Ole Miss Alumni Review - Spring 2018 by Ole Miss Alumni Association

OLE MISS ALUMNI REVIEW

SPRING 2018

ALUMNI REVIEW

SPRING 2018

Mississippi Marvel ALUMNUS GIVES NEW PERSPECTIVE ON HEROES FROM ‘BLACK PANTHER’ TO FINN IN ‘STAR WARS’

VOL. 67 NO. 2

Insight Park provides nurturing space for companies to develop

Consortium takes holistic approach to researching remains buried on UMMC campus

UMMC was named a national Telehealth Center of Excellence by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, one of only two programs in the nation to receive this honor. The designation recognizes the Center for Telehealth and their pioneering work using technology to deliver high-quality health care to patients in underserved and rural areas. At UMMC, telehealth has become an effective way to address health care disparities throughout the state. The award will allow the Center for Telehealth to expand the program, research outcomes, and help other health care organizations across the country set up their own telehealth programs.

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3/26/18 1:47 PM

Features ALUMNI REVIEW

Room to Grow 18

Insight Park provides nurturing space for companies to develop BY SHEA STEWART

24 Flying Under the Radar

Alumnus recounts long, adventurous career in law enforcement BY ANNIE RHOADES

28 Mississippi Marvel

Alumnus gives new perspective on heroes from ‘Black Panther’ to Finn in ‘Star Wars’ BY MICHAEL NEWSOM

34 The Asylum Hill Project:

In Search of What Was Lost

Contents

Consortium takes holistic approach to researching remains buried on UMMC campus BY GARY PETTUS

VOL. 67 NO. 2

Departments

SPRING 2018

ON THE COVER

2 Chancellor’s Letter 4 President’s Letter 6 From the Circle

16 Calendar

40 Ole Miss Sports

Kermit Davis returns to roots Coach Yo comes to town

46 Just Published

48 Rebel Traveler

50 Alumni News

Journalist and author Jesse Holland (BA 94) describes mythological worlds, such as the one depicted on the cover, in origin stories about two renowned characters: T’Challa aka ‘Black Panther’ and Finn in ‘Star Wars.’ Photo by iStock

O le M iss A lumni R ev iew Publisher Kirk Purdom (93) Editor Jim Urbanek II (97) jim@olemiss.edu Associate Editor and Advertising Director Annie Rhoades (07, 09) annie@olemiss.edu Editorial Assistant Bethany Fitts Contributing Editor Benita Whitehorn Art Director Amy Howell Contributors Andrew M. Abernathy (08, 10), Kevin Bain (98), Rebecca Lauck Cleary (97), Marlee Crawford, Sydney Slotkin DuPriest, Jay Ferchaud, Thomas Graning (17), Robert Jordan (83, 90), Nathan Latil (17), Joshua McCoy, Michael Newsom (05), Annie Oeth, Gary Pettus, Sarah Sapp (04, 09), Edwin Smith (80, 93), Christina Steube (11, 16), Shea Stewart (00), Jordan Thomas (09) Officers of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association Bobby Bailess (73, 76) president Augustus L. “Leon” Collins (82) president-elect Matt Lusco (79) vice president Andy Kilpatrick (74) athletics committee member Deano Orr (93) athletics committee member Alumni Affairs Staff, Oxford Kirk Purdom (93), executive director Joseph Baumbaugh, systems analyst III Allie Bush, graphic web designer Clay Cavett (86), associate director, campaigns and special projects Anne Cofer (07, 08), accountant Martha Dollarhide, systems programmer II Sunny Eicholtz (09, 11), coordinator of student engagement Annette Kelly (79), accountant Steve Mullen (92), assistant director for marketing Annie Rhoades (07, 09), communications specialist Anna Smith (05), assistant director Scott Thompson (97, 08), associate director, engagement Jim Urbanek (97), associate director, communications and marketing Torie Marion White (07), assistant director Rusty Woods (01), associate director for information services Warner Alford (60, 66), executive director emeritus The Ole Miss Alumni Review (USPS 561-870) is published quarterly by the University of Mississippi Alumni Association and the Office of Alumni Affairs. Alumni Association offices are located at Triplett Alumni Center, 651 Grove Loop, University, MS 38677. Telephone 662-915-7375. 17458

ALUMNI REVIEW

C hancellor from the

Dear Alumni and Friends,

As members of the Ole Miss family, we’re truly fortunate to have front-row seats for how our exceptional university — across all of our campuses — is a leading force for education, innovation and opportunity. It’s awe-inspiring to witness the countless ways we’re shaping the landscapes of our state and nation by educating our future workforce, serving our communities, spurring economic development, improving the health and wellness of our citizens, and discovering and applying new knowledge. Let me start by sharing that we launched a transformative initiative involving UM Oxford and UMMC from our new strategic plan, Flagship Forward. The powerful M Partner initiative, which will help us build healthy and vibrant communities, is focused upon community partnerships to create sustainable change. It will tap into the talents of our entire university to address core community challenges and goals — and offers a new way to join forces with some of our great towns and cities to make a difference. Our pilot partnerships are with New Albany, Lexington and Charleston. And while we’re on community impact, did you know that this year’s RebelTHON dance marathon raised $265,000 for our Blair Batson Children’s Hospital, shattering last year’s record-setting amount by more than $90,000? Or that we had thousands of student volunteers in our eighth annual Big Event, the single largest day of community service. There’s something particularly rewarding about student-led service and fundraising — their passion and commitment to having a positive impact in the world really resonates with our flagship mission. Another recent success is the fourth annual UM Research Day, which focused on scientific and scholarly research being conducted at UM Oxford and the Medical Center. More than 150 attendees learned about the work of more than 80 faculty, administrators and trainees, ranging from artificial neural networks to health in Zambia. This collaborative endeavor facilitates our researchers to build synergies, curate bold ideas and ultimately find ways to save lives, enhance quality of life and improve our world. There’s also a lot to celebrate in athletics excellence as a new era begins for our basketball programs. We’re excited about the passion and leadership that Kermit Davis and Yolett McPhee-McCuin bring to our programs and are delighted to welcome them into the Ole Miss family. And let me share a quick congrats to C.J. Moore for winning the 29th annual Chucky Mullins Courage Award — I know C.J. will wear “38” with honor and pride! On a final note, I’d like to recognize Sen. Thad Cochran, an Ole Miss alumnus, on his recent retirement after 40-plus years of public service. Well-known as the “Quiet Persuader,” his legacy of achievement will have a lasting impact. Thank you, Sen. Cochran, and best wishes! Sincerely,

Jeffrey S. Vitter Chancellor P.S. I’d like to congratulate Lindsey Elkins for winning the “I AM an Ole Miss Rebel” giveaway featured in the winter 2018 Alumni Review. Thanks to all who participated — be on the lookout for future giveaways!

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President from the

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ALUMNI REVIEW

The Ole Miss Alumni Association just had its spring meetings of the executive committee and board of directors. These were very well attended as is normally the case, and the level of participation and engagement was exceptional. The collective attitudes of these busy women and men are patently positive but not to the extent of being hesitant to be critical, if necessary. I am extremely grateful for the dedicated service of each one of them. These selfless volunteers, who leave their work and/or their families to give of their time and talents for the betterment of our Alumni Association, are to be recognized and commended. I hope you will take the time to thank each of them for their service. You can see bios of our new members along with a listing of all the Alumni Association board members starting on page 50 of this issue. It is remarkable how when we pull together, when we have the same goals, good things happen and great things fall into place. Your Alumni board had the thrill and pleasure of hearing from our new women’s basketball coach, Yolette McPhee McCuin – Coach Yo, and our new men’s basketball coach, Kermit Davis. Let me tell you, you can feel their energy and their passion. It is electric. Buy your tickets early. I was privileged to attend a meeting of football lettermen called by Coach Matt Luke. I was so impressed with the number attending on that cold, wet afternoon after the Grove Bowl. The mood was so positive, and a feeling of brotherhood permeated the team meeting room. Great things will grow out of this. Your Alumni Association recently hosted the Black Alumni Reunion. It was attended by more than 1,000 – yes – more than 1,000. This is the single largest event of the Alumni Association, and it grows each time. I’ll stop here, though I could go on with more happenings that make me proud to be an Ole Miss Rebel. I make these references humbly, but in proud recognition that we have something really special. This special place we love so much, this special place we call Ole Miss. We have so many positive things going for us. Yes, there is room for improvement. We can each do our part to make it better. I call on you to take the time to reflect on what you can do to make it even better. Hotty Toddy!

Bobby Bailess (BBA 73, JD 76)

Circle from the

THE L ATES T ON OLE MISS S TUDENTS, FACULT Y, S TAFF AND FRIENDS

Something to See

FIRST OF FOUR GALLERIES IN RENOVATED MARY BUIE WING REOPENS

he University of Mississippi Museum has reopened the first of four galleries in its Mary Buie wing, which is undergoing reinstallation to house the David M. Robinson Memorial Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities. The original Mary Buie Museum, which became a connecting wing upon the opening of the current museum building in 1977, has been vacant for nearly eight years. The reopened Buie West Gallery serves as an introduction to the ancient Mediterranean world. “The University Museum is exceptionally proud to launch this spring the first of a succession of openings of the galleries of our original 1939 Mary Buie building, now dedicated not only to a reinstallation of these internationally renowned antiquities collections but to their reinterpretation — telling their stories in freshly reimagined ways, under the exceptional leadership of collections manager Melanie Munns,” says Robert Saarnio, museum director. The gallery contains artifacts not previously on display from Egypt and the Near East, and from ancient Europe.

Another section features pottery arranged chronologically from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period. A large timeline and multiple maps aid in providing historical and geographical context. “They give viewers a visual timeline of pottery shape, painting and motifs,” says Munns (MFA 13). “My goal as curator and designer was to use a hierarchy of text and incorporated imagery to increase context and discovery.” The antiquities collection at the museum is widely regarded as the finest in the South and one of the best in the country. Most of the collection, containing more than 2,000 artifacts dating from 2500 B.C. to 500 A.D., was part of the personal collection of university professor David M. Robinson. Because of space constraints, less than 10 percent of the collection is on display. Once the reinstallation is complete in all four galleries, much more of the collection will be accessible to the public, and the variety of objects will paint a better picture of the ancient lives of Mediterranean people.

The University of Mississippi Museum has reopened the Buie West Gallery, which houses artifacts from the David M. Robinson Memorial Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities that date back to 2500 B.C.

Photo by Marlee Crawford

ALUMNI REVIEW

from the Circle

OXFORD CONFERENCE FOR THE BOOK CELEBRATES MILESTONE YEAR or a quarter of a century, poets, novelists, journalists and scholars have gathered at the University of Mississippi to celebrate the written word. This year’s milestone event again brought people together from far and wide to celebrate the 25th annual Oxford Conference for the Book. The three-day event, hosted March 21-23 by the UM Center for the Study of Southern Culture and Oxford business

Square Books, included readings, panel discussions and lectures by notable writers, first-time novelists and celebrated academics. “The fact that this is the 25th year for the Oxford Conference for the Book proves its longevity and shows how much people really support authors,” says James G. Thomas Jr., conference director. “I’m also excited to include a number of local writers this year, which I think showcases the

talent we have at our back door.” Besides novelists and library historians, this year’s participants included historians, sociologists and anthropologists, literary critics and cultural studies scholars, poets, essayists and memoirists, literature scholars, editors and publishers, and a wildlife biologist. To learn more, visit oxfordconferenceforthebook.com and the conference’s Facebook page.

‘Amazing’ Arts Center

UNIVERSITY MUSEUM NAMED AMONG NATION’S TOP 50 COLLEGE MUSEUMS

“Our exceptionally strong collections and exhibitions are experiencing significant increased national visibility, and we are flying into the national museum radar in a significant degree within these publications,” says Robert Saarnio, museum director.

Photo by Robert Jordan

he University of Mississippi Museum was named to College Rank’s 50 Most Amazing College Museums in the country. This is the third time the museum has appeared on national rankings lists in five years — a first in the museum’s 78-year history.

The UM Museum has been named among College Rank’s 50 Most Amazing College Museums.

“This is what can happen when a museum such as ours is embraced by its community and supported by a university leadership that understands how arts and culture enrich our campus life and strengthen our institution’s teaching, research and service mission.” The museum provides the campus and Oxford community with unique collections, annually rotating temporar y exhibitions and acclaimed educational programs for lifelong learners of all ages. Its programming for children, schools and families reaches 14,000 young north Mississippians each year. “The museum’s consistent high ranking among the best college museums in the country is a testament to those who chose it as a repository for treasured collections, and to Robert Saarnio and his staff who preserve and present those collections with such expertise,” says Mary Thompson, a board member for Friends of the Museum. Besides its collections, the museum also offers many educational opportunities for members of the community through lectures, adult studio workshops, family activity days, children’s art classes and summer programs. S P R I N G 2 018

from the Circle

Newsworthy Achievement

UM JOURNALISM PROFESSOR NAMED NEWSPRO EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR Photo by Nathan Latil

ancy Dupont, professor of journalism, earned the honor of top journalism educator by Crain’s NewsPro magazine earlier this year. She was recognized along with nine other teachers from universities around the country, including Syracuse, Columbia and Northwestern universities and the University of Georgia. “This award proves the Meek School is among the best in the nation,” Dupont says. “Our faculty are being recognized nationally for the great things they do. Anytime any of us is honored, we share the spotlight with our colleagues.” Dupont teaches journalism students about the broadcast news industry and is the adviser for NewsWatch Ole Miss, a student-led news broadcast. She says she spends most of her time in the Student Media Center because she loves the daily hustle and bustle of the newsroom. “The students’ storytelling and assembling a newscast keeps me energized,” she says. “I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.” The magazine cited Dupont’s passion for mentoring students and putting “her heart and soul” into working with students on the NewsWatch broadcast.

Journalism professor Nancy Dupont has been named NewsPro’s Educator of the Year.

“She’s there every day coaching and mentoring, and her ideas for special projects, such as covering the 10th anniversary of Katrina from the Mississippi coast, have given students amazing opportunities to hone their crafts,” NewsPro notes.

UNIVERSITY’S UNIQUE FINDS ON DISPLAY IN LIBRARY

T Photo by Thomas Graning

he University of Mississippi Libraries’ Department of Archives and Special Collections collaborated with the UM Museum to host “No Two Alike,” an exhibit of unusual materials from Mississippi artists and unique art publications from Special Collections’ rare book collection.

The latest exhibit at the Department of Archives and Special Collections in the J.D. Williams Library features iPads to provide a more in-depth experience for visitors.

The exhibit, open through Dec. 14 in the Faulkner Room of the J.D. Williams Library, includes paintings, pottery, woodcarvings and sculpture from the museum paired with archival materials 8

ALUMNI REVIEW

from Special Collections to provide context. The exhibit also features four iPad stations, offering an enhanced view of selected pieces in the display. Visitors can find pottery from Biloxi artist George Ohr, whose “No Two Alike” description of his work helped create the exhibition title. The display also includes paintings and handwritten notes from Theora Hamblett, woodcarvings from Sulton Rogers and original sculptures from blues musician James “Son” Thomas, among many other materials from different artists. Also showcased is an original copy of William Faulkner’s handmade book Marionettes, as well as cartoons drawn by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty. “The museum explores and appreciates every opportunity to partner with the Archives and Special Collections team, who are in every respect our analogous institutional peers in their mandate to preserve university collections and make them creatively and accessibly available to students, scholars and the community,” says Robert Saarnio, museum director. The exhibit, on the third floor of the J.D. Williams Library, is open to the public 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, excluding university holidays. For more information, email jwford@ olemiss.edu or call 662-915-7408.

from the Circle

Education Reboot

MCLEAN INSTITUTE TEAMS WITH NEWTON SCHOOLS FOR VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECT

Submitted photo

he McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement at the University of Mississippi has partnered with the Newton

ambitious, statewide mission to fight poverty through education,” says Albert Nylander (BAEd 92, MA 94), the institute’s director and UM professor of sociology. “We see virtual reality as a powerful tool that enables us to do transformative work with students and community partners from across Mississippi, and to bring these leaders together as a force for innovation and positive change.” The s cho ol dist r ic t recently hosted staff from the McLean Institute and Vince Jordan (front left) instructs Newton Municipal School District Superintendent Nola Bryant on how to use a pair of Lobaki Inc. of Clarksdale to showcase VR educavirtual reality goggles as local citizens and students observe. tion to staff and students. Municipal School District to introduce Bruce Ware (BBA 99), a McLean board member and Newton County native, virtual reality education in the state. “ The McLean Institute has an has been instrumental in engaging the

Ole Miss community with the school district for several years. “As an alumnus of both the University of Mississippi and Newton High School, it is incredibly encouraging to see these two organizations partnering together to benefit high school students in Mississippi,” Ware says. “I think that rural public school districts are often the last recipients of this kind of technology.” VR education places students in Mississippi at the forefront of schools in the United States and around the world. With the addition of the system, Newton Municipal School District is likely the only district in the state functioning at such a high level. VR topics include history, health and biology, art, space, molecular science, mathematics, geography and relaxation.

Follow the Leaders

UM EDUCATION PROFESSOR PICKED AS PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP SCHOLAR

unter Taylor (MAEd 08), an assistant professor in the University of Mississippi School of Education, has been selected into the newest class of the Presidential Leadership Scholars program, a leadership development program jointly run by the presidential centers of four former U.S. presidents. Taylor coordinates recruitment for the Mississippi Teacher Corps, an alternate-route teaching program that serves critical-needs classrooms in the state. In February, he joined a cohort of 59 individuals from nonprofit, military and other public and private fields as a member of the program’s fourth class. PL S s e r ve s as a c at a ly st for a diverse network of leaders brought together to collaborate and make a difference in the world as they learn

about leadership through the lens of the presidential experiences of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to learn and share ideas with people,” Taylor says. “This is the sort of networking opportunity where you can go and speak with people who are doing great things and figure out how you can pick up those ideas and bring it back to where you are.” In the program, Taylor will acquire a network of new peers and learn about leadership strategy firsthand from former presidents. As a 2018 scholar, he will also have the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., and several other major U.S. cities over the course of several months. While in the program, scholars also learn from top advisers

Hunter Taylor

and aides to former presidents and the leading academics who advised their administrations. S P R I N G 2 018

from the Circle Photo by Robert Jordan

UM campus volunteers sort through items collected in the Grove. The university has been named ‘Recycler of the Year’ among educational institutions in the state and was recognized at Recycling Day at the state Capitol.

