Meacham gave the address at Dr. Pearigen’s inauguration ceremony. American Lion is the story of how a backwoods orphan, Andrew Jackson, rose to the pinnacle of military power and became president. Jackson has been credited with creating the American presidency as we know it. His goal was to remove the ofﬁce of president from the hands of a few elites and give it back to the people. Michael Thorp, dean of admissions and financial aid Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (Random House) and A New Brand World by Scott Bedbury (VikingPenguin) Both of these books have helped me rethink how we convey our recruitment messages. Dr. Tim Ward, associate dean for sciences In Fed We Trust by David Wessel (Crown Business) I enjoyed In Fed We Trust by David Wessel due to its relevance to our economy. It is a fascinating look at the role of the Federal Reserve and the actions of its chairman, Ben Bernanke, beginning with the Great Panic in 2007 and the following year. You'll need to enjoy reading about people's hubris and ambitions with banking and politics as the setting, but if you're ﬂexible with venues, this is an intriguing read.

ON CAMPUS

Millsaps faculty make ‘music that matters’ Faculty members are mainstay of numerous arts organizations. BY NELL LUTER FLOYD

Lynn Raley and Rachel Heard take a bow after performing on campus.

r. Lynn Raley retreats with his Macbook to a lake in North Carolina and uses his summer vacation to write program notes for each concert in the Bravo Series of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Tim Coker downloads musical scores and photos of composers and prepares PowerPoints to educate concert-goers before each of the Bravo Series concerts. They’re examples of Millsaps College Department of Music faculty who put their scholarship to work out of the classroom and off campus, educating and often performing what they refer to as “music that matters” in the Jackson area. “We’re all very committed to music that matters, where you’re sharing an experience. It’s not to be consumed like commercial music, but to be experienced. It’s thoughtful and visceral,” said Millsaps teaching artist-in-residence James Martin. Martin has found music that matters in opera. In November, he performed the role of Sharpless, U.S. consult at Nagasaki, in Mississippi Opera’s production of “Madama Butterﬂy” in Jackson. That required learning the entire score—not just the songs his character sings—studying the history of Puccini’s opera, and spending hours in rehearsals. “Great works of art in music are spontaneous dialogue that includes the performances, the intention of the composer, and the audience,” he said. “What you have to do is live in the

moment like an actor but with music. You have to be able to respond to the orchestra, all of its many members, and the conductor and the actors on stage in a realistic and reactive way, and at the same time sing difﬁcult music and make it beautiful. And if you don’t speak the language, in this case Italian, you have to learn the language so that it’s convincing.” Tim Coker, professor of music, uses his expertise as a professor to convey the language of music to symphony-goers. He spends 20 to 40 hours assembling each PowerPoint presentation, focusing on one aspect of the music that will be performed. PowerPoint slides may include a list of all the instruments that will be featured and a look at a page of music, and a lecture may include a comparison, such as how football and music intersect. It’s all meant to produce better listeners who more fully enjoy the experience. “You teach them about something they wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. Part of it is to heighten their expectation,” Coker said. “I choose something important to the music, something the audience can relate to.” Coker doesn’t lecture about the life of the composer or the history of the music, but leaves that for Raley to explain in the concert program notes. This is the third year that Raley has produced program notes for the symphony at the invitation of the symphony’s executive director, Michael Beattie. “I try to explain music without it being dry and boring, and I try not to dumb it down,” Raley said, noting that his program

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

Accompanied by Lynn Raley, James Martin performs during the fall showcase that featured Music Department members.

notes have been so well received that he’s been given more space in the program. This year, he had the pleasure of writing program notes for concerts featuring Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9” and Berlioz’s “Symphony Fantastique,” a task for which he drew upon his scholarship in the classroom. “Those are two of the four works we study in the romanticism course I teach,” said Raley, associate professor of music. Dr. Cheryl Coker’s involvement off campus focuses on serving as district governor and regional registrar for the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the largest professional association of teachers of singing in the world with more than 7,000 members in the United States, Canada, and more than 25 countries. Millsaps students have performed at NATS competitions and excelled, and she has attended its workshops, she said. “I come back with a lot of ideas I can share with students,” said Cheryl Coker, chair of the Department of Music. Cheryl Coker’s interest in women composers evolved from a NATS conference where she was asked to perform songs from an anthology of songs by female composers. “It mushroomed into an area I am interested in,” she said, noting that when she performs she likes to include a song by a female composer. All of the Music Department faculty perform on and off campus at venues ranging from museums to colleges and churches throughout the state, and almost all are active in their church choirs in various capacities.

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Dr. Rachel Heard, assistant professor of music, also reaches an audience with solo recordings. She traveled to Iowa City, Iowa in October for a solo recording session on her 18th century Viennese fortepiano; the NAXOS International label, the largest classical music label in the world, will release her recording. Her first recording was released by NAXOS in 2006, and she has since made two additional solo recordings. Her recordings are the first for the sonatas in the NAXOS catalogue to feature the fortepiano, the instrument for which they were actually written. Heard serves as competitions coordinator for the Music Teachers National Association in its nine-state southern division and is a former Mississippi state president of the organization. “It’s a balancing act for sure, along with my performing and teaching schedule,” she said. Martin said he believes the varied musical interests of the Music Department members, performances by faculty on and off campus, and the faculty’s involvement with professional organizations enhance the department's strength. “We’re all committed to music that matters, whether it’s Lynn’s passion for the music of living composers, Tim’s interest in choral music, Cheryl’s interest in women composers, Rachel’s enthusiasm for historical performance and the fortepiano, and my own fire for jazz and the American popular song,” Martin said. “It speaks well of the team we have.”

Else School celebrates its founding, its benefactors, and graduates The business school is a school of management within a liberal arts college. BY NELL LUTER FLOYD

was a man who had “This a passion for education. ” —Donna Ruth Else Roberts

he Else School of Management at Millsaps remembered the legacy of its namesakes, the late Charles and Eloise Else, the success of its graduates, and its 25-year history during a luncheon in October. The late George Harmon, president of Millsaps from 1978 to 2000, first conceived the idea for a business school in 1974 when he was department chair at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College, said Dr. Jerry Whitt, dean of the Else School from 1980-1993 and one of the speakers at the luncheon. Southwestern did not act upon the proposal, and Harmon revised it when he became president at Millsaps. The Else School formally came into being in 1979. The late Charles Else, president of the former Southland Oil Co., and wife Eloise began their association with Millsaps when they endowed a scholarship. Their support culminated in a $22 million bequest, the largest ever for the College. The school was dedicated in honor of the Else family in 1986. Suresh Chawla, B.B.A. 1990 and M.B.A. 1991, a business leader and owner of 17 hotels in the Mississippi Delta, said he met Charles Else just six times, but he had a major impact on his life. The first time, Chawla was mopping the floor at the mom-and-pop convenience store his parents owned in Greenwood. Else stopped by because the store bought gasoline from

his company. He encouraged Chawla to consider attending Millsaps—and continued until he made sure Chawla made a visit. “I fell in love with the campus,” Chawla said. “He was the reason why I went to Milsaps.” Later, Charles Else encouraged Chawla to work in his family’s business. “He said you will regret it the rest of your life if you work for someone else and don’t work for your family,” Chawla remembered. Donna Ruth Else Roberts, daughter of the Elses, spoke at the luncheon. “This was a man who had a real passion for education,” she said of her father's giving spirit. Reared in Junction City, Ark., Charles Else wasn't able to attend college. He helped his mother run the family hardware store after his father died. Charles Else took a job with Southland Oil at the height of the East Texas oil boom. He was transferred to oversee the company's Mississippi reﬁneries in Yazoo City and Laurel. The late Robert Hearin, CEO of Mississippi Valley Gas, introduced Else to Millsaps. Charles Pickett Sr., a member of the Else School Advisory Board, also encouraged Charles Else to focus his gift—and he did just that. “It wouldn’t have been possible to obtain AACSB accreditation without the commitment of the Elses,” Whitt said.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

BEYOND CAMPUS

National Geographic crew films dean and students at work in Yucatán A documentary featuring Kiuic Biocultural Reserve will air in 2012. BY PATTI P. WADE

uest for the Lost Maya,” a National Geographic special featuring research at Millsaps College’s Kaxil Kiuic Biocultural Reserve in Yucatán, will premiere on campus on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. The one-hour documentary is scheduled to air in the United States Feb. 15 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings or the Millsaps website for updates) to an expected audience of six million. A French version, identical to the domestic PBS broadcast, will air on France 5 in early 2012, said National Geographic director, Jeremy Zipple, a Hattiesburg native based in Boston. Other versions will air on the National Geographic International Channel. A Japanese documentary, ﬁlmed simultaneously and produced by Tokyo Broadcasting System, is set to air Jan. 1. The documentary idea began taking shape in August 2010

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when executives at National Geographic read a USA Today article by science writer Dan Vergano that featured the research of Dr. George Bey and other scientists in Kiuic, an abandoned city in the foothills of Yucatán. The article, “So long, said the Maya,” explored evidence of rapid abandonment by the ancient Yucatec Maya. What is being learned in Kiuic, among other sites, is “crucial for a rethinking about the rise and fall of the Maya civilization in this part of the world,” said Bey, Millsaps’ Chisholm Foundation Chair in Arts and Sciences and associate dean of international education. National Geographic directors, producers, cast and crew spent part of the summer of 2011 in Kiuic with Bey, Millsaps students, researchers from other institutions, and graduate students as teams conducted archaeological excavations, part of an ongoing body of work identiﬁed as the Bolonchen Regional Archaeological Project. This summer the ongoing excavations

BEYOND CAMPUS

took on the trappings of a movie set as both domestic and international versions of the documentary were ﬁlmed in two languages. Bey and the Millsaps students are all present in the documentary, in varying roles—some in interviews and others being shown as part of the dig, Zipple said. “Almost everyone who was digging there this summer is in it,” he said. “Evan Parker (B.A. 2011) has a big role,” as does Bey, who serves as primary expert, guide, and scientist. Other Millsaps students were Mandi Strickland, Whitney Gilchrist, Brittany Tourelle, Phillip Boyett, Andy Kennedy, and Katharine Veron, B.A. 2010. Tomás Gallareta Negrón, Millsaps scholar of Maya studies, and William Ringle of Davidson College are among other scientists interviewed.

Zipple said that the documentary centers on work in the ﬁeld, with a majority of ﬁlming completed on site, a contrast to some documentaries that conduct interviews in multiple locations. “It was a fabulous summer down there,” commented Zipple. “It came together nicely. It has a lot of science in it—it is packed with information.” Plans on Feb. 9 include showing the documentary on campus and following it with a panel discussion. Check the Millsaps website in February for more information about this opportunity for a sneak peak at “Quest for the Lost Maya” before it airs nationally Feb. 15. WebExtra Read more about this at http://bit.ly/kiuicdoc.

Casa Millsaps offers all the comforts of home and then some BY LUCY MOLINARO The sign says “Casa Millsaps,” and the stucco building has welcomed Millsaps College students, faculty members, and professional groups attending conferences. Located in the city of Merida in the Mexican state of Yucatán and near the Millsaps-supported and operated Kaxil Kiuic: A Biocultural Reserve, the house recently underwent a major renovation, and now you, too, can stay there. Casa Millsaps is now available for rental for conferences, educational experiences, parties, and family gatherings. Amenities include 21 beds in nine bedrooms with 10 baths, a filtered swimming pool with fountains, an air-conditioned conference room, a complete kitchen, and wireless Internet. WebExtra Read more about this at www.casamillsaps.com.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

AROUND THE WORLD

Alumnus uses Fulbright Fellowship to study abroad in Poland He is among three members of the Class of 2011 to receive the honor. BY KARA G. PAULK

“Joseph is a mature, intelligent, inquisitive, and gracious individual, and it has been my great joy to be his teacher and mentor during his years at Millsaps. His humility is one of his most admirable and endearing qualities.” —Dr. Eric Grifﬁn

oseph Muller, a 2011 graduate of Millsaps College, is teaching English this year at the University of Silesia in Sosnowiec, Poland thanks to a Fulbright Award. A highly competitive award, the Fulbright scholarship provides funds for a year's educational experience abroad, including travel, health insurance, and a living stipend. Sponsored by the State Department, the Fulbright is the largest U.S. international exchange program, offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide. Muller, a native of Gadsden, Ala., graduated with honors with a B.A. in English in May 2011. He was a member of the Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa, a leadership honorary. In his time outside the classroom, Muller plans to research 19th century and medieval Polish literature in a way that contributes to the academic community of the Polish university.

