Millsaps Magazine, Summer 2021 by Millsaps College

SUMMER 2021

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SPRING–SUMMER 2021 EDITOR Annie Schott Mitchell ASSOCIATE EDITOR John Sewell DESIGNER Kelley Matthews MILLSAPS MAGAZINE ONLINE Emma Stockton CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Suzanne Crell Andy Kanengiser Myles Melancon Annie Schott Mitchell John Sewell CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Ron Blaylock Greg Campbell Joe Ellis Millsaps Magazine is published by the Office of Marketing and Communications at Millsaps College, 1701 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39210, for distribution to alumni, parents and friends. Visit millsaps.edu/magazine to view the magazine online. SEND ADDRESS CHANGES OR UPDATES TO Office of Alumni and Parent Relations Millsaps College 1701 North State Street Jackson, MS 39210 alumni@millsaps.edu 601-974-1000

Millsaps College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or any legally protected status.

FROM THE PRESIDENT I am delighted to reintroduce Millsaps Magazine after a pause in its publication. Since the last edition, we have dedicated the Selby & Richard McRae Christian Center; opened the Windgate Visual Arts Center; announced new degree and certificate programs along with enhanced academic partnerships in engineering, nursing, pharmacy and teacher education; seen record giving to the college’s annual fund; enjoyed strong success in our athletic programs and reaped the rewards of new athletic facilities; reorganized the college’s enrollment and marketing and communication offices; and worked on the college’s strategic vision to carry it through the next 10 years. As you hold this updated version of Millsaps Magazine with its enhanced look and feel, we are now preparing to welcome one of the largest first year classes to campus in the last decade. We have also seen our share of struggles in the past few years and have made difficult but important decisions to move the college toward more stable financial footing. As it did across the globe, COVID-19 arrived on the scene in March 2020 and the college responded quickly to protect the health and welfare of our community while continuing to deliver the academic program our students expect. There’s a reason Millsaps College regularly produces Fulbright Award recipients, Rhodes Scholars and Goldwater Scholars. There’s a reason the college is one of only 44 members of the prestigious Colleges that Change Lives nonprofit organization. There’s a reason we say that our students don’t just come to Millsaps; they belong here. It is my privilege to serve Millsaps, and I’m pleased that, once again, we will take you along on our journey as one of the nation’s top residential liberal arts colleges and business schools. Welcome back ... and welcome home. Go Majors!

Rob Pearigen

CONNECT WITH US

ON THE COVER:

Heather Larie Hembree, Class of 2021, B.S., Literature in English and Neuroscience and Cognitive Studies; from Watson, LA.

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

CONTENTS 3

A NEW PATH FORWARD New leaders hired in enrollment and marketing

SETTING RECORDS Record-setting competition for student-athletes

VISION 2025 A strategic plan for the college’s future

CLASS NOTES AND MEMORIAM How to share your stories

6 LIFE AFTER MILLSAPS Honoring the classes of 2020 and 2021

THE COLLEGE AND COVID

ARTS SHINE BRIGHT

Response in the classroom and on the court

Some of the students and faculty of the Windgate Visual Arts Center

ALMA MATER, DEAR OLD MILLSAPS, LOYAL ONES ARE WE. OUR FOND HEARTS ARE THINE ALONE AND EVERMORE SHALL BE. (CHORUS) PROUD ART THOU, IN CLASSIC BEAUTY, OF THY NOBLE PAST. WITH THY WATCHWORD HONOR, DUTY, THY HIGH FAME SHALL LAST. EVERY STUDENT, MAN AND WOMAN, SWELL THE GLAD REFRAIN, TILL THE BREEZES, MUSIC-LADEN, WAFT IT BACK AGAIN.

