OLE MISS ALUMNI REVIEW
SUMMER 2020
ALUMNI REVIEW
Homegrown Success NAPIERS’ TV FAME HASN’T LESSENED THEIR LOVE FOR OLE MISS
Teamwork vital to caring for COVID-19 patients at UMMC Alumnus Scott Coopwood answers need for community journalism SUMMER 2020 VOL. 69 NO. 3
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Features ALUMNI REVIEW
22 In the Trenches
Teamwork vital to caring for COVID-19 patients at UMMC BY RUTH CUMMINS
28 A Thirst for Local News
Alumnus Scott Coopwood answers need for community journalism BY BRIAN HUDGINS
34 Homegrown Success
Napiers’ TV fame hasn’t lessened their love for Ole Miss BY ANNIE RHOADES
22 22
28 28
Contents VOL. 69 NO. 3
Departments
2 Chancellor’s Letter
SUMMER 2020
ON THE COVER
4 President’s Letter 6 From the Circle
38 Ole Miss Sports
Men’s hoops season tickets on sale Two nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year
46 Just Published
48 Rebel Traveler 52 Alumni News
34 34 Ben (BA 07) and Erin (BFA 07) Napier, stars of HGTV’s ‘Home Town,’ are passionate about revitalization, creativity, their hometown of Laurel and their alma mater. Cover photo by Brooke Davis
O le M iss A lumni R ev iew Publisher Kirk Purdom (93) Executive Editor Jim Urbanek II (97) jim@olemissalumni.com Associate Editor and Advertising Director Annie Rhoades (07, 09) annie@olemissalumni.com Contributing Editor Benita Whitehorn Art Director Amy Howell Contributors Angela Atkins, Kevin Bain (98), JB Clark (10), Rebecca Lauck Cleary (97, 18), Ruth Cummins (82), Brooke Davis, Mitchell Diggs (82), Joe Ellis, Nicole Ethridge, Jay Ferchaud, Tharangi Fernando, Meaghan Flores, Thomas Graning (17), Rod Guajardo, Brian Hudgins, Robert Jordan (83, 90), Joshua McCoy, Christina Steube (11,16), Whitney Tarpy (09), Megan Wolfe (18) Officers of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association Matt Lusco (79) president Lampkin Butts (73) president-elect Dr. Bob Warner (79, 83) vice president Johnny Maloney (78) athletics committee member Candie Simmons (02, 15) athletics committee member Alumni Affairs Staff, Oxford Kirk Purdom (93), executive director Joseph Baumbaugh, systems analyst III Sunny Brown (09, 11), assistant director Allie Bush (12), graphic web designer Clay Cavett (86), associate director, campaigns and special projects Martha Dollarhide, systems programmer II Annette Kelly (79), accountant Brian Maxcy (00), assistant director Steve Mullen (92), assistant director for marketing Annie Rhoades (07, 09), assistant director for communications 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 Ole Miss 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. 40982
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ALUMNI REVIEW
C hancellor from the
Dear Alumni and Friends,
The energy of a new academic year is in the air, though we recognize that this will be a unique fall at Ole Miss. However, even as the pandemic evolves and presents new challenges for us, I’m confident in the tremendous care and preparation that our faculty and staff are pouring into planning our return to campus, and how our university continues to accomplish flagship-worthy achievements for which you can be proud. At the end of June, we published our plan describing campus operations and academic protocols for fall 2020. Even as we continue to update the plan in light of evolving public health recommendations and government orders, I am inspired by how our university is stepping up to safeguard the health of our community and keep our students on track toward completing their degrees. We remain focused on preserving the on-campus experience, but COVID-19 has forced us to rethink everything we do. Even now, we still don’t know the full impact on our campus and social events in the fall — events that are integral to our sense of community and connection to one another. While the university has responded to this challenge with determination, the continuing effects on our operations are substantial and we’ve had to cut budgets for FY21. Final enrollment figures will determine the size of the overall reduction. At this time, we are preparing for a cut of 4.95% in permanent funds (based on expense and revenue predictions). Another major development this summer was the relocation of the confederate monument from the Circle in the heart of our campus to a more suitable location, in accordance with state law. This has been an important issue for our university, and the relocation is a meaningful change for our community. Even during these uncertain times, transformational work and outstanding achievements continue to happen here. Recently, the university received a $10.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish the new Glycoscience Center of Research Excellence, which will study how carbohydrates and carbohydrate-containing molecules affect human health. And, our Center for Telehealth at the Medical Center received a $1 million federal grant to help speed expansion of services to meet the changing needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Ole Miss Athletics continues to soar in the classroom, breaking the department record for highest APR (an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams). Five teams — men’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf and women’s tennis — were honored with the NCAA Public Recognition Award for posting scores in the top 10% of their sport. I also want to share that we recently partnered with the Mississippi National Guard to ensure National Guard service members will have tuition needs met so they can focus on their service and education. What a great way to serve these students who serve us all. In mid-August, we will welcome the Class of 2024 as the newest members of the Ole Miss family. During their years on our beautiful campus, they will create their legacies, strengthen our university and make us all proud! Stay well and stay safe,
Glenn F. Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) Chancellor
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ALUMNI REVIEW
For over 100 years, the name Ole Miss has been fondly used with no real controversy. Recently, it has been suggested by the media that the name is divisive, based on speculation as to its origins. Rather than debate what the name is not, I will expound upon four things Ole Miss is to her alumni and friends: a statement of place, a term of endearment, a powerful brand and a unifier. Ole Miss is shorthand for our state as well as the Mississippians who’ve gained from her and given back to her for more than a century and a half. The name is also evocative of the Mississippi River, which has shaped our commerce, communities and culture since our state’s inception. Thus, Ole Miss is an abbreviation not only for our school, but for our geography and all that is unique to our people and culture. Ole Miss is also a beautiful term of endearment, lovingly explained by Frank Everett (BA 32, LLB 34) decades ago. “The Heart of Ole Miss” is approximately 600 words long and covers all the intangibles and nostalgia the name embodies. Perhaps the portion that best characterizes Ole Miss says, “the University is buildings, trees and people. Ole Miss is mood, emotion and personality. The University is respected, but Ole Miss is loved. For anyone without that love, it does not exist. The University gives a diploma and regretfully terminates tenure, but one never graduates from Ole Miss.” More plainly put, Ole Miss is a similar term of endearment for the University of Mississippi as the word “home” is to the house you live in; it’s that simple. Third, Ole Miss is a powerful brand, and in our world today, focused on social media and hyper-marketing, branding is everything. Ole Miss is uniquely different from the university of “fill in the state name.” Every state has one of those, but there is only one Ole Miss. When Dan Jones (MD 75) became chancellor, he commissioned a study of our logo and several symbols associated with the university, including the name “Ole Miss.” That study found that “Ole Miss” was a highly recognized brand with strong favorability, even more favorability than “Mississippi.” Since that time, that brand has been even further enriched by many notable academic and athletic achievements. Finally, Ole Miss is a unifier. It aggregates current students and old grads; faculty and administrators; friends of the university and alumni; academics and athletes; past, present and future. It is a unique amalgam of all of our past accomplishments and future aspirations. The affection and appeal of Ole Miss are so much more than whatever its origins that 10 years ago, the University of Mississippi Alumni Association, very proudly, deliberately and affectionately, changed our bylaws to rename ourselves the Ole Miss Alumni Association. These four dimensions define Ole Miss to her alumni. And as our creed instructs us, we all individually define Ole Miss by our own example. So, it is up to us; let’s define Ole Miss by our character, by the sense of hospitality and inclusion the Grove exudes, and by our integrity. Let’s celebrate this proud name. We are Ole Miss!
Matt Lusco (BBA 79)
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THE L ATES T ON OLE MISS S TUDENTS, FACULT Y, S TAFF AND FRIENDS
New Commitment to Service
UM, NATIONAL GUARD LAUNCH TUITION PROGRAM FOR SERVICE MEMBERS
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he University of Mississippi and Mississippi National Guard are partnering to ensure National Guard service members will have their tuition needs met so they can focus on their service and education. “From being recognized as one of America’s Top MilitaryFriendly universities to our Purple Heart Campus designation, our commitment to comprehensively serving our veterans, military and dependents runs deep throughout our institution,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) said during a signing event in June. “Today’s MOU (memorandum of understanding) for this new tuition program with the Mississippi National Guard is another positive step in upholding and increasing that commitment. It’s tangible evidence of how we are invested in the overall success of our military Ole Miss students and to growing their presence on our campus.” The program, which will operate similarly to the Ole Miss Opportunity program, will help fill tuition funding gaps for qualifying National Guard service members after their other federal,
state and institutional scholarships have been applied. “I think this is going to help a lot of students out, including myself, and make it easier for me and my family on the financial side,” says Deangelo Brown, a freshman integrated marketing communications major from Vaughan. “It gives me more time to focus on my academics rather than worrying about the cost of school — while still being able to serve in the National Guard.” “This program is not about me, or about the university,” says Maj. Gen. Janson Boyles, adjutant general of Mississippi. “It’s about the young men and women who serve. These young men and women who serve are self-starters; they finish what they begin, and they are great employees and great students for any organization they’re a part of.” Andrew Newby, assistant director of veteran and military services, echoes Boyles’ sentiment. “This is a great program that we get to offer now,” Newby says. “It offsets tuition and helps us to try and capture some of the best and brightest to get them to come home to Ole Miss while also serving their country.” Photo by Thomas Graning
Chancellor Glenn Boyce and Maj. Gen. Janson Boyles, adjutant general of Mississippi, sign a memorandum of understanding to offer tuition assistance to National Guard members. 6
ALUMNI REVIEW
Submitted photo
from the Circle
A team from the UM School of Journalism and New Media takes in the sights of Old San Juan while visiting Puerto Rico for reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2019. The group includes (from left) Iveta Imre, assistant professor of journalism; Pat Thompson, assistant dean for student media; student Brittany Brown; M.F.A. student Jasmine Karlowski, an adviser in the Study Abroad Office; students Christian Johnson and Devna Bose; and UM graduate Ariel Cobbert, a photographer at the Commercial Appeal.