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After his time in Poland, Muller plans to pursue a doctorate in English literature and eventually become a college professor. “Joseph will be a marvelous teacher and a great ambassador for our country and his alma mater,” said Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps College. During his senior year at Millsaps, Muller was recognized for outstanding academic achievements and campus leadership with the Paul D. Hardin Award in English and the Robert H. Padgett Award in English. “Joseph is a mature, intelligent, inquisitive, and gracious individual, and it has been my great joy to be his teacher and mentor during his years at Millsaps,” said Dr. Eric Grifﬁn, English professor and honors adviser to Muller. “His humility is one of his most admirable and endearing qualities.” Fulbright scholars have been awarded more than 40 Nobel Prizes. Fulbright alumni have become heads of state, cabinet ministers, ambassadors, heads of corporations, artists, university presidents, journalists, professors, and teachers. Muller is among three members of the Class of 2011 who were named recipients of Fulbright Awards: Sarah Hartzog, B.B.A. 2011, and Emily Tuberville, B.A. 2011. Also among recent recipients of the award are Chelsi West, B.A. 2008, and Nadia AlHashimi, B.A. 2010.

AROUND THE WORLD

Millsaps student called to ministry, environmental work She is among 40 students nationwide to receive a theological fellowship. BY NELL LUTER FLOYD

“It was great to meet people from all over the country and be able to talk about the effect Hurricane Katrina had on the community in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast. I met people in so many different phases in their theological education. It allowed me to think about where I see myself going.” —Caitlin White

ot just ministry to God, but ministry to the Earth he created. That’s the philosophy of Millsaps College student Caitlin White, a senior psychology major from Oakland, Tenn. She’s eyeing a career in ministry that also encompasses environmental sustainability. “If the way you treat the creation reﬂects how you feel about the Creator…Social justice and environmental stewardship are crucial components in the life and future of the church,” she explains. White is among 40 college students nationwide awarded a 2011 Fund for Theological Education Undergraduate Fellowship. The program identiﬁes young people with “exceptional gifts for ministry” and supports them in their exploration of ministry as a vocation. White has focused much of her academic work around her passion for environmental sustainability. On campus, she takes part in C.A.L.L.S., a group for students discerning a call to ministry, and leadership of the Campus Ministry Team. She is

Student Body Association treasurer. She plans to attend divinity school to earn a Master of Divinity. The undergraduate fellowship gave White the opportunity to attend the 2011 Leaders in Ministry Conference in New Orleans in June. “It was great to meet people from all over the country and be able to talk about the effect Hurricane Katrina had on the community in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast. I met people in so many different phases in their theological education. It allowed me to think about where I see myself going.” Students were selected by a committee of theological educators and religious leaders. White was nominated by the Rev. Raymond Clothier, associate director of the Faith and Work Initiative and adviser to pre-ministerial students at Millsaps. “Caitlin has extraordinary gifts of imagination, intellect, and initiative, and she has sought out opportunities to view her vocation from as many vantage points as possible,” Clothier said. Millsaps College continues a strong tradition of preparing and supporting outstanding candidates for ministry. Since 2001, 28 students have enrolled in graduate theological education after graduation. During those years, the College’s Faith and Work Initiative has encouraged students to delve deeply into questions of meaning, purpose, and calling as they begin to construct their life’s work.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

FACULTY AND STAFF

Accolades Millsaps faculty members spend time in the classroom, but that’s nowhere near all that they do. They find time for research and/or 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. Sarah Archino, visiting assistant professor of art, presented the paper, “Examining New York Dada: The Americanness of the Dada Spirit,” on the historiography of New York Dada and the 1950s construction of the historical understanding of the Dada movement, at the Southeastern College Art Conference in Savannah, Ga., in November. William Bares, associate professor of computer science, collaborated with colleagues from the University of Udine (Italy) and the French research institute INRIA (Rennes, France) during his one-year sabbatical this past academic year. This joint work resulted in a new way for ﬁlmmakers to rapidly explore different ways of shooting a given scene when working with a computer-generated mock-up of a movie. Alex Olinger, B.S. 2011, and Millsaps student Lihuang (Michael) Zhu assisted in building a custom-wired joystick controller for ﬁlmmakers to move and aim the virtual computer-generated camera. This work was presented as a long paper and demo titled “Director’s Lens: An Intelligent Interface for Composing Virtual 3D Cinema” at the Association for Computing Machinery Multimedia conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. in November. Matt Binion, director of campus activities and the Hall Activity Center, completed a year as the South Regional Showcase selection chair for the National Association for Campus Activities. The association advances campus activities in higher education through a business and learning partnership, creating educational and business opportunities for its school and professional members.

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Richard Boada, post-doctoral fellow in rhetorical studies, had his chapbook, Archipelago Sinking, published by Finishing Line Press. It was a semiﬁnalist in the Finishing Line Press Open Chapbook Competition. His poems, “Disaster on Dauphine Street” and “Louisiana Fugue,” appeared in Crab Orchard Review in 2011, and his poem, “Mississippi Sound,” appeared in Third Coast in 2011. He was part of a creative writing panel composed of regional poets at the South Central Modern Language Association 2011 annual conference. Bill Brister, assistant professor of ﬁnance, and his wife, Liz, have established American Station, an e-commerce company dedicated to the promotion and sale of American-made consumer products. The genesis of the idea for American Station, LLC was a discussion between Liz and Bill about the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs and how that loss has had devastating economic impacts on oncethriving communities and on individuals who are not equipped to prosper in a service-dominated economy. The Bristers determined that one way to address the loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States is for American consumers to buy American-made products. Connie Campbell, professor of mathematics, co-authored the article “One Problem, Nine Student Produced Proofs,” which appeared in the November issue of The College Mathematics Journal. Damon Campbell, associate professor of management information systems, and Paul F. Clay, an assistant professor at

Washington State University, published “Deconstructing and Operationalizing Interactivity: An Online Advertising Perspective,” in the Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application. Catherine Freis, professor emerita in classical studies; Richard Freis, professor emeritus in classical studies; and Greg Miller, professor of English, were invited to participate at the George Herbert Society International Conference in Gregynog Hall, Wales. They presented work from their volume MEMORIAE MATRIS Sacrum (To the Memory of My Mother: A Consecrated Gift): A Critical Text, Translation and Commentary, which is to be published as a volume and a book by the George Herbert Journal. Catherine Freis presented "Classical Meters and Their Genre Associations in George Herbert's MEMORIAE MATRIS Sacrum;” Richard Freis presented (by a DVD recording) "Imposing Contexts in Interpreting MEMORIAE MATRIS Sacrum;” Greg Miller's paper was entitled “Herbert’s Classical Humanism, Gender, and Reform: Cornelia and Sempronia in Poem 2 of ‘MEMORIAE MATRIS Sacrum.’” Miller was invited to read selections from his poetry at the conference in a special session chaired by John Herbert, the Earl of Powys, that featured Gillian Clarke, the poet laureate of Wales. Michael Galaty, professor of anthropology, received a $20,000 grant from the Institute for Aegean Prehistory for The Diros Project, Alepotrypa Cave, Greece, for ﬁeldwork that took place during summer 2011. He also edited a special

FACULTY AND STAFF

“Forum” section titled “Redistribution in Greek Bronze Age Societies” for the American Journal of Archaeology (Volume 115.2, 2011). It included seven papers by various archaeologists who study Bronze Age Greece and is available free of charge at http://www.ajaonline.org/ forum/905. Debora Mann, assistant professor and chair of biology; Tom Mann, Mississippi Natural Heritage Program; biologist Marie Thomas, B.S. 2011; Millsaps senior Molly Beth Jourdan, and Kristin Foss, B.S. 2011, presented “The distribution of Webster’s salamander Plethodon websteri in Mississippi in relation to local geology” at the 96th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Austin, Texas, last August. James Martin, teaching artist-in-residence, performed in New York at the annual gala for the Copeland House, the home of American composer Aaron Copeland. Inaugurated in 1998, Copland House is dedicated to nurturing and renewing America’s vibrant musical heritage through a broad range of public, educational, informational, and electronic media activities. Greg Miller, professor of English, had his poem, “The Sculptor and His Muse,” appear in Slate on August 23, 2011. Two other poems are forthcoming: “Singing Schutz” in the Anglican Theological Review and “Service” in Spiritus. Miller’s essay “Herbert’s Liberty and Emily Dickinson” just appeared in George Herbert's Travels: International Print and Cultural Legacies. The Oxford American included Miller in a story entitled, “The Most

Creative Teachers in the South,” in its August edition. Molly Morin, assistant professor of art, is exhibiting new digital works from her series “Finding Poetry and .txt” at Japer Arts Center, Goshen College, and Saint Mary's College. In November, she was a visiting artist and guest critic at Lamar University. Tonya Nations, director of the Career Center, was named Outstanding Career Services Professional of the Year by the Mississippi Association of Colleges and Employers. Darby Ray, professor of religious studies, was a keynote speaker at a four-day symposium in October in Los Angeles sponsored by several dozen national non-proﬁt organizations including Bread for the World, ELCA World Hunger, and Interfaith Worker Justice. Ray gave two addresses, “Ethics Outside the Box: The Incarnation and a Justice-Seeking Moral Imagination” and “Work, Rest, and the Social Gospel.” Bennie Reynolds, visiting assistant professor of religious studies, published Volume 2 of The Dead Sea Scrolls in Context: Integrating the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Study of Ancient Texts, Languages, and Cultures (Brill, 2011) with Emanuel Tov, Armin Lange, and Matthias Weigold. He presented the paper “Angels in the Worm Holes: Data From the Qumran Fragmentary Apocalypses” at the International Society of Biblical Literature meeting in London, England, in July.

Don Schwartz, associate professor of computer science, presented the paper, “Beyond Programming and Software Development: Additional Teaching/ Learning Goals throughout the Curriculum.” He also co-authored a paper with Nicholas Handelman, B.S. 2011, entitled “MathFax: An Online Adaptation of the Elementary Learning Game ‘Math Facts.’” Both papers appeared in the Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference on Frontiers in Education: Computer Science and Computer Engineering (FECS-11). Bill Storey, professor of history, traveled in May to the University of Kent in Canterbury, England, where his book, Guns, Race, and Power in Colonial South Africa, was the subject of a roundtable discussion at an international conference about the history of ﬁrearms. In July, he traveled to Kimberley, South Africa, to conduct research for his next book, a biography of Cecil Rhodes. He also worked with his hosts at the McGregor Museum to plan a new study abroad course about museums and race. He presented a lecture about the U.S. Civil War and the Anglo-Boer War to the Kimberley Historical Society. In November, Storey traveled to Denver to present a paper about Cecil Rhodes at the annual meeting of the North American Conference on British Studies. Drew Swanson, post-doctoral fellow in environmental history, received the C. Vann Woodward Prize from the Southern Historical Association for the best dissertation on the U.S. South.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

FACULTY AND STAFF

Markus Tellkamp, assistant professor of biology, presented the results of a study on the energetics of birds at the Neotropical Ornithological Society's conference in Cuzco, Peru in November. This research is a collaborative effort with Dr. Brian McNab from the University of Florida. The study is the ﬁrst to measure the metabolic rates in cloud forest birds and took place in northwestern Ecuador. Among the birds studied, the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock was the most spectacular. Millsaps student Thomas Martin and Kate Hall, B.S. 2011, assisted in the research. Kurt Thaw, associate professor of psychology, spoke on a panel about neuroscience and undergraduate institutions in November at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington D.C. He attended the Southeastern Psychological Associations conference in New Orleans where he; Ariel Moss Lloyd, B.S. 2004; and Millsaps student Kaitlin Short presented the history of the Millsaps Psychology Department. Michael Thorp, director of admissions, spoke last September at the 2011 National Association of College and Admissions Counselors in New Orleans about improvements to the recruiting process. He joined Holly Sypniewski, associate professor of classical studies, and David C. Yates, visiting assistant professor of classical studies, in speaking at “Kaleidoscope” last October at Hinds Community College. Thorp discussed “Turkish Identity, a Mosaic Through Time: Hittites to Ataturk.” Sypniewski discussed “Visit Turkey Today, See Greece and Rome of

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the Past,” and Yates spoke about “Dangerous Liasons: Policy and Power in Ancient (and Modern) Turkey.” Patti P. Wade, director of communications, received an Award of Excellence in the “Writing for Public Relations” category at the state meeting of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi last March and at the Southern Public Relations Federation of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida in October. The winning entry featured her story, “A New President on Campus,” which appeared in the spring-summer 2010 issue of Millsaps Magazine. Lola Williamson, assistant professor of religious studies and director of peace studies, has written a chapter, “Stretching toward the Sacred: John Friend and Anusara Yoga,” for Gurus of Modern Yoga, which has been accepted by Oxford University Press. Ethnic Heritage in Mississippi, to which she has contributed a chapter, “The Changing Face of Hinduism in Jackson, Mississippi,” will be released in February 2012, coinciding with the 40th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Mississippi Humanities Council.