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

NEW LEADERSHIP CHARTS A NEW PATH IN ENROLLMENT AND MARKETING AT MILLSAPS It’s just a few days before National College Decision Day, celebrated across the country on May 1. Beth Clarke, Millsaps College’s new vice president of enrollment, works at her standup desk like a duck in a pond — calm and cool above the desk, but with her feet paddling furiously under the surface. The paddling is paying off. The college’s incoming 2021 class is on track to be one of the largest in the past decade, and is currently 73% more than last year’s 2020 class. Clark remains humble. “It’s difficult to compare 2020 to 2021 because COVID had an impact on everything,” she says. “But I do believe that the admission team’s hard work — and our commitment to recruit students to Millsaps differently — is paying off.” Different is just what Millsaps College President Rob Pearigen wanted when he reorganized what was, for nearly a decade, the Office of Enrollment and Communications. By establishing the Office of Enrollment and a separate Office of Marketing and Communications, Pearigen implemented a change in leadership to bring fresh vision and new perspectives.

BETH CLARKE AND ROB PEARIGEN

Clarke came to Millsaps in July 2020 from her post as senior executive director of admissions strategy and counseling at Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Va. Prior to Sweet Briar, Clarke served as assistant vice president for enrollment at Virginia Wesleyan University, where she helped lead efforts that resulted in the university’s highest enrollment on record in the fall of 2017. She earned her bachelor of arts in communications from Virginia Wesleyan University and a master of education in educational policy, planning and leadership with a specialization in higher education administration at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

Also new to Millsaps is Annie Schott Mitchell, who began in March 2020 as the college’s vice president of marketing and communications, a role she held prior to Millsaps at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. At Wofford, Mitchell overhauled the enrollment services marketing funnel to prospective students and parents, resulting in a 60% increase in applications in the first year as well as enhancements to the college’s first-year student profile. Prior to Wofford, Mitchell served as the director of university marketing and special initiatives at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. She is a proud University of Iowa Hawkeye. With new leadership in both enrollment and marketing and communications, Pearigen is encouraged that Millsaps is already seeing positive advances in both the size of the incoming first year class and the storytelling of the college. “There’s a reason that Millsaps has graduated 25 Fulbright Award recipients, seven Rhodes Scholars, six Goldwater Scholars and two Truman Scholars,” says Pearigen. “We do things differently and better, and that’s what our enrollment and marketing and communication teams are now poised to do. Our students don’t just come to Millsaps, they belong here; and when they graduate, they are prepared to make the world a better place. “Both Beth and Annie understand this mission, are passionate about the college and our success, and are helping make sure that our prospective students understand the extraordinary opportunities that await them,” he adds.

MILLSAPS.EDU

SETTING RECORDS 4

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

DIA FORTENBERRY

TAELOR MANNING

ANNA THIGPEN

There will be those who look back at this year in Major athletics as one in which schedules were scrambled, fall sports were played in the spring, long-standing traditions were set aside and rivalries just didn’t seem as intense. There’s a flip side, though, that tells a different story. It was also a year of record-setting competition. The Millsaps women’s basketball team took their game to new levels, pushing to a 12–2 season (10–1 in the Southern Athletic Association), earning a share of the SAA regular season title and hosting the conference tournament as the number one seed and with a number six national ranking with D3Hoops.com – the highest mark in school history. Although the team fell to Rhodes in the SAA Tournament final, the accolades are still coming. Head Coach Justin LeBlanc was named SAA Coach of the Year, while senior Dia Fortenberry earned SAA Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the All-SAA First Team. Joining Fortenberry on the First Team was senior Taelor Manning. Additionally, senior Anna Thigpen ended her career tabbed All-SAA Honorable Mention. In late April, Fortenberry was also named to the D3Hoops.com All-South Region Second Team, the sixth player in Millsaps program history to earn All-Region distinction. The women’s tennis team also blazed through a record-setting season, winning their first SAA regular season crown before going on to claim their first SAA Tournament title over Centre on April 25. The top-seeded Millsaps team were led by senior Grace Gaskins, who set an SAA record by winning her 31st straight set at No. 1 singles in conference matches and was also named to the SAA Women’s Tennis All-Tournament Team, along with Morris Kelly Clayton. Maggie Dabadie made her mark as the SAA Women’s Tennis All-Tournament MVP. To top off the season, head tennis coach Davis Elkins was named SAA Coach of the Year, Gaskins earned accolades as the SAA Player of the Year and Camille Fremaux made her mark as SAA Newcomer of the Year. Gaskins and Fremaux also made All-SAA First Team, joined by Dabadie. Marissa Brown and Ella Shields were named to the All-SAA Second Team. Nearly 50 student athletes were recognized for their performance throughout the abbreviated seasons as SAA Players of the Week and SAA All-Conference. Get more information about all Millsaps athletics at www.gomajors.com.