Recycler of the Year

UM WASTE-REDUCTION WORK LEADS TO STATE AWARD

he University of Mississippi’s campuswide work to reduce waste that winds up in landfills has led to the university being named “Recycler of the Year” among educational institutions in the state and recognized at Recycling Day at the state Capitol. The Mississippi Recycling Coalition honored the university with the award for its 2017 efforts, which included composting, recycling waste collected on Ole Miss football game days, “tree cycling” and mulching, and education programs. Several campus entities, including Facilities Management, Landscape Services and the Office of Sustainability, as well as the City of Oxford Recycling Department, contributed to the work. “This is truly a collaborative effort among multiple departments on campus, and it’s great to see recognition for their hard work,” says Ian Banner, UM director of sustainability and facilities planning, and university architect. “While we are grateful for the publicity, it is important to know there is a huge amount of work still to do. There is demonstrated commitment of all those involved, and we fully intend to continue our push toward a healthier environment.” 10

ALUMNI REVIEW

The university has taken on several programs that have helped make UM a greener campus. A campuswide recycling program, which is operated by Facilities Management and through the City of Oxford Recycling Department, allows UM students, faculty and staff to recycle mixed paper, cardboard, plastics No. 1 and No. 2, aluminum and steel in recycling stations in all campus buildings. The Green Grove Gameday Recycling Program is a popular and well-known program in the Ole Miss student community. More than 650 students have volunteered with the program over the past two years. In 2017, the program diverted 2.78 tons of recyclables from landfills. The UM Compost Program has diverted more than 45 tons of pre-consumer food waste from landfills since its establishment in 2013 through collecting materials from campus dining locations. The finished compost is used in educational gardens on campus and is available to community members for purchase. Several other campus programs are part of the university’s broad efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and reuse as many materials as possible.

from the Circle

A Salute to Student Veterans NEW RESOURCE CENTER PROVIDES SPACE AND SUPPORT

Photo by Thomas Graning

he University of Mississippi best possible assistance for these stu- grateful the university is working to hosted a grand opening on Feb. dents in their transition from the mili- better our quality of life on campus, and 21 of its Veterans Resource Cen- tary to college life,” says Evan Ciocci, a from here on out, we want to continue to provide resources, ter, which provides student advocacy and support for veterans with a variety of student veterans. SVA and benefits to improve their veteran services provided quality of life on campus. the support to make MisMore than 1,300 Ole sissippi my home, and I Miss students are vetlove it here.” erans, active military or The resource center military dependents. This will also provide student center serves as a space veterans with academic for them to study, receive resources and test materisupport and camaraderie als such as Scantrons and from other veterans, and textbooks. The center is speak with university repseeking donations of any resentatives about veteran unwanted textbooks to issues such as GI benefits provide more options for and treatment. Andrew Newby, UM assistant director of veteran and military services, speaks its students. “The student veteran with guests at the grand opening of the university’s Veterans Resource Center. For more information population on campus continues to grow, making this facility sophomore and president of the Student about the center and veteran services a much-needed resource to provide the Veterans Association. “We are extremely at Ole Miss, visit vms.olemiss.edu.

LAW SCHOOL RECOGNIZES FACULTY EXCELLENCE

rofessor Matthew Hall has been named the recipient of the 2018 Ben A. Hardy Faculty Excellence Award, which is chosen annually by the dean of

Matthew Hall

the School of Law and the president of the Student Bar Association. “Professor Hall is very deserving of this award,” says Susan Duncan, dean of the law school. Both students and graduates often comment on what an outstanding teacher he is. He is well organized, clear in his presentation, engaging and available to students outside of class. I am proud to have Professor Hall as a colleague.” In addition to teaching full time, Hall was instrumental in the implementation of the law school’s unique 1L winter intersession course in Contract Drafting and Negotiation. As the coordinator for the program, he oversees all five sections and teaches a section himself. Hall works closely with the Moot Court program and is a driving force behind the law school’s rise in the ranks of nationally

recognized advocacy programs. Through his hard work restructuring the program and preparing teams for competitions, the law school continues to win national championships. “It is deeply flattering to receive the Hardy Award, especially considering the talent and commitment across the faculty,” Hall says. “UM Law’s engaged students definitely bring out the best in all of us.” Hall joined the law school faculty in 2001. He is the Jesse D. Puckett Jr. Lecturer, and his scholarly interests focus on the intersection of immigration law, criminal law and procedure, and national security law. He teaches a variety of classes including Property, Legislation, Criminal Procedure II and Federal Trial Practice. Prior to his time at UM Law, Hall worked as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. S P R I N G 2 018

from the Circle

MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, UMMC ANNOUNCE PEDIATRIC COLLABORATION

new collaboration between Memorial Hospital at Gulfport and Children’s of Mississippi will offer enhanced medical care to Gulf Coast children and families. This includes the planned acquisition of four of six Memorial pediatric clinics and a management arrangement for Memorial’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The staff will remain the same at the Gulf Coast pediatric clinics located in Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Orange Grove and Gulfport. Changes will include the Children’s of Mississippi branding as well as the specialized care and expertise of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “Memorial and UMMC are similar institutions with similar cultures, values and beliefs, and dedication to provide high quality and excellent patient care,” says Gary Marchand, president and chief

executive officer of Memorial. “Together, through our partnership with Children’s of Mississippi, we will preserve the long-term viability of pediatric services currently available and provide for more convenient access to specialty care for our youngest residents.” In January, UMMC began managing the Memorial NICU, the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s only Level III unit. Offering around-theclock care to newborns with special needs, the recently updated unit has 11 semiprivate rooms with 23 NICU beds. Children’s of Mississippi operates the state’s only Level IV NICU in Jackson. UMMC will also take over staffing of Memorial’s pediatric hospitalist service. Hospitalists are in-house physicians who focus exclusively on hospitalized patients. Once patients are discharged from the hospital, they will again receive care from their referring or primary care physician.

Healthy Relationship

UMMC, VANDERBILT MEDICAL CENTER ANNOUNCE AFFILIATION AGREEMENT

ALUMNI REVIEW

Photos courtesy of UMMC

niversity of Mississippi Medical Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center officials announced a strategic affiliation agreement that establishes a collaborative relationship between the two institutions. According to Dr. Charles O’Mara (BS 70), UMMC associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs, market forces have made it necessary for progressive health systems to seek new ways to improve the quality, value and experience of health care services for patients in Mississippi and Tennessee. “VUMC and UMMC share the common goal of improving the health of the populations we serve through outstanding patient care, biomedical research and teaching,” O’Mara says. “As the leading academic medical centers in our respective adjoining states, we also face many of the same or similar opportunities and challenges in today’s changing health care landscape.” Patients in Mississippi and Tennessee can benefit from shared evidence-based practices in areas of common interest, while clinicians and researchers will have new opportunities for cross-institutional collaboration. “Year after year, Southern states consistently rank near the bottom in the nation for certain health and wellness metrics,” says Dr. C. Wright Pinson, VUMC deputy vice chancellor for health affairs. “This agreement creates opportunities for our organizations to develop programs and services that will benefit the communities we serve while advancing our mission to improve the health of citizens who live throughout the Southeast.” Both organizations will contribute substantial strengths to the relationship. For example, UMMC is nationally recognized for its advanced telemedicine capabilities and for its

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (top) and the University of Mississippi Medical Center have announced an affiliation agreement that establishes a collaborative relationship between the two organizations.

tertiary clinical services that benefit the citizens of Mississippi, while VUMC is similarly recognized for its research, training programs and advanced capabilities in clinical care. Each institution remains independent and free to pursue individual initiatives. This strategic affiliation agreement provides a framework for both institutions to collaborate in select areas.

from the Circle Photos by Sydney Slotkin DuPriest

UM pharmaceutics graduate students Adwait Pradhan (left) and Jiaxiang Zhang conduct research in a School of Pharmacy lab, using equipment that will be integral to the new Master of Science in pharmaceutical sciences with an emphasis in industrial pharmacy program.

Science Graduates Wanted

UNIVERSITY OFFERS NEW MASTER’S PROGRAM WITH INDUSTRIAL PHARMACY EMPHASIS

he Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy is offering a new nonthesis-track master’s program this fall that will focus on preparing students with a science or engineering background to work in the pharmaceutical industry. The two-year program is designed for graduates with bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering, biology and chemistry who want to go directly into the pharmaceutical industry. By focusing mainly on the applied knowledge and skills needed to enter the workforce, graduates will be better prepared to make an immediate impact on the job. “This creates a track for people with or without a pharmacy background to either be trained in basic pharmaceutics and find a job in the industry or continue with a Ph.D. if they want,” says Soumyajit Majumdar, associate dean for research and graduate programs in the School of Pharmacy. Walt Chambliss (BSPh 77, MS 80), the university’s interim associate vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs, and Eman Ashour (PhD 15), research assistant professor of pharmaceutics and drug delivery, developed the program in response to several decades of decline in the number of pharmacy graduates going on to pursue master’s or doctoral degrees in pharmaceutics. Many opt instead to practice pharmacy in community or academic settings immediately upon earning their Doctor of Pharmacy. “With this targeted program, we’re preparing students to go into the industry and be immediately successful,” Chambliss says. Students in the program will be able to specialize in regulatory affairs, product development or manufacturing. 14

ALUMNI REVIEW

Course work will be similar to the school’s existing Master of Science in pharmaceutical sciences track but will revolve around condensed, project-based practical elements. This innovative graduate program and the school’s postgraduate training courses, such as the Hands-on Course in Tablet Technology and the Natural Products Training Labora-

UM pharmaceutics graduate students Tabish Mehraj (left) and Corinne Sweeney

tory, will continue to support the university’s efforts to develop pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in Mississippi. For more information about the Master of Science in pharmaceutical sciences with an emphasis in industrial pharmacy program, visit pharmacy.olemiss.edu/pharmaceutics/ professional-masters-programs.

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Calendar

M-Club Member/Guest Golf Scramble JUNE 20

MAY

Alumni Golf Tournament: Houston Ole Miss Alumni vs. Alabama Alumni. Tour 18, 3102 Farm Market 1960 E., Humble, Texas 77338. Visit rebelnetwork.olemissalumni.com.

Cash Flow Projections for Business Plan: Oxford, Small Business Development Center, 6-8 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

Starting a Business: First Steps. Oxford, Small Business Development Center, 6-8 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu. Starting a Business: First Steps. Southaven, First Regional Library, 5-6:30 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

How to Develop a Business Plan: Oxford, Small Business Development Center, 6-8 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu. -22 Youth Music Theatre Workshop: Ford Center. Visit fordcenter.org.

Cash Flow Projections for Business Plan: Southaven, First Regional Library, 5-6:30 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

Cash Flow Projections for Business Plan: Tupelo, Renasant Center for IDEAs, 1-2:30 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

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ALUMNI REVIEW

How to Develop a Business Plan: Grenada, Elizabeth Jones Library, 1-2:30 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

BancorpSouth Rebel Road Trip: New York City, 6-8 p.m., Harvard Club. Call 662-915-7375 or visit rebelroadtrip.com. New York Honors College Alumni Brunch: 10:30 a.m.-noon, The Benjamin. Call 662-915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com.

How to Develop a Business Plan: Tupelo, Renasant Center for IDEAs, 1-2:30 p.m. Visit events. olemiss.edu. How to Develop a Business Plan: Southaven, First Regional Library, 5-6:30 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

Washington, D.C., Ole Miss Club Meeting: 6-8 p.m. Location TBD. Call 662-915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com.

Calendar

Washington, D.C., Honors College Alumni Brunch: 10:30 a.m.-noon, The Hamilton. Call 662915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com. Mississippi on the Mall: 3-7 p.m., Henry Bacon Ball Field. Visit mississippisociety.org for tickets. Reception: Pharmacy Alumni and Friends Reception at Mississippi Pharmacists Association Convention, Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Destin, Florida, 6:30-8 p.m. Call 662-915-1878.

DFW Ole Miss Club Golf Classic: Bear Creek Golf Club in Dallas, Texas. Visit rebelnetwork. olemissalumni.com. -24 Oxford University Bank Two-Person Scramble: Ole Miss Golf Course. Visit rebelnetwork. olemissalumni.com. Cash Flow Projections for Business Plan: Oxford, Small Business Development Center, 6-8 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

M-Club Member/Guest Golf Scramble: Lake Caroline in Madison, noon. Call 662-915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com/events. Luncheon: Pharmacy Alumni and Friends Luncheon at Magnolia State Pharmaceutical Society Annual Meeting, IP Casino, Resort & Spa in Biloxi, 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Call 662-915-1878.

Cash Flow Projections for Business Plan: Southaven, First Regional Library, 5-6:30 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

Starting a Business: First Steps. Grenada, Elizabeth Jones Library, 1-2:30 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

Luncheon: UM Law Alumni Luncheon at the Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Bar, Hilton Sandestin Golf Resort & Spa in Destin, Florida, 12:15 p.m. Call 662-915-1878.

BancorpSouth Rebel Road Trip: Jackson, 5:30-7:15 p.m. Location TBD. Call 662-915-7375 or visit rebelroadtrip.com.

BancorpSouth Rebel Road Trip: Memphis, 5-6:30 p.m. AutoZone Park. Call 662-915-7375 or visit rebelroadtrip.com.

Reception: Pharmacy Alumni and Friends Reception at Mississippi Society of Health-System Pharmacists Annual Meeting, Oxford Conference Center, 6:30-8 p.m. Call 662-915-1878. For a complete and latest listing of Ole Miss sports schedules, visit olemisssports.com.

For more Oxford events, news and information, go to visitoxfordms.com or call 662-232-2477.

Photo by iStock

Atlanta’s Mississippi in the Park: 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Chastain Park. Visit mssocietyofga.org for tickets.

Cash Flow Projections for Business Plan: Tupelo, Renasant Center for IDEAs, 1-2:30 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

JULY

Starting a Business: First Steps JUNE 28

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ALUMNI REVIEW

Insight Park provides nurturing space for companies to develop

By Shea Stewart

S P R I N G 2 018

Photo by Kevin Bain

Photo by Nathan Latil

hen Insight Park at the University of Mississippi opened its doors in spring 2012, the idea was the 19-acre research and business park would provide opportunities for businesses to grow, taking advantage of the resources the university offers. Six years later, the park is still in its infancy — as far as research parks go — but it has already nurtured several success stories, as its existence has led to technology- and research-based companies working closely w it h UM’s w or l d - c l a s s researchers and enterprising students. “Insight Park is providing space for both startup and mature companies who have the desire to collaborate with the University of Mississippi,” says William Ni c h ol a s , Ins i g ht Par k assistant director and UM’s William Nicholas interim director of economic development. “We nurture student startup companies, provide space for university entities and rent space to companies wanting to collaborate with university researchers or hire our students.”

ALUMNI REVIEW

Jon Scala

Photo by Kevin Bain

health care, hospitality and fitness industries, in 2009, and later relocated it to Insight Park. He says Insight Park provided access to a solid office space infrastructure with best-in-class connectivity, a shared workspace model, access to interns (with JS Health Partners having hired at least a dozen over the course of its history) and a pipeline to Ole Miss students searching for full-time positions postgraduation. While developing JS Health Partners from a startup to eight figures in revenue, Scala started looking for an additional venture. In 2014, he acquired Health Check Audit, a leading zero-balance managed-care revenue recovery firm founded in 1995 and based in Florida, and added office space at Insight Park. The new office space provided Health Check access to university students and recent graduates, Scala says, and the company hired an initial group of 15 full-time employees in 2014 in Oxford and has hired over 30 Ole Miss alumni over the years in a variety of roles. This past fall, Health Check, which represents more than 1,400 hospitals, was acquired by New Mountain Capital and merged with other companies, and the entities are now rolled into one large company known as Revint Solutions, which employs over 400 team members and recovers $500 million annually for hospitals across the country. Photo by Kevin Bain

Other more mature companies located at the park are not in need of startup services but are located at the park because of the proximity to campus, Nicholas says. And while the Innovation Hub, the 62,000-square-foot, st ate-of-t he-ar t gate way building for Insight Park, has been home to numerous businesses since its inception, it also has forged stronger bonds among the university, local community and Ole Miss alumni with an entrepreneurial spirit. Since its grand opening on April 5, 2012, nearly 20 alumni-led businesses have called Insight Park — a sparkling complex on the west side of the UM campus — home. O f t he pr iv ate - s e c tor companies located at Insight Elizabeth Randall Park, at least seven have some kind of alumni connection, and many of the companies based at the park without a direct Ole Miss connection hire students from the university and/or collaborate with university researchers, Nicholas says. One of those companies with an alumni connection is Randall Commercial Group, a boutique commercial real estate investment brokerage and consulting firm, focused on properties and development opportunities in nine Southeastern states with deals reaching up to $50 million in estimated market value. Founded by Elizabeth Randall (BBA 03, MBA 05) in 2009, Randall Commercial Group moved to Insight Park in 2012 as one of the park’s original tenants. Randall says she made the move because she loved the creative energy and plans for diversity in the tenants at Insight Park as well as the leadership of Nicholas. “I also wanted the opportunity to interact with students, and being on campus at Insight Park provided a wonderful platform to form relationships with students as well as to enhance our internship program,” says Randall, who serves as president and associate broker of Randall Commercial Group. “We have had approximately 50 interns since inception, and they are now working all over the country.” Since moving to Insight Park, Randall Commercial Group has opened an office in Asheville, North Carolina, and is in the process of opening an office in Sarasota, Florida. “Insight Park has been a great recruitment tool into our company as it promotes a unique office environment and a culture of innovation and forward thinking,” Randall says. “Functionally, the facility is amazing with wonderful technology and meeting spaces for hosting clients and colleagues.” Jon Scala (BA 05, MA 06) has also found a nurturing environment for business ventures at Insight Park. Scala founded JS Health Partners, which provides textile products to the

Photo by Kevin Bain

The Innovation Hub is a 62,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building that serves as the gateway for Insight Park.