Students Place in Hearst Contest COMPETITION AMONG MOST PRESTIGIOUS IN COLLEGIATE JOURNALISM our students from the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media were honored with an award in the national Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The students won eighth place in the category of Team Multimedia/News or Enterprise for a project about Puerto Rico’s recovery after Hurricane Maria. Website content included short and in-depth text articles, videos, photographs, graphics and timelines. The team members included journalism majors Devna Bose (BAJ 19), Brittany Brown (BAJ 19) and Christian Johnson (BAJ 20), and integrated marketing communications major Hayden Benge (BS 19), who designed the website. All four students held leadership positions at the university’s S. Gale Denley Student Media Center in 2019. The Hearst competition is considered one of the most prestigious in college journalism. Bose, a native of the Mississippi town of Philadelphia, is a reporter for the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina through
the Report for America fellowship program. Brown, from Quitman, just finished the first year of her master’s degree in the Southern studies documentary program at Ole Miss. Benge, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is an account coordinator for Saxum, a marketing communications agency in Tulsa. Johnson, from Kennett, Missouri, continues to work as a photography intern for University Marketing and Communications at Ole Miss. The faculty leaders for the project were Patricia Thompson, assistant dean for student media and assistant professor of journalism, and Iveta Imre, assistant professor of journalism. Journalism graduate Ariel Cobbert (BAJ 18) participated as photography mentor. She is a photographer at the Commercial Appeal in Memphis. Jasmine Karlowski (MA 10), a study abroad adviser and student in the Master of Fine Arts program, helped with translations while working on a mini-documentary about the trip. S U M M E R 2 020
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from the Circle
Chance for Adventure
FORMER UM CENTER DIRECTOR TED OWNBY AWARDED FULBRIGHT
A
fter Ted Ownby stepped down as director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi in 2019, he wanted to do something different, so he decided to apply for a Fulbright Award. To his delight, he received word that he will be the Danish Distinguished Chair in American Studies at the University of Southern Denmark, which combines research and teaching and is the most prestigious Fulbright grant in Denmark. Ownby, the UM William Winter Professor of History and professor of Southern studies, made his decision after attending the Southern Studies Forum in Denmark last year. “The Center for American Studies at the University of Southern Denmark is a lively group with several scholars interested in the American South, and the university is an attractive place; I remember walking trails, bicycles and lots of birds,” Ownby says. “The city of Odense is Denmark’s third-largest city, famous among other things as the home of Hans Christian Andersen, and I look forward to getting to know it. I’ll teach in English, but I’m slowly and awkwardly learning some Danish.” He will teach one class to either graduate or upper-level undergraduates with class sizes of 25-45 students. He also will give at least one public lecture at the University of Southern Denmark, attend faculty meetings, talk to faculty and students,
and be available to travel to other European universities. Katie McKee, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, has been a colleague of Ownby for many years. “This Fulbright is a tremendous opportunity for Dr. Ownby, a well-deserved chance for adventure after many years of serving as center director and a real testament to the excellence of his scholarship,” McKee says. The award was intended for the 2020-21 academic year, but the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the stay to the spring semester only, which begins in January 2021. Coincidentally, robotics researchers at the University of Southern Denmark have developed the world’s first fully automatic robot capable of carrying out throat swabs for COVID-19, so that health care professionals are not exposed to the risk of infection. Both the Danish and U.S. governments financially support this program. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers around 470 teaching, research or combination teaching/ research awards in more than 125 countries. Opportunities are available for college and university faculty and administrators as well as for artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, independent scholars and many others. Ted Ownby, former director of the UM Center for the Study of Southern Culture, reads outside Barnard Observatory.
Photo by Robert Jordan
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ALUMNI REVIEW
from the Circle
UM PROFESSOR AWARDED FELLOWSHIP BY ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS eth Ann Fennelly, professor of English at the University of Mississippi and Mississippi’s poet laureate, has been honored as a poets laureate fellow by the Academy of American Poets, the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of contemporary poetry. The $50,000 fellowship will go toward supporting her own work and funding Glitterary, a three-day queer literary festival and celebration to be held in Oxford in April 2021. “I’m so honored to be chosen by the Academy of American Poets for a Poets Laureate Fellowship,” Fennelly says. “The Glitterary Festival will allow us to build upon the great literary tradition already thriving in Mississippi and expand access to it for all. “My mission as poet laureate has been
to get poetry in all its forms in front of the ears and eyes of as many Mississippians as possible. Glitterary is designed to support that mission.” Fennelly was named the state’s poet laureate, a four-year position, in 2016. Her award-winning work includes six volumes of poetry, essays and fiction. Her acclaimed novel, The Tilted World (Harper Collins, 2013), was co-written with her husband, Tom Franklin, UM associate professor of English. She also has been awarded the prestigious Pushcart Prize and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, among other national honors and accolades. “Beth Ann Fennelly is an extraordinary poet and writer,” says Ivo Kamps, professor and chair of the Department of English.
Beth Ann Fennelly
“Her continuing tenure as Mississippi’s poet laureate is a testament not only to her talents as a writer but also to her standing as a public figure and advocate for the arts.”
Veteran Vanity Plates Available PREORDERS BRING IN OVER $10,000 FOR MILITARY-CONNECTED STUDENTS
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he Welcome Home vanity license plates offered by the University of Mississippi Student Veterans Association opened to the general public on May 25. The SVA sold 301 tags during its presale, bringing in $11,137 for the organization, money that will go toward veteran scholarships and grant money. “The money will be used for anything our students need,” says Andrew Newby, assistant director of veteran and military services. “We have students who are food insecure — even before COVID-19. “It will go toward purchasing textbooks, fixing vehicles, feeding families, clothes, shoes and backpacks. It’s not going toward salaries or bonuses or operational costs — just for militaryconnected students.” With more than 1,400 militaryconnected students at Ole Miss — including those serving in the National Guard, reserves, on active duty and
dependents of those serving — this new opportunity to offer support comes with the added benefit of “upgrading your tailgate,” Newby says.
“This is a way to raise money and awareness for our students without having to ask everyone for a big gift,” Newby says.
The Welcome Home vanity tag can be purchased for $51, and $37 of each sale goes directly to the Student Veterans Association.
Newby encourages residents to check with their local offices regarding hours and availability amid the ongoing restricted pandemic operations. S U M M E R 2 020
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from the Circle
Natural Anti-Aging Ingredient UM SCIENTISTS ISSUED SECOND PATENT FOR ALOE-DERIVED COMPOSITION
Photo by Robert Jordan
niversity of Mississippi research- derived composition greatly strengthens products center, were part of a team in the ers, along with Woodcliff Skincare the intellectual property surrounding late ’90s that investigated aloe’s immune Solutions Inc., have been jointly the Sustainable Youth product line properties. The research has been used to issued a patent for Alasta, the main ingre- and illustrates the innovative research guide clinical studies and product develdient in a line of skin-care prodopment for products beneficial ucts being sold under the brand for skin health. name Sustainable Youth. “This latest United States patThe primary ingredient in ent issuance is a testament to the Alasta is derived from the aloe university’s long-standing partvera plant and is responsible for nership with Woodcliff Skincare the clinically observed effects S o l u t i o n s ,” s a y s M i c h a e l of e n h an c e d s k i n f i r m n e s s Mosher, associate director of and wrinkle reduction. The the UM Office of Technology composition contains aloeride, Commercialization. an immune-enhancing extract Over the past decade, that was previously patented by dedication to this research has the university and licensed to resulted in over a dozen interWoodcliff. national patents, culminating Plants such as aloe have a in this most recent U.S. patent. natural community of bacteria, David Pasco (left) and Nirmal Pugh began studying the immune Woodcliff is offering a 30 says Nirmal Pugh (PhD 01), properties of compounds found in aloe vera more than 20 years ago. percent discount for Ole Miss principal scientist in the School a lu m n i on it s Su st ai n abl e of Pharmacy’s National Center for Natu- being performed at UM and what can Youth brand of products beginning ral Products Research. The beneficial be accomplished through a strong col- Aug. 1, 2020. The discount will run for compounds produced by the bacteria laborative effort to advance technology,” 90 days and can be obtained by using are concentrated and used in the manu- Pugh says. the code ALUM30. To view the product facturing of Alasta. Pugh and David Pasco, former line and for more information, visit “Having another patent for our aloe- associate director of the Ole Miss natural sustainableyouth.com.
UNIVERSITY GROUPS HOST DIALOGUE SERIES ON RACISM IN AMERICA acial injustice and pain have been brought to the national forefront by the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. University of Mississippi organizers hope to create a space for healing, allyship and community action through a new Stronger Together Dialogue Series. The first Stronger Together event, hosted virtually on June 3, provided the UM family an opportunity to heal and work together around the issue of racial injustice. “We know that there are going to be times like this that grip our community, and we want to be sure we have a response and 10
ALUMNI REVIEW
framework in place for addressing these kinds of pervasive and painful situations,” says EJ Edney (BA 11, MA 13), director of inclusion and cross cultural engagement. “Healing, allyship and action are the three main pillars of response we need to focus on to create a stronger community and better world.” The first online discussion, which represented the healing component, offered participants an opportunity to process recent events in an identity-conscious space while providing resources for continued healing. Additional events in the series centered on allyship and collective action.
After the events, the organizers planned to collect input from the discussion as well as participant surveys to aid in the formation of events to follow in the series. The discussion is hosted by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, University Counseling Center, Black Student Union and Associated Student Body. “There hasn’t been a direct opportunity for our students to unpack the exhaustive collective trauma that comes with being people of color in America right now,” says Joshua Mannery, ASB president. “This is our chance to address the uncomfortable and unite behind a shared sense of community.”
from the Circle
Historic CPA Exam Results
OLE MISS RANKS NO. 2 NATIONALLY AND NO. 1 IN SEC FOR SELLS AWARD WINNERS ix students from the Patterson School of Accountancy at the University of Mississippi have received the 2019 Elijah Watt Sells Award, the most prestigious certified public accountant exam award in the world. Nearly 75,000 individuals sat for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination in 2019, with only 137 candidates meeting the criteria to receive the Elijah Watt Sells Award. To qualify, CPA candidates must pass all four sections of the exam on their first attempt, have completed testing in 2019, and obtain a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all four sections — the latter by far the most difficult requirement. UM students receiving the award are Jason Dinsmore, Sarah Heuerman (BAccy 18, MAccy 19), Austin Huckaby
(MADA 19), Hayden Poer (BAccy 18, MTDA 19), Ryan Rosenbaum and Kellie Shannon (BAccy 18, MADA 19). “We are exceptionally proud of these six students,” Dean Mark Wilder says. “While they are all certainly bright young scholars, what impresses me the most is the intense effort and discipline each put forth to enable them to achieve the Sells Award. “They provide great examples for other students to follow, and we are very pleased that they are, or soon will be, Ole Miss alumni.” The UM accounting school is ranked second nationally and first in the Southeastern Conference in number of Elijah Watt Sells recipients in 2019. Thirteen students from SEC universities received the award, with six coming from UM
and seven from the other 13 SEC institutions combined. The average score across the individual sections of the CPA exam for the six Ole Miss Sells winners was 96.625. Sixteen of those 24 scores were 97 or higher, with five scores at 99, the highest score possible on a CPA exam section. Huckaby had the highest scores among the group, averaging 98.25 across his four sections of the exam. The Elijah Watt Sells Award program was established by the American Institute of CPAs in 1923 to recognize outstanding performance on the professional exam. Sells, one of the first CPAs in the U.S., was active in the establishment of the AICPA and played a key role advancing professional education within the profession.