MILLSAPS.EDU

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

CELEBRATING THE CLASSES OF 2020 AND 2021 GATHERING TOGETHER (SAFELY) AND MOVING BACK TO NORMAL BY JOHN SEWELL

MILLSAPS.EDU

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

For the second year in a row, commencement at Millsaps College took on a different look and feel. Formal commencement exercises for the Class of 2020 were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a virtual commencement was instead broadcast live from the Bowl. It was a beautiful May morning last year, but the Bowl was empty of the usual cacophony of celebrating graduates, families and friends. Instead, birds could clearly be heard chirping as a handful of speakers, led by Dr. Rob Pearigen, led a socially distanced ceremony honoring the 2020 graduates. Commencement for the Class of 2021, however, moved back toward the more traditional norms. The baccalaureate service was virtual, due to capacity restrictions still in place at local churches, but it was nonetheless meaningful and offered a faithful celebration of the work of the graduates. Bishop James E. Swanson Sr., resident bishop of The Mississippi United Methodist Conference, delivered the baccalaureate sermon from Yates Chapel in the Selby & Richard McRae Christian Center. The service is available for viewing on the college’s Facebook and YouTube channels. With more relaxed restrictions in place (and the approval of the Mississippi State Department of Health), Millsaps was able to honor the 2021 graduates – as well as nearly 80 returning members from the Class of 2020 – with an in-person commencement held on Harper Davis Field, and also livestreamed on the college’s social media channels. The move to Harper Davis Field was done to accommodate socially distanced seating and safer seating for families and friends (limited to four per graduate). It also allowed greater flexibility with regard to weather. Dr. Rob Pearigen was joined by Jay Lindsey, chair of the Millsaps College Board of Trustees, and Dr. S. Keith Dunn, provost and dean of the college, in recognizing

MILLSAPS.EDU

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

the challenges, and the successes, of the graduates in the stressful environment that was the 2020–21 academic year – not only because of the global pandemic but also because of winter weather that essentially shut the campus and the city down in February. In his opening remarks, Lindsey challenged the graduates to retain “the positive energy of youth” as they moved on from Millsaps. “We are confident you will be involved citizens who appreciate the need for balance between the old and the new, who reject simplistic or expedient one-dimensional answers and who actively work toward common respect and value in our society and in the world,” Lindsey said. “Those traits are more important than ever before in our country today.” Pearigen reflected on the obstacles and the opportunities of the past year. “My remarks last May centered around a theme of order and disorder, of how those forces impact our lives in a constant, dialectical struggle against each other and yet still find common ground that supports the delicate balance of all things,” Pearigen said. “A year later, I believe we are finding that balance more and more each day, as science has provided us with vaccines to help battle the scourge of the COVID pandemic; as we begin to return to a sense of normalcy while maintaining a sense of caution; as we slowly shift our

focus from what we’ve been through to what lies ahead. This morning, as we celebrate the success of our graduates and the happiness of their families, the dichotomy finds hope triumphing over anxiousness and sadness replaced by joy.” Pearigen also spoke to what lies ahead for Millsaps. “Today, I also feel a sense of optimism and hope for the future of this special place,” he said. “There is much for us to celebrate– the success of our students, which has remained constant despite the challenges, and continues to stand as a beacon to others that Millsaps is a place that provides a world-class educational foundation on which to elevate individual talents and skills.” He concluded the morning’s ceremony with, “May God bless you as we send you forth, transformed, with a high sense of honor, a desire to be worthy citizens and leaders, an abiding devotion to your alma mater, and a commitment – indeed, a determination – to make the world a better place.”