Scala is still a principal of the company and serves as executive vice president. Even as the company has grown, the roots of Insight Park are still strong within it, and Scala says having part of the company on campus affords it a pipeline for student interns and provides an easy transition into the workforce for Ole Miss graduates hired by the company.

FUELING OPPORTUNITY Creating job opportunities for Ole Miss alumni is one of the missions of Insight Park. “Economic development is part of our mission, so we hope to have a positive impact on development locally and regionally,” Nicholas says. “If we are attracting companies from the outside, then certainly we are creating opportunities for our faculty and our students. As we cultivate those relationships, businesses succeed and they continue to need more space and they hire more professionals.” The perfect scenario for Insight Park is to nurture companies that provide outstanding future employment opportunities for Ole Miss graduates, Nicholas says. Examples of such companies at Insight Park include Nemus Bioscience, a California-based life-science, biopharmaceutical company, and General Atomics, one of the world’s leading resources for high-technology systems, which is collaborating with university researchers on acoustic sensing and navigation

technologies for unmanned underwater vehicles. Insight Park is a piece of the economic development picture that specifically includes the university in creating and developing businesses in Oxford, says Jon Maynard, president and CEO of the Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation. He also serves as president and CEO of the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce. “The university is a huge part of our economy,” he says. “The local economy is very strong, and it has been developed around a philosophy of ‘growth from within.’ The real driver of the university’s economic development is the people and programs that help to create the economy. “William Nicholas is our go-to person when we want to mesh the efforts of the EDF and the efforts of the university. William is the conduit to a huge team of talented individuals on campus who focus on the academic side of things that develop our economy.” Maynard says the growth created in Oxford “absolutely must not endanger the cultural and civic spirit that have worked for three decades to grow our community.” With that in mind, he says developing and attracting alumni-owned businesses helps the local economy “grow from within.” “The goal is to attract and develop businesses who come pre-wired with the Oxford and Ole Miss culture,” Maynard says. “We have tremendous opportunity here to create an environment for entrepreneurs, and we would like to expand that circle to include successful alumni who are looking to get closer to Ole Miss and be a part of the community that they already love.” Startups and established companies looking at Insight Park are going to discover amenities and resources that will S P R I N G 2 018

TOWARD THE FUTURE

As the 2014 first-place winner of the Gillespie Business Plan Competition, organized by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the UM School of Business Administration, Janet McCarty received free office space at Insight Park and a prize of $10,000. McCarty used the prize money to expand her business, moving into Insight Park, and began wholesale distribution of Cotton’s Café dog treats in 2015. 22

Photo by Kevin Bain ALUMNI REVIEW

Photo courtesy of William Ault

assist them in becoming more successful such as cutting-edge data network and security systems, laborator y facilities, opportunities to use shared business office equipment and access to an executive in residence, who just so happens to be Randall. “I have had the privilege of meeting and interacting with tenants on possible business ideas as well as execution and logistics of their ideas,” Randall says of her duties. Sometimes those Insight The original Curtsy team (left to right, back row): Sara Kiparizoska, Manuel Cubillo, William Ault, Eli Allen, Park tenants become suc- Jake Johnson, Mary Margaret Tardy; (front row) Clara Agnes Ault, Haley Vassios, Allie Seay cessful and move on from the park, though Randall is still available to them. One of those former Insight Park tenants she assists is Curtsy, a mobile platform that helps college students rent formalwear to and from fellow students. Launched by Sara Kiparizoska (BA 16) and William Ault (BS 15) in January 2016, the business got off the ground at Insight Park, where Ault had interned. Of course, Insight Park is not only focused on alumniThe company has since moved to California after being chosen for Y Combinator, one of the country’s best-known and based companies — just companies that could use the collaborative opportunities afforded by the university. successful business incubators and accelerators.

connection to the university — ranging anywhere from hiring student interns to a research collaboration.” Before approaching Insight Park, Randall says entrepreneurs and companies should consider a number of elements. “If someone is contemplating a business, I suggest to get as much external and objective feedback as possible and thoroughly explore other companies working in the prospective industry to understand what is currently in the marketplace — what is working, what isn’t and what the next five years are projected to be in the sector,” Randall says. “It is critical to examine the risks as much on the front end and try to plan around them and mitigate them. Most importantly, be prepared to work harder than you have for anyone else, and do not be bothered by failure — it is by far the greatest learning tool. Ideally, examine how others have failed, and innovate around it.” Nicholas says Insight Park exists to have an impact on the short- and long-term economic development of the local

Photo by Kevin Bain

Insight Park is useful to new companies by providing technology and space that usually cost young businesses much more overhead. In fact, the first-place winner of the annual Gillespie Business Plan Competition, organized by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the UM School of Business Administration, received free office space at Insight Park — along with a prize of $10,000. A University of Southern Mississippi graduate, Janet McCarty studied at Ole Miss, and in 2014, she entered the Gillespie competition. A few months prior to winning the competition, McCarty started Cotton’s Café Dog Treat Barkery, which bakes healthy, all-natural dog treats using fresh farm produce and no artificial ingredients. She used the prize money to expand her business — moving into Insight Park — and began wholesale distribution of Cotton’s Café dog treats in 2015. Cotton’s Café is now distributed in stores such as Whole Foods and Hollywood Feed.

Topical Products Testing LLC laboratory at Insight Park

McCarty jokingly says the shared business office equipment, such as a free copier, is how Insight Park has helped her business grow. But in reality, there’s much more, she says, such as “affordable rent … lots of space, tweets about our success and constant plugs in the community.” Nicholas and a review committee approve tenants who apply for space at Insight Park, and they consider several factors when selecting companies. Nicholas stresses that Insight Park was not designed to be an office park for established companies looking for more office space or to compete with other local facilities. “We are looking for a sound business idea and an entrepreneur who is willing to leverage the talent and expertise at the university as well as the amenities offered at Insight Park,” he says. “We are seeking tenants that have some type of

community, as well as to help alumni launch their businesses. But there’s so much more to Insight Park. In short, its mission is to offer an enterprising environment to entrepreneurs and businesses so they can discover, collaborate and execute a plan for success. Besides the architectural and technological marvel that is the Innovation Hub, those entrepreneurs and businesses have access to opportunities for collaborative research, academic resources and a wealth of local talent. Six years in, Insight Park is well on its way to establishing itself as a place where insight is transformed into innovation. But Nicholas knows more success stories are on the horizon. “We are still young,” he says. “It takes time to build a research park that impacts the entire community, but we are well on our way.” S P R I N G 2 018

Alumnus recounts long, adventurous career in law enforcement

Photo by iStock 24

ALUMNI REVIEW

t is a quiet night on a mostly deserted runway in the Mississippi Delta, and two undercover narcotics agents are outnumbered and outgunned. For Tom Morgan (BPA 78), this night is just one of many perilous experiences highlighting a long career as an agent and pilot with such agencies as the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “It can be nerve-wracking, but honestly it’s exciting,” says Morgan, who is now a polygraph examiner and retired federal law enforcement officer and criminal investigator. “Sometimes you do wonder, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I doing?’” That night in the Mississippi Delta, Morgan and another agent flew in on a mission to sell a load of marijuana to a local drug organization. “It was just the two of us initially and about five or six bad guys, so by the time everybody pulled a gun, everybody had one,” he says. “That was an exciting evening, and there have been numerous things like that happen. The stories all seem to run together after a while.” The other agent accompanying Morgan that evening was alumnus Randy Corban (BPA 73), law enforcement coordination specialist with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi. “I’ll never forget, it was sort of comical how long we waited on the dealers at the airport that night, and to add to that, while we were consummating our deal, a twin-engine Aero Commander aircraft landed and taxied right up to us,” Corban recalls. “[They] immediately turned around, taxied back to the runway and took off when they saw us. Tom and I have always suspected [that] plane might have been another drug deal that we spooked away.”

Born in Memphis, Morgan grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. His love of flying began at age 16 when he first soloed at the Jackson County Airport in Pascagoula. He earned his pilot’s license at 17 and spent time flying on his own over the next few years. “When I was at Ole Miss, I had a buddy of mine that was a pilot, and he and I were aviation explorers as part of a Scouting program,” he says. “We did a lot of flying together in that program, so I built time and experience doing that and, over time, gradually got into the law enforcement side of it.” Morgan knew he wanted to attend Ole Miss, but, like many underclassmen, was uncertain about his major. On the advice of his roommate, alumnus Buddy Seely (BPA 78), retired criminal investigator for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, he took a class in criminal justice to see if he was interested in the field. “I think it was called police patrol operations or something at that time, and I loved it,” he says. “The course was very interesting. It just seemed to fit, so I changed majors into the criminal justice department, which I think at t h at t i me w a s c a l l e d pu bl i c administration.” Morgan stayed with his new field of study and never looked back.

Photos courtesy of Tom Morgan S P R I N G 2 018

Morgan working as a pilot for U.S. Customs in October 1991

Morgan with his daughters, Lindsey (left) and Natalie Morgan

“Tom and I go back almost 50 years, and it is a privilege to call him a friend,” Seely says. “Neither of us would have enjoyed our career successes without the leadership, counsel and real-world preparation provided to us by the UM faculty and staff. I am so proud to see how Ole Miss has nurtured the program’s growth over the years and has today made it nationally recognized.” After graduating, Morgan began working for the Moss Point Police Department as a patrolman and later became an investigator for the Jackson County Sheriff ’s Office. When a position opened at the MBN, he jumped at the chance. “I was contemplating a way to balance aviation and law enforcement together, and I was very lucky in that I was able to do that once I went to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics,” Morgan says. “I hit them at just the right time. They had several aircraft, and they didn’t have anybody at the time that could fly them, and I could.”

Morgan served for six years as an agent and eventually the chief pilot with MBN. In 1987, he had enough aviation experience to accept a job with U.S. Customs and Border Protection as a pilot flying drug interdiction missions along the Southwest border. “For a couple of years there, I was an aviation group supervisor, and that was a fun job,” he says. “I was able to fly a variety of aircraft from small single-engine airplanes all the way up through jets. We got to fly Cessna Citation [planes] using intercept radar, and when drug traffickers would enter the country, we would intercept them and track them to their point of landing. Then we would direct ground forces in to make the arrest.” The work entailed deploying crews and aircraft to Mexico, Central America and further south into upper South America, running drug interdiction missions alongside the Mexican Federal Police as well as U.S.-based law enforcement. “I did a lot of undercover work as a pilot when I was with Customs, where I would pose as a smuggler and fly loads of cocaine into airports and pay off officials to run protection for us. Then we would arrest the bad guys months later.” 26

ALUMNI REVIEW

Morgan left U.S. Customs in 1995 and began working for the Drug Enforcement Administration. “After a few years of flying above the action, Tom decided to get his hands dirty and transferred to DEA,” Seely says. “Attending a grueling military-style academy with most of his fellow recruits at least 10 to 15 years his junior, he graduated first in his class. He was assigned to Memphis and jumped right in to various operations.” After serving in the Memphis office for a couple of years, Morgan transferred to Fort Worth, Texas, to work as a special agent and pilot for the agency’s aviation division. “When I moved over to DEA, the mission was a little different,” he says. “We would typically take a sensory-equipped aircraft that had a lot of photography-type, military-designed equipment to do aerial reconnaissance intelligence gathering. We would go out looking for cocaine labs. “Of course, during that time, a lot of the narcoterrorism groups like the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — People’s Army) and the ELN (National Liberation Army) were operating down there and providing protection for the drug cartels. “We would go out and try to find these areas, take pictures and do the reconnaissance, which included preparing intelligence packages for the U.S. Embassy and then work with our South American counterparts to help them go out and take down the cocaine labs.” Morgan’s missions involved flying for weeks at a time all over Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, as well in the Caribbean and Central America, depending on where the need arose. “I think the people there know you’re not Colombian or Peruvian,” he laughs. “You’re pretty much undercover and just try to stay low-key. They don’t know what you’re there for. They assume you work out of the embassy.” Danger is an inherent part of the job. Dodging bullets hurled at the plane by narcoterrorism groups and flying in and out of remote parts of the Colombian jungle come with their fair share of risk. “We would plot our time over our targets to try to minimize their ability to shoot us down,” Morgan says. “We would

stay high for as long as we could, then descend over the target to get pictures and get out of there as quickly as possible. We would go to such remote areas, especially in the Colombian jungle, where you didn’t have enough fuel to get back, so we’d have to find some place to land and get fuel.” According to Morgan, such remote locations were “interesting” to say the least. “We were in areas of the country that were controlled by the bad guys, so we had to make sure we got in, got our fuel and left. There were a couple of times I remember landing and the National Police saying, ‘OK guys, you need to be out of here in the next two hours because the FARC has got this place surrounded.’”

Morgan (left) with Ole Miss classmates Ken Ford and Buddy Seely

Morgan’s career took an unexpected turn in early 2002. In the wake of 9/11, he transferred to the newly created Federal Air Marshal Service, which eventually fell under the Transportation Security Administration. “I think everybody kind of felt like they wanted to do something after 9/11 to try to contribute to aviation transportation and make it a safer place, so myself and several of my buddies in DEA transferred and began working as federal air marshals,” he says. Morgan flew missions with the Air Marshal Service for over a year and was also the lead firearms instructor for the field division. “They have the highest firearms standards in federal law enforcement,” he says. “Right after 9/11, of course, anxiety levels were high. Basically, your job was if someone tried to hijack the airplane, you were supposed to not let that happen. It’s a very good agency with a very narrow mission, which is the prevention of hijacking of an aircraft.” Having previously received training as a special agent, Morgan was promoted within TSA into an investigative assignment. “The agency decided to create an investigative branch within TSA, which was primarily an internal affairs unit,” Morgan says. “There were only about 100 of us nationwide, and in an agency the size of TSA, that kept us pretty busy.” During his last three years with TSA, he was assigned to the polygraph division.

TSA decided to expand its polygraph program, and in 2011, Morgan was selected to attend the National Center for Credibility Assessment, the federal government’s polygraph school in Columbia, South Carolina. After completing the master’s degree-level program and ensuing internship, Morgan received his graduate certificate in psychophysiological detection of deception. “He can be incredibly focused, whether on a small project or achieving a larger goal,” Seely says. “He takes pride in his work and is not afraid of hard work. He is willing to take chances, open to learning and, when it happens, (willing to) embrace failure. [Tom] is always on the lookout for opportunities and eager for challenges.” Morgan retired in 2013 after serving at multiple levels within the U.S. government for 35 years, only to continue working as a polygraph examiner through his newly formed company Alliance Polygraph Services. “Through my business, I have continued to stay active in federal law enforcement and federal agencies, where I can maintain my security clearance and things of that nature by contracting with the government.” His work since retirement has taken him across the globe to London, where he served as an instructor for a new polygraph program with the police and National Probation Service in the United Kingdom, and Afghanistan, where he continues to do contract work with the U.S. Department of State in its counterintelligence/counterterrorism program, vetting Afghan nationals who wish to work for the U.S. Embassy. “I would have to say my favorite part of my career has been the variety — being able to do different things and avoid the burnout that some of my colleagues have experienced,” Morgan says. “And I’m very thankful that I’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of great, intelligent people who are selfless in being willing to help guide you along the way.”

Morgan (right) at the graduation of the first polygraph class conducted for U.K. Police and National Probation Service officers at the National Police College outside of London. He is pictured with Detective Sgt. David Bird (left), London Metropolitan Police, retired; and Donnie Dutton, director of Behavioral Measures, U.K. Polygraph School.

Having served nine years in state and local law enforcement followed by 26 years in federal law enforcement, Morgan is proud of the work he’s done. “I’ve participated in everything from little cases to huge cases that affect national security, so I do feel like I’ve made an impact in my own way. It’s been a blast.” S P R I N G 2 018

Photo courtesy of Jesse Holland

Alumnus gives new perspective on heroes from ‘Black Panther’ to Finn in ‘Star Wars’

“BLACK PANTHER” HAS SMASHED BOX OFFICE RECORDS TO THE TUNE OF MORE THAN $1.3 BILLION WORLDWIDE SINCE OPENING IN FEBRUARY. IT’S THE HIGHEST-GROSSING NONSEQUEL SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER, AND IT’S STILL RAKING IN THE CASH EVEN WITHOUT BATMAN, SUPERMAN OR IRON MAN MAKING AN APPEARANCE IN IT. CRITICS HAVE PRAISED IT FOR GIVING THE PUBLIC A NEW KIND OF HERO. THE MAIN CHARACTER, FIRST SEEN IN MARVEL COMICS IN THE 1960S, IS AFRICAN-AMERICAN — A RARITY IN THE GENRE. BEFORE THE WORLD LAID EYES ON ACTOR CHADWICK BOSEMAN IN THE ROLE OF THE PROTAGONIST, T’CHALLA, MARVEL TAPPED A UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI GRADUATE AND RESPECTED AUTHOR TO UPDATE THE STORY AND REINTRODUCE IT TO THE WORLD THROUGH A NOVEL. THAT WRITER IS JESSE HOLLAND (BA 94), A LIFELONG, SELF-DESCRIBED “COMIC BOOK GEEK,” WHO GRADUATED WITH A JOURNALISM DEGREE.