Jason Dinsmore
Sarah Heuerman
Austin Huckaby
Hayden Poer
Ryan Rosenbaum
Kellie Shannon S U M M E R 2 020
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from the Circle
UM PHARMACY RANKED IN TOP 25 BEST PHARMACY SCHOOLS
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he University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy once again ranked in the top 25 nationally in the 2020 U.S. News and World Report survey of best pharmacy schools. UM tied at No. 23 among public institutions and No. 24 overall in the most recent release. The rankings are based on peer assessments from all accredited pharmacy schools and published every four years. “Our top 25 ranking is a testament to the dedicated faculty, staff, students, alumni and other partners we are fortunate to have at Ole Miss pharmacy,” says David D. Allen, dean of the pharmacy school. “We continue to have exceptional classroom and experiential learning experiences along with outstanding research opportunities that prepare our graduates to be health care leaders.” The school rose to sixth in the nation in external research funding for 2018, according to the American Association of Colleges of
Pharmacy. Research funding reached $21.2 million, placing the School of Pharmacy second in the Southeastern Conference and among the top 5 percent of pharmacy schools nationwide. The school also underwent a curriculum change beginning in fall 2018. Students are in a modular, integrated curriculum based on major body systems that is focused on patient-centered care. The pharmacy school also introduced new ways for aspiring pharmacists to enter the program. Students can be admitted through the Sophomore Entry Program for university freshmen or the Preferred Admissions Program agreements with Jackson State University, Alcorn State University, Tougaloo College and Millsaps College. The school continues to offer its Early Entry Program for high school seniors as well as regular entry into the professional program.
Repka Gets UM’s Top Research Award PHARMACEUTICS PROFESSOR HONORED FOR DRUG DELIVERY WORK
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rowing up in a small Texas town south of San Antonio, Michael A. Repka worked in his father’s pharmacy. Frank Repka opened Center Pharmacy in Pleasanton in 1961, and Michael started working there when he was 11 — dusting bottles and shelves, restocking those dust-free shelves and performing various tasks for his father. “I enjoyed it so much, observing his interactions with patients, that I had no doubt at 12 that I was pursuing that career route,” says Repka, who was named the 2020 recipient of the University of Mississippi’s Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award. “I was influenced by my dad. He encouraged me to apply to pharmacy school. I liked the idea of eventually joining the family business.” Following in his father’s footsteps, Repka earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy in 1976 from the University of Texas before receiving a Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Texas Michael Repka Dental School at San Antonio in 1981. Repka practiced dentistry for 12 years, but following a fourwheeler accident that affected the manual dexterity of his hands, Repka returned to his first love, pharmacy. He graduated from the University of Texas in 2000 with a Ph.D. in pharmaceutics and became an Ole Miss faculty member that summer. Center Pharmacy remains in the family, as Repka’s brother 12
ALUMNI REVIEW
Myron is practicing pharmacy at the family-run store. Repka no longer practices dentistry, but he’s never stopped serving. As chair and distinguished professor of pharmaceutics and drug delivery in the UM School of Pharmacy, Repka has advised numerous students over the years, often telling them to “stay humble” and advance pharmaceutical science — even to a degree they can’t imagine as students. “Stay focused, create and advise others with your knowledge,” he tells his students. Repka was following his own advice — participating as a committee adviser for a thesis defense for a master’s candidate (now a master’s graduate) — when word came that he had been named recipient of the Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award. “This is truly an honor,” says Repka, who also is director of the Pii Center for Pharmaceutical Technology in the pharmacy school. “I truly could not believe it when I heard the news. I knew I contributed to the university’s mission, but I never believed I would be honored like this. There are just so many faculty that deserve the award.” Created in 2008, the annual award recognizes a faculty member who has shown outstanding accomplishment in research, scholarship and creative activity. Applicants are nominated by their peers and reviewed by a committee of past recipients.
Photo by Adobe Stock
from the Circle
New Degree
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION BACHELOR’S DEGREE PROGRAM TO LAUNCH THIS FALL
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tarting with the fall semester, the University of Mississippi is offering a new bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. The program will prepare UM School of Education graduates to become professionals in the field of early childhood education, including working in classroom settings and managing child care programs. This program was developed in response to recent research showing critical needs in this area. “We conducted an assessment for the needs in regard to early childhood educator preparation and career opportunities throughout Mississippi,” says Kenya Wolff, assistant professor of early childhood education and director of Willie Price Lab School. “The needs that were identified were an increased need for infant and toddler training, increased knowledge around developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood education and increased knowledge in special education and early intervention. Our program was designed to address these needs specifically.” The program will provide students with an in-depth study of child development from birth to age 5. The degree program is designed to include multiple clinical experiences at every age span. “Students who complete the early childhood education program and pass all required licensure tests will be
recommended for a Mississippi birth-kindergarten teaching licensure with an early childhood and special education endorsement,” says Burhanettin Keskin, program coordinator and associate professor of early childhood education. “Furthermore, this program is specifically designed for individuals who would like to gain expertise in identifying early signs of developmental needs and implement interventions to support the learning and behavioral success of young children.” Practicum courses for the program will take place every semester in diverse infant, toddler and preschool inclusion settings. Graduates will have opportunities to put their learning into practice at Willie Price Lab School, an on-campus, nationally accredited preschool. They also will complete student teaching in a public kindergarten setting. “Our classes will emphasize working with families who live in poverty, working with children to support social (and) emotional needs, as well as the importance of addressing trauma early,” Wolff says. Graduates of the program will receive licensure for preschool and kindergarten teaching and a special education endorsement. This is the second degree in early childhood education launched in recent years at Ole Miss. In 2014, the School of Education launched an online master’s degree in the field. For more information about the bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, visit education.olemiss.edu. S U M M E R 2 020
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from the Circle
Meaningful Gift
UM CLASS OF 2020 CONTRIBUTES TO STUDENT EMERGENCY FUND very year, members of the University of Mississippi senior class raise funds to leave a gift behind that represents their legacy. This year, the tradition continued. By requesting contributions to the Student Emergency Fund, the Class of 2020 helped fellow Ole Miss students struggling with pandemic-related challenges. Class of 2020 officers originally chose the kind of traditional gift that most classes do. Noticing the turf in front of the Grove stage needs to be replaced, they dedicated the senior
Cady Cooper, senior class vice president
class gift to that effort. In March, however, the coronavirus ended in-person classes and shuttered most residence halls. Students began online classes, and many returned to their hometowns. The changes were especially hard on seniors, who missed being together on campus for their last semester and will have Commencement later than they planned. “I don’t think any of us could’ve expected this to happen,” says Cole Blue (BBA 20), senior class president from McComb. “But it’s important to stay positive and think about the future. “With what’s going on, we felt it was necessary to change gears and focus our gift on helping others.” In response to unprecedented student needs created by the pandemic, senior class officers launched an Ignite Ole Miss campaign to raise funds for the Christopher Holman Student Emergency Fund, an existing fund that helps students in crisis. Since March, the fund’s administrators have granted thousands of dollars to students who could not pay for rent, food or other expenses after losing jobs and facing unexpected hardships. “In a way, this situation has showed me what’s most important in life,” says senior class vice president Cady Cooper (BA 20), a public policy leadership and French major from Ocean Springs. “This is such a worthy fund, and giving to it is one way we can leave a positive impact that lasts well beyond our graduation.” 14
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Photo by Kevin Bain
Cole Blue, senior class president
Across the nation, people have reached out to graduating seniors as millions of students complete their college careers with very different celebrations. “I’m sorry for the way our Ole Miss experience has ended, but we’ll get through this,” Blue says. “Whenever it’s over, we’ll all celebrate together.” The university remains committed to holding an in-person ceremony for the Class of 2020 at a later date. Once it is safe to host large events, university officials will announce a new date for an in-person Commencement.
Parker Blaylock, senior class secretary-treasurer
from the Circle
Graduates Celebrated Virtually OVER 5,000 DEGREES CONFERRED IN MAY AMID MESSAGES OF HOPE uring a live, virtual event filled with joyous celebrations and heartfelt words of wisdom, the University of Mississippi celebrated graduates in the Class of 2020 on Saturday, May 9. The ceremony, a mixture of live-streamed video from the Oxford campus and pre-recorded messages sent from across the country, celebrated Ole Miss students and their accomplishments with the conferring of more than 5,000 degrees for December 2019 graduates and May and August 2020 candidates for graduation. University leaders continue to evaluate plans for an inperson Commencement ceremony at a later date and remain committed to honoring graduates as soon as conditions allow for large gatherings. “While today’s event is not intended to replace our Commencement ceremony, it is intended to mark this significant and celebratory time in your life with joy, laughter and maybe even a tear of happiness or two,” Chancellor Glenn F. Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) said. “Today’s milestone marks the culmination of years of study, hard work and careful preparation. “Now is also an occasion to remember the happiest and most fulfilling moments of your time as an Ole Miss student.” Boyce acknowledged the sudden and unpredictable change the university and entire world has gone through in the last few months due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn F. Boyce participates in a live, virtual event May 9 to celebrate graduates in the Class of 2020.