MILLSAPS.EDU

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

COLLEGE COMMUNITY

MEETS

PANDEMIC CHALLENGES BY ANDY KANENGISER Millsaps College stakeholders faced immense challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic starting in March 2020, and leaders swiftly installed health protocols emphasizing safety on the Jackson campus. The college’s firm commitment stays on track this summer, fall and beyond. From President Robert Pearigen and the entire senior leadership team to Millsaps students, faculty and staff, the college community unified to address coronavirus concerns. Following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state mandates, Millsaps leaders mapped out strategies receiving high marks from college constituents. “I’d give Millsaps an A grade,” said first year student Britney Bachemin of New Orleans. As a Majors basketball player, she received three COVID-19 tests every week and masked up at hoops practices. The 5'6" guard made mask wearing part of her wardrobe in classes, at the cafeteria and across metro Jackson. “I feel comfortable around campus,” added the biology major and future physician. Social distancing, mask requirements, a dedicated quarantine and isolation residence hall and hand sanitizer stations throughout the 100-acre Millsaps campus are among the protocols. Millsaps isn’t letting its guard down, and nor are Jackson city leaders. As of late April, more than 3 million people worldwide had died from COVID-19, including over 568,000 Americans. Early during the pandemic, Millsaps officials pivoted to online instruction for two months, including virtual meetings, beginning in March 2020. In an April 2020 message, President Pearigen thanked faculty and staff for working at home during a stressful time to ensure that students receive a first-class education. “Everyone — students, faculty and staff — are demonstrating the best of Millsaps on a daily basis.” A sense of resilience was paramount as Millsaps students returned to in-person classes in August. Traditional classes remained during the spring semester, while many institutions around the nation continued remote learning. With students still masking up this spring, things are not quite back to normal, but it is getting there. “It feels great to be back in the studio finishing up one last round of undergrad work and to sort of prove to myself that I have progressed in my artistic abilities,” said Millsaps senior Haley Green. The Madison, Mississippi resident experienced “the intricacies of doing art practically from our bedrooms” when the pandemic began last spring. A studio art major and sociology minor, Green is a May graduate. The talented artist thanked professors for helping her thrive during a difficult year.

MILLSAPS.EDU

“Parents could envision their son or daughter attending Millsaps in a safe way – even during a pandemic,” Clarke said. The proactive approach that Millsaps officials took – from posting the latest information on the college website to a COVID-19 dashboard – got a thumbs up from parents. There were Zoom meetings to keep family members informed. The college’s Aramark food service team, led by Amy Abbott, immediately adopted COVID-19-safe food handling protocols. Aramark team members also served the food needs of students temporarily housed in Goodman Hall, the college’s quarantine and isolation residence hall.

A Millsaps studio art major, Julienne Pilcher appreciates how her teachers focused on making sure students received a premier education. “Our professors have gone above and beyond to work with us this past year,” said the junior from Ridgeland, Mississippi. “I have always felt the quality of instruction has been a priority. I am so thankful for all the work our faculty and staff have put in for the students.” Millsaps Vice President of Enrollment Beth Clarke believes the college’s size is a plus with the focus on personalized instruction. “Since we naturally have small classes at Millsaps,” she said, “we were able to find spaces on campus to accommodate our normal class size in a socially distanced way.” Keeping the campus open meant that Millsaps student tours proceeded with visiting family members. “We had a competitive edge in the recruitment process,” Clarke noted. A campus tour is one of the three leading influencers on college decisions. All signs, including enrollment deposits, point to an increase in attracting new students in the fall. Influencing those decisions, prospective students and parents observed that Millsaps was serious about its health protocols.