Illustration by iStock S P R I N G 2 018

OLLAND JUMPED AT THE CHANCE TO WORK ON “BLACK PANTHER.” “This is not a recycled superhero story,” he says. “It is not the third different actor playing the same character. This is something that is completely new, completely different as far as superhero movies go. “One of the things we are going to see behind the success of this character is that we as Americans don’t need to see the same story over and over. We are accepting of new heroes and new mythologies, and, in fact, we're more accepting of heroes of all

Photo by Thomas Graning

“THIS EDITOR FROM LUCASFILM CALLS AND ASKS, ‘ARE YOU A FAN OF STAR WARS?’ I SAID, ‘I LOVE STAR WARS!’ “THEY SAID, ‘WE’RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO WRITE THE BACKSTORY OF THE CHARACTER OF FINN. HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN FICTION BEFORE?’ I SAID, ‘I LOVE STAR WARS!’ “I’D NEVER WRITTEN FICTION BEFORE, BUT I WASN’T GOING TO TELL THEM THAT.”

and Lupita Nyong’o. Rapper Kendrick Lamar produced the soundtrack. In addition to “Black Panther,” Holland also h as b een involved in one of the largest movie franchises of all time. Disney Lucasfilm Press commissioned him to write the history of Star Wars’ newest black hero, Finn. He told his story in the 2016 young adult novel Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Finn’s Story. The voracious consumer of sci-fi and comic books jumped at the chance to work on “Star Wars.” The original film, which was released in 1977, was the first movie Holland saw in a theater. That experience spawned a lifelong obsession with the series. He had to play his cards right, though, to land the gig with Lucasfilm. “This editor from Lucasfilm calls and asks, ‘Are you a fan of Star Wars?’ I said, ‘I love Star Wars!’” Holland recalls. “They

— JESSE HOLLAND

colors and genders. America is ready for a different type of hero.” In 2016, Holland was hired to retell the story through a 90,000-word origin story based on material in comics. The goal was to create a new world for the main character, T’Challa, set in modern times. The end result was Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther? released last fall as part of efforts to promote the $200 million movie, which in addition to Boseman as T’Challa, features Forest Whitaker 30

ALUMNI REVIEW

said, ‘We’re looking for someone to write the backstory of the character of Finn. Have you ever written fiction before?’ I said, ‘I love Star Wars!’ “I’d never written fiction before, but I wasn’t going to tell them that,” he says with a laugh. The work on the two major franchises isn’t all he’s known for. His prize-winning nonfiction book The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House

(Lyons Press, 2016) helped land him the job writing the Star Wars and Black Panther books. He is also author of Black Men Built the Capitol. He is a longtime Washington-based reporter for the Associated Press and has covered the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court, among assignments. He is an AP race and ethnicity writer, and he teaches creative nonfiction writing as part of the Master of Fine Arts program at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland. Holland is a proud graduate of Ole Miss, and he has a longstanding connection to the university. He often comes back to campus to speak to students and enthusiastically provides them with career advice and fields their questions. Recently, he spoke at several events on campus, including a question-and-answer session with students and the public at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. UM Chancellor Jeff Vitter introduced him, noting Holland picked Ole Miss over Harvard when he was a talented young student growing up in a family of teachers and farmers in nearby Marshall County.

on its way to becoming one of the highest-grossing movies ever. It’s on track to become the third-highest-grossing movie of all time in the United States and Canada. The Wall Street Journal reported that during the first three months of 2018, “Black Panther” accounted for 23 percent of all ticket sales, even though it didn’t open until mid-February. But, before he was putting his own creative touches on two of the most successful movie franchises, Holland was a high school student growing up in Mount Pleasant, which is about 15 miles from Holly Springs. He was deciding between heading north for the Ivy Leagues or going to college just down the road at a university he loved. Ole Miss was always home for him and his sister, Twyla Henderson (BA 90, BS 01). They had spent lots of time on campus while their mother, who was Holland’s seventh- and eighth-grade English teacher, was finishing her master’s degree during fivesummer terms. The two Holland children would spend hours in the library reading while she was takingclasses.

Book covers courtesy of Jesse Holland

The chancellor said it’s always great when alumni return to campus to connect and share their wisdom with students. “I’m so impressed by the range of talents that you have,” Vitter said to Holland. “It took a while for me to go through them all. You are a great example of what can happen when you develop your strengths and embrace the exciting opportunities offered, which is a great lesson for all of our students.” Holland came to campus to speak as “Black Panther” was

“Jesse and I spent the mornings in the education building library, sitting on the floor reading,” Henderson says. “We ate a brown bag lunch on the hillside behind the old education building that is now part of the baseball stadium and field. Then we took swimming lessons in the outside pool that was across from the main library. On occasion, we spent time playing outside the main library, where Jesse always got us in trouble by throwing rocks at the glass downstairs. We spent S P R I N G 2 018

a few summers getting intimate with the campus because he Hitt, Holland and others bonded over their unabashed always wanted to explore. My interest was keeping us out of geekiness. They were part of a group of friends that would take trouble!” trips every Wednesday or Thursday night to comic book stores It made sense that the two close siblings would also eventu- in Memphis to get the latest releases on the days they came out. ally attend Ole Miss together. While he honed his reporting Rodney Crouther (93) was in that group. He still fondly skills, she studied biology. For Holland, the decision to pass remembers the Memphis trips and the close friendship. Holon Harvard was easy because Ole Miss offered everything he land stood out to him because he could hold court on almost needed to learn for his career aspirations. any topic. “I chose Ole Miss because it had all of the programs in “We’d binge on Krystal while reading and somehow manjournalism that I needed at that time and was only a few miles away from my family,” Holland says. “I would have loved Harvard, but the University of Missis“WHEN I MET HIM, I FOUND HIM TO sippi had what I needed and was where BE VERY INTELLIGENT, TRULY HUMBLE I needed to be at that time. I wouldn’t change a thing!” AND ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT MAKING A Those who encountered Holland DIFFERENCE IN HIS COMMUNITY.” at Ole Miss remember him as a bright, charismatic young man with a passion — WILL NORTON for journalism, current events, comic books and hip-hop. Will Norton, dean of the Meek S cho ol of Journalism and New Media, was chair of the Department of Jouraged to keep the comics clean,” Crouther says. “It was just nalism, when he first heard about Holland, who great having a partner who could be as deep on real social and was then still a student at H.W. Byers High School political issues as he could on Marvel vs. DC, the new ‘Ghost in Holly Springs. Rider’ plotlines or Public Enemy’s latest album.” Norton says he knew it would take a special deal to get Crouther and Holland were both active in the student him to Ole Miss. UM alumnusCharles Overby (68, BA 14), National Association of Black Journalists chapter, and had helped get an endowment to offer a full-tuition scholar- hosted a rap show and a show of t opical interviews on ship to African-American students, and Holland was offered a Rebel Radio. Gannett Foundation Scholarship as part of the package. Amy Vincent (BA 92, MA 01) also worked in student Norton made the best pitch he could for the university. media with Holland. They quickly became friends andbonded “When I met him, I found him to be very intelligent, truly over their love of sci-fi. She held weekly screenings of “Star humble and enthusiastic about making a difference in his com- Trek” for their group of friends at her apartment. munity,” Norton says. Vincent also writes “Star Wars” fiction and many other The journalism school tapped into its close relation- titles in the genres of science fiction, young adult, fantasy and ship with The Oxford Eagle, which hired Holland to work romance under the pen name Claudia Gray. as a staff reporter. Two years later, Holland joined The She says she would love to be able to go back nearly 30 Daily Mississippian staff and became the second African- years and tell her friends that some of them would go on to be American editor of the university’s student newspaper. He published authors and would earn a living writing about “Star also did an internship with the Birmingham Post-Herald and Wars.” She believes no one would be surprised by Holland’s eventually landed one with The New York Times t he sum- success. mer before his senior year. Vincent says Holland is doing big things in literature On campus, he formed close bonds with those who went because he applies himself to accomplish what he wants, and through journalism school or worked in student media with he also helps others along the way. him. “He doesn’t do it in a ruthless way or a coldly ambitious David Hitt (BA 96), who also is a published author, worked way,” Vincent says. “He decides the steps he needs to climb, for Holland when he was the editor of The Daily Mississippian. and he starts climbing them. He works very, very hard.” Hitt remembers him as a natural leader in the newsroom and Given all of the qualities friends and colleagues see in Holcredits him for taking tough editorial stands on controversial land, Norton says it’s natural to invite him back to Ole Miss to issues, while navigating those situations with a deft and speak to students as often as possible. capable hand. “Jesse always has been loyal to the university,” Norton “I’ve been utterly unsurprised at Jesse’s accomplishments as says. “He is proud that he went to school here, and he has a journalist whom I greatly respect,” Hitt says. “I’m so excited had a remarkable journalistic career. He was selected as one for him that all his hard work is paying off in his getting to play of the nation’s top journalists under 40 years of age when he with characters he’s loved his whole life, and I’m totally not the was under 40. The name Jesse Holland means uncommon least bit jealous. Nope.” excellence.” 32

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Consortium takes holistic approach to researching remains buried on UMMC campus BY GARY PETTUS

Photos courtesy of UMMC 34

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annie White of Southfield, Michigan, knows this about Speedy Ann Williams: She wore her long, black hair down to her hips and was born near Copiah County, Mississippi, and someone brought her to Jackson. White also knows that her great-grandmother had two sons and died at age 78 on Oct. 19, 1922, of “arteriosclerosis/insanity,” as recorded by the institution where, after a stay of two months and 16 days, she took her last breath: the Mississippi State Insane Hospital. White knows little else about the life and death of her Mississippi ancestor, but, of the many unanswered questions she entertains about her, this is one of the most important: Where is she?

The Mississippi State Insane Hospital opened in 1855 and operated until 1935.

“To know that she was buried in a particular location would bring some closure to me and my family,” says White, who lives some 950 miles from Williams’ conceivable resting place: the campus of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, in one of thousands of unmarked graves. It may not be possible, at least for now, to find the exact burial sites of Williams and the other residents who died and were interred at the institution that shut down and moved more than 80 years ago, but with recent action in the state Legislature, an effort to remember their lives may be gaining ground.

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That effort is one of the tasks of the Asylum Hill Research Consortium, a band of experts and scholars created by Dr. Ralph Didlake (BS 75, MD 79). Another aim is to relocate, collect and organize the remains found in the anonymous graves, which must be done respectfully and ethically, says Didlake, UMMC professor of surgery, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and director of the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities. Ralph Didlake “There are more than 10,000 documented deaths at the asylum,” he says, “but we don’t know how many of those patients were buried on-site.” More than 4,300 hospital death certificates are available online through the Mississippi Department of Archives and

great-grandmother had mixed Native American and AfricanAmerican ancestry. “We can only assume she was part Choctaw,” White says. “Any solid information we can find out about my people would be greatly appreciated by me and the rest of my family. My roots are there in Mississippi, and my husband’s roots start there, too.”

“This project is fascinating,” says Lida Gibson, a Mississippi film documentarian who has been hired to help coordinate the undertaking, write grants for it and document it with interviews and video. Gibson is also working on a website for descendant families to contribute to and consult; the site may be up by this summer. “There will be a portal on the website for people to share information, including stories passed down by the families of patients, and by anyone who has memories of the asylum. We are reaching out to them now. I have a feeling that some of the best resources may be people’s personal letters. There’s really nothing else like the Asylum Hill Project. It’s so important Lida Gibson to honor these lives.” So far, 67 of those lives continue to be examined in death; that’s the number of asylum residents whose coffins were exposed accidentally — all but one by a road construction crew in 2013 on the northeast part of the campus. Later, a geophysical survey showed that many more coffins lie underground and unmarked across some 20 acres of UMMC, which opened in 1955, 20 years after the asylum closed. Archaeologists are “confident,” Didlake says, that there are 3,000 bodies, but as many as 7,000, on campus. A bill signed by Gov. Phil Bryant (79) in late March expands UMMC’s authority to move to a mausoleum-type, 9,000-square-foot building owned by the state, which can accommodate about 4,000 bodies. The so-called Phase I of the Asylum Hill Consortium’s plan is to place the remains in UMMC’s Farmers Market facility, which houses a Rowland Medical Library print collection; it offers temperature and humidity control, a fire suppression The diagram (top) shows the layout of the Mississippi State Insane Hospital, while an system, backup electrical power, 24-hour key card aerial view (below) of the Medical Center campus is enhanced with a historic overlay security and 9,000 square feet of archival space. This will be, in effect, the new resting place of of the asylum's main buildings (in blue) and the cemetery boundary (in red). several thousand people, until a permanent memoHistory. Some of the information White has learned about her rial is built. great-grandmother is in that database, which covers Novem“We don’t know if we’ll exhume everyone,” Didlake says. ber 1912 through March 9, 1935. “The extent of the cemetery is still unknown.” ConstrucSome of White’s family members, now deceased, described tion may have obscured some of the gravesites. “But we will to her Williams’ long, black hair; others told her that her exhume as many as possible.”

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The cost of archiving and storing the remains, creating space for scholars to work in, and reclaiming the current burial sites for future land development is around $2.2 million, Didlake says. “We’re not asking legislators for any money this year,” he says. “We just wanted them to adjust the law.” Another $3 million or so will be sought for the second part of the consortium’s plan, but the goal is to pay for it, not with state money, but with “external funding,” Didlake says. It calls for creating a memorial to the asylum residents, as well as a field school with a long-term scientific and educational program. All of these plans may not be realized for another six years or more, Didlake says. The discovery of the graves is a boon Nicholas Herrmann for anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and other experts. It offers them the opportunity to learn more about past disease treatment practices, social history, conditions in the Jim Crow South and much more. Already, graduate students at Mississippi State University have written at least three master’s theses based on information gleaned from the graves. “Studying them tells us a lot, not only about the asylum but also about conditions across the state of Mississippi until 1936, when they moved the institution to Whitfield and ultimately established a cemetery there,” says Nicholas Herrmann, a former associate professor of anthropology at Mississippi State University. Now an associate professor of anthropology at Texas State University, Herrmann directed the 2013 excavations at the Medical Center when he was at MSU; today, he is preparing the technical report on the 60-plus burials. “Just about every county is represented, according to the death certificate information,” Herrmann says, referring to the records available on the MDAH website. Because many families have moved from Mississippi since 1935, interest in these burials extends far beyond the state’s borders.

The pine coffins holding the patients were probably built in an asylum workshop. The pine probably grew in the DeSoto National Forest region or the Mississippi Delta, as revealed by Grant Hartley, a former University of Southern Mississippi assistant professor and a geographer whose research focuses on dendrochronology, the science of dating tree rings. Likely, the wood was shipped to the asylum by train; a rail spur is depicted on a 1925 insurance map of the institution, Herrmann says. Demographic information (race, gender, age, etc.) along with isotope studies — that is, the analysis of chemical elements of a few burials — have enabled Herrmann to narrow the identity of the person in the first, single grave discovered (“Burial 1”) to 20 individuals.

He may be able to narrow that number even more, he says. “Will we ever be able to say certain remains are this specific individual’s? I’m not sure.” One thing that is certain about the vast majority of the people who died and were ultimately buried at the asylum: their race. Between 1912 and 1935, most who died there were

Measurements are taken on a wooden coffin. Construction equipment exposed coffins in 2013 as crews dug out subsoil to see if it was fit to support a new road designed to provide better access to the north and east portions of the UMMC campus.

“black,” according to records from the asylum, which began admitting African-Americans after the Civil War. Whatever their race, their lengths of stay varied widely. In Hinds County, for instance, one of the patients was there for more than 47 years. Others “died at birth,” and their mother’s name was listed. No infant-sized coffins were unearthed, Herrmann says. Many of the patients had pellagra, caused by a deficiency of niacin, part of the vitamin B complex found in such foods as fish, poultry, red meat, and fortified breads and cereals; it was more common in the early 20th century, especially in the South, where meals were rich in fatback, molasses and cornmeal. Pellagra could result in, among other conditions, dementia. Available asylum records show that a disused psychiatric diagnosis, dementia praecox, or premature dementia, was often recorded as a cause of death. Other diagnoses listed Shamsi Berry include “pellagra/insanity,” “melancholia,” “general paralysis of insane” and “maniacal exhaustion.” “The records we have can give a good indication of what life was like in a sanatorium,” says Shamsi Berry, assistant S P R I N G 2 018

professor of health informatics/information management in UMMC’s School of Health Related Professions. “They can give us an idea of what conditions are like in similar institutions that exist today in some less developed countries,” says Berry, whose role in the project is, among other things, developing curricula for the field school. “The same diseases are being passed down today because of the same level of nutrition and lack of care. From bones, we can sometimes determine the presence of certain diseases. It’s important to understand the way we treated disease in the past, which affects the way we treat disease today. But, first of all, this is a piece of our history in Mississippi.”

Originally known as the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum, the institution moved to its present location, the Mississippi State Hospital in Whitfield, after operating from January 1855 to March 1935. Around 35,000 people were institutionalized during that time, and an estimated 10,000 to 11,000 died on the premises, says Molly Zuckerman, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures at Mississippi State University. Molly Zuckerman Zuckerman is studying the bones and skeletal fragments uncovered during road construction. The people they represent were all buried in the 1920s and 1930s, a finding based on dendrochronology. The pine coffins that held them contracted and expanded over time with the movement of the shifting clay soil. Depending on where a burial was recovered, the condition of the bones varies, from relatively well-preserved to highly fragmented. “Sometimes, the fragments are so small you can’t identify which bones they came from,” Zuckerman says. The coffins contained few, if any, personal items that might have helped identify those who lay in them. “People were buried in shirt dresses and shrouds, so shroud pins were found,” Zuckerman says, “as well as a variety of buttons, probably from the shirt dresses.” Each of those buried had his or her own coffin, and each faced the rising sun. Some grave markers were found, but were no longer in their original positions, Herrmann says. These were placed in the UMMC Cemetery located in the northeastern part of the campus. “Regarding the patients who were buried, what we see is absolutely consistent with similar institutions in other parts of the United States and Europe,” Zuckerman says. But, without DNA analysis and descendants providing DNA samples, it’s impossible to match certain remains to a death record, Berry says. “And the cost would be too great.” In other ways, though, what can be learned from this project is priceless. 38

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“The written history of disability in this country is disproportionately about white people,” says Janice Brockley, associate professor of history and a disability historian at Jackson State University. Janice Brockley “That’s one thing that’s really important about the work of the consortium. The knowledge we can gain can help us understand who was in the asylum, what conditions and therapy they experienced. It can help us learn more about people in Mississippi in general, but especially about the history of African-Americans with disabilities.” Many of the residents were directly descended from slaves or might have been bound at one time in slavery, an Jannie White institution that wasn’t meticulous about recording the details of its victims’ family histories. For that reason, getting a handle on personal genealogies can be difficult for people such as White. But she’s determined to recover all of her family’s story. “First of all, I’m a person of color,” White says. “For someone to tell me that I’m straight from a cotton field without a history, I don’t accept that. Before I leave this world, I want to tell my children, ‘This is who you are, and this is where you came from.’”