“We have missed the vibrancy and energy that our student body brings to our campus,” he said. “While this place is as beautiful as ever, it is unrecognizable without you. And it is deeply felt today on what is traditionally one of the most anticipated and uplifting days in the life of a university. “For our graduates, this is an emotional turn of events to transpire right as you should be celebrated. It’s important you know that the university remains committed to honoring you in person when it is safe for us to come together.” Noel Wilkin, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, congratulated graduates on the hard work and dedication it took to get to this point along their personal and academic journeys. “Completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree is a considerable accomplishment, one that will open doors the rest of your lives,” Wilkin said. “More importantly, the knowledge, skills and abilities that you have gained will transform your lives.” Matt Lusco (BBA 79), 2019-20 Alumni Association president, revealed a special surprise for the Class of 2020 by offering 20 members of the class life memberships in the Ole Miss Alumni Association. “We deeply admire the resilience and dedication that you have shown in completing your degrees under unprecedented circumstances,” Lusco said. “This class’s distinction has been earned not by the pandemic itself but by your dedication, resolve and passion about your goals and about our wonderful alma mater.” Cole Blue (BBA 20), 2020 class president, shared words of inspiration with his fellow graduates, commending them for their resiliency and determination during these unprecedented times. “When we started our first semester together years ago, none of us imagined that this is how our time at Ole Miss would come to an end,” Blue said. “These past few months, we have been faced with unusual circumstances, but these times will not be how our class will be remembered. We will be remembered as resilient. “I know today has not gone as planned, but that does not change the impact our class will have here at the university. I challenge you to represent the flagship with honor and pride throughout your lives.” UM students Carl Tart, of Yazoo City, and Leah Davis (BA 20), of Tupelo, also participated in the virtual celebration. Tart led the students in the turning of the tassel, while Davis sang the university’s alma mater. Throughout the various segments of the celebration, Ole Miss students, alumni, faculty and a few other memorable faces — including actor Morgan Freeman — offered congratulatory words to graduates. In advance of the virtual celebration, students received an official cap and tassel from the university, along with other celebratory items. S U M M E R 2 020
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from the Circle
Alumna Named Top 40 Under 40 JENNY ANN URBAN EARNED TWO DEGREES IN AIR AND SPACE LAW FROM UM
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Photo by Megan Wolfe
enny Ann Urban’s passion for travel and interest in law her career in aviation law, dealing primarily with aviation reghas led to a successful career as director of aviation rela- ulations and security. Urban previously worked as an aviation tions and compliance at Clear, a growing firm that pro- associate at two international law firms based in Washington, vides expedited airport security clearances for travelers. D.C., New York and Charleston, South Carolina. Airport Business Magazine recently named the University “Clear is a biometric identity platform that powers secure, of Mississippi alumna to the 2019 Airport Business Top 40 frictionless customer experiences in nearly 60 airports and Under 40 list. “It’s a huge honor to be included on the Airport Business Top 40 Under 40 list,” says Urban (BA 11, MBA 13, JD 15, LLM 16). “I’m excited to be chosen and rewarded for the effort, long hours and passion I have continued to exude within the aviation sector.” And she’s just getting started. Having lived all over from Colorado to Australia, Urban now resides in Washington, D.C., but claims Oxford as her hometown. She graduated from UM in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and public policy leadership through the university’s Trent Lott Leadership Institute. Urban attended the University of Denver Sturm College of Law for one year before returning to Ole Miss to earn her Master of Business Administration, but her passion for law school remained. While working on her MBA, she took a position babysitting for the 2-year-old daughter of Jacqueline Serrao, former director of the Master of Laws in Air and Space Law program at the School of Law. After learning more about the program and experiencing aviation law firsthand with Serrao, Urban knew her next steps. She continued her law school career at Ole Miss, focusing on aviation law. “After getting to work with Ms. Serrao, I knew aviation law was my calling,” she says. “This was solidified by my attendance and speaking opportunities at aviation law conferences around the country.” She earned her J.D. in 2015 and LL.M. in air and UM alumna Jenny Urban discusses changing airline regulations at the 2019 space law a year later. TEDxUniversityofMississippi event in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the “I saw her grow as a law student,” says Serrao, Performing Arts. now deputy assistant chief counsel for international affairs and legal policy for the Federal Aviation Administra- venues for over four million members,” Urban says. tion. “She was incredibly inquisitive and asked very pertinent At Clear, she oversees aviation security compliance and questions in class.” Transportation Security Administration relationships in 34 Serrao added that as a student, Urban served as her research airports across the United States. assistant in some international aviation legal capacity-building The UM School of Law offers a J.D. concentration and an projects, always taking the initiative to build her learning LL.M. in air and space law. A certificate is also available for beyond the classroom. industry professionals who want to learn more about air and The foundation she received at Ole Miss prepared her for space law. Visit law.olemiss.edu to learn more.
from the Circle
Exceptional Student Service UNIVERSITY HONORS THREE EMPLOYEES WITH FRIST AWARDS
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hree University of Mississippi the biggest reward comes from helping me with their dreams. I believe that when employees who have demon- students. someone trusts you with their dream, you strated dedication and passion for “When a student comes to my office have to give them everything you have.” helping students succeed were honored feeling lost or paralyzed from a situation A licensed psychologist, Schulenberg with a campuswide award they are unsure about, it is also is founding director of the univerfor student service. the greatest feeling in the sity’s interdisciplinary minor in disaster Carmen Riggan (BA 06, world to know I can help sciences. MA 18), pre-law adviser them find their way to a Students who nominated Schuland assistant to the dean solution,” she says. “I feel the enberg for the award noted that he in the College of Liberal relationships I build with takes time to make sure they maintain Arts; Sovent Taylor (BA students helps them find the a healthy work-life balance and often 03, BBA 03, MA 06, EdD confidence to explore and recommends books and movies that 18), director of the Health attain their goals.” help foster purpose in one’s life. Professions Advising Office; Taylor received several Schulenberg says he is grateful and and Stefan Schulenberg, letters of nomination from humbled at winning the award, noting professor of psycholog y Carmen Riggan students, several of whom that his inspiration as a faculty member and director of the Clinicalsaid he helped them through comes from an instructor who mentored Disaster Research Center, were selected the application process of medical, dental him as an undergraduate more than 25 as this year’s Frist Student Service Award or nursing school. One noted that he took years ago at the University of Houston. honorees. time to write five recomShe took time to give him The three employees were chosen mendation letters for her, advice, helped him become from among dozens of nominees, resulting in her acceptance involved in research and submitted by students, faculty, staff and to Vanderbilt University’s wrote a letter of recommenalumni. The award generally goes to one Master of Nursing program. dation for him to be admitted faculty member and one staff member Ta y l o r, a n a t i v e o f into graduate school. per year, but the award committee Clarksdale, earned bachelor’s “Not long after she (had) felt the nominations merited two staff degrees in psychology and looked over my materials awards — Riggan and Taylor — this year. marketing, a master’s in and wr itten t he re com“On behalf of the entire university higher education and doctormendation, she died from community, congratulations to all three ate in higher education, all cancer,” Schulenberg says. “I of this year’s deserving Frist Award from UM. He joined the uninever had the opportunity Stefan Schulenberg recipients,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce versity in 2006 as a regional to tell her personally what (BAEd 81, EdD 96) says. admissions counselor and her efforts, what her sacrifice, meant to “This year’s winners are also worked for the Division me. She didn’t have the opportunity to the gold standard to which of Outreach and Continuing learn that I would eventually go on to we all aspire in making a Education, Office of Alumni graduate school in clinical psychology, difference in the lives of our Affairs and the Center for in large part due to her efforts helping students.” Student Success and First- me to open that door. Riggan was nominated Year Experience before join“I resolved to pay it forward. … She by several colleagues across ing the Health Professions taught me a great deal … about looking campus, all of whom Advising Office as assistant out for people, about helping people to reflected on her patience, director in 2014. recognize opportunities to move forward empathy and enthusiasm for “Winning this award in their educational and professional purstudents. means so much to me,” he suits, and about our potential influence as Sovent Taylor She joined the UM staff says. “I was overcome with faculty in cultivating and stoking the fires in 2005 and holds a bachelor’s degree emotion when the chancellor told me I of student belief and motivation.” in psychology and a master’s in higher was selected for this award. The Frist Student Service Awards education, both from Ole Miss. “It is so meaningful to be recognized were established with a $50,000 gift While receiving the award is a for serving students because service is my from the late Dr. Thomas F. Frist (BS 31, cherished honor for Riggan, she says passion. I am blessed that students trust MCERT 31), of Nashville. 18
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from the Circle
Improved Telehealth
FCC GRANT BOOSTS CENTER FOR TELEHEALTH’S COVID-19 CARE
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Photo courtesy of UMMC
he Center for Telehealth at the University of Mississippi communicate in a virtual setting throughout UMMC’s hospiMedical Center is using a $1 million federal grant to tals and clinics, reducing the risk of exposure to patients and speed expansion of services to meet the changing needs providers alike and lowering use of critical personal protective of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. equipment. The funding comes from the Federal Communications Grant funding also will fuel the immediate expansion of Commission’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which non-COVID-19-related telehealth services for both routine nationwide is awarding a total $200 million as part of the and urgent care. Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, also The FCC support “positions us to continue to be a leader called the CARES Act. The money helps nonprofit and public-eligible health care providers deliver telehealth services to patients at home or in mobile locations by funding their telecommunications services, information services and devices necessary to provide telehealth. Concerns for the safety of both patients and providers continue to play a significant role in the center’s work, with providers ramping up televisits so swiftly that networks initially struggled to keep up, says Dr. Tearsanee Carlisle Davis, the center’s director of clinical and advanced practice operations. “We had to put a mechanism into place to make sure people continued to get the care they need,” Davis says of the first weeks of March, when the virus began to sweep through the state. “We had to stand those operations up pretty quickly, especially Dr. Will Campbell, a cardiologist with University Heart, and Marlene Holloway, a in primary care and family medicine and in pediat- registered nurse care coordinator, visit with a patient via telehealth. rics, and also in our specialty care areas.” Before the pandemic, an average 73 telehealth appoint- in screening as many patients as possible for COVID-19,” ments were completed monthly. Today, thanks to over 144 Cespedes says. “It helps us to give our clinical areas the opportrainings for providers and departments early in the pandemic tunity to continue to do telehealth in a way that best works for by telehealth team members, about 459 Medical Center them.” providers use telehealth to remotely visit their patients. Those The pandemic forced the March cancellation or postponecaregivers practice across 14 School of Medicine departments. ment of most UMMC outpatient appointments. The center The funding “will support a lot of the infrastructure that dramatically increased virtual visits using its UMMC 2 You will position the institution to provide the highest quality platform, and in March alone, patients used it 4,723 times, a digital and telehealth health care possible,” says Julio Cespedes, 286 percent increase over the 1,230 appointments in February the Center for Telehealth’s director of telehealth innovation, 2020. That skyrocketed to 11,717 UMMC 2 You consultations design and implementation. in April, and remained high in May at 5,697 consultations. “We’re lucky to have a lot of capacity in telehealth,” he says “One of the pluses of this has been that more providers of the center, one of just two Telehealth Centers of Excellence have tried telehealth, and I expect that will continue to go up,” in the nation. “This will allow us to think about how to do this Davis says. “Those who were hesitant in the past have tried with best practices, in a much more sustainable way.” it, and they have found value in using it. On the patient side, The grant is being used to support additional COVID-19 some of them had no choice but to try it. Now, they’ve been triage and telemedicine visits with providers, both video exposed to it.” and audio-only. Caregivers at the center also are continuing Although dramatically increasing telehealth reach in the to perform acute patient triage and screening in addition to face of COVID-19 was a challenge, Davis says, “It was long scheduling testing for patients with COVID-19 risk factors. overdue. You don’t realize how much you need something The grant also will support upgrades to the center’s phone until you need it. We will be more prepared than ever going systems, webcams and networks so providers can better forward.”