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FACULTY AND STAFF

Professor of art earns award from Mississippi Humanities Council Artist’s work along Mississippi Blues Trail makes others take notice. BY PATTI P. WADE AND KARA G. PAULK

"Elks Hart Lodge," oil, wax, and collage

t makes people take notice, she says. A tall woman standing on a stool in a remote spot in the Mississippi Delta in front of a historical marker along the Mississippi Blues Trail. Law enforcement ofﬁcers and neighborhood children tend to stop and ask what she is doing, or simply observe. She traces the surface of a blues marker as part of her work to create art representing all 60 markers in the Mississippi Delta. B.B. King, W. C. Handy, and Ike Turner are among the musicians commemorated by the markers and represented in Sandra Murchison’s mixed media works. Murchison, Millsaps College professor of art and Art Department chair, is the 2011 Humanities Teacher of the Year at the College. The Mississippi Humanities Council gives the award each year in celebration of Arts and Humanities Month and to recognize a faculty member who represents the very best among faculty. In connection with the award, Murchison lectured last October at Millsaps about “Tracing the History of the Delta Blues.” Murchison has spent the last three years making rubbings of markers along the Mississippi Blues Trail and incorporating those impressions in her two- and three-dimensional, mixed media works of art. Her inspiration behind the project is varied,

but is in part to honor the trail and to question its effectiveness in commemorating the past. “Is it enough?” she asks. According to Murchison, the Mississippi Blues Trail had 35 markers when she started the project and now includes 60 in the Mississippi Delta (146 statewide). “I would have been ﬁnished by now,” she joked of the increased number since her initial goal to represent all markers in the Delta. Images and visual clues collaged together in her work give the observer a treasure to uncover. Botanical imagery, such as a vine from the area landscape, is present; it is a theme she has used for many years. She recently began incorporating maps into the collages. Her work offers clues to the architectural surroundings of the marker area while conveying a “sense of uniqueness for each musician, place and experience,” she said. Murchison joined the Millsaps faculty in 1999 after completing her Master's of Fine Arts at Louisiana State University and her bachelor's at Alfred University. She received last spring the Richard A. Smith Award for Excellence in Scholarship or Creative Work. She has been a visiting artist at several institutions and has had solo exhibitions throughout the region and in venues in the Northeast. Her work can be seen at www. sandramurchison.com/.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

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ARTWORK BY KELLEY MATTHEWS

Millsaps students serve, learn through Wellspring Students value community service and commitment. BY JESSE CROW, B.A. 2012

orty-six freshmen arrived on campus for the 2011 fall semester, eager to embrace John Wesley’s thoughts: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” The freshmen are taking part in Wellspring, a program in which they live together in a residence hall and engage in a year-long service commitment. They commit to group service projects and monthly community-building and civic reflection activities. Wellspring, part of the College’s One Campus One Community Center for Engaged Learning and Living, dates to 2006. It helps first-year students connect with their new community in Jackson. Wellspring members serve two hours a week at seven service sites located in the Midtown neighborhood near Millsaps. This year’s service projects are Adopt-a-Class at Brown Elementary, a girls-only book club, Gleaners, Grace Place, Project Innovation, Meals with Wheels, and the Midtown Community Garden. “The weekly service projects were designed to provide students the chance to serve others and to form sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships with neighbors and community partners,” as well as with the Millsaps community, said Laura Cost, a One Campus One Community fellow. “By serving together, we learn about ourselves and the world, and we grow in ways we never imagined.” The first time Millsaps freshman Ghali Haddad volunteered at Project Innovation, an afterschool program for Brown Elementary students, he was paired with a third-grader struggling with math. They spent the afternoon reviewing arithmetic and practicing math problems. The next week, Haddad checked in on his student, who proudly showed off his math quiz from that week. “He scored a perfect score in a subject that had seemed impossible to him before. It really hit home when he thanked me for my contribution the week before,” Haddad said. “That was probably the best experience so far—feeling that I made a difference in someone’s life, especially with their academics.” The girls’ book club was started this academic year by sophomore Sarah Thornton. When she was a freshman Wellspring member, Thornton volunteered at Brown Elementary and knew she wanted to continue her involvement with education in Midtown. Thornton met with Dr. Darby Ray, One Campus One Community director and professor of religious studies, and the girls’ book club came to fruition.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

FEATURE

Wellspring participants work the Midtown Community Garden and volunteer with Meals with Wheels.

“The idea for a book club for fourth- and ﬁfth-grade girls came from a mother/daughter book club that my mom started when I was in elementary school,” Thornton said. “It was such a huge part of my childhood that I knew I wanted to start something like that in the Jackson community.” Thornton and six Wellspring members work with 12 girls. All the books are chosen from the publication 100 Books for Girls to Grow On and are approved by the principal. The group meets weekly and has two full-group discussions and two smaller-group discussions each month. The smaller groups discuss the content of the book in a more in-depth manner. At the fullgroup meetings, they discuss the book they’ve read, do an activity related to the book, and eat foods mentioned in the book. “My site is so important to me because I want to show the girls at the Mississippi Children’s Home that college is a reachable goal for them, and how important books can be to their lives,” Thornton said. “This site hopefully will be a site that can last a long time and create a safe environment for these girls to grow and gain conﬁdence.” Wellspring participants also engage in one large service event a month. During October, they helped build a home for Habitat for Humanity. The name Wellspring is taken from a quote by Dr. Edward McDaniel Collins, president of Millsaps from 1970-1978. Collins said, “The heritage of the College should never dare to become the end in itself; rather, it should serve as the wellspring, the faith to be innovative and the courage to dare.” The establishment of Wellspring puts Collins’ ideas in action. Wellspring was established during the 2006-2007 academic year by members of the Millsaps Faith and Work Initiative, Student Life and the Campus Ministry Team. Laura Cost, Bolton Kirchner and Josh Whitam, this year’s One Campus One Community fellows, oversee Wellspring. Chelsey Overstreet, Anna

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Nations, and Austin Deskewies, Wellspring resident assistants, and seven site leaders who are all former Wellspring participants assist the fellows with coordination of projects. Freshman must apply to become members of Wellspring. More than 50 applications were received for the current school year. Wellspring participants, resident assistants and the fellows meet once a month for dinner, where they play games to continue to get to know each other and discuss an educational topic. “Wellspring applications are reviewed by the fellows over the summer, and then all applicants undergo phone interviews,” Whitam said. “When reviewing applications, we look for signs of a history of community engagement and potential for personal growth within Wellspring.” Overstreet, a second-year Wellspring resident assistant, said Wellspring connects freshmen with the community outside Millsaps and nurtures individual growth. “This partnership and engagement allows freshmen to learn so much about themselves and the world, which will inevitably allow them to grow as a more well-rounded citizen and member of the Millsaps community,” she said. Wellspring may not be a ﬁt for all freshmen, said Deskewies, a two-year Wellspring resident assistant. “For those who would want to have an impact on a community, for those people whose heart for others supersedes their own personal desires, or for those that just want to step out and perform something out of the ordinary, Wellspring is an incredible opportunity and eye-opening experience,” he said. “I think it gives freshmen perspective on the community that they have never experienced before.” Haddad said his Wellspring experience has been humbling. “It allows me to be thankful for what I have in my life, not necessarily material objects, but my family and friends,” Haddad said.

FEATURE

Service Sites t "EPQUoBo$MBTT BU #SPXO &MFNFOUBSZ Wellspring participants read to their class, help facilitate educational games and art projects, and take their class on a field trip once a semester. t (JSMT #PPL $MVC Wellspring volunteers act as mentors to fourth- and fifth- grade girls and facilitate a book club based on a mother/daughter book club curriculum. t (MFBOFST Wellspring assists in the collection and distribution of food for the Gleaners, a volunteer-run non profit that collects leftover food that otherwise would go to waste from various sites around Jackson. Gleaners provides meals six days a week for up to eight shelters. t (SBDF 1MBDF Wellspring members prepare and offer snack bags and hygiene kits to those in need and provide one-on-one support at Grace Place, an arm of Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church. Grace Place provides place of respite and a morning meal for the homeless and those on the margins. t 1SPKFDU *OOPWBUJPO Wellspring members help students with homework, facilitate art, science and math projects, and assist with field trips for Project Innovation, a science, math and art education based after-school program at Brown Elementary. t .FBMT XJUI 8IFFMT Wellspring members help deliver for Meals with Wheels, which provides healthy meals to seniors and other homebound members of the Midtown community. Meals are prepared in the community kitchen (with produce from the community garden) and are distributed Monday through Friday. t .JEUPXO $PNNVOJUZ (BSEFO With the assistance of knowledgeable gardeners, Wellspring members plant, grow, and harvest produce at the Midtown Community Garden. The garden provides fresh and healthy produce to those in need in Midtown. It also supplies Meals with Wheels and contributes some snacks for community after-school programs. Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

FEATURE

Dr. Michelle Owens and Dr. David Elkin gained business knowledge by completing the Business Advantage Program.

Professionals get ‘Business Advantage’ thanks to Else School program Program provides business education for a variety of professionals. BY NELL LUTER FLOYD

r. Michelle Owens had the scientific/medical credentials—plus a broad understanding of business—when a promotion came her way. She credits the Business Advantage Program for Professionals at Millsaps College with putting her at ease with the business side of healthcare delivery when she was named last year as chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She was previously a maternal/fetal specialist at the medical center. “What I learned has been invaluable in recent changes in my career,” she said, noting that the program educated her about how to evaluate revenue and expenses and other financial data important to her department and the medical center. Owens is among nearly 60 professionals who use the knowledge and insight obtained through the Business Advantage Program in their work. Participants include 26 employees of the University of Mississippi Medical Center —mostly physicians, one nurse practitioner, two psychologists and one scientist—two state senators, a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, eight leaders of nonprofits, five high school teachers, four architects, three small business owners, and eight with diverse backgrounds. The 15-week program, geared toward professionals with no business training, provides a fundamental understanding of economics, accounting, finance, marketing, and management. The Else School of Management faculty cover topics such as the language of business, the budgeting process, financial statement analysis, interest rates, stocks and bonds, ethical business leadership, management of employees, and branding and communication strategy. Owens’ husband, Jody Owens, completed the program in

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2010 and found knowledge he obtained during the program helpful in his new job as director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has a staff of 12 and is based in Montgomery, Ala., and has offices in Jackson, Atlanta, Miami, and New Orleans. He was formerly an attorney at Butler, Snow, Stevens, O’Mara & Canada in Ridgeland. “I don’t know if I would have had as much confidence to take my new role if I had not completed the Business Advantage Program. It’s a serious program, but one that is rewarding, thanks to the quality of professors and classmates,” he said. Dr. David Elkin said the Business Advantage Program gave him knowledge that allows him to do a better job as a professor and director of the Psychology Residency Training Consortium at the medical center, chairman of the Institutional Review Board at the medical center, and treasurer of the Division of the American Psychological Association. Elkin would like to establish a child study center that would centralize the state’s behavioral services for children, and the Business Advantage Program helped him conceptualize the business side of it. The Business Advantage Program schedule was manageable, Jody Owens said. Classes meet two nights a week plus three Saturdays during a semester, and a certificate is awarded upon completion. Katie Lightsey, an intern architect at Cook Douglass Farr Lemons Architects & Engineers in Jackson, found the program enlightening. “We all talked about our jobs and how business impacted our profession. With the economy being such as it is, architects are about becoming master planners. It has helped me to know more about different professions,” she said. The Robert M. Hearin Foundation provided funding for the program, including scholarships for community leaders.

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William Derrick plans to enter the financial services industry after graduation.