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

“We appreciated the way Millsaps very much acknowledged that school and social activities needed to look different in a global pandemic,” said parent Monique Harrison Henderson of Gluckstadt, Mississippi. “We made the decision to trust Millsaps with our daughter – and to some extent our own health, too,” the education consultant said. “They’ve proven worthy of that trust!” The Hendersons’ daughter Hannah is enjoying living on campus as a first year Millsaps student – even in the midst of a global health emergency. A biochemistry major and future physician, she salutes the college’s COVID-19 action plan, which makes safety the top priority. “I feel strongly that Millsaps has handled the pandemic better than any university in the state. They have somehow found the perfect balance,” Hannah said. “I don’t feel so locked down – like I can’t do anything. But they take the virus seriously and are dedicated to protecting the health of our community.”

MILLSAPS SPORTS STAY ON COURSE DURING THE PANDEMIC Challenges were off the charts for Millsaps Athletics Director Aaron Pelch. Overseeing student-athletes is a big part of campus life, and he did so while trying to deal with the COVID-19 global health emergency. More than 300 student-athletes play 18 Division III NCAA sports at Millsaps. They are pretty familiar with COVID tests and other health protocols. Pelch estimates they’ve been tested for the coronavirus nearly 6,000 times. There were only four positive cases for the college’s studentathletes for the spring semester weeks before the May commencement. Athletes typically get tested three times a week and take rapid tests before boarding school buses for road trips. “We had a really smart way of allowing all sports to play and practice in the fall with minimal disruption,” Pelch said at his office in the Maurice C. Hall Activities Center. No games were missed for Majors squads in the spring due to the pandemic.

A member of the Millsaps coronavirus response committee chaired by Vice President of Finance and Administration Whitney Emrich, Pelch, like the rest of the world, is anxious to see the pandemic end. There will be more steps toward normalcy in the college’s 131st academic year. The Majors 2021 football season is booked with a full schedule, starting with capital city rival Belhaven in the annual “Riverside Rumble.” Millsaps hosts the Blazers on Thursday, September 2. “This fall, we fully expect to be back to normal with ten football games,” said Pelch, the former Majors head football coach. “We hope the crowds will be back.” There will be over 50 incoming first year students suiting up in purple and white uniforms with other new teammates in August.

On the diamond, Majors softball player Leslie Norris adjusted to pandemic routines like waking up before 7 a.m. several times a week for coronavirus testing. An outfielder from Hoover, Alabama, the senior missed out on seeing Jackson’s unique cultural attractions due to the health crisis. “However, our community managed to experience greater closeness due to the trials we face together,” Leslie said. “As a result, we have grown in respect for one another and in appreciation for the incredible game itself as well as those who stood up and supported us.”

Typically, football games at Harper Davis Field attract 1,500 to 1,800 fans. But pent-up demand for live sports may draw more people to the 3,000-seat stadium. A full schedule is also set for Millsaps basketball games in 2021–22 at the Hangar Dome.

MILLSAPS.EDU

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

THE COLLEGE’S STRATEGIC PLAN Work is now underway at Millsaps to plan the next 10 years. Building on a tradition of academic excellence that is enhanced by our location, the next strategic direction for Millsaps College is aimed at growing the strengths of our shared community around student success for the 21st century. The key elements of Millsaps College Version 2025 will include: • Expanded opportunities for engaged and experiential learning. • Implementation of the Pathways program to support career exploration. • Innovative approaches to produce informed, participatory and empathetic citizens. • Continuing commitment to leveraging the college’s location as a differentiating factor for its mission, programs and financial success. • A campus that fosters a sense of place for all students that is exciting, supportive, successful and fun. • Ongoing opportunities for continuing education. Students, faculty, staff and administrators have been working on the strategic planning process in various capacities since summer 2019. In 2020, all members of the college community were invited to voluntarily serve on one of four committees to drive the construction of the plan, including committees focused on learning, living, location and legacy. Over the coming summer, the strategic plan’s steering committee will utilize these committees’ reports to construct Version 2025, which will be presented to the college’s Board of Trustees in October 2021.