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Teamwork vital to caring for COVID-19 patients at UMMC
By Ruth Cummins
Teams composed of attending physicians; residents and fellows; pharmacists; social workers; interns; and nurse practitioners make daily rounds in the medical ICU, or ‘MICU.’ 22
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o not say the “Q word” on the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s all-COVID-19 intensive care unit. The lack of noise on the 20-bed medical ICU, or MICU, might beg the question: Is it quiet today? What might happen over the next 10 minutes belies that. “We don’t like that word around here,” says Tony Sistrunk (BSN 18), a charge nurse in the MICU. “It brings bad luck. As soon as you say it, things might pop off. That’s a word we take out of our vocabulary.” When quiet turns into what some on the unit would call chaos, it’s nothing like the scenario Americans saw on television of overwhelmed, overcrowded hospitals in New York City, and of front-line caregivers publicly begging for personal protective equipment, or PPE, amid a worldwide shortage. Instead, a flurry of activity could entail patients from the all-COVID wing of the second floor of University Hospital being moved to the MICU if their condition deteriorates, or to the cardiovascular ICU, which devotes half its beds to
COVID-19 patients, depending on the need. It could mean providers weaving around one another to congregate by what some call the “brains” outside many of the rooms: a ventilator, plus machines dispensing insulin to diabetics, heparin to those in danger of blood clots, propofol to keep patients on vents sedated, and fentanyl to cut excruciating pain patients may endure when providers must roll them in their beds. “I’d call it life support,” says Dr. Andy Wilhelm, critical care physician and medical director of the MICU, about the monitor collection. “It’s more than the vent. It’s all of it.” It could mean teams hustling up and down the unit, flipping patients from their back to their belly or vice versa. It could be caregivers swiftly moving in and out of a room, then being met outside the door by a fellow provider who helps them “doff,” or remove their contaminated gloves and gowns, and clean their plastic face shields with a disinfectant. It requires selfless teamwork, knowing who is where and
Photos by Joe Ellis
Shannon Moffett, pulmonary nurse practitioner, cleans the face shield of Kevin Marchant, MICU nurse, as another team member sprays his hands with alcohol. S U M M E R 2 020
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MICU nurse Clair Thompson Huffman checks equipment pulled just outside a COVID-19 patient's room.
Dr. Andy Wilhelm, a critical care physician and medical director of the MICU, explains the complexity of COVID-19.
A Virus with Many Faces
when, a shout down the hall to gather up the people needed to lift a patient or complete a procedure. Wilhelm wishes everyone in the public could see what he “It takes so many people,” says Allison Moore, a registered nurse on the MICU for the past 10 years. “You have to gown up sees. The days when three or four patients in the MICU die “are tough,” he says. and protect yourself, sometimes very quickly.” The time in May, when both the MICU and the 20-bed carWhat’s often absent in patient rooms is conversation. Those on ventilators are heavily sedated and paralyzed. The rest are diovascular ICU were totally filled with COVID-19 patients, was a challenge, with Medical Center front-line caregivers often too desperately ill to have the interaction doing a yeoman’s job despite an ever-changing underwith their nurses that builds trust and standing of the monster. friendship. “We think of COVID as a respiratory Registered nurse Margaret Workdisease, but it’s not,” Wilhelm says. “It causes man gets creative in being stand-in multiorgan failure. One or a combination of family for her 2 North patients. both will land you in the ICU.” Providers don’t enter patients’ Ditto for other complications, among rooms unless it’s necessary, but them kidney failure, stroke, brain bleeds, Workman calls or “FaceTimes” diabetes and blood sugar gone wild. them on their cellphone. “We had one person with severe muscle “ These p eople are tr uly aches and kidneys that had shut down, but isolated,” Workman says. “I take their respiration was great,” Wilhelm says. care of my patients as a whole “There are so many clinical manifestations.” — physically, spiritually, mentally. Margaret Workman On a recent Tuesday morning, the MICU I worry that because of this virus, I had three unoccupied beds. can’t be who I want to be as a nurse. “Bed 3 was a PUI, but they’re confirmed now,” “There are days where I don’t feel I Sistrunk says. A PUI, or person under investigation, is somemet all their needs, but then they tell me I did one awaiting results of in-house testing for the virus. everything they needed.” Shortly after 9 a.m., a team of caregivers led by Dr. Jessie On the MICU, “we don’t really get to know the patients themselves,” says nurse manager Ashley Moore. “We learn Harvey, attending pulmonary physician, begins rounds from everything about their bodies, but we really get to know their room to room, mostly staying in the hallway. The group families. We learn about our patients through the families includes a cardiology fellow, an intern, a pharmacist, a nurse practitioner and a social worker. when we keep them updated on FaceTime. They stop at the room of a middle-aged patient with a “We are cheering for the patients to get out of here, but they history of stroke who was intubated earlier in the month. might never know us.” 24
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Four MICU team members ‘prone’ a COVID-19 patient with respiratory issues by lifting and swiftly flipping him from his back to his stomach to help him breathe.
Caregivers twice have tried to remove the patient from ventilator support, without success. The next patient, also middle-aged, went on a ventilator the day before. “I don’t know if (the patient is) getting better or if (the patient) just likes being proned,” pulmonary nurse practitioner Shannon Moffett (BSN 97, MSN 06) told the team. Proning is a maneuver in which individuals are carefully flipped from their back to stomach. This patient’s condition could be improving because proning takes weight off the lungs in hopes of making it easier to breathe. “It lets the alveoli in the lungs open up and get the crud out,” Sistrunk explains. “If you’re on your back, nothing’s moving.” Proning ventilated patients is a process. “Three or four of us get together, put on our PPE and go into the room,” Sistrunk says. First, each dons a pair of surgical gloves. Second, a yellow disposable hospital gown. Third, a second set of gloves. Fourth, an N95 mask. Fifth, a large plastic face shield. The team covers the patients with sheets and tightly rolls the edges along the patients’ sides. “You roll them up like a burrito,” says registered nurse Scott Bridges. “That’s for their protection and for a minimum of movement on everyone’s part.” “We put a clamp on the hose on the vent, unhook them, grab the edges of the sheets and flip them over, and hook them back up,” Sistrunk says. Caregivers leave their top gloves behind and swiftly exit. RN Will Parish is waiting. He sprays down their gloved hands with alcohol and drops a clean pair into their hands to don as they hustle to the next patient to be proned. “You can’t touch anything. You can’t stop,” Parish says. So long as the patients don’t have secondary infections that
COVID-19 patients in the MICU receive a variety of medications to combat the virus.
could cause cross-contamination, the proning caregivers don’t have to change their other PPE. Patients stay on their stomach for 16 hours and on their back for eight. Every two hours, the team “swims” them, turning their head in one direction and raising an arm above their head. That reduces their risk of damage to nerves that control movement and sensation in the shoulders, arms and hands, Sistrunk says.
Cautious Hope in Clinical Trials The rounding team’s next patient, also middle-aged, is on the antiviral medication remdesivir, which in clinical trials has shortened recovery time for some who are severely ill. The drug became available at UMMC in mid-May. The patient’s respiratory status has improved, Harvey tells the group. “Most people who come here end up not doing well, but because we’ve dropped this patient to 70 percent (oxygen), and then 60 percent, that’s good.” A young adult on the unit this day is on a ventilator but isn’t getting worse. Sistrunk says the MICU earlier cared for a young adult who was diabetic and had other comorbidities. “That patient didn’t make it,” he says. Posters identifying patients as part of UMMC’s COVID-19 clinical trials dot the glass windows of the rooms. Before they go on a ventilator, selected patients are asked if they’d like to take part, and many say yes, Wilhelm says. They’re either receiving a placebo medication or the real thing. Thin, dark plastic that calls to mind a hair scrunchie covers the IV line and part of the IV packaging to keep each patient’s status blind. As information trickles out about promising new treatments, Medical Center caregivers intercept it. S U M M E R 2 020
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“We are scouring social media and news media,” Wilhelm says. When news broke of a United Kingdom study that suggests the common steroid dexamethasone reduces deaths among seriously ill COVID-19 patients, “we formally added it to our treatment recommendations that day,” Wilhelm says. “Other studies have given it a little more validity as well.” Dexamethasone is the decadron shot patients receive from their health care provider for severe allergies or asthma, arthritis or even some cancers. “Before [the day the news broke], it was easy to get,” Wilhelm says. There’s not yet proof that the drugs being touted as possibly shortening the duration of the illness or improving mortality actually do that, Wilhelm adds. “I say ‘may help’ with caution,” he says. “We don’t know if it’s because of the drug or because they were going to get better anyway, or if it was because of the therapy we were giving them. “If the potential benefits outweigh the risks, we’ll probably try it.”
Jamie Hill (right), 2 North nurse manager, helps a fellow nurse don personal protective equipment before entering the room of a COVID19 patient.