Excellence in academics, athletics makes a perfect score for the Halbrook Award Millsaps has top graduation rate among state's independent colleges and universities. BY RUTH CUMMINS, FREELANCE WRITER

illsaps seniors William Derrick and Maggie Tumminello developed a love for sports in grade school, went on to develop hearts for service, and share an interest in energy as it relates to the business world. Their well-roundedness and ability to juggle academics with athletics led to their selection as Millsaps College’s winners of the annual Halbrook Award, given to Mississippi student athletes who excel in academics, leadership, and community service. Their recognition is part of a larger honor for Millsaps, which accepted its own David M. Halbrook Award for having the highest graduation rate among Mississippi’s independent

colleges and universities during the 2010-11 academic year. It’s the 20th time Millsaps has received the award at the Mississippi Association of Colleges conference since the honor was created by the Legislature in 1984. “We are proud of our scholar-athletes and our coaches who emphasize the importance of balancing academic excellence with athletic achievement,” said Dr. Keith Dunn, senior vice president of academic affairs and dean of the College. Derrick was honored for the sport of football; Tumminello, volleyball. Tumminello, a math major and business minor, plans to get a master’s degree in energy trading and ﬁnance. She’s a Ford Teaching Fellow and has helped teach Calculus 3 under math

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Maggie Tumminello plans to attend graduate school after graduation.

instructor Tracy Sullivan, and has performed research on the positive effects of technology in mathematics. “I originally looked at Millsaps because I was recruited by the volleyball coach,” Tumminello said. “I came to visit and immediately fell in love with the team and the school.” A Houston, Texas, resident, Derrick said he knew in high school that he would play ball in college. “It was fun, and life would be boring without something taking all of my time. In the fourth grade, I was an offensive lineman for the Bellaire Bears, and I’ve played different positions ever since,” he said. A trip to campus sealed the deal for Derrick. On a Friday visit, he met with ﬁnance professor Walter Neely. “After he assured me that I, in time, with much work and luck, could gain the knowledge to become the next Carl Icahn, I knew this was the place for me,” he remembered. Both Derrick and Tumminello successfully juggle athletics with academics and extracurricular activities. “The coaches make academics a top priority,” Derrick said. “I knew early on life would be easier if I simply went to class and did my work. It’s tough when we are away for several days to get work done, but I have become a big list-maker, and that helps me make sure everything gets done.”

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“When you play sports, you are on a tight schedule,” Tumminello said. “With classes, practices, training, and homework, it’s hard to manage time. Everyone is supportive and understanding of the student athlete schedule, which makes the experience so much better.” Tumminello, a Baton Rouge, La., resident, said she knew she would not play volleyball professionally, so she “put a huge focus on performing in the classroom.” Tumminello is community service chair for her sorority, Chi Omega. She’s also served as a Millsaps Senate member. Derrick supports the Louis Wilson Fund and the Mustard Seed, takes part in One Campus One Community, and is grand treasurer of Kappa Sigma fraternity. With his bachelor of business administration in finance, Derrick plans to enter the financial services industry with a focus on real estate and property. “Long term, I would like to invest in different assets through a private equity or hedge fund.” Derrick and Tumminello epitomize the Halbrook Award, which Millsaps won in part because its 175 scholar-athletes produced a 97 percent graduation rate over the five-year time frame used to calculate the award.

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On and off the court, Millsaps’ Okeke focuses on and makes her goals Student overcomes injury to play basketball again. BY KARA G. PAULK

illsaps Lady Majors basketball coach Chuck Winkelman has one word to describe senior Janice Okeke: passion. “She has a passion in everything she does,” Winkelman said. “She has a passion for life, and she consistently goes to the edge of her abilities in everything she does.” A biology major, Okeke has been a key leader on the team as it adjusted to Winkelman, who became head coach during the 2010-2011 school year. She received multiple honors for leadership on the court and in the classroom, including Academic All-SCAC during her freshman year. In January 2011, she was named SCAC Basketball Player of the Week. She’s worked hard for the accolades. “Very, very late nights,” she said to describe life as a Lady Major. “You are al-

ways going. Practice will end at 7, then you shower and eat, and then you’re up till 1 or 2 in the morning. You might not sleep much.” But in return, her experience and friendships are rich. In fall 2011, she was chosen as Millsaps’ homecoming queen. “I really love my teammates. They’ve made the experience so worthwhile,” Okeke said. “We go through the ﬁght together on the court, and I know we’ll have a lifetime of friendship with each other. “We push each other on the court and in the classroom. We motivate each other. It’s prepared me to be a leader and to motivate people.” Basketball has not been without challenges for the Jackson native. She was forced to sit out during her sophomore year after she tore her anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, for the

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second time, a week before the first game. After reconstructive surgery and months of rehabilitation, she was ready to play again her junior year. “I know coming back from an injury like hers wasn’t easy,” Winkelman said. “It was extremely hard to overcome…to mentally and physically trust your body again. Trusting it was frightening, but she tackled that fear head on and had a great year.” The 2011-12 season began Nov. 18. Winkelman predicted Okeke would play a large role in the team’s success. “This is a really big year for us. We have a lot of newcomers. More than half of the team are first-year players,” Okeke said. “These are really good players. If we can find a way to gel it all together, we’ll be a team to compete with in the SCAC. Our goal is to become SCAC champions. I really appreciate Coach Winkelman and Coach Cooper’s work to make our team better each time we step on the court.”

The oldest of four children, Okeke came to Millsaps in part to stay close to her family. Her parents, Jane and Nathaniel Okeke, came to Jackson from Nigeria. Okeke’s first athletic interest was soccer, a sport she grew to love after her father introduced it to her at a young age. After she tore her ACL playing soccer in high school, she switched to basketball. A graduate of Murrah High in Jackson, Okeke is a biology major and intern at the Mississippi Department of Health. The internship has inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in public healthcare. “I’m interested in how we can find ways to help the public combat diseases before they become epidemics,” she said. As her senior year draws to a close, she’s thinking more about life off the basketball court. “At the end of the day, I know I’m working toward my goal of graduating, and beginning a fulfilling career in healthcare,” Okeke said.

Sports Hall of Fame New members of the Millsaps Sports Hall of Fame, who were inducted during Homecoming 2011, are from left, Flint Minshew, B.B.A. 1991, of Brandon, football; Cheryl Brooks Ware, B.S. 1988, of Beldon, basketball; Chris Lawrence, B.S. 1996, of Lafayette, La., baseball; Charles Wallace, B.A. 1961, of Port Richey, Fla., basketball and baseball.; and Jim Carr, B.A.1988, of Fairway, Kan., basketball.

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ALUMNI

Millsaps alumni honored for service and commitment to philanthropy Graduates are recognized for charitable giving, work for justice, and education.

Joe and Kathy Sanderson

The Rev. Ed King

he value of service and lessons learned at Millsaps College are evident in four alumni who have made a difference in their ďŹ elds of interest and in the state of Mississippi. Kathy and Joe Sanderson, B.A.1969, were named the 2011 Philanthropists of the Year by the Mississippi Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The association recognized the Sandersons for living â&#x20AC;&#x153;by the principles of community serviceâ&#x20AC;? and for having â&#x20AC;&#x153;faithfully worked to use their talents and resources to improve the lives of others.â&#x20AC;? As chief executive ofďŹ cer and chairman of the Sanderson Farms Board of Directors, Joe Sanderson leads a multinational business that contributes to the economic prosperity of Mississippi. He has been a trustee of Millsaps College and The Nature Conservancy and a director of the Eudora Welty Foundation. He was a founding member of the Association for Excellence, which works to improve public education in Laurel, and has served as a member of the Laurel School Board. In 2008, the Sandersons endowed the Sanderson Chair of Arts and Sciences at Millsaps as part of a $2 million gift that included the creation of the Sanderson Endowment for Faculty Excellence. In his acceptance speech for the award, Joe Sanderson attributed credit to Millsaps for giving him a good start and noted that the late Dr. Robert Bergmark, emeritus professor of philosophy, was inďŹ&#x201A;uential in helping him develop critical thinking.

Rob McDuff

Dr. Andrew P. Mullins

Additional alumni who have received honors include: s 4HE 2EV %D +ING " ! WHO RECEIVED A &REEDOM !WARD presented by the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Past recipients include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama. King, often called the most signiďŹ cant white leader in Mississippiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s march toward racial equality, was Millsapsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 2011 Alumnus of the Year. s 2OB -C$UFF " ! A VETERAN ATTORNEY WHO HAS CHAMpioned justice and civil rights, and was honored for his work during the Champions of Justice Dinner. McDuff, who helped found the Mississippi Center for Justice, is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Pro Bono Service Award of the International Human Rights Law Group of Washington and the NAACP Legal Award of the Mississippi Conference NAACP. s $R !NDREW 0 -ULLINS " ! WHO RECEIVED THE Public Service Award from The Institute of Interfaith Dialogue. Mullins, chief of staff to the chancellor and associate professor of education at the University of Mississippi, was honored for his service in education at the state level, which includes codirecting the Mississippi Teacher Corps. These four alumni are only a small sampling of the many alumni who have remarkable stories. Other notable alumni stories are found in the Alumni section of the magazine that continues on page 32 and in the Classnotes section beginning on page 42.

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Nancy G. Anderson, 1962 Millsaps alumna finds satisfaction in sharing love of writing, reading She heads a program that encourages children to express themselves in writing. BY JESSE YANCY, FREELANCE WRITER

ne of Nancy Grisham Anderson’s favorite stories is about the day her husband, Rick, drove her to the Molina Learning Center in Montgomery, Ala., and stayed for a visit. The center is home to Actions Build Community: the AUM-Taulbert Initiative at Auburn University at Montgomery. “Rick was sitting in a corner reading a book when a little boy came in early. The boy checked Rick out quite carefully,” Anderson said. “Then he came over to me to ask the man’s identity and to borrow a book from me. He pulled a chair up right next to Rick, sat down beside him, ﬁxed his legs just like Rick’s, and held his book up in front of him (holding it upside

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down). Then he copied every move Rick made, turning pages when he did, glancing at me when he did—everything. “I have never seen a more concrete example of just how important our work is to provide role models. Had this young boy never seen an adult sitting down and reading a book? Whatever the attraction, he was determined to be just like Rick.” Anderson, B.A. 1962, has published works about Lella Warren, Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, Harper Lee, Richard Marius, and Clifton Taulbert, but her work with literacy and children is perhaps even more near and dear to her heart. A distinguished teaching associate professor, Anderson directs Actions Build Community and Writers' Blocks, an after-school writing pro-

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one of the Top 10 initiatives in gram for children residing in the country. "The Reading Makes low-income neighborhoods. a Life-long Difference" program Actions Build Community relies upon volunteers to read grew from the class, “Literature with children at the Molina and Community,” that AnderLearning Center and help them son team taught at Auburn Uniselect new books to take home. versity at Montgomery in the Anderson said working with fall of 1997 with a colleague the Writers’ Blocks program who taught the same course to is rewarding, especially when high school students. Students one of its anthologies of writing had to complete ﬁve hours of by its participants is published. community service a week and “Seeing the young writers’ participate in Make a Difference conﬁdence develop and their Day, an annual event sponsored writing skills improve, witnessby USA Weekend in October. ing the pride of the parents and Administrators at Auburn Nancy Anderson admires the book a stuguardians in the work of their University at Montgomery esdent selected as part of the 2011 "Reading children and hearing the voluntablished Actions Build ComMakes a Life-long Difference" project. teers talk about the life-changmunity in 1999, when they ing experiences they have make entered into a partnership with it worthwhile,” she said. Clifton Taulbert’s Building ComAnderson said she came to munity Institute. Taulbert, a value service to others, partly Mississippi-born writer, is aubecause of the courageous thor of the books, Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored and Eight Habits of the Heart: stance her father, a United Methodist minister, took when he Embracing the Values that Build Strong Communities. Ander- served at Oxford-University United Methodist Church during son and Taulbert grew up in the Mississippi Delta miles apart the integration of the University of Mississippi, and also because of her years at Millsaps. “Certainly the atmosphere at Millsaps during segregation, but didn’t meet until they were adults. The Writers’ Blocks program evolved when Actions Build was about looking beyond yourself,” she said. Dr. Don Fortenberry, B.A. 1962, who was in Millsaps SingCommunity expanded its work with children. Writers’ Blocks workshops are scheduled at The Molina Learning Center, which ers and Millsaps Players with Anderson and went on to serve is managed by Summit Housing Partners, two afternoons dur- Millsaps as chaplain for more than 30 years, said Anderson is accomplished and committed to bettering the welfare of others. ing the academic year. Writers’ Blocks encourages students to write whether it’s “She is an authentic and delightful human being to boot. But a thank-you note, sympathy note, a funny story, or a chapter that is what she was like as a fellow student and friend.” JoAnne Welch, B.S. 1960, who roomed with Anderson durbook. “All of the youngsters have something to tell whether it’s a story, a compliment or gratitude. It doesn’t always happen ing her Millsaps days, said she considers Anderson’s friendship in the classroom because the classrooms are fairly structured,” a gift. “She is passionate about her work with the writing initiasaid Anderson, who has a master’s in English from the Univer- tive she developed and directs. She is a driven person who also gives her time and resources to the work of the Susan G. Kosity of Virginia. In 2004, USA Weekend recognized Actions Build Commu- men Breast Cancer efforts. Millsaps College has many outstandnity, and its “Reading Makes a Life-long Difference” project, as ing graduates, but none is more special than Nancy.”