MILLSAPS.EDU

BY MYLES MELANCON

PATH TO THE HARDIN GRANT As prospective students and families have visited Millsaps’s campus in recent years, admission officers have noticed a common trend. One topic seems to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind: jobs. And not just any jobs, but fulfilling and well-paying ones. This is reflective of a national trend: more and more students are viewing college as the pathway to a successful career. “There is a growing expectation among families that a college education must result in a clear path to a career,” said Millsaps Provost Dr. Keith Dunn. “They want to know how Millsaps, at every step along the way, will help them identify and attain meaningful careers. We have always had a strong record of graduate outcomes, but our students, families and employers all tell us we need to be more intentional about demonstrating those outcomes toward professional success.” However, this new direction raises a foundational question for the college, an institution proud of its liberal arts heritage. Specifically, how can Millsaps remain a place committed to the type of broad-based intellectual growth and formative experiences that are the hallmarks of a liberal arts education while simultaneously prioritizing career development and service to communities? The Millsaps Pathways Program provides the answer. The program, which will begin implementation in fall 2021, features six student pathways to career readiness — arts, culture and communications; business; exploratory; health; STEM/data science; and law, politics and social leadership — that connect students with similar areas of interest and professional goals. With focused attention on experiential learning such as student internships and study abroad, the Pathways Program will enrich Millsaps’s legacy of academic excellence by providing more opportunities for students to practice the skills that employers are seeking. Students will continue to engage the same broad range of thought, perspectives and experiences as before, but will now do so with the sense of purpose and belonging that comes from being part of a cohort with common professional interests and aspirations. Millsaps was thrilled to find the perfect partner to help implement what will become the defining academic initiative in the college’s emerging strategic plan. The Phil Hardin Foundation brings a strong vision and commitment to academic excellence

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

as the norm for all Mississippians and has pledged a $500,000 grant in support of the project. “Millsaps has always been a place where students can discover their gifts, find their vocation and connect with the wider world, but the Pathways Program provides a structured approach that will focus even more on preparing students for a career,” said Lloyd Gray, the Foundation’s executive director. “We at The Phil Hardin Foundation are great believers in the value of the first-rate liberal arts education Millsaps offers, and we see this initiative as a means of both demonstrating and enhancing that value.”

A longtime supporter of Millsaps, the Hardin Foundation has funded projects ranging from student internship programs to the Eudora Welty Chair of Southern Literature. Its most recent gift promises to be one of the most impactful. “We are deeply grateful to the Hardin Foundation for the lasting influence their generosity will have on our students and our community,” added Dunn. “The Pathways Program ensures that Millsaps will continue to live boldly into its mission of graduating students who are prepared to shape the economic, cultural and social progress of our region.”

MARY NOBLE HOWARD, ONE LEAF, 24" X 36" OIL PAINT ON WOOD, PLEXIGLAS, PLASTER, ARTIFICIAL GREENERY, AND HOT GLUE. 2021 MILLSAPS.EDU

BY ANDY KANENGISER

WINDGATE VISUAL ARTS CENTER SHINES BRIGHT Alicia Porter’s stunning digital prints spotlight the images of a young Japanese woman, including one wearing a COVID-19 mask. It’s among the newest works of the gifted Millsaps College senior on display at the Windgate Visual Arts Center. A studio art and creative writing major, Alicia is thrilled to tell visitors about her artistic contributions featured in the Windgate Visual Arts Center’s Hall Gallery. Part of a monthlong senior exhibit, her creations showcase Japan’s people and the intricate letters of its language. Tokyo sits more than 6,700 miles from Jackson, Mississippi. But her art pieces bring the host nation of the 2021 Olympics so much closer to the Magnolia State. Dedicated in fall 2019, the Windgate Visual Arts Center serves as the splendid venue where Millsaps students develop their craft as future artists, take classes and enrich the metro Jackson arts community. Located near Harper Davis Field, the spacious building is counted among the treasures on the 100-acre Jackson campus. “Everyone is super excited about it,” says Porter, a New Orleans native now living in Mississippi’s capital city. The Windgate Center also houses the Michael T. McRee Wing for Studio Arts, with a foundry, woodshop, printmaking studio and papermaking facility. It is home as well to classrooms, faculty offices, a student lounge, other studios and more. Donors supplied generous gifts to Millsaps to make the 17,300-square-foot arts venue a reality two years ago.

as studios, for painting, sculpture, drawing, papermaking and Mac Lab spaces for digital art and design.