ASYLUM HILL RESEARCH CONSORTIUM The University of Mississippi Medical Center The University of Mississippi Mississippi State University Jackson State University Millsaps College The University of Southern Mississippi Texas State University University of Idaho

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Sports OLE MISS

Back to Mississippi COACH DAVIS RETURNS TO HIS ROOTS

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With Davis’ emphasis on academics, Middle Tennessee was one of only six teams in 2017 and one of only seven in 2016 with a 100 percent graduation rate

ships, including a pair of Big Sky titles at Idaho. In two tours of duty as Vandals’ head coach in 1997 and from 1989 to 1990, Davis compiled a 63-29 record, Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

fter leading Middle Tennessee State University to conference championships and NCAA Tournament runs, Kermit Davis is returning to his home state as the 22nd head coach of the Ole Miss men’s basketball program. Davis was publicly introduced on March 19 at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. A native of Leakesville, Davis guided the Blue Raiders to league titles in seven of the last nine years, between Conference USA and the Sun Belt. Middle Tennessee made the 2013, 2016 and 2017 NCAA tournaments and defeated No. 2 seed Michigan State and No. 5 seed Minnesota in back-to-back seasons. An eight-time conference coach of the year, Davis is 34th among active Division I head coaches with 403 career wins, including stints at Middle Tennessee, Idaho and Texas A&M. He ranks 10th nationally in winning percentage over the last three years and 13th over the last seven. “I’m incredibly honored and excited to be the basketball coach at the University of Mississippi,” Davis says. “We are extremely grateful to Chancellor (Jeffrey) Vitter and Ross (Bjork) for giving me the opportunity to lead such a prestigious program in the best basketball league in America. Coming back to my home state of Mississippi to build a national brand is absolutely a dream come true for us. I am Mississippi Made and cannot wait to join the rest of the Ole Miss family.” With a 25-7 record this season, Middle Tennessee reached the 24-win mark for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, which, in turn, led to six postseason appearances. While shattering attendance records, Davis coached 25 all-conference players and five players of the year in Murfreesboro and signed five top-25 recruiting classes, including the No. 11 class in 2004.

Kermit Davis

and also won an NCAA Tournament game that season — joining Kansas, Villanova, Duke, Notre Dame and Butler in both seasons as well as Iowa in 2016. Davis has graduated 52 consecutive MT studentathletes that exhausted their eligibility. In 36 years as an assistant and head coach, Davis has helped lead five different programs to conference champion-

the best three-year total in the program’s history, and earned NCAA Tournament berths in 1989 and 1990. The son of former Mississippi State head coach Kermit Davis Sr., the younger Davis played for the Bulldogs and graduated from MSU in 1982, before beginning his coaching career at his alma mater as a graduate assistant.

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OLE MISS Sports

BEASLEY RECEIVES RIFLE COACH OF THE YEAR AWARDS

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posted the most wins in school history with a Year and Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association 7-5 overall record, 6-2 in the Great America Rifle Coach of the Year in 2018,” Beasley adds. “To Conference and finished third in the regular- receive both awards in the same year is such an season GARC standings. Ole affirmation of what the team Miss set the school record with has accomplished this year a 4687 in the match against and, again, the progress we Alaska-Fairbanks. have made. I am truly grateAt the GARC championful to have the opportunity to ships, the Rebels finished coach the Ole Miss team and fourth overall and third in air look forward to building on rifle. Two Rebels made the this year’s successes.” The CRCA Assistant finals of air rifle with freshCoach of the Year award man Emily Cock finishing had an Ole Miss connection third. Jessica Haig, Harley as well, with the award Gardner and Abby Buesseler Marsha Beasley going to Rebel four-year earned All-GARC honors. letterwinner Rena Goodwin, Freshman Kamilla Kisch qualified for the NCAA championships in now in her fourth year as an assistant coach for Kentucky. Goodwin was a four-year member air rifle. “I am surprised to have been named both of the Ole Miss rifle team from 2011 to 2014, Great America Rifle Conference Coach of the serving as captain her last two years. Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

le Miss rifle coach Marsha Beasley was named Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association Co-National Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the NCAA championships. Beasley earned the honor alongside the head coach for The Citadel, William Smith. “I am honored to have been voted Coach of the Year by my colleagues,” Beasley says. “Coach of the Year awards are really a recognition of all the hard work done by a team and the progress made. I had a wonderful team this year, and we did make remarkable progress. My assistant coach Jean-Pierre Lucas deserves much of the credit. Without him, we would not be where we are. I really want to thank both the team members and JP.” In two years, Beasley has transformed the program to one competing for an NCAA bid right down to the end of this year. The Rebels

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OLE MISS Sports

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WELCOMES COACH YO

Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

“Coach Yo is a proven winner,” Bjork says. ust two days after being named the ninth head coach in Ole Miss wom- “She is a recruiting machine. She develops en’s basketball history, Yolett McPhee- players. These interpersonal relationships she will develop with her team McCuin was officially introis a must in college athletics duced alongside Chancellor today. She cares about acaJeffrey Vitter and Vice Chandemics. She’s disciplined. cellor for Intercollegiate AthShe has passion. She has letics Ross Bjork at a press integrity. And above all, she conference and public introis a leader. We also wanted duction on April 6 inside The a leader who has vision like Pavilion at Ole Miss. we do, really someone who McPhee-McCuin — known would grasp and have an a s “ C o a c h Yo ” — s p e n t energetic vision around our the previous five seasons program and someone who transforming the Jacksonville saw the potential — just like Dolphins into a perennial Yolett McPhee-McCuin on the men’s side.” power in the Atlantic Sun McPhee-McCuin, who also serves Conference. During her tenure as head coach, McPhee-McCuin led the Dolphins to a 94-63 as the national team head coach for her record (50-24 in ASUN play) and postseason native Bahamas, took over a program at appearances in each of her last three seasons. Jacksonville that had only won 20 or more

games in a season twice in its entire history and proceeded to march the Dolphins to three-straight 20-win campaigns in her final three years. “The No. 1 goal for the program will be to be better every day, and be better tomorrow than we were the day before,” McPheeMcCuin says. “That is the focus, and you will hear that a lot. That will be the staple — to get better.” McPhee-McCuin is part of two halls of fame across both her playing and coaching career. In 2016, she was inducted into the Bahamian Athletic Hall of Fame alongside Buddy Hield (of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings) and Jonquel Jones (of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun). In 2013, she was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and was one of 10 recipients of the Pathfinder Award for their distinguished achievement outside of New England.

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cannot guarantee future financialforrest.johnson@ampf.com results. © 2012 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All 2018 Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certifica1898 rights reserved. tion marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and CFP (with 2018 flame design) in the U.S.

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Rowan Oak, A History of the William Faulkner Home | Trotter

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Rowan Oak A History of the William Faulkner Home

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COLLECTOR EDITION

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Never-before-published letters from William Faulkner

by Sally Stone Trotter Introduction by Cham and Ike Trotter

Y Nautilus

Rowan Oak: A History of the William Faulkner Home (Collector’s Edition) by Sally Stone Trotter (BA

46), 143 pages, $50 (Paperback), Nautilus Publishing Co., ISBN: 9781936946761 In 1930, Will and Sallie Bryant deeded and financed the family home — The Bailey Place — in Oxford to William Faulkner. Sally Stone Trotter, the Bryants’ granddaughter, wrote a littleknown history of both families and the home Faulkner loved and named Rowan Oak. Referencing 50 neverbefore-published letters from Faulkner to her grandparents and mother (dating from 1930 to 1947), combined with a genealogist’s encyclopedic knowledge of her family history, Trotter crafted a compelling biography of a place that changed our literary landscape. Sally Stone Trotter’s sons, Ike (BA 74) and Cham Trotter (BA 69, JD 72), have taken their mother’s story and combined it with the 50 never-beforepublished letters by Faulkner to create the collector’s edition of Rowan Oak: A History of the William Faulkner Home. ALUMNI REVIEW

Gracious Leader- lives. More information is available at s h i p : L e a d L i k e graciousleadershipbook.com. An award-winning C-suite leader, You’ve Never Led Before by Janet Smith Meeks has employed the key ingredi-

Meeks (BBA 77, MBA 78), 214 pages, $24.95 (Hardcover), Smart Business Books, ISBN: 9781945389863 Through stories of her own journey, as well as anecdotes about those she’s encountered along the way, Janet S. Meeks shares lessons learned while offering candid advice to help leaders improve. In a dog-eatdog world, where leadership crises are prevalent and the disrespect of subordinates is widespread, Meeks offers a different path. She shows how to be tough and kind, straightforward and compassionate, driven and grateful, all while being a fully respectful leader. Gracious Leadership is a fresh and strategic approach for current and aspiring leaders who seek to excel while restoring common decency and respect within all aspects of their

ents of Gracious Leadership throughout her career. She has consistently led highly engaged teams to generate sustained value, profitability and customer satisfaction through facilitating a culture of compassionate accountability.

The Actress: A Christian Murder Mystery b y Michael Hicks Thompson

(BBA 71), 290 pages, $18 (Paperback), S h e p h e r d K i n g Pu b l i s h i n g , I S B N : 9780984528240 Late 1950s. The most famous actress in America, Tallulah Ivey, is in the Mississippi Delta to film a controversial movie. A prominent local citizen is shot and killed outside her bedroom window. A note is found clenched in

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the dead man’s hand. The note holds the key to Ivey’s guilt or innocence. Was it self-defense? Murder? Or something else? Narrator Martha McRae investigates the who, what and why in this twisty, suspenseful murder mystery, embedded with a Paulinian allegory. Michael Hicks Thompson started a one-man ad agency that grew into 87

JUST Published employees in two cities, where he was CEO/creative director/copywriter. His firm, Thompson & Co., won numerous national and international creative awards. He sold the firm in 2011, and now devotes his time to writing the Solo series. The first book in the series, The Rector, has already won several major awards.

Cherry Bomb b y Susan Cushman, 256

pages, $24.95 (Hardcover), Dogwood Press, ISBN: 9780997569711 By the tender age of 16, Mary Catherine Henry lived through enough horror to last a lifetime. What keeps Mare, a nickname given to Mary by her drugaddicted mother, going is the budding artist inside her, and the sleepy town of Macon, Georgia, doesn’t know what hit it when colorful graffiti “bombs” begin appearing on abandoned buildings. Through the efforts of a photographer and a reporter, Mare earns a scholarship at prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design, where she studies under legendary abstract expressionist painter Elaine de Kooning. It’s a wonderful mentoring relationship until Mare and her mentor discover a common bond that threatens to tear them apart.

to the satirical, with a kaleidoscope of viewpoints and characters that includes tree cutters, department store pianists, museum guides, physicians, florists, actresses, bank managers, junk salesmen, personal trainers and English professors. A.G. Harmon’s depictions of the disenfranchised and the socially poised are equally spellbinding, as are his vivid scenes of both the quotidian and the aberrant. This captivating book challenges and entertains from start to finish.

Jane: A Memoir b y Jane Stanley

(BA 60, MA 61), 290 pages, $17.95 (Paperback), Nautilus Publishing Co., ISBN: 9781936946747 In 1969, Jane Stanley was cleaning her house in Gulfport when a large, female tent revivalist appeared at her front door with a prophecy: that her lawyer husband, Neil, would leave town and become a minister. Stanley dismissed the prognostication as a message from a somewhat deranged zealot. Nearly 40 years later, after a life that included encounters with a law-enforcement officer who planned to kill her along with her second husband, a cruise ship captain who approached her wearing nothing but his captain’s hat, and a group of juvenile offenders who showered her with gifts they acquired through less than legal means, Stanley was ordained. Jane Stanley has been a teacher, principal, restaurateur, clothier, writer, publisher, stable operator, curriculum specialist, fundraiser, consultant, entrepreneur and minister. In 1996, she founded The Nourishing Place in Gulfport, and she serves as its pastor.

Susan Cushman’s first book, Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer’s, was published in early 2017. She was editor of A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant to Be, also published in 2017. She lives in Memphis with her husband, Bill.

Some Bore Gifts: Stories b y A.G. Harmon (BA 84), 214 pages, $19.95 (Paperback), Able Muse Press, ISBN: 9781927409978 Some Bore Gifts is an eclectic collection of stories spanning the traditional

Ha r m o n’s n o v e l A Ho u s e A l l Stilled was awarded the Peter Taylor Prize for the Novel in 2002, and was nominated for the Virginia Literary Prize and the Pen-Hemingway Award. His novel Fortnight was the runner-up for the William Faulkner Prize for the Novel in 2007. Information presented in this section is compiled from material provided by the publisher and/or author and does not necessarily represent the view of the Alumni Review or the Ole Miss Alumni Association. To present a recently published book or CD for consideration, please mail a copy with any descriptions and publishing information to: Ole Miss Alumni Review, Ole Miss Alumni Association, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677. S P R I N G 2 018

Traveler 2018 REBEL

Bordeaux vineyard

he Ole Miss Alumni Association is offering a number of exciting trips in 2018. Alumni and friends obtain group rates and discounts. All prices are per person, based on double occupancy and subject to change until booking. Airfare is not included unless noted. For a brochure or more information, contact the Alumni office at 662-9157375. Prices and dates are subject to change. Visit the Ole Miss Alumni Association’s website at olemissalumni. com/travel for the most up-to-date information.

NATURE’S GLORY: GLACIAL ADVENTURES OF ALASKA JULY 23-AUG. 2, 2018

Explore the astounding glaciers, native traditions and awe-inspiring scenery on this cruise up and down the Alaskan and Canadian Pacific coast. Embark the Regatta in Seattle and sail the Inside Passage, a stunning waterway edged by verdant forests, mountains and glaciers, 48

ALUMNI REVIEW

and dotted with countless islands. Your first stop is Ketchikan, a city once proclaimed the Salmon Capital of the World, on your way to Alaska’s capital city, Juneau. From authentic totems to upscale shopping, Juneau is a picturesque blend of historical and contemporary. Catch Gold Fever in Skagway, gateway to the famed Klondike gold fields; spend a day sailing in the shadow of the majestic Hubbard Glacier; immerse yourself in native Tlingit culture in Hoonah and Sitka. Finally, cruise the open blue waters of the Outside Passage to Victoria, Western Canada’s oldest city, before disembarking the Regatta back in Seattle. — From $3,649, including airfare

bridge, and through the picturesque Cotswolds, discovering the true character of England’s town and country life. Spend three nights in Cambridge and four nights in the five-star Macdonald Randolph Hotel in the heart of Oxford. Call on stunning Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill and a UNESCO World Heritage site; tour Victorian Highclere Castle, also known as “Downton Abbey”; discover the storybook charm of the Cotswolds’ villages, and hear about contemporary life from the locals during the exclusive Town & Country Life Forum. London post-program option. — From $3,995

TOWN AND COUNTRY LIFE: CAMBRIDGE, OXFORD, COTSWOLDS JULY 27-AUG. 4, 2018

Explore the verdant wilderness, rocky shores and pristine islands of North America as you sail the Great Lakes aboard the 202-guest M/V Victory I. Embarking in the cultural hub of Chicago, you’ll leave the Windy City and cruise scenic Lake Michigan on

Enjoy this extraordinary opportunity to travel in a small group to the historic university towns of Oxford and Cam-

THE MAJESTIC GREAT LAKES JULY 27-AUG. 5, 2018

2018 REBEL Traveler your way to the idyllic Victorian atmosphere of Mackinac Island. Traverse the legendary Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, the Midwest’s oldest city; sail the shimmering waters of Georgian Bay; and explore the native traditions of Manitoulin Island. Celebrate music history at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and relive the glory days of the American automobile at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit. Cap off your cruise by experiencing the immensity and grandeur of Niagara Falls from the thrilling perspective of a Hornblower vessel before disembarking in Toronto, one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. — From $5,999

SCANDINAVIAN TREASURES AUG. 18-29, 2018

Discover the unique personality of Northern Europe as you set sail across the Baltic Sea. Embark on your luxury cruise aboard the Marina in Stockholm, Sweden’s island city often called “Beauty on Water.” Leave for the Estonian capital of Tallinn, a fairy-tale city of Gothic churches and half-hidden courtyards, before your two-night stay in Russia’s window to the West, St. Petersburg. Built by Peter the Great and boasting European sophistication with an imperial flair, whimsical golden

Broadway, Cotswolds

spires, pastel-colored palaces and onion domes complement this magical metropolis’s vast network of canals and arched bridges. Head ashore in Helsinki, where imaginative architecture mingles with leafy parks and elegant gardens, before crossing the Baltic Sea, where Klaipeda’s Smiltyne Beach and the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga await you. Take in the sights of Berlin, Germany’s culture-rich capital, explore the delightful former fishing village of Warnemünde, and finally disembark the Marina in Copenhagen, the friendly Danish capital where the legendary Little Mermaid greets visitors to its shores. — From $3,799, including airfare from select cities