Heroes for the Long Haul COVID-19 patients who need hospital support but not ICU care fill the 32 beds on 2 North. If they’re at max, the overflow goes to 2 South. “At one time, they were in the 20s, and we were full,” says Jamie Hill, a nurse manager on 2 North. Pediatric patients go to the children’s hospital or its ICU. There have been no deaths and a relatively low number of positives and PUIs, says nurse manager Shelly Craft (BSN 12). Her only COVID-19 patient that day, a PUI, “needs just a little higher level of care” than they would be receiving on a regular floor, Craft says. Deaths on 2 North are significantly fewer than in the ICU. “How they feel and their symptoms determine when they leave,” Hill says. “We don’t discharge them through the front door. We have their driver come to a special door, and we educate them on caring for the patient.” 2 North is bustling. Fronting the nurses’ station is a huge
Allison Moore, MICU nurse, dons full personal protective equipment when she enters the rooms of COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Jason Parham (left) and Dr. Bhagyashri Navalkele (center) confer with Dr. Luis Shimose Ciudad, an infectious diseases and critical care physician, before he enters a COVID-19 patient's room on 2 North. 26
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cart of disinfectant wipes and PPE. It helps staff keep track of more younger people admitted,” says Dr. Jason Parham (MD what’s running low and helps ensure none of it leaves the unit. 99), director of UMMC’s Division of Infectious Diseases. As COVID-19 providers stay in motion, so do “They’re going back to their jobs and lives and others who support them. That includes the health not being as cautious. I don’t see a whole lot care heroes who dispose of hundreds of pounds of signs that things are going to get a whole of PPE and other virus-contaminated waste. lot better. I think we are preparing the best Nurses place bags of waste into large red we can.” plastic totes in each patient’s room, then The virus could be a part of life for two move the totes just outside the door. With and a half years, Wilhelm says. gloved hands, housekeeper Bill Culpepper “We’re shifting into a maintenance lifts the totes onto a long dolly that holds phase. We have to look at what the world nine containers, three deep, and leaves is doing. We have to know that we proempty containers in their place. vided the best fundamentals of critical care, Tony Sistrunk He pushes the heavy dolly to a loading dock and if someone doesn’t make it, we practiced and lines up the totes in a large trailer. Culpepper the best medicine we could. does that 10 or more times per shift. “Our goal is to treat and support our patients “I got Jesus,” he says. “I’m not scared. I’m proud to do what through this. Sometimes we can. Sometimes we can’t.” I do every day.” As the summer progresses, “I expect we’re going to see Editor’s Note: This UMMC article was released on June 22.
Dr. Jessie Harvey closely examines a COVID-19 patient's lung scans to track progression and severity of the disease.
MICU nurse manager Ashley Moore goes over the care of COVID-19 patients with nurse Will Parish.
Housekeeper Bill Culpepper pulls a dolly laden with nine hazardous waste containers holding soiled and contaminated personal protective equipment and medical supplies from the MICU. S U M M E R 2 020
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Photos courtesy of Scott Coopwood 28
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Local News Alumnus Scott Coopwood answers need for community journalism
By Brian Hudgins
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hen Cleveland, Mississippi, lost a longtime community pillar, a seventh-generation Mississippian mourned before moving forward with a plan. Scott Coopwood (BA 84) published the inaugural edition of The Bolivar Bullet on May 6. That was roughly a week after The Bolivar Commercial, which had published for 104 years, had closed its doors. The transition was built on Coopwood’s 32 years in journalism. “Since 2002, our company has been publishing a daily e-newsletter here in Cleveland and Bolivar County,” Coopwood says. “I wanted to marry that with a once-a-week printed paper to take care of both the digital and print audiences.” It helped that Coopwood had been there and done that. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Ole Miss, he later moved to Jackson and owned the Jackson Business Journal for a decade. Selling his Jackson publications in the mid-’90s enabled Coopwood to move back home to the Delta and start Delta Business Journal and a few years later follow up with Delta Magazine. Building a background in feature-oriented publications gave Coopwood a base to begin the Sundayonly Oxford Enterprise in 2009.
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“We were able to grow subscriptions and newsstand sales every month, but we could never get traction with advertising dollars in Oxford,” Coopwood says. Coopwood continued publishing a Sunday newspaper in Cleveland and Bolivar County, The Cleveland Current, which ran from 2009 to 2017 before Coopwood closed it so he could focus on his magazines and other media ventures. Seeing The Bolivar Commercial close down was an emotional moment for Coopwood. He and his family members had been pictured in the paper along with thousands of other residents during its 104 years. “That shocked and woke up a lot of people,” Coopwood says of the closing. The impending closure also sparked a conversation between Coopwood and Cleveland mayor Billy Nowell. If someone was going to be able to get a community paper up and running in Cleveland to fill the void caused by The Bolivar Commercial’s closure, it would have to be a person who had staff in place and knew the ins and outs of starting a publication. An additional part of the equation made the startup unique. A reporter at The New York Times mentioned to Coopwood The Bolivar Bullet may be the only newspaper in the U.S. to have opened up shop during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although potential advertisers faced uncertainty regarding their daily planning and available advertising budgets, the thirst for local news helped Coopwood push ahead. “It was much more than the challenge of businesses being challenged,” says Samir Husni, professor of journalism, Hederman Lecturer and founder and director of the Magazine Innovation Center at Ole Miss. “Scott brought in a local paper for the locals. We are missing a lot of that with chain ownership. There is always a hunger for community journalism. Pandemic or no pandemic, it shows people are still hungry for that local content.” The Daily Bullet e-newsletter goes to 7,200 email addresses locally. The Wednesday weekly paper is received by 3,500 people in their mailboxes. “We are almost up to 1,800 paid subscribers,” Coopwood says. “So we have more ground to make up before we get to the 3,500. My goal is 5,000.” Husni notes it is not unheard of for publications to enjoy success during turbulent economic times. “Historically speaking, some of the best newspapers and magazines have launched during the worst of times. By the time the new publication builds up relationships and engagements, when times are better, those relationships are firmly established. Fortune magazine launched during the Great Depression. There are a lot of examples in history.”
Playing the Long Game During The Bolivar Bullet’s relatively short history, Coopwood has relied on a combination of a couple of staff writers and a couple of freelance contributors. The paper is composed of three sections, and Coopwood has incorporated lessons he learned during previous ventures. “When you have limited ad dollars available, you must have 30
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a low overhead,” he says. “I signed up enough advertisers to take care of the monthly overhead for one year. Then we have worked on top of that to build profit.” Coopwood had a short-term goal of breaking even before building up to that profit, a long-term gratification for which many may not be willing to wait. “Those chain (owners) care about the balance book and making money,” Husni says. “The minute they are not making money, they sell the paper or leave town.” A large part of building connections with readers revolves around providing news they value. In the case of Cleveland, the Associated Press material with a regional or national news component likely will not cut it. “The big difference between print and other outlets is the paper is delivered to your doorstep,” Husni says. “You see that picture of your grandson in Little League. It is refrigerator journalism — stories and photos that are put on refrigerators. That is still very important. The internet can never replace a good community newspaper.” Aside from the individual ties to personal photos of a youth sports event or a school group, there is also value in content that answers a straightforward question: What does
Ole Miss School of Journalism and New Media alumna Maggi Mosco (BS 19) is the graphic designer for The Bolivar Bullet.
this mean to me? A city council meeting or board decision that is featured in a few minutes on TV can be given different coverage in print. “If there is a city council meeting or a board votes against removing a statue from a town square, what does that mean to me?” Husni asks. “If we don’t do that coverage, that is another nail in the coffin of journalism.” For Coopwood, one example of that community journalism involved adjustments to typical sports content and coverage. Spring basketball and summer baseball league game summaries and statistics have been replaced by interviews with coaches and local athletes as all try to prepare for any changes to practices and game environments moving forward. “We have done a lot of profiling and interviewing coaches for sports,” Coopwood says. “We have enough (overall) news content to publish a daily paper, but that is not feasible advertising wise.” As Coopwood mapped out the layout of Cleveland’s newspaper, he considered a handful of elements that were not present 15 years ago. “When I started, you did not have social media,” he says. “You can drive more subscriptions to the printed product
through those platforms, but it can also cut into your ad sales.” Having that previous magazine experience and content base has helped Coopwood locate some compelling feature material that can be updated in The Bolivar Bullet. For instance, the tour manager of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd is from Cleveland. Coopwood was able to update a magazine feature on him for the newspaper. “There are no press releases or Associated Press wire material in our paper,” Coopwood says. “People can get that elsewhere. I have found 100 percent local news is the way to go. We can plan the lifestyle and business spotlights ahead of time, but we leave the front page open until the last minute for the news.” The Bolivar Bullet is one part of Coopwood Publishing Group, which is staffed by 18 full-time employees. The operation includes six websites, three e-newsletters, four magazines and The Bolivar Bullet. In addition to employee contributions, Cleveland residents have unofficially chipped in via emails or phone calls, and former Bolivar Commercial employees have provided input. The joint assistance has been a vital part of the process. “Cleveland was able to find Scott Coopwood,” Husni says. S U M M E R 2 020
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Lifelong Student Before Coopwood became a publisher and business owner, he was a freshman at Ole Miss in 1980. Coming from the town of Shelby (population 2,000), he experienced some culture shock. “To me, Ole Miss was on the same level as New York City or Los Angeles in 1980 because I was raised in such a small town in the Mississippi Delta that only had one red light,” Coopwood says. “The classes back then were smaller (than at a huge university), and maybe because of that, I feel like my classmates and I received more attention. Dr. (Louis) Dollarhide was a standout teacher in the English department when I was there. I was lucky to have him. He really held my hand and put some time into me.” Coopwood has three children, including a daughter, Travis Coopwood, 18, who went on her own journalism journey. Her high school, Bayou Academy, did not have a high school newspaper before the younger Coopwood helped start one and became the paper’s founding editor. She received the May 2020 graduate scholarship — $1,250 — through the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi, and is set to attend Ole Miss and major in integrated marketing communications. The elder Coopwood says with a mixture of journalistic enthusiasm and laughter, “Along the way, I have made every mistake you can make in this business, not once but many times. I hope I’ve learned from those mistakes. The key is to keep your overhead as low as possible, but at the same time be careful not to allow
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the quality to suffer. This can be a very fine line. And then, your publication must have content that cannot be found anywhere else.” Aside from the mechanics of putting stories and three weekly sections together, Coopwood says he craves the emotional connection required for the career. “I enjoy talking to people and coming up with story ideas, and I also enjoy the marketing and public relations end of it as well,” he says. “I’m very blessed to have found my niche in life. Many never do.” Coopwood is hoping for The Bolivar Bullet to shoot up to 5,000 paid subscriptions. Legal ads largely took him over the top on the initial goal of covering overhead expenses for a year. Coopwood was also able to secure the subscriber list of The Bolivar Commercial. “We started our newspaper mailing list with the names and addresses of people in Bolivar County who subscribed to our magazines, then we built the numbers from there to 3,500. We mail The Bolivar Bullet; we don’t throw the paper in yards like we did several years ago with our other newspapers.” Husni, who is also known as “Mr. Magazine,” has seen the infancy and growth phases of many publications. One key, he says, is maintaining a balance between the commitment to journalism and the ability to step away and view the world outside the newsroom. “A month ago, I decided to not turn on the TV in the morning,” Husni says. “I go for a walk. I listen to the birds. I feed the geese and turtles. It is focusing on the little things in life among everything going on in life.” Considering Coopwood’s experience, his personal ties to Cleveland and the effort put into The Bolivar Bullet, Husni sees a solid foundation built on both mistakes and successes. “Without mistakes, there is no innovation,” Husni says. “You just have to recognize mistakes quickly and move forward from them. Only two people can tell the future — God and a fool. Nobody knows what tomorrow brings. Scott is on solid ground and is moving in the right direction. If everything continues as is, he is doing a good job.”