Millsaps junior Madison Milano is just as passionate about the building’s many benefits to students. “Having the opportunity to be able to work in a building that offers materials as well as insights to my art has helped me develop my own work more than I thought possible,” she said. “It is also very accessible for art students who work at late hours like me.”

For years, Millsaps art classes, faculty offices and students’ creative activities were cramped on the third floor of the Gertrude C. Ford Academic Complex. Its successor opened in style for a few months by hosting more than 10 exhibitions before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. Mask requirements, social distancing and other health protocols suddenly became part of the Millsaps landscape.

An art history and studio art double major, Madison enjoys taking a breather from academic life as a player on the Millsaps women’s soccer team. A painter, the New Orleans native is impressed with the Windgate Center’s multiple work spaces, as well

Assistant professor of art Sue Carrie Drummond noted a tremendous upside to the visual arts headquarters. The facility addresses the needs

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

ALICIA PORTER

of art students, and strengthens the college’s longstanding connections to the Midtown Jackson arts community. “The Windgate Center has allowed us to have all of our disciplines under one roof,” says Drummond, a 2012 Millsaps studio art graduate. “It’s nice to be in a building in which to make art.” With Majors football games returning this fall, the grassy area outside the arts complex near the new North West Street gate should attract plenty of tailgaters, as it did in 2019. In the future, gallery shows promoting gems of some of the South’s finest artists will help the Windgate Center become a destination point on campus.

Art history professor Elise L. Smith is among the building’s biggest admirers. “The fact that we now have state-of-the art facilities helps our students take themselves and their work in the department more seriously,” Smith says. “They’re finally able to see, in the form of this beautiful building, the importance of the fine arts in the context of a liberal arts college.” Seeing the Hall Gallery immediately upon entering the building offers an inviting welcome to students, faculty and visitors. A student lounge with comfortable seats, a kitchenette and a library with art books are among the facility’s other perks. A seminar room

is well used by studio and art history students. The Sanderson Chair of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Smith points to “the energy that comes from the interaction of studio and art history students and faculty all together in a single dedicated building.” Teaching art classes remotely this year because of the pandemic, Dr. Smith, like so many educators across the nation, is pleased to see a return to more essential activities on college campuses. The Windgate Visual Arts Center will clearly play a vital role in the future of Millsaps College.

MILLSAPS.EDU

GENEROUS DONORS CREATED THE WINDGATE VISUAL ARTS CENTER Millsaps College supporters provided substantial contributions to construct the Windgate Visual Arts Center to serve the Majors community for generations to come. Funds for the Windgate Center, the creative heart of the Millsaps campus, included a $2.5 million challenge grant from the Windgate Foundation in Arkansas, which has generously supported contemporary craft and visual arts since 1993. Specifically, the foundation encourages visual arts and scholarships for higher education institutions, including funding of visual arts programming, materials, tools and equipment for visual arts, art-integrated instructional programming and art-related scholarships.