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Barry Plunkett, 1970; Barbara Plunkett, 1971 Fred Ezelle, 1972; Virginia Ezelle, 1974

World-class education at Millsaps leads to international business success Liberal arts education provides path to graduates’ European business. BY KARA G. PAULK

elgique opened for business in 2004, but the friendship of its creators—Virginia (Allen) and Fred Ezelle and Barbara (Stauss) and Barry Plunkett—goes back to the 1970s. The four were students at Millsaps College. It was their liberal arts education, they agree, that prepared them to create Belgique, a successful European antiques business. It takes them on the road to Belgium, France, and Holland in search of vintage and antique furniture and accessories. “From a business aspect, we’ve had to learn to be attuned to design and furniture trends plus apply that knowledge to how we buy in Europe. We then have to know how to move

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the merchandise once we get it back to Mississippi,” said Barry Plunkett, B.A. 1970. “Belgique” is French for Belgium, and Belgium is always the starting point when the foursome go treasure hunting three or four times a year. Whether they’re bargaining with Italian dealers over a 200-year-old farm table or negotiating in France for a hand-carved buffet, the Millsaps graduates credit their liberal arts education with preparing them to pursue a business that incorporates different cultures, languages, and business laws with a deep appreciation for history and artistic beauty. Barry Plunkett credits three years of study with Jackson artist and Millsaps art professor Karl Wolfe for developing his

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sense of beauty found in art. “Wolfe’s appreciation of light, color, scale, and balance were tremendous lessons which have been beneficial in this new journey,” Plunkett said. “His general appreciation of beauty taught me to look carefully at objects that we might otherwise pass over.” Fred Ezelle, B.A. 1972, handles the import side of the business that deals with customs documentation, exchange rates between the Euro and dollar, and customs brokers in Europe and Jackson. The idea for the business came from Virginia Ezelle, B.A. 1974, who first took note of beautiful antiques on trips to visit her husband’s mother’s family in Belgium. Fred Ezelle’s mother, Chris Ezelle, met her husband, the late Robert Ezelle, when he was stationed overseas during World War II. They married in 1945, and after moving to Jackson, Chris Ezelle taught French part-time at Millsaps College for many years. Robert Ezelle served as a longtime Millsaps board of trustees member and received an honorary degree from the college in 1980. “I saw many pieces of furniture that I thought would be great to bring back to the States,” Virginia Ezelle said. “When the boys (sons Travis, B.A, 2002 and M.B.A. 2002, and Robert, B.S. 2005) left home, we had some free time, and I thought that perhaps we could ship a few pieces back to sell in Jackson. I asked Fred, Barry, and Barbara what they thought of the idea. I had in mind selling a few pieces out of our homes, but the guys had bigger plans.” Those “bigger plans” evolved into two-week trips to Europe several times each year. They search for antiques to fill a 40-foot container shipped from Brussels to Amsterdam to New Orleans. There, the container is loaded into an 18-wheeler and brought to a warehouse off Mitchell Avenue in Fondren. Once unloaded, the items are cleaned up, assembled (most of the larger pieces are taken apart for shipping), priced, and put on display. Sales of antiques and vintage furniture, paintings, mirrors and accessories are held one weekend a month in the 7,000-square-foot warehouse. After graduation from Millsaps, the Plunketts moved to

Mobile, where Barry Plunkett attended graduate school at the University of South Alabama. A crusader for education and reading programs for young people, Barbara Plunkett, B.A. 1971, taught school for several years. After their son, Brad, left home for college, Barbara Plunkett helped create and later directed an enrichment program for underserved inner-city elementary students in Jackson. In 2007, Barry Plunkett retired

The idea for the business came from Virginia Ezelle, B.A. 1974, who ﬁrst took note of beautiful antiques on trips to visit her husband’s mother’s family in Belgium. as vice president of St. Dominic Health Services Inc. He continues to work in the healthcare environment with the Horne Group. The Plunketts support The Fondren Renaissance Foundation and the Mississippi Symphony Foundation. In 2012, Barry Plunkett will become president of the Mississippi Main Street board of directors. Since their time at Millsaps, Virginia and Fred Ezelle have been active at Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church where Virginia is a member of the choir. Along with coaching and playing a variety of sports, Fred Ezelle is an accounting and business consultant and owns a self-storage warehouse facility. Virginia Ezelle has taught school, managed a tennis pro shop, and today sells women’s designer clothes. “Belgique is a lot more work than I dreamed,” Virginia Ezelle said. “I have learned to appreciate a variety of styles of furniture and accessories, and also the kinds of things that sell here in Jackson, which is ever changing.” “We all have a tremendous respect for our liberal arts education from Millsaps,” Barbara Plunkett said. “It has allowed us to have a broader sense of this diverse world in which we live.”

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Carol Scott-Conner, 1995 Millsaps MBA ‘foot in the door’ to surgeon’s career goal Surgeon uses her business education daily on the job. BY RUTH CUMMINS, FREELANCE WRITER

arol EH Scott-Conner’s ﬁrst degree was in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969. Her last was a Master of Business Administration from Millsaps College’s Else School of Management in 1995. In between, Scott-Conner received her M.D. from New York University in 1976, completed a residency in general surgery at New York University Medical Center, and earned a doctorate in anatomy and cell biology from the University of Kentucky in 1988. Named to “The Best Doctors in America” every year since

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1995, she’s an accomplished writer, her papers published in numerous medical journals. But why would the professor of surgery in the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa take time from such a busy career to go back to school at Millsaps? Simple, Scott-Conner said. Her Millsaps M.B.A. was a gateway to her becoming the chair of a Department of Surgery at an academic medical center. “I wanted to be a chairman of a department, and that required administrative experience,” said Scott-Conner, 65. “I really think that degree helped me get my foot in the door for my current job. I came here as chairman of surgery.”

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Dr. Carol Scott-Conner interacts with a colleague.

Her career path in 1986 curved in the direction of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she served as professor and chief of staff at the University Hospital. It was there that she juggled surgery and administrative duties, all while earning a master’s degree. She left her post at Marshall University’s School of Medicine in West Virginia after being recruited by Dr. James D. Hardy, at the time professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “He’s considered one of the great treasures of American surgery,” Scott-Conner said. Scott-Conner quickly found at UMC that unless she gained administrative experience, she wasn’t going to advance to department chair. She learned about the Millsaps M.B.A. program, and it was a perfect fit. “All the classes started at about 5:30 at night, and it was only a few blocks from UMC,” she said. “I was able to work and just go around the corner to school.” Not only did she enjoy the tranquility of the campus, ScottConner said, she greatly valued the academic atmosphere. “The pleasure of being in small classes, and having professors who knew who I was…It was a huge advantage,” she said. “At MIT and NYU, we had classes of 100 or more. At Millsaps, they were as small as five and as large as 25.” “She was a truly gifted student who made teaching a pleasure,” said Dr. Ajay Aggarwal, associate professor in the Else School and one of Scott-Conner’s first teachers at Millsaps. “We published a journal article together, in the Cybernetics and Systems Journal. We used the neural network to figure out if a person should be admitted to a surgical internship.” Even before she had her M.B.A. in hand, Scott-Conner had been selected for her dream job at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine. “It happened all around the same time. It was a good transition,” she said. Her M.B.A. comes into play daily, Scott-Conner said. “There’s a large body of knowledge, and in many cases, actual mathematic techniques that can guide your decision-making.

I’ve used it,” she said. “When I took over the Department of Surgery, it was like running a small corporation. We have a multi-million dollar budget and 250 people in the department.” After nine years as department chair, Scott-Conner said, she stepped down to devote herself to her teaching duties. Retirement isn’t on the immediate horizon, but making time for another passion—writing—very much is. “People said to me, ‘You ought to write your memoirs,’ ” Scott-Conner said. But, that wasn’t for her. “I didn’t keep accurate records, and secondly, there was a lot I didn’t want to write about,” she explained. “I’ve done nine textbooks on surgery. I wanted to do something that was more creative writing.” Short stories, she said, tell her story so much better. ScottConner spent the better part of a decade completing the first book, A Few Small Moments: Short Stories, and she’s working on a sequel. “It’s fiction based on fact,” she said. “It’s very true to the experiences I’ve had, but all the details of the patients are fictional.” Life also includes travels with her husband of 35 years, Harry Conner. They live in a rural area not far from the hospital. “We like the outdoors,” she said. “We’re just quiet people.” Scott-Conner “is an exceptional story, but her story is not that unusual for those who come from non-business careers” to become students in the Else School of Management, said Dean Howard McMillan. For many, earning the M.B.A. “has launched them on a career path that they might not have been able to take advantage of” without the flexibility and excellence in teaching offered by Millsaps’ program, McMillan said. “They're well on their way,” he said, after earning the M.B.A. from the Else School. That was certainly Scott-Conner’s case. “Once I took that first course, I was really hooked,” ScottConner said. “It wasn’t just to get a piece of paper.”

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Anthony Bell, 1994 Alumnus finds career path, recognition as university researcher and professor Former Ford Fellow and honors student receives prestigious award. BY NELL LUTER FLOYD

ou might think science would be the only interest of Millsaps alumnus Dr. Anthony Bell since he runs a university research lab, but that's hardly the case. “During my career, my interests have focused on basic and applied research, but I continue to utilize knowledge gained in my humanities courses,” said Bell, B.S. 1994, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Southern Mississippi. “The two things I appreciate most about my Millsaps education are the focus on liberal arts-—my wife is laughing about this statement from me, the chemistry professor, for sure-—and the commitment of the faculty.” Bell credits the three years he worked in the Millsaps chemistry lab with Dr. Tim Ward with nurturing his interest in basic research. “I had the unique opportunity to witness the high levels of preparation, commitment, and patience that were required to train students, start a research lab, and teach at a high level,” he said. Bell is now putting into practice at USM the commitment and patience in the lab that he witnessed as an undergraduate at Millsaps. He runs a lab staffed by three graduate students and seven undergraduates and teaches chemistry and toxicol-

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ogy classes. One of his research projects focuses on developing new methods to improve the biological stability of peptides, which could eventually have a pharmaceutical application. A second research project focuses on developing DNA-based substrates to disrupt harmful High Mobility Group protein interactions, which could contribute to the treatment of autoimmune and genetic disorders including arthritis, sepsis, lupus, and cancer. Bell joined the faculty at USM in 2009, and a year later received an indication of how well he was doing when Oak Ridge Associated Universities, which works in partnership with Oak Ridge National Research Laboratory, named him a recipient of a prestigious Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. The award offers junior faculty at Oak Ridge Associated member institutions seed money for research. Bell was among 32 recipients of the award that targets faculty in the ﬁrst two years of a tenure track appointment. Ward, associate dean for sciences and professor of chemistry at Millsaps, remembers Bell as a student who wanted to excel at everything whether it was playing on the basketball team or conducting research in the lab. He was Ward’s ﬁrst student who went on to be a teacher-scholar, a model that Ward was hired to institute with funding provided by a Howard Hughes

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Medical Institute grant in 1990. Bell was a Ford Fellow and assisted Ward in teaching general chemistry and produced an honors thesis. He names Ward as a mentor and counts Dr. Charles Sallis among his favorite professors because of the time and effort Sallis put into improving his writing skills. “I feel indebted to Dr. Sallis because there was a stage in my development that we could have considered to be ‘satisfactory,’ but he continued to work with me until I exceeded my expectations,” he said. A Biloxi native, Bell graduated from Millsaps in 1994 and went on to earn his doctorate from New York University and conduct post-doctoral work at Columbia Medical School in New York and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Bell spoke about his research when he returned to campus in November to lecture as part of the Chemistry/Biochemistry Fall Lecture Series. Speakers also included Millsaps alumnus Ben Brock, B.S. 2005, a resident in internal medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center; Charles Dann, B.S. 1996, professor of chemistry at the University of Indiana; Charles McCormick, B.S. 1968, professor of polymer science at USM; and Wayne West, B.S. 1973, president of West Consulting. “These alumni are great examples of the fruits of Millsaps’ ﬂagship programs,” said Dr. Kristy Stensaas, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and professor of chemistry at Millsaps.