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Napiers’ TV fame hasn’t lessened their love for Ole Miss
By Annie Rhoades Photos by Brooke Davis
mall Southern towns often serve as the backdrop to foster a creative environment for artistry in its many forms. Quaint charm mixed with rich culture tends to grab at people’s heartstrings. As it turns out, these elements combined have the makings of a hit TV show. HGTV’s “Home Town” and its stars Ben (BA 07) and Erin (BFA 07) Napier completely capture the passion of revitalization, creativity and a lot of love. Erin Napier, a graphic designer, and her husband, Ben Napier, a former youth minister with a knack for woodworking, stumbled upon fame via an Instagram follow from an HGTV executive who was a fan of the couple’s recent home renovation as well as Erin’s affection for all things Laurel marked by #ILiveInLaurel. The pair’s love of Laurel and their home state of Mississippi drew a big audience that quickly turned into a following. The show first aired in January 2016 and propelled the two into a whirlwind career they never could have predicted. In addition to filming the show, the Napiers have their Laurel-based home-goods store, L au rel Me rc ant i l e C o. , and Scotsman Co. to keep them busy. The doors of Laurel Mercantile Co. opened in December 2016 and is the only place to find the Napiers’ signature collection including Scotsman Co., the store’s flagship brand of Ben’s handmade, reclaimed furniture and gentlemen’s workwear, American-made heirloom wares and durable goods for home and life. S U M M E R 2 020
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crew catches the virus, season five filming ends immediately, so the stakes are very high. It’s hard for this hugger to accept.
Q: You welcomed a daughter, Helen, in
2018. Congratulations! What’s parenthood like?
Erin: It’s all-consuming in the best way. We see every decision through the lens of how it affects Helen, and that is a great guide that keeps us close to home or bringing her along.
Q: Does she make any cameos on the show?
Ben: She has an extremely limited
presence on the show. Giving her privacy and normalcy is a priority for us.
Q: Tell us about your store Laurel Mercantile Co.
Erin: 98% of the goods we sell are
manufactured in the United States. Both our stores, Laurel Mercantile Co. and Scotsman General Store & Woodshop are like stepping back into the 1930s. We try to build a sense of age into everything we do — an heirloom quality.
Ben: If we’re going to be serious about Erin and Ben Napier hard at work on a renovation
Adding to their growing list of ventures is “Erin’spired,” the digital companion to “Home Town” that offers a deeper dive into Erin Napier’s distinctive sense of style, and a new six-episode spinoff of “Home Town” set to air in 2021, “Home Town Takeover,” where the couple revitalizes not just one home but an entire small town. With filming of season five of “Home Town” underway, we reached out to the pair to see what they’ve been up to since the show first aired.
Q: “Home Town” is set to air a fifth season in 2021! Did you ever think you’d be saying that?
Erin: It will never stop feeling surreal to say we’ve been making this show since 2015. What a dream. 36
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Q: How has filming the show changed
revitalizing small-town America, then we have to be serious about making things in America to keep our hometowns strong.
your lives?
Ben: It’s opened doors and opportuni-
ties and friendships with people we’ve long admired and brought so many people to Laurel to visit. Otherwise, it feels like we have a regular job like anyone else. We go to work, we go home. Our mamas and close friends aren’t impressed with our “fame,” and we don’t think of ourselves as such.
Q: How has the coronavirus affected not only filming, but your day-to-day activities?
Ben: We are no longer allowed to take
photos with fans of the show because of social distancing protocols set in place by the show. If anyone on our production
The HGTV couple with their daughter, Helen, in 2018
McCormick’s Construction Continues with Bar Top to Be Crafted by Ben Napier
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he Ole Miss Alumni Association announced plans in December 2019 for McCormick’s, a fullservice bar, restaurant and lounge at The Inn at Ole Miss, which was granted resort status in 2018. The soon-to-be completed space will allow The Inn to provide long-requested services and be a gathering space for guests and the general public to enjoy. The renovation project is well underway with most of the structural changes completed. The 2,000-square-foot, indoor/outdoor space is located on the site of what was previously McCormick Café, and will include a bar top handcrafted by alumnus Ben Napier (BA 07), co-star
Q: Erin, it’s been said that you’re the
“queen of historically accurate renovations and vintage finds.” Tell us more about your “Grandmillennial” style.
of HGTV’s “Home Town,” which is sure to be become a destination stop for visitors. “Fortunately, we have been able to continue work on McCormick’s during the pandemic,” says OMAA Executive Director Kirk Purdom (BA 93). “Once completed, it will serve as a cornerstone of the Alumni Association’s mission to foster community, communication and connections f o r c u r re n t a n d f u t u re O l e M i s s alumni and friends. It will also serve as an excellent entertaining space for event planners and groups that utilize our meeting spaces in The Inn at Ole Miss.” Naming opportunities are still
bar and grill located in The Inn at Ole Miss. But we’re even more excited that Ben is building the bar top. How did you get involved in the project?
Erin: I think real life is a little cluttered Ben: [OMAA Executive Director] Kirk and collected, and our homes should be too. There’s no sense in a home that doesn’t feel like a well-worn pair of jeans, the quilt your grandmother passed down.
Q: Ben, are you still busy with Scotsman Co.?
Ben: If I’m not on camera or at home with the girls, that’s where I am — usually piddling on personal projects or builds for the show.
Q: The Alumni Association is excited about opening McCormick’s, our new
Purdom reached out to me directly. He knew that the University of Mississippi is a special place to Erin and I. We got engaged at Square Books, got married at Paris-Yates Chapel and spent our wedding night at The Inn [at Ole Miss]. With me being a woodworker who actually learned my craft in the art department of Ole Miss, Kirk knew I’d jump at this opportunity.
available, and membership in the Rebel Mug Club is $500 per member. Rebel Mug Club members will receive a 28-ounce commemorative ceramic mug featuring the new McCormick’s logo, 20-ounce draft beer for the price of a pint in McCormick’s, and the first 200 charter members’ names will be placed on a plaque visible to patrons. Gifts in support of McCormick’s are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. More details are available at olemissalumni.com/mccormicks. For more information on the project, including naming opportunities, contact Clay Cavett at 662-915-1869 or clay@olemissalumni.com.
the campus. I had a lead on the wood from Michael Waters (a friend from the Memphis area). The trees on campus are so beautiful and mean so much to everyone who walks the Grove as a student. After contemplating a live edged piece, I ultimately decided that it would feel too rustic for Mississippi’s flagship university and decided that a nice shaped edge would be best. Something that feels good resting forearms against after beating an SEC West team.
Q: We know how much you both love Ole Miss. Do you still find time to get back?
Q: What was your inspiration for the Erin: We typically only make it up design?
Ben: For the bar top, I wanted to draw from the campus. I wanted to find a solid slab of hardwood that came from
once or twice a year if we’re lucky, for one game at most. It’s so hard to build time off into the show schedule in the fall, but we love every chance we get to run away to Oxford. S U M M E R 2 020
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Sports OLE MISS
Men’s Hoops Season Tickets on Sale REBELS’ 2020-21 SCHEDULE FEATURES 17 HOME GAMES
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Six newcomers, including four that already have experience at the Division I level, carry a plethora of accolades with them to Oxford. Jarkel Joiner and Shon Robinson have spent the past year with the program, and the duo is ready to take the floor as Rebels. Joiner, an Oxford native who led the Western Athletic Conference in scoring (18.6 ppg) during the 2018-19 campaign, is eligible to play this season after sitting out the 2019-20 season following his transfer from Cal State Bakersfield. A top 100 recruit who reclassified to the 2020 class, Robinson redshirted his first year Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics
flip of the calendar means that we are one month closer to the return of basketball, and season tickets to watch the 2020-21 Ole Miss men’s hoops team are on sale now. This season’s schedule features 17 games in The Pavilion at Ole Miss with eight nonconference contests to go along with nine matchups against SEC foes. “Creating an incredible atmosphere and home court advantage starts with the loyalty of our student section and our season ticket holders,” head coach Kermit Davis says. “Last year, we set a record for season tickets sold. With the support of the Ole Miss fan base, I am hoping we break the record again this season.” Ole Miss opens the season with three straight home games, starting with a matchup against New Orleans on Nov. 10. The Rebels welcome North Carolina A&T to Oxford for a Sunday contest on Nov. 15 before closing out the homestand by host ing C harleston Southern on Nov. 18. Ole Miss will welcome nine SEC opponents to The Pavilion in 2021. Those matchups, along with the tipoff times for all 17 home games, will be announced at a later date. The Rebels bring back a veteran squad combined with a talented group of newcomers. Four starters return from a season ago led by senior point guard Devontae Shuler. Averaging 11.7 ppg as a junior, Shuler also ranked fifth in the SEC in steals (1.7) and assist/turnover ratio (1.7). KJ Buffen becomes an upperclassman after leading the Rebels in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and blocks (28) last year to go along with 10.1 ppg. Fellow front-court member Khadim Sy (9.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) is back for his senior season, adding more experience in the post. Also returning is Luis Rodriguez, who started the first five games last November before missing the remainder of the season due to injury.
on campus and will use his 6-foot-11 frame to add size down low. The additions of Dimencio Vaughn and Romello White make Ole Miss the only school in the country to land two graduate transfers on ESPN’s top 10 list. Vaughn earned First Team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference accolades twice during his career at Rider, while leading the Broncs in scoring last season (14.8 ppg). In three seasons at Arizona State, White averaged 9.8 ppg and 7.0 rpg while shooting 60.5 percent from the floor (second on the program’s all-time list). Matthew Murrell, the No. 38 recruit in the country, is an incoming freshman after spending his high school senior season at IMG Academy. The guard is the highest ranked recruit in school history. Meanwhile, Robert Allen will have to sit out this season after transferring from Samford, where he averaged 12.0 ppg over the past two seasons.