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

Among the biggest private donors to Millsaps’s Windgate Center include Maurice Hall, a Millsaps trustee and prominent alumnus, and his wife, Cathy. They contributed $1 million to build the Hall Gallery, showcasing the works of Millsaps students and nationally acclaimed artists. “Cathy and I count ourselves as privileged to be among those who responded to the challenge by the Windgate Foundation to bring the magnificent Windgate Visual Arts Center to the Millsaps campus,” Maurice Hall said. “Neither of us are artists, but both of us love and collect art that we find beautiful.” Since the Methodist-affiliated institution opened in 1890, Millsaps has been strongly tied to the arts world in Central Mississippi, and has developed connections that stretch to points around the globe. “The visual arts have always been significant to the Millsaps experience, just as they are so necessary to our civilization,” Maurice Hall said. “Artists create from an inspiration, and I believe those who give most often do so because they are inspired by someone or something.” Helping inspire the Halls to give to the Visual Arts Center campaign was their daughter, Catherine. She earned her undergraduate and MBA degrees at Millsaps. Encouraged by faculty in the Else School of Management, Catherine completed her bachelor’s degree with a minor in art. “Her love and pursuit of the visual arts inspired us to see the importance of visual arts here at Millsaps,” added Hall. Also contributing to the facility’s birth was Sandra Murchison, a former Millsaps art professor. Now the director of the School of Arts and Design at Eastern Michigan University, she was instrumental in connecting the Windgate Foundation to the college.

A few years ago, Murchison and professor Kristen Tordella-Williams gave Maurice Hall a tour of the old visual arts facilities in the Ford Academic Complex. That visit convinced the former Millsaps trustees board chair there was an urgent need for a separate building devoted to visual arts. “Our students were trying to create under difficult conditions where they couldn’t even wash paint off their brushes without clogging the plumbing,” he said. An executive with Hall Timberlands of Meridian, he credits the “persuasive powers” of Millsaps President Robert Pearigen for encouraging the Halls to contribute to build a fabulous arts venue. Another key contribution of $500,000 came from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to help match the large gift from the Windgate Foundation. The Trust focuses on initiatives that improve literacy and college preparedness, contribute to community-building and economic vitality and inspire a sense of collective purpose and shared humanity. Current Trustee Thomas S. Kenan III, whose friend and 1965 alumnus James W. Crow introduced him to Millsaps, has become a sincere believer in the mission of the college. An artist and former Millsaps trustee, Michael T. McRee, also made sizeable gifts to bring the 21st-century structure to fruition. “Having a modern visual arts center puts Millsaps in a position to attract talented young people with ambitions in the arts,” McRee said. “That makes Millsaps a more vibrant and exciting cultural center in our city. And Jackson becomes a more attractive and welcoming environment because of it. A city without an active arts community has no soul.”

MILLSAPS.EDU

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Help keep the Millsaps family up to speed on what’s happening in your own family! We want to know about a new child, a wedding, a new degree or award, job promotions and more! If something fantastic is happening in your life and you want to share it in our magazine with your classmates and friends, let us know! We’d love to have photographs as well, but please be sure they are high-resolution; we want to use the best in our magazine! There are also times you will need to let us know about the loss of a classmate or friend of the Millsaps family. We welcome you to submit listings for our memorial section as well. You can submit all of your information through www.mbench.org/MyNews. If you’re not already registered on there, please sign up so we can stay in touch with you. GO MAJORS!

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

VIRTUAL LEARNING

STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO

LIBRARY AND RESEARCH MATERIALS

CAREER PREPARATION

STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN GREEK LIFE STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

SCHOLARSHIPS

HIGHEST GRADUATION RATE FOR ANY FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY IN MS

RANKED BY FORBES AS THE BEST COLLEGE IN MISSISSIPPI

WITH A GIFT TO THE ANNUAL FUND, YOU MAKE THE MILLSAPS EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE. TO GIVE, VISIT

MBENCH.ORG/IMPACT

OR MAIL YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO 1701 NORTH STATE STREET, JACKSON, MS 39210

MILLSAPS.EDU

OUR PRESIDENTIAL AMBASSADORS NEVER GET STUMPED. These fun faces make up a portion of the college’s Presidential Ambassador Team, the group on campus that tells future Majors how they will belong at Millsaps.

MILLSAPS: THE MAGAZINE OF MILLSAPS COLLEGE 1701 North State Street • Jackson, Mississippi 39210-0001 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

PA I D

Jackson, MS Permit No. 164