Shima focuses on keeping Millsaps alumni connected to the College His memories of Millsaps date to his childhood. BY KARA G. PAULK

illsaps Alumni Board president Tom Shima says his Millsaps education is a gift that has never failed him. “Education has always been a valued tradition in my family. My grandparents, Charles Lamar Neill and Susie Ridgway Neill, met at Millsaps, where they graduated in 1906 and 1907 (respectively),” said Shima, B.A. 1987. His ﬁrst memory of Millsaps is riding at age four with his grandmother along North State Street. “She would slow her big blue Chrysler New Yorker and point up the hill to Millsaps, saying ‘This is Millsaps, where we go to learn how to live, not just how to make a living.’ As an educator, she was passionate about learning, and remained a proud and active part of the Millsaps community well into her nineties, frequently attending lectures

and recitals.” As Alumni Board president, Shima plans to build on the foundation of his predecessors, Maud DesLes Gober Lancaster, B.Ed.1984, and David Loper, B.A.1986. “They both did an outstanding job in their roles as president, and this year I hope we can continue to build on their work and further strengthen our relationships with alums in cities and towns across the country,” Shima said. “Hopefully, we will be able to stay connected to those farther away by using technology like Facebook and Linkedin.” Shima received a Livesay Award in 2006 for his work in organizing Millsaps’ successful Washington, D.C., alumni chapter. “Washington is a place with many talented people, but when you see a collection of Millsaps alumni together in D.C., there's an extra spark and energy that outshines all others in this city,” he said. Shima leads the sales team for Avectra, a leading association management software company based in McLean, Va. He has worked in international sales for several poultry companies, including Sanderson Farms.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

ALUMNI

Tate Reeves, 1996 Alumnus elected lieutenant governor He has served two terms as treasurer of the state of Mississippi. BY PATTI P. WADE

ate Reeves, a 1996 alumnus of Millsaps College, is the newly elected lieutenant governor of Mississippi. He is currently state treasurer, an elected ofﬁce he has held for two terms. In 2003, Reeves’ election made history as he became the ﬁrst Republican treasurer elected in Mississippi. Reeves earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at Millsaps and graduated cum laude. He was active on campus as a member of the varsity basketball team and Kappa Alpha Order. After graduation, he pursued a career in banking, including positions at AmSouth Bank, now Regions Bank, and Trustmark National Bank. Reeves has remained connected with Millsaps College, volunteering on boards, committees, and as a guest speaker in the classroom. He currently serves on the investment policy board

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for the General Louis Wilson Fund, a student-managed fund, and as a member of the advisory board of the Else School of Management. “The advisory board of the Else School plays a critical role in keeping the business school curriculum current and relevant to the marketplace, and Tate has been an active member of that,” said Howard McMillan, dean of the Else School of Management. “His experience in banking, the investment industry, and as state treasurer enables him to provide insightful guidance to the College as we prepare future business leaders for our state and nation.” Reeves is married to the former Eizabeth Lee “Elee” Williams, B.B.A. 1997 and M.B.A. 2000.

ALUMNI

A Millsaps Homecoming A Day to Remember Millsaps alumni, students, family, and friends celebrated Homecoming 2011 with a football game, pep rally, a book sale, a run, a golf tournament, a drop-in sponsored by the Biology Department, a cook-out sponsored by the Geology Department, Tasting at the Tents, Else School Tailgate, alumni reunion parties, an all-alumni party, and a memorial service for alumni and friends. WebExtra

For more photos, visit www.millsaps.edu/alumni

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

CLASS NOTES NOTES

Classnotes Photos:

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1. Dr. William Jones, B.S. 1969 2. Paul Rogers, B.B.A. 1979 3. Reilly Morse, B.A. 1979 4. Patti Nation, B.B.A. 1990 5. Christy Jenkins Turner, B.M. 1995 6. Angie Doss, B.A. 1997 7. Michael Burkett, B.S. 1997 8. Michael W. Boerner, B.B.A. 1998 9. Aimee Primeaux, B.A. 1998 10. John G. Green, M.B.A. 1999 11. Kim Parker Gannon, B.S. 2003 12. John Brent, B.A. 2004 and Molly Allen Guitreau, B.A. 2005 13. Liz Stewart, B.A. 2004 14. Paul Carroccio, B.A. 2005 and Rachel Fontenot, B.A. 2008 15. Chuck Stall, B.B.A. 2007 16. Isreal McKinney Scott, B.A. 2008 17. Brittany Tait, B.A. 2010 and John Kellogg, B.S. 2008 18. Bryan DuprĂŠe, B.B.A. 2011

CLASS NOTES

Millsaps Classnotes Millsaps Magazine prints only information sent in specifically for Class Notes. In the past, material was gleaned from newspaper clippings and other sources. The change was made to protect the privacy of alumni and to simplify the editing process. We would like to encourage all alumni to send in their news items, whether big 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. If you are aware of alumni who are not receiving the magazine, please send us their names and addresses.

1943

1956

1961

Mary Emma Potts, 1943, of Fairhope, Ala., is AARP’s 2011 Andrus Award for Community Service winner for Alabama. She was recognized for fulﬁlling AARP’s mission of growth and service while remaining active in her community. She was previously nominated for Fairhope's Spirit of Volunteerism Award.

Bill Lampton, B.A. 1956, of Gainesville, Ga., launched Championship Communication in 1997. Having served as keynote speaker at conferences and conventions, he helps top-tier executives speak with “poise, passion, and power” so they will generate “attention, agreement, and action.” He hosts a weekly radio interview program, “The Communication Corner,” on WBCX-FM at Brenau University.

Con Maloney, 1961, was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in July in recognition of his participation in professional baseball for more than 30 years as an owner and administrator. He was the owner of the Jackson Mets, the Texas League professional baseball franchise in Jackson, for 18 seasons. He is a former member of the Professional Baseball Agreement Committee that negotiated relations between the major and minor leagues. He is a life trustee of the College.

1954 Jack Dunbar, B.A. 1954, was named the 2010 Alumnus of the Year of the University of Mississippi School of Law in recognition of his distinguished career in the legal profession and as a loyal supporter of the law school. He is co-founder of Holcomb Dunbar P.A. in Oxford and is recognized as one of the state’s most respected trial lawyers. He has been included in every issue of “The Best Lawyers in America” since its inception and has been selected as one of the top 50 lawyers in Mississippi by Mid-South Super Lawyers. He has served as president of the Mississippi Bar and the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents. As the state’s delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates, he was a member of the ABA Board of Governors and chaired the Operations Committee.

1958 Betty Trapp Chapman, B.A. 1958, of Houston, Texas, immediate past chair of the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission and a noted author and historian, received the Mayor's Citizen Award for Historic Preservation. The award is presented for outstanding efforts in historic preservation. In addition to her work as a successful lecturer, Chapman served as historian for the Texas Avenue Historic Marker Project and on the boards of The Heritage Society, the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, and the Houston History Association.

Jack Ryan, 1961, of Pensacola, Fla., was inducted into the International Circus Hall of Fame in Peru, Ind. He was recognized for a distinguished career as a publicist and writer for Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. The Hall of Fame recognizes show business legends such as the great clown Emmet Kelly.

1966 Lloyd Ator, B.A. 1966, of Silver Spring, Md., has retired as legislative counsel to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. His retirement came 42 years after he received his J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School, and after almost 29 years of service to the United States Senate, with 14 years of private practice

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

CLASS NOTES

between the ﬁrst 12 years and the last 16 plus years.

1969 Dr. William Jones, B.S. 1969, of Greenwood, is president of the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians. He has been an academy member since 1981, received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and completed his rotating internship and family medicine residency at UMMC. He has been in private practice as a family physician for 35 years. At Greenwood Leﬂore Hospital, he has served as chief of staff, family medicine, and pediatrics. He served on the board of Delta Hills Health Corp. and is on the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure.

1976 Obie Clayton Jr., B.A. 1976, of Chamblee, Ga., has been selected by the University of Georgia School of Social Work as the inaugural holder of the Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies. Editor of the acclaimed book An American Dilemma Revisited: Race Relations in a Changing World, Clayton is best known for service and research in examining race relations, urban inequality, demography, and the family.

1977 Dr. Margaret Wilson McCarty, B.A. 1977, of Laurel, Md., has been appointed by Christian Brothers Conference as founding executive director for the Regional Council of Lasallian Association 44

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for Mission. Christian Brothers Conference is the regional ofﬁce of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, or De La Salle Christian Brothers. McCarty is a lifelong Catholic who has served the church in administrative and ministry positions for 34 years. She has Doctor of Ministry and Master of Arts in Theology degrees.

1978 Dr. Cindy Wilson, B.A. 1978, of Fairhope, Ala., is director of the University of South Alabama Baldwin County campus. Wilson is responsible for the daily operations and promotion of the campus and working with deans and department chairs to develop the curriculum.

1979 Dr. Robert C. "Bobby" Robbins, B.S. 1979, was honored as Jones County Junior College’s Centennial Year Honor Alumnus. He is a professor of cardiovascular surgery at Stanford University. He earned a medical degree at the University of Mississippi in 1983 and completed general surgery training at the University of Mississippi and post-graduate training at Stanford University, Columbia University, the National Institutes of Health, Emory University and Royal Children's Hospital in Australia. An internationally recognized cardiac surgeon, Robbins has clinical expertise in adult cardiac surgery and research interests in stem cell biology, transplantation biology, and the development of medical devices. He is a trustee of the College. Reilly Morse, B.A. 1979, of Gulfport, wrote the chapter, “Come On in This

House: Advancing Social Equity in PostKatrina Mississippi,” in the book Resilience and Opportunity: Lessons from the U. S. Gulf Coast after Katrina and Rita, published by the Brookings Institution Press in August. Paul Rogers, B.B.A. 1979, of Jackson, is the 2011 Mississippi Society of Certiﬁed Public Accountants Public Service Award winner. He founded the Ridgeland Challenger Baseball League in association with Ridgeland’s Parks and Recreation Department. He serves as league co-commissioner and his wife, Mandy is photographer and team coach. He is co-founder of Hope Hollow Ministries in Canton for children and adults with disabilities. He is a board member and treasurer of the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities and a volunteer with Mississippi Special Olympics.

1982 Milton J. Chambliss, M.B.A. 1982, of Jackson, is executive director of the Claiborne County Economic Development District. He previously was owner of Chambliss Insurance and Financial Services. Dr. Rebecca Woodrick, B.A. 1982, of Hattiesburg, director of equal opportunity and afﬁrmative action at the University of Southern Mississippi, has been appointed by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology to the 2011 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. As an examiner, Woodrick is responsible for reviewing and evaluating award applications.

CLASS NOTES

1985

1990

1995

Elizabeth Collins, B.A. 1985, of Memphis, has been appointed to the Tennessee Judicial Nominating Commission, the 17-member board that nominates candidates for Tennessee judgeships to the governor. She is a partner at Thomason, Hendrix, Harvey, Johnson & Mitchell. She is past president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Memphis Bar Association and past member of the Board of Directors of the Memphis Bar Association.

Patti Nation, B.B.A. 1990, of Flower Mound, Texas, married Doug Fornwalt on Sept. 26, 2009. Members of the wedding party included Dorothy Casey Nation, 1959, mother of the bride, and Dr. Marie Nation Becker, 1983, Patti Nation’s sister and matron of honor. Patti and Doug welcomed their son, Casey Allen Fornwalt, on Sept. 1, 2010.

Billy Morehead, MAcc. 1995, of Cleveland, joined the Mississippi College School of Business faculty. Morehead, a Greenville native, was Delta State University's chairman of accountancy, computer information systems and ﬁnance.

1986

Trey Buchanan, B.B.A. 1993, of San Antonio, Texas, was promoted by Nationwide Insurance to district director of automotive claims. His district encompasses all claims ofﬁces from Colorado to Wisconsin. Trey and his wife, Connie, have two daughters, Cristi of Jackson, and Addie of Charleston, S.C. Trey is the son of the late Buddy Buchanan, B.A. 1962, and stepson of Luran Buchanan, B.A. 1963.

Ken Blackwell, B.S. 1986, of West Redding, Conn., was named Distinguished Engineer at CA Technologies. Blackwell, chief architect of Service Assurance, is technical leader for the CA Technologies assurance products, including operations management, application performance management, and infrastructure management. An entrepreneur and innovator, Black served as chief technology ofﬁcer and co-founder of Bristol Technology Inc. and has multiple patents in transaction and business process management.

1989 Amy Bunch Alexander, B.A. 1989, of Amory, was named Nettleton High School Teacher of the Year for 20102011. She teaches Advanced Placement English literature and composition, English IV, and speech/oral communications. She is curriculum chair for the English Department, Beta Club sponsor, and serves on the Teacher Advisory Committee, Leadership Team, and Veterans Day Celebration Committee.

1993

1994 Lara Glaesman, B.S. 1994, of Minnetonka, Minn., a member of Leonard, Street and Deinard's business and commercial litigation practice, was recognized as an “Up & Coming Attorney” by Minnesota Lawyer. Glaesman serves as an editor of the Minnesota State Bar Association's Bankruptcy Bulletin, a role that allows her to review various rulings that affect bankruptcy laws. She is a volunteer mentor for attorneys and paralegals on bankruptcy law.