WINES OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST SEPT. 16-24, 2018

Your journey through the Pacific Northwest wine region begins with a stay in the heart of Vancouver, Washington, where you can stroll through local galleries or hop across the river to the nearby “City of Roses,” Portland. Embark on the luxurious American Empress and cruise into Astoria, one of the oldest cities west of the Rockies. Explore The Dalles, a picturesque frontier town once known as the end of the Oregon Trail, before delving into the fascinating Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum in the charming small town of Stevenson. A legendary piece of American history comes to life in Sacajawea State Park, the 1805 campsite of fabled explorers Lewis and Clark and the famous Shoshone Indian guide to whom the park owes its name. Before disembarking American Empress, you’ll stay the night in Clarkston, Washington, where you can wander the town known as the gateway to Hells Canyon, or venture to nearby Spokane, the urban heart of the Inland Northwest. — From $3,499

EXPLORING ICELAND SEPT. 18-28, 2018

Discover Iceland’s remarkable natural history and rich cultural heritage on this 11-day small group tour that traverses an astonishing land. Begin your journey in Borgarnes’ scenic environs, touring the beautiful Snaefellsnes Peninsula with its lava field, fishing villages, bizarre rock formations and nesting cliff birds. Enjoy three nights in the region’s charming capital, Akureyri. Call on a farm featuring famed Icelandic horses. View one of the world’s natural wonders, Lake Myvatn, and its bubbling mud flats, lava fields and lunar-like volcanic craters; and stop at Godafoss, “waterfall of the gods.” Encounter Glacial River Canyon National Park and Dettifoss, Iceland’s “Niagara.” Embark on a bird-watching cruise to Puffin Island where, based on seasonality, you may see thousands of seabirds. Visit fascinating Thingvellir National Park; Seljalandfoss, Iceland’s most visited waterfall; Skogafoss waterfall with its rainbows; and the Skogar Folk Museum. Conclude your journey with two nights in Iceland’s sophisticated capital, Reykjavik. — From $5,697, including airfare

RIVIERAS AND ISLANDS: FRANCE, ITALY, SPAIN SEPT. 26-OCT. 4, 2018

Cruise for seven nights from Rome to Barcelona aboard the exclusively chartered, five-star M.S. Le Lyrial. This unique, comprehensive itinerary immerses you in the dynamic history, inimitable art and culture of the sundrenched French and Italian Rivieras and islands. Visit up to five UNESCO Wor l d He r it a ge s ite s , i n clu d i ng Carcassonne’s medieval fortifications and the picture-perfect cliffside villages of Italy’s Cinque Terre. Explore Corsica’s fortified town of Bonifacio. Visit either Florence or Pisa. Along the enchanting Côte d’Azur, enjoy specially arranged excursions in Mont e C a r l o a n d Ma r s e i l l e a n d time at leisure in St. Tropez. Rome pre-cruise and Barcelona post-cruise options are available. — From $4,795 S P R I N G 2 018

News ALUMNI

Leading the Way

2018 NEW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD MEMBERS

he new members of the Alumni Association board of directors are involved in a wide range of careers and community organizations. One-third of the board is appointed each year by the Ole Miss Alumni Association president and serves a three-year term.

LATOYA GREEN (BBA 02) recently relocated to Seattle, Washington, w it h A m a z on C on sumer Retail, from Bent onv i l l e , A r k an s a s , where she was director of technology for Walmart point of sale and payments. In 2017, Green joined Amazon as global leader of performance for retail systems. She has almost 15 years of experience leading information technology initiatives in the retail environment. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. RAVONDA L. (NEWSON) G R I F F I N ( BAc c y 0 1 ,

MEd 05, JD 12) is a partner at Perry Griffin PC in Southaven. While at Ole Miss, she was elected president pro tempore, attorney general and senator of the law school student body. She serves as the city attorney and prosecutor for the town of Como. She is also board counsel for North Mississippi Cultural Foundation and a diamond life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. She and her family reside in Olive Branch and are active members of Brown Missionary Baptist Church.

ALUMNI REVIEW

TIFFANY COX HAWKINS

(BBA 99) recently relocated to Madison, w here she was promoted to regional vice pre s i d e nt for F C C I Insurance Group’s Gulf Coast region. Hawkins is immediate past chair of the Ole Miss Insurance Advisory Board and past president of the Ole Miss RMI Society. She received the Independent Insurance Agents of Mississippi company representative of the year award in 2013. While at Ole Miss, she served as vice president for Gamma Iota Sigma and president of Delta Gamma Fraternity. She was also an Ole Miss ambassador and class favorite. LAWRENCE B. JOHNSON JR. ( B BA 7 9 ) i s t h e

energy efficiency manager for 45 counties and public affairs executive for Entergy Mississippi Inc. and serves as a lobbyist for the Mississippi Legislature. Prior to joining Entergy, he was on active duty in the U.S. Army, serving as first lieutenant in field artillery. He serves on the board of the Mississippi chapter of American Association of Blacks in Energy, Holy Ghost Catholic Church’s Financial Committee and treasurer of the Knights of Peter Claver 171.

STEPHEN D. JOHNSTON

(BA 93) is CEO of Global Development Group, a strategic advisory firm headquartered in Jackson. He is also the producer of “Same Kind of Different as Me,” a feature film released in October 2017 by Paramount Pictures. He was previously CEO of SmartSynch, a smart grid technology company that he sold in 2012. He is a co-founder of the “Ever ybody Can Help Somebody” Foundation and is on the board of the Community Foundation for Mississippi. He lives in Jackson with his wife, Melissa (MS 93), and has four children. MARY CATHERINE MCCLINTON (BA 11) is

pursuing a second degree from the University of Mississippi in elementary education. Her first degree was in English and history. At Ole Miss, she was a member of the Delta Gamma Fraternity. She was also an active member of Reformed University Fellowship. She made the Chancellor’s Honor Roll for fall 2017. She is the Union County Alumni Club president and is an active member of First United Methodist Church in New Albany.

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LET’S START THE CONVERSATION TODAY. Chris Steiner | Commercial Banking | 662.232.3150 | christopher.steiner@regions.com Alon Bee | Metro Jackson City President | 601.790.8375 | alon.bee@regions.com Commercial Banking | Treasury Management | Capital Markets | Wealth Management © 2018 Regions Bank. All loans and lines subject to credit approval, terms and conditions. | Regions and the Regions logo are registered trademarks of Regions Bank. The LifeGreen color is a trademark of Regions Bank.

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ALUMNI News assumed command of 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment in June 2017 at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was commissioned as an infantry officer through ROTC at the University of Mississippi in 2000. Morris is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, the Infantry Captains Career Course and the Command and General Staff College. Before assuming command, he served as director of strategic communication for the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

LINDA MOORE NEWELL

(BAEd 77) is a former communications and public relations officer living in Greenwood. While at Ole Miss, she served as treasurer and pre s i d e nt of Kapp a Delta Sorority, as well as on the Committee of 100 and was an officer on the Panhellenic Council. She serves as a member of the UM Education Alumni Board. She is a past president of the District 5 Ole Miss Club. She and her husband, Bruce (BA 68, MD 72), are longtime supp or ters of St. Jude C hi ldren’s Research Hospital. ABB PAYNE (BBA 98) is CEO and president of Camellia Home Health and Hospice. Camellia has been named one of M i s s i s s i p p i ’s B e s t Places to Work by the Mississippi Business Journal for nine consecutive years and is a four-year consecutive award winner of the prestigious Home Care Elite Award. Payne is a founder of Infusion Plus and is chairman of the Area Development Partnership, the Hattiesburg area Chamber of Commerce. He has been a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization since 2004, where he currently serves as Mississippi chairman. 52

ALUMNI REVIEW

Photo by Jim Urbanek

L T. C O L . S H E L D O N A . MORRIS (BBA 00)

FORREST C. PHILLIPS JR.

(BBA 82) is a sales repre s e nt at i v e f or t h e Robert Allen Duralee Fabric Group. While at Ole Miss, Phillips ser ved as a student equipment manager for football and baseball. He has officiated basketball, baseball and football on the collegiate and high school level for 40 years. He and his wife, Pam, reside in Hattiesburg and have two sons and a daughter-in-law. BILL REED (BA 72, JD

77) is a shareholder in t he l aw f i r m B a ke r Donelson and served as president and COO of the firm from 1998 to 2005. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2001 and recently was named by Super Lawyers as one of the top 50 attorneys in Mississippi. At Ole Miss, Reed was president of the Associated Student Body, a member of the Hall of Fame, editor-in-chief of the Mississippi Law Journal and graduated first in his law school class. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Jackson and have two children. WOODY SAMPLE (BBA 79, MURP 72) served for 32 years as founder and owner of Sample and Associates (now Sample, Hicks and Associates), a consulting firm in Jackson. A graduate of Tupelo High School and member and officer of Sigma Nu Fraternity at Ole Miss, he now resides in Oxford and is a real estate agent for Sample and Poole Properties LLC. He has been married to Julie Bennet Sample for 43 years and has three children and eight grandchildren.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT North Central Mississippi Realtors presented Wanda Poole (BSPHE 50) with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in August 2017. IVORY SHELBY (BS 78, MURP 80) is a resource development specialist for the Laurel Housing Authority. She has served as executive director for Community Connections Inc. in Hattiesburg, deputy chief administrative officer and director of housing and community development for the City of Jackson and director of urban development for the City of Hattiesburg. She was the first AfricanAmerican woman to earn a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Ole Miss. JODY VARNER (BAccy 85,

MAccy 86, JD 88) is an attorney with Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes PLLC in Jackson, where he practices tax law. While at Ole Miss, he was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity and Beta Alpha Psi. He attends Christ United Methodist

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ALUMNI News Church, and has served as president of the Country Club of Jackson and president of the Jackson Academy Board of Trustees. He and his wife, Michelle, are parents of two children, Ashley (BBA 17) and Will, a junior at Ole Miss. BRUCE WARE (BBA 99) is

a corporate vice president with DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500 health care company. At Ole Miss, he served as the business school’s student body president. He is an advisory board member of the university’s McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement. He helped start the Grisham Fellows program in honor of professor emeritus Vaughn Grisham. He serves on the governing boards of Uplift Schools of Dallas and The Teaching Trust.

He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. JILL WAYCASTER WEST (BA

06) serves as an adviser f o r We s t G r o u p, a n owner/operator in the garment and textile manufacturing sector. She previously served as a regional development officer for Ole Miss, raising funds for scholarships, and later as director of development at Blue Mountain College. While at Ole Miss, she was elected Miss Ole Miss, president of the Student Alumni Council and president of Delta Gamma Fraternity. She and her husband, Josh, have two children. They reside in Tupelo and are members of First Baptist Church.

lumni Association board members whose terms end in 2019 and 2020 along with ex-officio members including past presidents and past executive directors are listed below:

Rebecca Adler (BA 06, MA 08), Houston, Texas; Warner Alford Jr. (BBA 60, MA 66), Oxford; David Arnold (BSChE 58), Yazoo City; Bryan Barksdale (BS 69, MD 72), Ridgeland; Alon Bee Jr. (BA 79), Jackson; David Blackburn (BAccy 00, MAccy 01), Oxford; Bob Box Jr. (BBA 80, JD 88), Madison; David Brevard (BA 78), Tupelo; Jimmy Brown (BBA 70), Oxford; Larry Bryan (BBA 74), Memphis, Tenn.; Lampkin Butts (BBA 73), Laurel; Charles Cascio Jr. (BBA 08), Dallas, Texas; Charles Clark (BBA 72), Mountain Brook, Ala.; Shawn Cobb (BBA 90, MBA 92), Collierville, Tenn.; Leon Collins (BBA 82), Madison; Frank Crosthwait Jr. (BBA 58, JD 59), Indianola; Jim Donald (BA 70), St. George Island, Fla.; Bobby Elliott Sr. (BA 58, LLB 62), Ripley; Jan Farrington (BAEd 65), Ridgeland; Brooke Ferris (BBA 59, JD 68), Memphis, Tenn.; Lillie Flenorl (BA 08), Cordova, Tenn.; Rose Flenorl (BAEd 79), Cordova, Tenn.; Suzan Fuller (BBA 88, MBA 89), Greenwood, S.C.; Jack Geary (BBA 52), Jackson; George Goza (BSCvE 72), Magnolia; Carole Haney (BSC 72, MEd 76), Oxford; Gayle Henry (BA 73), Oxford; Armintie Price Herrington (BA 07), Grenada; Briggs Hopson Jr. (BS 59), Vicksburg; Trentice Imbler (BS 78), Belden; Andy Kilpatrick Jr. (BSHPE 74), Grenada; Chance Laws (BA 63, BS 64, MD 67), Columbus; Matt Lusco (BBA 79), Birmingham, Ala.; Eddie Maloney (BBA 72), Jackson; Cooper Manning (BA 96), New Orleans, La.; Bill May (BA 79, JD 82), Meridian; David McCormick (BBA 77, JD 80), Pascagoula; Susan McCormick (MM 80), Pascagoula; Howard McMillan Jr. (BBA 60), Jackson; Carole Lynn Meadows (BSC 60, MBEd 64), Gulfport; Hu Meena Jr. (BSHPE 80), Jackson; Floyd Melton III (BAccy 93, JD 97, MTax 97), Greenwood; Guy Moore Jr. (BBA 72), Pascagoula; Hal Moore Jr. (MD 76), Pascagoula; Paul Moore Sr. (MEd 51, MD 59), Pascagoula; Sheldon Morris (BBA 00), Fort Benning, Ga.; Sherman Muths Jr. (BBA 54, LLB 60), Gulfport; Richard Noble (BBA 68, JD 73), Indianola; Rush O’Keefe (BBA 75, JD 79), Memphis, Tenn.; Deano Orr (BBA 93), Courtland, Ala.; Mary Sharp Rayner (BAEd 64), Oxford; Rhonda Reed (BAEd 98, MEd 99, EdD 08), Oxford; Bill Renovich (BBA 70, MURP 72), Nesbit; Peter Ross (BSPh 02, PharmD 04), Oxford; Bob Seibels III (BA 66), Montgomery, Ala.; Vickie Shaw (BSHPE 82), Memphis, Tenn.; Betsy Collier Smith (BAEd 01), Oxford; Marion Smith (BA 54, LLB 55), Natchez; Jon Turner (BBA 78), Jackson; Tim Walsh (BPA 83, MEd 91), Lexington, Ky.; Bob Warner Jr. (BA 79, MD 83), Jonesboro, Ark.; Clarence Webster III (BA 02), Jackson; and William Winter (BA 43, LLB 49), Jackson. 54

ALUMNI REVIEW

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ALUMNI News In Oxford...

Class Notes

’50s

LOUIS BLANCHARD (BBA 53, MBA 54), a native of Senatobia, was honored by Southern Arkansas University when the university named a business building after him and his wife, Martha. JUDGE EDWARD BUTLER SR. (BA 58) of

Memphis was awarded the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution highest award, the DAR Medal of Honor. ...Choose O.U.R. Places! 2 Minute Walk to Grove 6 Minutes to Square 424 S. 5th Street @ University Ave. Sleeps 8 • Best porch in town! Weekends • Yearly VRBO #588923

Oxford University Rentals Call (662) OLE-MISS

’60s

BETTY ADEN (BSHPE 63) of Greenwood was awarded the title of Ms. Super Senior Universe on Nov. 29, 2017, after first winning the title of Ms. Super Senior USA for ladies over the age of 75.

M A J . G E N . AU G U S T U S L E O N COLLINS (BBA 82) of Madi-

son received Our Mississippi’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

DONALD C. FISHER (PhD 86) of German-

CHARLES E. GRIFFIN (BA 84, JD 87) of

’70s

RON ALDRIDGE (BBA 72, JD 75) of

Jackson received Keep America Beautiful’s Iron Eyes Cody Award in recognition of his dedication to making Mississippi a cleaner, greener and more beautiful state.

WILLIS FRAZER (BBA 73), a native of Clarks-

dale, has retired from a banking career that began in 1976, the last stint as chairman and CEO at Planters.

WILLIAM N. LAFORGE (JD 75) of Oak Hill,

Virginia, was appointed to the prestigious NCAA Division II Planning and Finance Committee.

ALUMNI REVIEW

’80s

TOM STOREY (BPA 63, JD 66) of West Point

recognized in the 2018 edition of the U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” for five fields across the top three metropolitan tiers.

holder and director at Heidelberg Steinberger P.A. in Pascagoula, was named 2017 Lawyer of the Year and recognized as one of the Top 40 Leaders in Law by the Mississippi Business Journal.

G&M Pharmacy for almost 40 years, recently retired and sold the business.

W. SCOTT WELCH III (LLB 64) of Ridgeland was

Oxford University Rentals Call (662) OLE-MISS

KARL STEINBERGER (BA 73, JD 76), share-

town, Tennessee, was awarded the 2018 Ned R. McWherter Leadership Award at the TNCPE’s 25th Anniversary Excellence in Tennessee Awards Banquet.

was inducted into the West Point Hall of Fame on Feb. 22, 2018.

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MARY DRIVER QUINN (BBA 78) of Jackson

RICHARD C. ROBERTS III (BA 73, JD 76) of Jackson was elected to serve a two-year term as president of the Charles Clark Chapter of the American Inns of Court.

named a winner of the Japan Prize for his work in immunology.

BILL MCLELLAN (BSPh 67), owner of Oxford’s

2 Minute Walk to Grove 5 Minutes to Square

JAMES H. MOORE JR. (BBA 71) of Memphis retired from First Tennessee Bank after 35 years.

was named Mississippi Municipal Service Co.’s liability claims supervisor.

JOHN HAILMAN (JD 69), a retired Oxford federal prosecutor, was honored with the Lafayette County Bar Association Distinguished Service Award.

...Choose O.U.R. Places!

was awarded the Pete Rozelle Award by the Touchdown Club of New Orleans in March 2018.

MAX COOPER (MCert 55) of Atlanta was

THOMAS W. COLBERT (BBA 62), a native of Trebloc and senior chairman of the board of Community Bank, was honored by the bank’s $340,000 gift to the University of Mississippi School of Business Administration.

In Oxford...

ARCHIE MANNING (BPA 71) of New Orleans

the Jackson office of Butler Snow has been appointed to serve on the Defense Research Institute’s Insurance Roundtable Steering Committee. Griffin is co-chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee and handles litigation and insurance defense cases.