Christy Jenkins Turner, B.M. 1995, of Madison, and Jimmy Turner announce the birth of their son, Joshua David Turner, on Aug. 3, 2011. Christy Turner is a pianist, and Jimmy Turner teaches guitar at Millsaps.

1996 Whit Waide, B.A. 1996, of Starkville, is the Mississippi State University Student Association's 2010-11 Professor of the Year. The award identifies the individual considered by the student body as the most influential teacher who makes an exceptional impact on their lives on a daily basis. Since 2006, Waide has taught law and government classes in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. He is the student pre-law adviser, a member of the campus Honor Code Council, chair of the publication board for the Reflector student newspaper, and faculty adviser to Kappa Alpha social fraternity.

1997 Michael Burkett, B.S. 1997, of Wiggins, graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Ph.D. in educational leadership. He teaches physics and chemistry at Stone High School in Wiggins.

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CLASS NOTES

Angie Whittington Doss, B.A. 1997 and M.B.A. 1998, of Madison, and husband Burton Doss announce the birth of a daughter, Harper Maryn, on July 5, 2011. They have a 5-year-old son, Jackson Moran Doss.

1998 Michael W. Boerner, B.B.A. 1998, of Jackson, a registered architect and manager of Wier and Boerner Architecture, was appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour to the Mississippi State Board of Architecture for a term expiring May 31, 2013. He received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Mississippi State University. His ﬁrm was established in 2009. Aimee Primeaux, B.A. 1998, of College Park, Md., is preservation program ofﬁcer at the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park. She manages the Records Emergency Management Program for all 44 facilities nationwide and helps staff prepare for emergencies that might affect National Archives holdings. She has a M.A. in history and a M.S. in library and information science from Simmons College. J. Hudson Segrest, B.S. 1998, of Hoover, Ala., and his wife Shelby recently moved to Birmingham, Ala. He is a cardiologist with Heart South Cardiovascular Group. They have two children, Ella, 6, and James, 3.

1999

2003

John G. Green, M.B.A. 1999, of Naperville, Ill., married Margaux A. Byrne, on Oct. 9, 2010. John is senior rail civil engineer and lead track for Halcrow Inc. in its Chicago ofﬁce.

Emilee Lane Broussard Cooper, B.A. 2003 and M.B.A. 2005, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., married Robert Lee Cooper III on July 2, 2011, in Lake Charles, La. Their wedding party included Misty Goff Roberts, B.S. 2003, matron of honor; McCall Kennedy Bryant, B.S. 2003, bridesmaid; Brett Thomas Snyder, B.B.A. 2003, usher; and Mary Pitts Huffstetler, B.S. 1995, reader.

2000 Shane Townsend, B.A. 2000, of Austin, Texas, had his piece, “The Boy from ‘Kill the Cat,’” published in the book, Gather the Fruit One by One. Townsend wrote the piece after service in the Peace Corps. The book was part of the Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary commemoration.

2001 Jamie Dickson, B.A. 2001, of Jackson completed his M.F.A. in creative writing at Bennington College. He teaches English and creative writing at Germantown High School. He and his wife, Greer Proctor-Dickson, B.A. 2002, have a son, James, 2.

2002 Molly Jeffcoat, B.A. and B.B.A. 2002, of Ridgeland, married Brad Moody on Feb. 26, 2011. Jeffcoat is an attorney at Watkins & Eager in Jackson. Moody is an attorney at Baker Donelson in Jackson. Jeffcoat graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2008. William McMillian Leech, B.A. 2002, received a law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in May 2011.

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Elizabeth V. Frein, B.A. 2003, of Washington D.C., is a foster care social worker at the National Center for Children and Families in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. with a master's of social work on May 14, 2011. She married Josef N. Frein on May 28, 2011 in Baton Rouge, La. Kim Parker Gannon, B.S. 2003, of Drexel Hill, Pa., is a neurology resident at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She graduated from the University of Mississippi Medical Center with a medical degree and a doctorate of physiology and biophysics in May.

2004 Raymond Heatherly, B.S. 2004 and M.B.A. 2005, of Frisco, Texas, is a postdoctoral researcher at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. He graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas in summer 2011 with a Ph.D. in computer science.

CLASS NOTES

Liz Stewart, B.A. 2004, of Auckland, New Zealand is a program administrator in landscape architecture at Unitec. She graduated from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, in 2009 with a master's in international education.

2005

2007

in various New York parks with Black Henna Productions.

Kimberly H. Hardy, B.S. and B.B.A. 2007 and MAcc. 2008, of Byram, a certiﬁed public accountant with Matthews Cutrer & Lindsay, was promoted to audit manager. Hardy practices in nonproﬁt and business audits and taxation.

2009

John Brent, B.A. 2004 and MAcc. 2005, and Molly Allen Guitreau, B.A. 2005, of Hammond, La., announce the birth of their son, Justice Bentley Guitreau, on Feb. 28, 2011 in Baton Rouge, La.

Chuck Stall, B.B.A. 2007, married Rebecca Kindler, 2008, on July 23, 2011. Members of the wedding party included Todd Kindler, B.B.A. 2006 and M.B.A. 2007; Tyson Roy, B.B.A. 2007; T.J. Loehn, B.A. 2008, and Keith Naccari, B.B.A. 2009. They live in Houston, Texas.

Paul Carroccio, B.A. 2005, and Rachel Fontenot, B.A. 2008, of Baton Rouge, La., married on April 30 in Baton Rouge. The wedding party included Alyce Howe, B.A. 2008, and Anna Wells, B.A. 2008, maids of honor; John Michael Zender, B.S. 2005, and Nathaniel Rogers, B.A. 2005, ushers.

Carl A. “Trey” Woods III, B.B.A. 2007, of New Orleans, joined the ﬁrm of Herman Herman Katz & Cotlar, LLP in New Orleans. He received his J.D. from Loyola University's College of Law and a M.B.A. from Loyola University, both in 2010.

2006 Kelsey McKnight Donohue, B.A. 2006, of Coppell, Texas, married Mike Donohue of Milton, Mass., on June 26, 2011 in Corinth, Texas. The wedding party included Callie Sasser, B.A. 2006, a Delta Delta Delta sorority sister. Kelsey is a ﬁfth-grade teacher in Coppell, Texas, and Mike is an instructional designer for Fidelity Investments. Kate Jacobson, B.A. 2006, of Jackson, graduated with a master’s degree in public policy and administration from Mississippi State University in December 2010.

2008 Jack Boettcher, B.A. 2008, of Austin, had his ﬁrst novel, Theater-State, published by Blue Square Press of New York/Atlanta. He is pursuing a master's in information studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Isreal McKinney Scott, B.A. 2008, married Colleen Beaumont on July 23, 2011 at DiCapo Opera Theater in Manhattan. The New York Times included a story about how they met. Isreal is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in acting at the New School. Last summer, he played Don Pedro in “Much Ado About Nothing”

Jonathan Whinery, B.B.A. 2004 and MAcc. 2009, has been promoted to audit senior at Matthews Cutrer & Lindsay. Whinery practices in nonproﬁt and business audits and taxation.

2010 Brittany Tait, B.A. 2010, and John Kellogg, B.S. 2008, married on July 16, 2011 in Pensacola, Fla. The wedding party included Ryan Zagone, B.B.A. 2008; Corey Williamson, B.A. 2008; Jonathan Giurintano, B.S. and B.A. 2008; Amanda Smith, B.S. 2010; and Kathleen Morrison, B.A. 2010. Brittany received a M.A. in higher education administration from Columbia University Teachers College. John is completing his ﬁnal year in Episcopal seminary.

2011 Bryan Duprée, B.A. 2011, of Plaquemine, La., was among ﬁve students who represented French-speaking Louisiana at the International Forum of Young Ambassadors of Francophonia in the Americas in Montreal last June.

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

IN MEMORIAM

In Memoriam Any submissions for In Memoriam received after Oct. 18, 2011 will appear in the next issue of Millsaps Magazine.

Rev. Lockett Alton Wasson Sr., 1931, of Kosciusko, died July 29, 2011. He was a minister for more than 60 years in the Mississippi United Methodist Conference. Mynelle C. Terry, B.A. 1934, of Clinton, died June 20, 2011. She was a member of West Park United Methodist Church in Jackson and then Van Winkle United Methodist Church. Oralee Graves Buie, B.A. 1936, of Jackson, died Aug. 9, 2011. She married her college sweetheart, Webster Millsaps Buie Jr., in 1939. She was a member of Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church and numerous civic and social clubs. Raymond McClinton, B.A. 1936, of Jackson, died Oct. 18, 2011. He worked at McRae’s Department Store in downtown Jackson until he opened McClinton's Dry Goods in Jackson. He served on the Board of Stewards at Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church and was ﬁnance chairperson of the committee to fund the building of AfricanAmerican United Methodist churches in Mississippi. Conan Himber Millstein, B.S. 1938, of Memphis, died May 1, 2011. He was a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. He was assigned in the Paciﬁc during World War II, receiving the Bronze Star Medal for actions during the invasion of the Palaus in 1944. He received a master’s in bacteriology in 1940 from Louisiana State University.

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Vic Roby, B.S. 1938, of Framingham, Mass., died Sept. 22, 2011. He was a radio and television announcer for 40 years. In 1950, he began his 33-year tenure at the NBC network's ﬂagship stations, WNBC radio and WNBC-TV. His voice became known nationally as a network announcer for NBC promos and program introductions. Roy C. DeLamotte, B.A. 1939, of Augusta, Ga., died Nov. 1, 2010. He was professor of world religion at Paine College, a Methodist minister, and author of numerous scholarly articles, several plays and two novels published by Doubleday (under the pen name Gregory Wilson). He earned a doctorate in world religion from Yale University and a B.D. from Emory University. He was a member of the Millsaps Heritage Society. His estate endowed the J. Reese Lin Memorial Fund in Religion in memory of one of his favorite Millsaps professors. Corinne Denson King, 1939, of Hurley, died April 12, 2009. She was an educator in Jackson and George counties in Mississippi and in Mobile County in Alabama. She was church pianist and organist and an active member of Hurley United Methodist Church. Rev. Joseph Thomas Humphries, B.A. 1941, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., died April 24, 2011. He was a graduate of Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He was a retired Methodist minister whose churches in the North Mississippi Conference included Ethel, Morehead, Corinth, Cleveland, Amory, and Leland. He served as district super-

intendent of the Greenwood District. He was a Millsaps trustee in the 1960s and established a scholarship in memory of his son, the late Kenneth Humphries. Gwynn Green Jacobs, 1941, of Jackson, died Sept. 28, 2011. She and her husband Harry co-owned Greenbrook Flowers. For many years, she was also a member of the Junior League of Jackson, Elsinore Garden Club, High Noon, and Matron's luncheon clubs. Julia Faucetta Williams, B.A.1941, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., died June 12, 2011. Ola Pearl Stapleton Grant, 1942, of Jackson, died Aug. 11. She was president of North Jackson Little League, the Mississippi Federation of Women's Clubs, a volunteer at the Jackson Planetarium, and delivered Meals on Wheels. She owned Bron-Ola Fashions in Jackson. Dr. Frederick Edward Tatum, B.S. 1943, of Hattiesburg, died Aug. 25, 2011. He was a founding member of Hattiesburg Clinic, a retired cardiologist, a fellow of the American Academy of Cardiology, a recipient of the Laureate Award of the Mississippi Chapter of the American College of Physicians, and past president of the Mississippi Heart Association. He was a U.S. Army Veteran of World War II, serving in the Medical Corp. Thelma “T” Thompson Macgowan, 1943, Jackson, died Oct. 7, 2011. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church, numerous clubs, the Junior League, and Magnolia Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution,

IN MEMORIAM

where her interest was in national defense. Catherine Pullen Davis, 1944, of Jackson, died Sept. 13, 2011. Sis, as she was known, campaigned for her husband, Russell Davis, when he was elected to the Mississippi Legislature and two terms as Jackson mayor. They raised and certified one of Mississippi's finest and first registered beef master cattle herds. Margene Summers Oxner, 1946, of Forest, died Sept. 25, 2011. She retired from First National Bank as senior vice president. She was a member of the National Association of Bank Women Inc. and served as South Central Region vice president, Central Mississippi Group chairperson, and Regional Membership chairperson. M. J. Williams Jr., B.A. 1947, of Tallahassee, Fla., died April 22, 2011. The World War II veteran earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Mississippi and pursued graduate studies in economics at Duke University, where he also trained military officers. After working in finance at DuPont, he had a career in financial administration and development. His positions included vice president for fiscal affairs and treasurer at Rhodes College, then Southwestern at Memphis; director of membership services at the National Association of College and University Business Officers; treasurer of the Consortium for the Advancement of Private Higher Education; financial adviser to the grants program of Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and finance officer of CommunicationWorks.