G. DEWEY HEMBREE III (BBA 83, JD 86) of

Madison was named to the Mississippi Business Journal’s 2017 Leadership in Law class in recognition of his professional excellence and prominence in the legal field.

DONNIE KISNER (BBA 81) was named senior vice president of BNA Bank in Beldon. JEANNE C. LUCKEY (BAEd 83) of Ocean Springs was appointed to the IHL Board of Trustees by Gov. Phil Bryant. KATHRYN MCNEESE POTTS (BSJ 86) of Jack-

son joined Ergon Inc. as director of marketing communications.

ALUMNI News

THE SHIRT SUPPORTS MANNING FAMILY FUND

Photo by Steve Mullen

le Miss Alumni Association Executive Director Kirk Purdom (BA 93) (left) presents a $3,150 donation to the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Manning Family Fund to Archie Manning (BPA 71). The OMAA donated 20 percent of the proceeds from its The Shirt 2017 fundraiser to the Manning Family Fund to honor the 50th anniversary of Manning suiting up for Ole Miss football as a freshman. The popular T-shirt featured a “Speed Limit 18” design, also honoring Manning. The remainder of the proceeds benefits the Alumni Association’s student scholarships and programs. Now in its 11th year, the OMAA’s The Shirt for Scholarships program has raised more than $55,000. To order this year’s Shirt, visit olemissalumni.com/theshirt.

HAL NEILSON (BA 83, JD 87) was appointed

interim municipal judge for Oxford.

JAMES B. “BUBBA” ROBINSON (BAR 89)

retired after 23 years of serving as deputy director for the Oxford Park Commission.

HUGH TANNER (BBA 80, JD 85) joined the

Houston, Texas, law firm of Winston and Strawn LLP as a partner. He also serves as chairman of the Little League International board of directors. TIMOTHY L. WALSH (BPA 83, MEd 91) of

Lexington, Kentucky, was hired as the fifth full-time leader of the University of Kentucky Alumni Association. MITCH WAYCASTER (BBA 82) was appointed by the government of Japan to be the honorary consul of Japan in Tupelo.

Mississippi. This feat placed Byars among the most experienced surgeons in the country using da Vinci for bariatric weight-loss surgery, hernia repair and other operations.

JOSH DAVIS (BBA 99), a longtime leader in health and education, joined Strive Together, a national nonprofit in Cincinnati, as its first-ever vice president of external affairs.

JEFFREY E. AYCOCK (BA 96, DMD 09),

JESSE HOLLAND JR. (BA 94) of Bowie, Maryland, was commissioned by Marvel to write a “Black Panther” superhero novel, which came out prior to the film’s release in February 2018. The book is titled Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther?

an oral and maxillofacial surgeon from Houma, Louisiana, is joining the medical staff at Terrebonne General Medical Center. He will practice with the Oral Facial Surgery Center in Houma.

WALKER BYARS (MD 97) of Oxford com-

pleted his 1,000th robotic-assisted surgery at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North

4 Minute Walk to Grove 3 Minutes to Square 824 University Ave. Sleeps 2-4-8 or 14 • Southern Charm Weekends • Yearly VRBO #651986

Oxford University Rentals Call (662) OLE-MISS

In Oxford...

JEFF DENNIS (BA 93, MD 99) of Oxford

CRAIG ALBEN (DA 98), author

of the poetry collection Axe, Fire, Mule had a reading and book signing event hosted by the Garnett Library at Missouri State University. Alben lives in West Plains, Missouri.

...Choose O.U.R. Places!

SUSAN CHIARITO (MD 93) of Vicksburg was appointed to a four-year term on the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Commission on Health of the Public and Science.

was awarded Best Mississippi Feature at the 2018 Oxford Film Festival. Dennis directed “The Process: The Way of Pablo Sierra.”

’90s

In Oxford...

MONROE NEAL JR. (BBA 96) of Clifton, Vir-

ginia, was promoted to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force.

...Choose O.U.R. Places! 4 Minute Walk to Grove 3 Minutes to Square 824 University Ave. 4 Cottages • Sleeps either 2 or 4 Weekends • Yearly

Oxford University Rentals Call (662) OLE-MISS

CRYMES M. PITTMAN (BA 95, JD 98), part-

ner at Pittman Germany Roberts & Welsh LLP in Jackson, was elected to the Mississippi Bar’s Board of Commissioners. S P R I N G 2 018

ALUMNI News Photo by Scott Thompson

WYNN SHUFORD (BA 90), who was a partner with Lightfoot, Franklin & White in Birmingham, Alabama, and recently served as its managing partner, joined the Drug Enforcement Administration. BRAD TENNISON (BA 94, JD 98), with Gifford & Tennison in Booneville, was elected to the Mississippi Bar’s Board of Commissioners. BLAKE THOMPSON (BSPh 97, MS 01, PhD 02), 2018 Hartman lecturer for the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, offered to pay a semester’s tuition for student Lee Jennings under the condition that he do the same for another student pharmacist someday. AMANDA JONES TOLLISON (JD 96), an attorney at Butler Snow in Oxford, was elected president-elect of the Mississippi Bar. ROBERT B. “BO” WHITE III (BBA 96, JD 99)

was named director of state and local tax at the firm of Citrin Cooperman in its Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, office.

’00s

CHARLES TYLER “TY” AUSTIN (BA 08) was promoted to credit analysis officer at Trustmark Bank’s corporate headquarters in Jackson. CHRIS BAILEY (BA 07, MA 09), attorney at

Jacks Griffith Luciano PA in Cleveland, was elected a director of the Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi Bar. MARY NYE BENNETT (BFA 02) was appointed

artistic director of the Atlanta Lyric Theatre. Bennett first came to the Lyric in

LEADERSHIP OLE MISS Ole Miss Alumni Association club volunteers returned to campus in February for the annual Leadership Ole Miss conference. 2010, when she was cast in the company’s production of “Hairspray.” DAVID BLACKBURN (BAccy 00, MAccy 01) of

Oxford was named one of Mississippi’s Top CEOs by the Mississippi Business Journal.

PAUL BLAKE (BA 04, JD 07), shareholder at Copeland Cook Taylor & Bush in Ridgeland, was elected a director of the Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi Bar. JOSEPH D. CALLICUTT JR. (BBA 05, BAccy

05) of Memphis was promoted from senior audit manager to audit partner by Reynolds, Bone & Griesbeck PLC.

OX F O R D

•

JOSH COMBES (BBA 04) of Southaven was

named Renasant Bank’s market president for Batesville.

CASEY AMBORN CREASEY (BA 02, JD 05)

of Jackson was named executive director of the Greater Belhaven Foundation in Jackson.

KEITH DACUS (BA 04) of St. Louis was named vice president of business development and operations, and will oversee strategic initiatives for Mercy Health, the fourth-largest medical group in the U.S. and the fifth-largest Catholic health care system in the nation.

G R E N A D A

•

J A C K S O N

SEE THE DIFFERENCE YOUR CREDIT UNION CAN MAKE. SAVINGS & CHECKING ACCOUNTS • MORTGAGE LOANS AUTO LOANS • STUDENT LOANS • MOBILE BANKING VISA ® CREDIT CARDS WITH REWARDS • FEDERALLY INSURED BY NCUA 58

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LEARN MORE ABOUT US AT

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OLE MISS NEEDS YOU! Do you have children or grandchildren whom you would like to attend Ole Miss? If so, help us get them here!

Experience the most beautiful college campus in the country with the best tour guide possible - a current Ole Miss student ambassador. Sign up online:

olemiss.edu/visit Congratulations to our graduating student ambassadors!

Mens • Womens • Children Gifts • Cosmetics • Shoes

neilsonsdepartmentstore.com @neilsonsdepartmentstore @jeneilson facebook.com/neilsons1839

S P R I N G 2 018

ALUMNI News CHANDLER GRAY (BA 01), former Oxford High School vice principal, was appointed principal of OHS.

be working for the Medical Law branch at Air Force Legal Operations Agency’s Civil Law and Torts Claim Directorate.

RAY HAWKINS (BA 01) was selected to be

EMILY W. RAGLAND (BA 09) of Madison was

CARLOS MAURY (BBA 11) was promoted to client delivery manager at CoreLogic FNC in Oxford.

BETSY SMITH (BAEd 01) was appointed to the Oxford School Board of Trustees.

CHRISTINA M. SEANOR (JD 14) has joined the Jackson office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate. She is part of the firm’s litigation practice group and is licensed to practice in both Louisiana and Mississippi.

the next chief of police for the University of Mississippi Police Department. ROBERT KRAUSE (BA 04, PhD 11) of Wash-

ington, D.C., was hired as lead historic preservation specialist for Ardurra Group Inc., headquartered in Houston. His work focuses on disaster recovery and relief. LINDSEY LAZINSKY (BA 07, JD 11), attorney

in the Office of the Attorney General in Oxford, was elected a director of the Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi Bar.

CHRISTY MALATESTA (JD 09), shareholder at

Daniel Coker Horton & Bell P.A. in Jackson, was elected secretary of the Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi Bar.

DREW MEISENHEIMER (BBA 05), a native

of Memphis, joined Cornerstone Staffing Solutions as national director of sales, where he will be accountable for the performance of the sales and marketing teams.

MAJ. JENNIFER DELL MULLINS (BA 04) of Bossier City, Louisiana, was assigned to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. She will

one of 11 teachers nationally honored with a 2017 Harriett Ball Excellence in Teaching Award.

AMANDA WALKER (BA 01, MA 10) of Clarks-

ville, Tennessee, was appointed to the Tennessee Regional Planning Commission.

BRETT YOUNG (00), former Ole Miss base-

ball player, won the Academy of Country Music Award for New Male Vocalist of the Year. Young lives in Westminster, California.

’10s

BRET BABCOCK (BA 13) was

honored in Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s 2018 class of Nashville’s Top 30 Under 30.

HUNTER CRANE (BS 11) of Oxford was

named the Mississippi Coach of the Year in girls’ soccer for the 2016-17 season. ALEXANDRIA ELIZABETH GOCHENAUER (BA 16) of Republic, Missouri, was awarded a

WEDDINGS

Viridiana Acosta (BBA 15) and Phillip Nelson Olivi (BSCvE 13), Jan. 13, 2018. Rachael Kathryn Clark (BAEd 14, MEd 17) and Jeffrey Robert Albury (BSCJ 14), July 1, 2017. Sarah Blair Jackson (BS 14) and Brian Etley Flint, July 15, 2017. Leigh Allison Kendall (BA 93) and Mark Daniel Sepulveda, Aug. 6, 2017. Patricia Nan Shuff (BAEd 76) and Joe Lee Anthony (BBA 74), Dec. 2, 2017. Stephanie Chantel Sollis (MBA 13, BSPh 14, PharmD 17) and James Kyle Bethay (BSCvE 11, MS 13), June 17, 2017. Sloan Alexandria Strange (BS 16) and Wilson Denton Little (BSGE 15), Jan. 27, 2018. Emily Holland Wilkins (BAccy 06, MTax 07, JD 14) and Baxter Kruger (BA 10), Nov. 25, 2017. Ivory Lee Williams (MURP 80) and Robert Leon Shelby, Nov. 17, 2017.

BIRTHS

William Byron, son of Rebecca Noel Adler (BA 06, MA 08) and William Scott Adler, Feb. 19, 2018. Sara Ashton, daughter of Katherine Sneed Worley (BAccy 10, MAccy 11) and Hunter Wooten Worley, Jan. 15, 2018.

ALUMNI REVIEW

Presidential Scholarship by the National Community Pharmacy Association.

JENNY URBAN (BA 11, MBA 13, JD 15, LLM

16) has joined K&L Gates in Charleston, South Carolina, as an associate in the banking and asset finance practice group with a focus in aviation finance, shipping finance and unmanned aircraft systems/drone law.

TAYLOR WEST (BAccy 11, MAccy 12) moved to Washington, D.C., and is working as a revenue support specialist at the new $500 million Museum of the Bible.

Alumni Friends

JAIME LYNN HARKER, a professor of English and director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies at the University of Mississippi, opened Water Valley’s first queer/feminist bookstore, Violet Valley Bookstore.

IN MEMORIAM 1930s

Margaret Webb Johnson (BA 35) of Gaithersburg, Md., Dec. 16, 2017

1940s

Billy Baggett (BA 47) of Isle of Palms, S.C., Jan. 23, 2018 William Winston Barnard (BS 49, MedCert 49) of Paducah, Ky., March 28, 2018 James Albert Bennett (BAEd 47, MA 48) of Pearl, Jan. 16, 2018 Frank Robert Bowers (BSHPE 48, MA 49) of Watkinsville, Ga., Jan. 21, 2018 Richard C. Bradley II (LLB 48) of Jackson, Jan. 6, 2018 Emily Russell Clark (BA 47) of Madison, Jan. 1, 2018 Erwin Milton Coleman (BSChE 41) of Florence, Ala., Jan. 15, 2018 John William Dulaney Jr. (BA 49, LLB 51) of Tunica, Jan. 16, 2018 Mary Jane Files (BSC 46) of Louisville, Sept. 1, 2017 Jayne Haury Hagan (BA 48) of Nashville, Tenn., March 20, 2018 Herman Mitchell Johnston (BBA 49) of Prattville, Ala., Jan. 4, 2018 Jack Baylor McConnell (MedCert 47) of Hilton Head Island, S.C., Feb. 6, 2018 Carolyn Hubbard McKey (BA 46) of Raymond, March 27, 2018 Robert Sylvester McLaurin Jr. (BBA 49) of Pearl, Jan. 23, 2018 Mary Russell Metcalfe (BSC 43) of Madison, Jan. 5, 2018 Samuel Griffin Norquist (BA 42, LLB 47) of Yazoo City, March 7, 2018

ALUMNI News Ralph Dean Shultz (BSPh 49) of Tupelo, March 8, 2018 Margie Fairchild Tyler (BAEd 48) of Murfreesboro, Tenn., Jan. 4, 2018 Jane Patterson Walker (47) of Senatobia, Jan. 2, 2018 Willis Walker Jr. (BS 48, MedCert 49) of Hattiesburg, April 11, 2018 Fred Holmes Wright (BA 48, MA 51) of Alpharetta, Ga., Jan. 31, 2018

1950s

Russell Curtis Baker Jr. (MEd 59) of Montgomery, Ala., March 10, 2018 Mary Brumfield Blackwell (BA 57) of Pascagoula, Jan. 14, 2018 Eugenia Moseley Bragen (BAEd 58) of New York, N.Y., Dec. 16, 2017 Richard Lee Buford (BBA 57) of Apollo Beach, Fla., Jan. 14, 2018 James Thomas Caldwell (BSHPE 53, LLB 62) of Ripley, Tenn., Feb. 5, 2018 James Thomas Canfield Jr. (BBA 56) of Memphis, Tenn., Jan. 19, 2018 Charles McLean Carr Jr. (BA 53, LLB 54) of Jackson, Jan. 10, 2018 Bill S. Cox (BSPh 58) of Jonesboro, Ark., March 4, 2018 William Chester Cox (BM 50) of Columbus, April 7, 2018 John Ivy Davis (MedCert 53) of Hattiesburg, April 1, 2018 Emily Oakes Deen (BS 54) of Hattiesburg, Feb. 18, 2018 Melvin Howard Donald (BSPh 58) of Meridian, March 5, 2018 Guynell Hailey Duncan (BAEd 52) of Preston, April 1, 2018 William Rupert Eure (MD 58) of Hattiesburg, April 7, 2018 William Sexton Fine (LLB 57) of Pensacola, Fla., June 29, 2017 Leslie Reid Fletcher Sr. (BBA 55) of Indianola, Jan. 19, 2018 Mary Brown Gainey (BA 57) of Canton, Jan. 6, 2018 William Edward Gerber (53) of Memphis, Tenn., March 17, 2018 Kenneth Urial Gutsch (MEd 56) of Hattiesburg, Jan. 13, 2018 Sara Becker Holtz (BS 59) of Watkinsville, Ga., Feb. 9, 2018 Robert Folkes Kelly (BA 52) of Bellevue, Wash., Dec. 4, 2017 Bettye McWhorter Kennedy (BBA 52) of Waynesboro, Feb. 25, 2018 Donald Glenn Kruger (LLB 59) of Prentiss, March 23, 2018 Claude Ellison Legate (BBA 54) of Flowood, Jan. 6, 2018 Kenneth C. Lindsey (BSHPE 53, MEd 54) of Decatur, Ala., Jan. 25, 2018 Alvis Lamar Loden (BSPh 58) of Keithville, La., March 28, 2018 Carl Clifton Lowry (BSHPE 55, MEd 60) of Pontotoc, Jan. 3, 2018

Darwin McRae Maples (52) of Lucedale, April 10, 2018 June Meredith Stigler Marston (BSC 54) of Richardson, Texas, March 30, 2018 Leta Rush McManus (BA 55) of Sugar Land, Texas, March 24, 2018 Paul Whitfield Murrill (BSChE 56) of Baton Rouge, La., April 2, 2018 James Walter Newman III (BBA 57, LLB 60) of Jackson, Jan. 1, 2018 Richard Joseph O’Brien (BA 56) of Los Osos, Calif., Feb. 19, 2018 Francis Glen Oglesby (BSHPE 59, MEd 59, AMEd 70) of St. Cloud, Fla., Jan. 15, 2018 Wilma George Palmor (BAEd 59) of Leander, Texas, Jan. 17, 2018 Gerald Charles Pickard (BBA 54) of Ocean Springs, Jan. 18, 2018 Frank Priest Jr. (BSPh 58) of Hemphill, Texas, Dec. 17, 2017 Sally Kershaw Robison (BA 52) of Bainbridge Island, Wash., March 21, 2018 Albert Fine Schilling (MEd 59) of Baton Rouge, La., March 28, 2018 Edward Louis Schuh (BSPh 57) of Tupelo, Feb. 4, 2018 Bettye Estes Scruggs (51) of Madison, Feb. 5, 2018 Elizabeth Dickson Senter (BAEd 56) of Tupelo, Feb. 5, 2018 Richmond Francis Sharbrough (MedCert 53) of Vicksburg, March 10, 2018 Milford Earl Shirley (BBA 54) of Pensacola, Fla., Feb. 14, 2018 Faye Baker Smith (BAEd 53) of Batesville, Jan. 2, 2018 Norton Garlove Waterman (MedCert 53) of Prospect, Ky., Oct. 6, 2017 Max Clarence Weaver (MM 55) of Tullahoma, Tenn., March 2, 2018 Bobby Joe Wells (BSPh 53) of Spring, Texas, Jan. 6, 2018 Ella White Weston (BAEd 52) of Ridgeland, March 4, 2018 Odell Williams (BBA 51) of Gulfport, April 5, 2018 Reba Faye Williamson (BA 54, MS 60, PhD 76) of Baldwyn, Feb. 11, 2018

1960s

Austin Alan Arnold Sr. (BAEd 64) of Diamondhead, March 1, 2018 Erskine Pond Ausbrooks Jr. USN [Ret] (BA 62) of Fort Wayne, Ind., Aug. 18, 2017 William Franklin Bell (MEd 64, SpecEd 76) of Philadelphia, March 2, 2018 Walter Thomas Boone (BA 61, MD 65) of Jackson, Jan. 27, 2018 Claire Ann Booth (BAEd 66, MEd 67) of Jacksonville, Fla., Nov. 11, 2017 John Francis Bové (BSPh 67) of Vicksburg, Feb. 9, 2018

R A Y P O O LE I N S U R A N CE · R E NT A L S ,

CO NDO S , HO M E , A U T O , L IF E , E T C ·

“W e W a n t Y o u r Bu s i n e s s !” 662·563·7721

RA YP O O L E . C O M

662·234·7574

W I L L P O O L E SF . C O M

334·365·1800

T RE YP O O L E . C O M

S P R I N G 2 018

ALUMNI News Robert Paul Broom (BBA 65) of Campbell, Mo., March 6, 2018 William Richard Brown Jr. (MEd 67, EdD 71) of Booneville, April 8, 2018 William Owen Burrow (BBA 67) of Myrtle, March 2, 2018 Christian Hoover Carruth III (BBA 62) of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., Dec. 21, 2017 James Reed Clay (BA 69) of Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 23, 2018 William Ray Cleere (MEd 62) of Decatur, Ga., Jan. 26, 2018 Clay Dennis Cooley Sr. (JD 68) of Jackson, Feb. 20, 2018 Paul Jefferson Cooper (MEd 66) of Lebanon, Mo., March 13, 2018 Jon Arthur Crocker (BA 64) of Canton, Feb. 23, 2018 William Thomas Crutcher (BBA 64) of Germantown, Tenn., Feb. 18, 2018 Lloyd Coppedge Daniel (BS 65, MS 66) of Plaquemine, La., April 1, 2018 Ann Rogers Dillard (BA 64) of Memphis, Tenn., April 2, 2018 Terry Eugene Everett (MA 69) of Gulfport, March 11, 2018 Janet Lynn Ford (BA 67) of Oxford, Feb. 3, 2018 Allen Woods Gary III (67) of Mendenhall, Jan. 8, 2018 Bill Wes Gore (MS 60) of Natchez, March 29, 2018 Alva Gene Greene (BAEd 68) of Corinth, Feb. 22, 2018 Douglas Wayne Ingram (BAEd 68) of Center Point, Ala., Jan. 21, 2018 Evalyn Whitten Jerkins (BA 63) of Gautier, Jan. 9, 2018 Dwight Allyn Johnson (BSEE 68, MD 75) of Booneville, March 3, 2018 Kathryn Mathis Justice (BAEd 68) of Monroe, Ga., Jan. 10, 2018 Betty Russell Kaylor (MEd 69) of Wilmington, N.C., March 26, 2018 James William Kilpatrick (BA 64) of Alexandria, Va., Jan. 22, 2018 Thomas Eugene Lamar (BA 63, MA 67) of Oxford, Jan. 31, 2018 David Raymond Lawrence (MD 66) of West Monroe, La., Jan. 5, 2018 John Bunyan Lloyd Jr. (BBA 69) of Brandon, Jan. 7, 2018 Cornelius F. Lovelady (BSHPE 69) of Fairfield, Conn., April 8, 2018 Bill Booth Lowrey (BSME 60) of Sheridan, Ark., March 8, 2018 Richard Frank Mascagni (63) of Greenville, Feb. 1, 2018 Gloria Bailey Mason (BAEd 68) of Louisville, March 1, 2018 Shellye Stanley McCarty (BS 68) of Magee, Feb. 14, 2018 Burchette S. McFarland (BBA 68) of Somerville, Tenn., Jan. 28, 2018 Edwin Payne McKaskel (JD 62) of Chesterfield, Mo., March 1, 2018 Michael T. Morrissey Jr. (BBA 64) of Vicksburg, Feb. 15, 2018 Edwin Clyde Neelly III (BBA 61) of Tupelo, Feb. 21, 2018 Alix Henry Sanders Sr. (JD 69) of Greenwood, March 16, 2018 Paul Denham Sandifer (MCS 61) of Chapin, S.C., March 30, 2018 Ernest Ray Schroeder (LLB 63) of Pascagoula, Jan. 21, 2018 Leslie Howard Siltman (BBA 68) of Batesville, April 4, 2018 Paul Bickett Summey II (BAEd 68) of Asheville, N.C., March 29, 2018 Ila Yates Sykes (BAEd 68, MEd 70, SpecEd 72) of Oxford, Feb. 19, 2018 Jesse Brooks Taintor (BA 65, MA 67) of Tallahassee, Fla., Feb. 1, 2018 Jane Saxton Talbert (BAEd 63) of Flowood, April 11, 2018 Elizabeth Denham Thaxton (BAEd 69) of Laurel, Dec. 23, 2017 Henry Barnes Watson (62) of Brandon, Feb. 20, 2018 Lucy J. Weidner (BA 69) of Cranbury, N.J., Feb. 15, 2018 Stirling Bacot Williams Jr. (BAEd 65, MEd 66, EdD 68) of Germantown, Tenn., April 8, 2018 Marla Posey Wills (MEd 68) of Oxford, March 3, 2018

1970s

John L. Bailey (BBA 73, JD 78) of Batesville, Jan. 21, 2018 Martha Christoffel Boudreaux (MN 79) of New Orleans, La., Dec. 14, 2017 62

ALUMNI REVIEW

Patrick Lee Boyd (BA 76) of Burlington, N.C., Feb. 13, 2018 Hugh Robison Caldwell Jr. (BA 78, MD 82) of Charleston, Tenn., Aug. 19, 2017 Neola Hollingsworth Cleveland (MEd 74, EdD 78) of Booneville, Jan. 12, 2018 Carl Randall Coffey (BBA 79) of North Baldwin, N.Y., Oct. 28, 2017 John David Collins (BBA 72) of Mobile, Ala., Feb. 24, 2018 Walter Erwin Dawkins II (MD 70) of Natchez, March 31, 2018 Charles Wade Foster (BM 76) of Baytown, Texas, Feb. 10, 2018 Genevieve Roberts Gordon (MM 76) of Waveland, March 26, 2018 John Sykes Hartin Jr. (BA 72, MLS 79, MLS 82) of Ecru, March 1, 2018 Mary Hastings Holyfield (MN 78) of Brandon, Feb. 18, 2018 Brittie Askew Houston (BAEd 75) of Olive Branch, March 12, 2018 Jean Moore Kiger (MA 78) of Boston, Mass., March 25, 2018 John Earl Little (BBA 76) of Ecru, Feb. 6, 2018 Verlene Lee Logan (MEd 77) of Senatobia, March 18, 2018 Ralph Cameron Lovitt Jr. (BPA 78) of Hattiesburg, March 29, 2018 Fred Carnes McCormack (BM 75) of Yellville, Ark., March 6, 2018 Laquita Guiling McCulloch (MLS 77) of Desloge, Mo., Feb. 18, 2018 Harris Carr McGraw (BBA 72) of Jackson, Feb. 10, 2018 G.L. Mears (EdD 72) of Salem, Ohio, Jan. 13, 2018 Thomas Joseph Monsour (72) of Meridian, Jan. 22, 2018 Walter Carl Moses Jr. (MD 78) of Greenwood, Jan. 4, 2018 Judith Kerr Nida (BSHPE 78, MEd 79) of Alamogordo, N.M., March 18, 2018 Mike Overstreet (BBA 70) of Oxford, March 1, 2018 Rachel Hill Owens (BS 72) of Salisbury, N.C., March 21, 2018 Mary Elizabeth Partridge (MEd 73, EdD 76) of Hammond, La., Feb. 10, 2018 Ruth Slocum Rosenau (MN 73) of Simpsonville, S.C., Jan. 31, 2018 John Hackett Russell III (BBA 73) of Nashville, Tenn., March 28, 2018 Patricia Moore Sartin (BAEd 70) of Winnsboro, La., Jan. 25, 2018 David Samuel Shapiro (BA 75) of Meridian, Jan. 3, 2018 Marjorie Davis Taylor (JD 78) of Jackson, March 24, 2018 Laurence Lee Van Dyke (EdD 76) of Meridian, Oct. 28, 2017 James Lewis Wall (MPA 79) of Longmont, Colo., March 28, 2018 Mickey Paul Wallace (MD 79) of Madison, Jan. 28, 2018 Jim Cowboy Woodruff (BSME 70) of Milton, Fla., Feb. 7, 2018 James Grady Young Jr. (BBA 77, MBA 83) of Saltillo, Jan. 14, 2018

1980s

Jimmy Guy Blassingame (BSEG 82) of Tupelo, March 4, 2018 Audrey Keys Burns (BA 88) of New Albany, March 13, 2018 Walter Clifton Davidson (BPA 89) of Clarksdale, April 9, 2018 Stephen Hartford Farnsworth (BAccy 82) of Memphis, Tenn., April 8, 2018 Bruce Henry Franks (BSHPE 80) of Houston, March 27, 2018 Audrey Lynn Graham (BA 83) of Dallas, Texas, Feb. 4, 2018 Kenny Ray Holt (BS 83, BA 83, BAccy 87) of Corinth, Feb. 16, 2018 Willie Allen Howell (MD 84) of Cave Spring, Ga., Jan. 24, 2018 Rosemary Gatlin Huffstatler (MEd 81) of Myrtle, Feb. 4, 2018 Jerry Lamar Kitchings (EdD 88) of Cleveland, April 7, 2018 Wiley Ray Martin (BRL 83) of Sumrall, April 6, 2018 Becca Rasco Mehlin (83) of Little Rock, Ark., Feb. 12, 2018 Kevin Phelps Moore (BBA 82) of Grenada, Jan. 20, 2018

ALUMNI News Sally Susan Paris (BAEd 80) of Baton Rouge, La., Feb. 12, 2018 Regina René Reynolds (BAccy 87) of Guntown, Jan. 18, 2018 Robert Larry White (BBA 86) of Killen, Ala., Jan. 8, 2018 Claude Elliston Yager (BBA 83) of Corinth, Feb. 7, 2018

1990s

Hugh Allen Anderson (BA 93) of Tupelo, April 4, 2018 Gerianne Kelly Benjamin (JD 94) of Arlington, Tenn., Feb. 3, 2018 Perry Lee Beverly (BA 95) of Ruleville, Jan. 9, 2018 Madeline Johnson Davis (JD 93) of Elk Grove, Calif., March 7, 2018 Scott Steven Eskra (97) of Eureka, Calif., March 7, 2018 Rebecca Leigh Fortner (95) of Dallas, Texas, Feb. 14, 2018 John Frederick Kane (99) of Decatur, Ga., Jan. 14, 2018 Thomas Edward Laws (JD 93) of Pascagoula, April 11, 2018 James Bonnell Mason (BBA 90) of Michigan City, Feb. 27, 2018 Fred Allen Bramlett McGonagill Jr. (BBA 98) of Germantown, Tenn., Jan. 25, 2018 David Earl McGowan (96) of Ukiah, Calif., Jan. 28, 2018 Melanie Hellen Morano (MSN 98) of Jackson, Feb. 8, 2018 Simone Boudreaux Owen (BS 98) of Carthage, Jan. 31, 2018 Richard Byron Raff (BBA 99) of Ridgeland, Jan. 12, 2018 Rex Anthony Rawls (MD 92) of Daphne, Ala., Feb. 26, 2018 Sidney Lamar Smith III (MA 92) of Ellicott City, Md., Dec. 28, 2017 Jack Dee Tucker (BBA 90) of Franklin, Tenn., March 17, 2018 Grace Moffatt Vandygriff (BAEd 93) of New Albany, April 1, 2018

2000s

Sherry Dianne Buford (BAEd 05, MEd 10) of Abbeville, Feb. 15, 2018 Donna Alexander Durham (MEd 00) of Booneville, Feb. 3, 2018 Theresa Holcomb Greenhaw (BS 08) of Fulton, Jan. 21, 2018 Amy Elizabeth Jacobs (BAEd 07) of Durham, N.C., Jan. 25, 2018 Maché Denise Robertson (BA 08) of New Albany, Feb. 8, 2018 Christopher Stephen Sylvest (MS 03) of Glastonbury, Conn., Jan. 10, 2018 Steven Louis Thompson (BBA 09) of New Orleans, La., Jan. 12, 2018

2010s

Edward Cortez Adams (BA 14) of Vicksburg, Sept. 25, 2017 Brennen Thomas Boone (18) of Madison, March 9, 2018 Davis Hudson Cook (17) of Trent Woods, N.C., Feb. 4, 2018 Zachary Ryan Flores (14) of Austin, Texas, March 8, 2018 Paul Hoskins Hackett (16) of Atlanta, Ga., April 8, 2018 Amy Johnston Lyons (BSW 17) of Pontotoc, March 26, 2018 Connor Anderson McCarthy (12) of Fort Worth, Texas, March 30, 2018 Laura Francis Peyton (BS 10) of Arvada, Colo., Dec. 27, 2017 Charles Bryan Stuckey III (16) of San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 19, 2018 Rhonda Lynn Timms (13) of Tupelo, Jan. 10, 2018 Erica Tennille Walls (BSW 11) of Tupelo, Feb. 18, 2018 Bobbie Chapman Young (BAEd 11) of Sardis, April 6, 2018

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ALUMNI News Faculty and Friends

Edward Atkinson III of Rossville, Tenn., Feb. 22, 2018 Lee Canada Bauer of Oxford, Feb. 16, 2018 Will Gay Bottje of Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 7, 2018 William Landess Bourland of Memphis, Tenn., April 10, 2018 Marye M. Boyd of Rocky River, Ohio, March 17, 2018 Robert Lee Brockman of Winona, Jan. 3, 2018 Bruce Allan Bullwinkel of New Albany, Jan. 16, 2018 Colleen Sadie Chase of Richland, April 9, 2018 James Major Coffey of Etta, Jan. 13, 2018 Alvin Morris Cullom Sr. of McComb, Jan. 20, 2018 Leland Stanford Fox of Natchez, Feb. 20, 2018 Glenn Paul Galloway of Charlotte, N.C., March 11, 2018 W. Franklin Gilmore of Oxford, Feb. 14, 2018 James Morton Goodman of Clinton, Jan. 2, 2018 Joanne McDaniel Hoover of Olive Branch, Feb. 10, 2018 Steve Lewis of Oxford, Feb. 17, 2018 Mildred Morris O’Neal of Perkinston, Jan. 7, 2018 Linn Kee Pang of Clarksdale, Jan. 2, 2018 Robert Earl Pennington of Pontotoc, Feb. 5, 2018 Paul E. Phillips III of Dyersburg, Tenn., Feb. 19, 2018 Howard Alton Putman of Brandon, Feb. 7, 2018 Jacqueline Smith Root of Jackson, Jan. 4, 2018 Helen Adickes Sam of Oxford, March 13, 2018 Barry Ross Smith of Oxford, Feb. 27, 2018 Virginia W. Wolfe of Hernando, Jan. 13, 2018

Due to space limitations, class notes are only published in the Alumni Review from active, dues-paying members of the Ole Miss Alumni Association. To submit a class note, send it to records @olemiss.edu or Alumni Records Dept., Ole Miss Alumni Association, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677-1848. Class notes also may be submitted through the Association’s website at olemissalumni.com. The Association relies on numerous sources for class notes and is unable to verify all notes with individual alumni.

FORMER ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT GIVES BACK

he late James “Jim” McClure Jr. (LLB 53), Ole Miss Alumni Association past president, was a longtime supporter of the University of Mississippi. McClure, who died in 2016, served as OMAA president in 1985-86 and as state senator from 1952 to 1956. A recent unrestricted gift to the Alumni Association from the Jim and Angele McClure Charitable Remainder Trust of almost $43,000 will allow for improved programming and services. McClure graduated from the UM School of Law with distinction and went on to practice law as a partner of McClure and Shuler for more than 60 years. He and his sister, Tupper McClure Lampton, established a lecture series at the UM law school, which brought in notable lecturers such as Justices Antonin Scalia and Elena Kagan. During his career, McClure served as chair of the Lamar Order and as a member of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, the chancellor search committee and the UM Foundation board. He was also a member of the Ole Miss Circle Society, Pacesetters, 1848 Society, UMAA Foundation and Chancellor’s Trust. In 1980, McClure was honored as the school’s Law Alumnus of the Year. He was inducted into the UM Hall of Fame in 2007 and the inaugural Law Alumni Hall of Fame in 2010.

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The University of Mississippi Alumni Association P.O. Box 1848 University, MS 38677-1848 (662) 915-7375 www.olemissalumni.com

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662.234.5621 • 1923 University Ave, Oxford, MS 38655 • Each office independently owned and operated. Renderings are to be used for general purposes only and are subject to change without notice. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and is subject to change without notice.