Webb Boswell, 1948, of Noxapater, died Sept. 4, 2011. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran of World War II and the Korean Conflict. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and was a navigator on a P61 Black Widow in the 418th Night Fighter Squadron, serving in the Pacific Theater. He earned a degree in pharmacy from the University of Mississippi. He practiced in Louisville, then worked at his father's pharmacy, Boswell Drugs, in Noxapater. He was a Noxapater alderman for 25 years and a trustee at Noxapater United Methodist Church. Alanson Vivrette â&#x20AC;&#x153;Alanâ&#x20AC;? Turnbough, B.A.1948, of Jackson, died July 19, 2011. He became deputy commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance in 1968 and served until his retirement in 1994. He was in the 593rd Engineering SS Regiment and saw service in the United Kingdom and northern France, receiving several medals. Sammie Louise Price Critz, B.S. 1949, of Philadelphia, Miss., died June 28, 2011. She and her husband, Jack Critz, owned and operated Philadelphia Home Ice Co. for many years. Mary Shelton Currie, 1949, of Houston, Bellaire, and Navasota, Texas, died Dec. 10, 2010. Joseph Edmund Johnston Jr., B.S. 1950, of Jackson, died Aug. 2, 2011. He retired in 1990 as senior vice president of Deposit Guaranty National Bank's trust department after 43 years. He received a post-graduate degree in banking from Rutgers University. He was a U.S. Army

veteran of the Korean Conflict, working as a missile programming technician in White Sands, N.M. He was a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church of Jackson and served in leadership roles in the Presbyterian Church in America. Rubel Lex Phillips, B.A. 1950, of Jackson, died June 18, 2011. He served in the U.S. Navy, retained a commission in the U.S. Navy Reserve, and retired as commander in 1963. Phillips was a member of the Executive Committee of the Millsaps V-12 Program. He was a University of Mississippi School of Law graduate and graduate fellow in the Master of Laws program at Cambridge University's Downing College in England. He was named Outstanding Alumnus of Millsaps College in 1956. From 1979 until 1990, he was in-house counsel for Mobile Communications Corp. of America. He was the Republican candidate for Mississippi governor in 1963 and 1967. He was a founder of Northminster Baptist Church. Barnett Douglas Hammond, 1951, of Corinth, died July 8, 2011. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf as a junior officer. He owned and operated, along with his wife, Reid Brothers Inc., The Clothes Pen, and Hammond House in Corinth. He was inducted into the Millsaps Sports Hall of Fame. He was president of the Rotary Club, served on the Corinth YMCA board and as Corinth Theater Arts president, and was instrumental in Corinth becoming the second Main Street city in the state. Harold Nelson, B.A. and B.B.A. 1951, of Jackson died May 4, 2011. He served

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

IN MEMORIAM

in the U.S. Air Force and was a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. He was district manager for Pontiac Motor Division and later sales manager for Paul Moak Pontiac. He owned and helped operate the Family Framing Place for more than 30 years. R.H. Posey Jr., B.A. 1951, of Flora, died July 28, 2011. He was a retired cattle farmer, business owner, and trainer of Tennessee walking horses. Joe Herbert Sanderson, B.S. 1951, of Brandon, died June 25, 2011. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard the submarine tender USS Pelias and USS Aegir and taught radar at Keesler Field in Biloxi. He worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in concrete research at the substation in Clinton. He spent most of his working life in insurance and real estate with Sanderson and Morrow, graduated from the Jackson School of Law, and formed the law ﬁrm Morrow and Sanderson. He was a Lions Club member, a Red Cross volunteer, and won medals and trophies for antique cars. Mabeth “Betty” McCluer Black, B.A. 1952, of Arlington, Texas, died March 20, 2011. She was a second-grade teacher and active in numerous civic and social groups. She was employed by Southeast Missouri State University as ﬁlm librarian and graphic artist. Earl Higdon Blackwell, B.A. 1952, of Madison, died Sept. 12, 2011. He served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954 and began his insurance career at Vestal & Vernon Agency. In 1975, he opened CB Insurances Services. He was a member

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of Wesley United Methodist Church and charter member of St. Matthew's United Methodist Church. He was president of the Hinds Association for Retarded Citizens. Dr. Paul Alfred Roell, B.A. 1952, of Jackson, died May 7, 2011. He graduated from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and completed his internship and residency there before beginning an anesthesiology practice in Jackson. He was a board-certiﬁed anesthesiologist, a fellow of the International Board of Anesthesiology, and an original owner of the SurgiCare outpatient surgery center in Jackson. His business, JanKar Stables, produced Dan N Doc, a two-time Mississippi Thoroughbred Breeders Association award winner and multiple stakes winner. Joanne Huggins Reynolds, B.S. 1953, of Austin, Texas, died June 25, 2011. She was a teacher in Jackson, Austin, Texas, and Fairfax, Va. She was a member of Manchaca United Methodist Church, where she oversaw the Child Development Center and served as board chairman. She taught the children's sermons. LeRoy Durrett, B.A.1954, of Forest, died Sept. 26, 2011. He served in Strategic Air Command in the U.S. Air Force and was employed for many years at Cowboy Maloney's. He was a youth and adult Sunday school teacher and member of Epworth United Methodist Church, then Marvin United Methodist Church. Rev. Arthur O’Neil, Jr., B.A. 1954, of Newnan, Ga., died Aug. 30, 2011. He was a retired United Methodist minister

and served churches in Mississippi and Georgia for 46 years. He was the Dalton district superintendent, administrator of the Simpsonwood Conference and Retreat Center, and the Atlanta/Roswell District superintendent. Martha Sims New Graves, B.S. 1955, of Huntsville, died June 3, 2011. She was an artist, gardener, and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, The Colonial Dames, and Holy Spirit Catholic Church. David Evans Pryor, B.S. 1955, of Calhoun City, died April 18, 2011. He worked for the quality control division of Coca-Cola Co. and then joined his father in operating Pryor Implement Co. Robert H. “Crow” Parnell, B.S. 1956, of Bixby, Okla., died June 29, 2011. He received a master's in geology from Mississippi State University. He was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation, serving as special agent in Buffalo, N.Y., and Richmond and Radford, Va. He received commendations from J. Edgar Hoover. He was director of security for Cities Service/Occidental Oil and Gas Corp. in Tulsa, Okla. Jack Minter Dubard, B.S. 1957, of Dacula, Ga., died May 26, 2011. He was president of Southern Scottish Inns, Inc. and adviser/director of Hospitality International, Inc. for more than 25 years. He practiced law in Booneville for 18 years and was a Korean War veteran. Eugene Joseph Green Jr., 1957, of Marshall, Texas, died May 13, 2011. He

IN MEMORIAM

was an oil and gas entrepreneur, president of D & G Oil Co., and president of Transtate Petroleum. He was a Paul Harris Fellow in the Rotary Club and a past president of the Elks Club. He was a Korean War veteran. Verlin Marvin Bell, 1958, of Memphis, died July 9, 2011. He retired from the U.S. Postal Service, was a U.S. Army veteran, and was a deacon at First Presbyterian Church in Belzoni. Alfred Thaddeus “Thad” Leggett III, B.S. 1958, of McComb died April 21, 2011. He received his L.L.B. from the University of Mississippi. He began his law practice in Magnolia and was elected in 1966 as county court and youth court judge for Pike County, a position he held 32 years. Leggett founded the Court Appointed Special Advocate program in Pike County and was a past president of the Magnolia Rotary Club and the Dairy Belt Dixie Youth Baseball Organization.

State University and was a 1952 graduate of the School of Medical Technology at Mercy Hospital in Vicksburg. Gorman's medical and professional career included working as the chief medical technologist at the Mississippi State Sanatorium for Tuberculosis and chief technologist in the cardiac catheterization laboratory at the V.A. Medical Center. He founded SABHI, Inc., a medical culture media business. He received the Kimble Award in Medical Technology for his research in pathogenic fungi culture media. John Thomas “Buddy” Buchanan Jr., B.A. 1962, of Jackson, died Sept. 23, 2011. He was a 50-year member of Pi Kappa Alpha and recently completed an eight-year term as Pike alumni adviser. He retired from the Mississippi Public Service Commission and Spalding Sports Worldwide. As an independent golf equipment distributor, he served on the national advisory staffs of Titleist, Spalding, Wilson, and MacGregor. Buchanan was instrumental in formation of Parham Bridges Park and Tennis Center in Jackson. He was active with the Madison County Republican Executive Committee.

Peggy Roberts Craft, B.A. 1961, of Allen, Texas, died Aug. 9, 2011. She earned a master's degree from Mississippi College. She was a patient advocate and volunteer for more than 10 years at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Allen. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Dallas.

Robert H. Naylor II, B.A.1962, of Fairfax, Va., died July 10, 2010. He retired from the U.S. Army as lieutenant colonel.

James William Gorman, 1961, of Jackson, died Feb. 4, 2011. He was an Air Force sergeant and served from 19431945 in China, Burma, and India, ﬂying 187 missions and earning medals and awards. He received a bachelor's degree in medical technology in 1951 from Delta

Rex D. Poole Sr., B.A. 1963, of Clinton, died May 18, 2011. He served in the Air Force and then returned to a banking career that began with Deposit Guaranty while he was a student. He moved to Columbus, Miss., in 1974 to establish the trust department for the National Bank of

Commerce, retiring there in 1998 after nearly 38 years in the banking industry. Jack Ray Gordy, 1964, of Brandon, died Sept. 26, 2011. He went on to graduate from the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Mississippi. For more than 30 years, he was an administrator in the School of Health Related Professions at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, serving as associate dean and twice as interim dean. Paula Page, B.A. 1964, of Zurich, died June 14, 2011. She received a master’s in vocal performance from Indiana University. After winning top prizes in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in New York and WGN Auditions of the Air in Chicago, she studied in Hamburg, Germany, on a Fulbright grant. A long and successful career followed, with more than 1,000 performances of leading roles and concerts in eight countries. While engaged with the Frankfurt Opera, she was awarded a professorship in voice at the Staatliche Hochschule fuür Musik in Frankfurt. She made her American opera debut in the 1980s with the Virginia Opera Association in Norfolk and Richmond as Mimi in “La Boheme." Dr. Troy Lee “Doc” Jenkins, B.S. 1967, of Vicksburg, died May 6, 2011. After graduating from the University of Tennessee Dental School in Memphis, he practiced in Vicksburg. He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame at Millsaps College. Dr. Geary S. Alford, B.A.1968, of Jackson, died Aug. 26, 2011. He earned his

Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

IN MEMORIAM

Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in clinical psychology. He was professor of psychiatry/psychology and director of the division of psychology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He was also associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology, and clinical associate professor of family medicine. Alford was a fellow of the American Psychological Association. He served as president of the Mississippi Psychological Association. He was voted Psychiatry Teacher of the Year by UMC medical students in 2004 and Best Teacher by psychiatry residents in 2007. He presented several Millsaps Forums and gave lectures in the departments of psychology, philosophy, and anthropology. Robert Hansford Tyler, B.B.A. 1975, of Biloxi, died June 5, 2011. He obtained his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Mississippi College School of Law. He was a member of the Mississippi Bar, where he served on the Ethics Committee, the Fee Dispute Resolution Committee, and the Insurance Committee. He was a member

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of the Board of Bar Commissioners, the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance, and the Biloxi Civil Service Commission. Dr. Kim Myrick Stasny, B.A.1979, of Oxford, died May 4, 2011. She received a master's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in curriculum and instruction and a doctorate from the University of New Orleans in educational administration. Stasny was named Mississippi Superintendent of the Year in 2007 and served on the boards of the American Association of School Administrators and the Mississippi Association of School Administrators. She served on the Governor's Commission for Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal Workforce Development. Her 30-year career in education included two years as superintendent of Oxford schools and 19 years in the Bay St. Louis Waveland district as superintendent, assistant superintendent, and elementary school principal.

Susan Prather Felder Osterberg, B.A. 1990, of Yadkinville, N.C., died May 30, 2011. She received a master’s degree in Christian education from Duke Divinity School. Dr. Henry Lee Mangum III, B.A. 1997, of New Orleans, died June 17, 2011. He earned a master’s degree in communication from Mississippi College, a master’s of social work from the University of Texas, and a doctorate in social work from Jackson State University. He served as executive director of Grace House from 2005-2010 and was director of housing for NO/AIDS Task Force in New Orleans. He served as vice chairman of the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition.

Faculty-Staff Floy Nelms, executive assistant to Millsaps College President Dr. George M. Harmon, died May 31, 2011. She retired from Millsaps in 2000.

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Millsaps Magazine | Winter 2011

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