YOU ARE PART OF OUR PAST. BE A PART OF OUR FUTURE. The Ole Miss Alumni Association allows you not only to have the connection with the place and people that share your past, but helps secure Ole Miss’ future with funding for student outreach, scholarships, reunion activities, alumni communications and athletics support. Lend us your voice by remaining an active, dues-paying member. Renew your membership and encourage family and friends to remain active. Only with your help can we enable others to create new memories and strengthen the bond with our university. un Thank you for being an active part of the Ole Miss Alumni Association.
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OLE MISS Sports
Women’s B-ball Announces Staff Changes PEARMAN NAMED ASSOCIATE ATHLETICS DIRECTOR, WOLF PROMOTED
Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics
oe Pearman was named associate athletics director for Ole Miss women’s basketball, and Chelsea Wolf, assistant director of on-campus recruiting, was promoted to coordinator of basketball operations, head coach Yolett McPheeMcCuin announced on July 2. Pearman, who served as McPhee-McCuin’s college head coach at Rhode Island, will lead the day-to-day operation of the Ole Miss women’s basketball program by assisting with oversight of all noncoaching activities. Wolf will retain her duties in relation to recruiting while also helping to oversee travel, equipment, scheduling and camps. Pearman comes to Ole Miss following three years as associate athletics director at Division III Emerson College in
Boston. In total, she owns more than three decades of experience in college athletics, including 15 years of experience in an administrative capacity. “I am extremely excited to be able to hire Boe Pearman, someone that has been a part of my growth and also has been a mentor throughout my career,” McPhee-McCuin says. “She provides an instant upgrade to our team. She will be the coaches’ coach and oversee the daily operations of our program. Coach has 35 years in the business. Her wisdom and knowledge for the game will help me personally along with my staff as we prepare to compete in arguably the best conference in the country.” “I am honored and grateful that Yolett thought of me for this position,” Pearman says. “There is no other individual I believe in more than Yolett McPhee-McCuin. She has 40
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assembled an incredibly talented team of coaches, staff and student-athletes. This is a great university, and I look forward to helping this program become one of the most successful in the SEC and in the nation.” In her three years at Emerson, Pearman was responsible for the oversight and management of all athletics facilities in addition to sports communications and marketing. Prior to her time at Emerson, Pearman served as the athletics director at St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 2015-16. Pearman graduated from Maryland in 1985 with a bachelor’s in physical education, recreation and health after a stellar career as a four-year starter. She is a 2013 member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. Wolf, who enters her third season working with Ole Miss women’s basketball this fall, owns more than a decade of experience in her own right heading into 2020-21. “C hels e a has worke d extremely hard the past two years in her role as on-campus recruiting director,” McPheeMcCuin says. “She has been a key piece to our success in recruiting, in large part because of her attention to detail and organization. When I decided to make changes on the staff, I was confident that Chelsea could move into the role of operations full time.” Wolf came to Ole Miss after serving the previous two seasons at Monmouth as director of women’s basketball operations in 2017 and 2018. Wolf also served in similar roles at Siena in 2016 and Louisiana in 2015, which put together a 23-12 campaign and won the 2015 Women’s Basketball Invitational title. Her first position in Division I was as a graduate assistant coach at Long Island University Brooklyn during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. She also previously served as an assistant coach at Division III programs Centenary College (2011-12) and Middlesex County College (2009-10). A native of Pine Brook, New Jersey, Wolf graduated with her bachelor’s in contemporary art from Ramapo College of New Jersey in 2009, where she was a member of the women’s basketball, cross-country and track-and-field teams. Wolf earned her master’s in media arts from LIU Brooklyn in 2014.
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OLE MISS Sports
Up for Top Female College Athlete SIMMONS, STROUP NAMED OLE MISS NOMINEES FOR NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR
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Stroup wrapped up a legendary career for the Rebels last fall, ending as the career leader in kills with 1,553 total. She started all 97 matches in each of her last three seasons with the Rebels, and as a six-rotation player, did not exit the court once in her final two years. The three-time American Volleyball Coaches Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics
le Miss seniors Kaira Simmons (track and field) and Emily Stroup (volleyball) were named nominees for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The duo is part of a record 605 female college athletes nominated in 2020. Rooted in Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers. The nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, including 259 nominees from Division I, 126 from Division II and 220 from Division III. Nominees competed in 24 sports, with multisport student-athletes accounting for 128 of the nominees. Simmons, who completed her bachelor’s in criminal justice in just two years, recently completed her master’s in criminal justice this spring. Simmons was named Ole Miss’ 2019-20 Outstanding Graduate Student for Legal Studies, and she ultimately wants to work in national intelligence and security. She received hands-on law enforcement experience from an internship with the University Police Department in 2018. Academically, Simmons excelled, earning national awards such as the USTFCCCA All-Academic and Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar distinction, while also being named to the AD’s Honor Roll, the Chancellor’s Honor Roll, the SEC Honor Roll and the Dean’s Honor Roll numerous times. Simmons also served as an executive board member on the Ole Miss StudentAthlete Advisory Committee. In addition to her success in the classroom, Simmons stands as one of the best long jumpers in Ole Miss history. Her career-best leap indoors of 6.27 meters (20-07.00) stands third all-time and was the best by a Rebel since Olympian Brittney Reese set the school record 6.87 meters (22-06.50) in 2008. Her junior season in 2019 was a special one, as she joined the historic Rebel women’s 4x100-meter relay that broke the school record several times — including the current record 43.45 at the NCAA East Regional that punched a ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Stroup, a communication sciences and disorders major and psychology minor hailing from Fargo, North Dakota, was a national Senior CLASS semifinalist this year after concluding her undergraduate studies ranked within the top 5 percent of her class. She has been named to the SEC and Chancellor’s honor rolls thrice in her career and was also the Ole Miss representative on the SEC Volleyball Community Service Team for 2018. Stroup is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and National Student Speech-LanguageHearing Association, and she also serves as an officer for the Hand Band, an on-campus choir group that performs and entertains in sign language.
Association All-Region member ranked second in the NCAA in kills during a superb 2018 season that saw her earn All-SEC honors after breaking the Ole Miss single-match kills record three separate times. Stroup finished her career ranked in the top five of 17 different categories in the Ole Miss record book and fell just 21 digs shy of becoming the third Rebel in the modern rally scoring era to join the 1,000/1,000 club. Member schools are encouraged to honor their top graduating female college athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year Award. Schools can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or international student-athlete. From the top 30, the Woman of the Year selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division and announce nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then will choose the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.
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OLE MISS Sports
Stepping up to the Plate
BASEBALL ELEVATES CLEARY TO VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT COACH joined the Rebel program as a director of operations in 2014 before earning a promotion to volunteer assistant coach in 2016. MacMillan was hired as the head coach at Charleston Southern in May. “I am excited and thankful for the opportunity to get back on the field to coach and assist in the development of the baseball student-athletes here at Ole Miss,” Cleary says. Cleary graduated from Menlo College in Atherton, California, with a degree in sports management in 2012. He played four seasons for the Oaks as a pitcher and middle infielder. He joined the Menlo baseball program as the outfield coach for the 2013 season, where he helped lead the program to a record 34 wins and an appearance in the Cascade Conference Championship game. Cleary transitioned to Butler Univer-
Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics
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n July 10, Ole Miss baseball announced the promotion of Chris Cleary to volunteer assistant coach. Cleary spent the last two seasons as coordinator of operations (external affairs), filling administrative duties for the Rebel baseball program. Previously, he was an on-field assistant at Creighton, Butler and Menlo College. “Chris was outstanding as a director of operations, but his background is in coaching,” says head coach Mike Bianco. “He has been on the field basically his whole career. Administratively, he has a lot of great qualities. When we hired him as director of operations, we knew eventually that there would be a chance to get him back out on the field.” Cleary, a native of Fresno, California, will replace Marc MacMillan, who also
Chris Cleary
sity in 2014, where he served as an assistant coach, working with infielders and assisting with hitters. In fall 2016, Cleary joined the staff at Creighton, where he served as the volunteer assistant coach and as a staff administrator.
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ALUMNI REVIEW
OLE MISS Sports
TEAMS SET TO SQUARE OFF IN DUAL-SPORT SERIES IN 2026 le Miss football and men’s basketball added a dual-sport series with Georgia State to its future schedules, as announced by both schools on July 8. Ole Miss will host the Panthers on the hardwood on Nov. 20, 2026 at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The following day, the series will move over to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as the Rebels will play host to GSU on Nov. 21. Ole Miss will face Georgia State in basketball for just the third time in history. The previous two matchups were won by the Rebels, both
within the last five years. In the first meeting held on Nov. 25, 2015, one of the final games in Tad Smith Coliseum, Ole Miss downed the Panthers 68-59. Two years later on Nov. 17, 2017, the Rebels protected their new home floor with a 77-72 victory in The Pavilion. This will be the first meeting between the two teams on the football field. Ole Miss is 32-1-2 all-time on the field against current members of the Sun Belt Conference. Ole Miss football is also set to take on SBC foes Georgia Southern (2020), Troy (2022) and South Alabama (2028, 2029) in future years.
FUTURE OLE MISS FOOTBALL NONCONFERENCE OPPONENTS 2020: Baylor (in Houston), Southeast Missouri, UConn, Georgia Southern 2021: Louisville (in Atlanta), Austin Peay, Tulane, Liberty 2022: at Georgia Tech, Troy, Central Arkansas, Tulsa 2023: Georgia Tech, Mercer, at Tulane 2024: at Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Furman 2025: at USC, Wake Forest, Citadel, Tulane 2026: at Charlotte, USC, Georgia State
2027: Charlotte, Oregon State 2028: South Alabama, Alcorn State 2029: at South Alabama 2030: at Oregon State 2032: at Virginia Tech 2033: Purdue 2034: at Purdue 2037: Virginia Tech
The first step in reaching your goals is reaching the person who can help you achieve them. Putting the needs of clients first is the approach I believe in, and it starts by listening to you and understanding your dreams. I’ll work with you to find the right financial solutions to help you plan for your unique goals. Our Advisors. Your Dreams. MORE WITHIN REACH®
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S U M M E R 2 020
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Published JUST
Joe’s Dynamic Investments: experienced hyper growth and won 5 Principles to Creating and accolades such as three Inc. 500 awards. Maintaining Wealth b y S. Dee Davis (BBA 88), 198 pages, $6.99 (paper- The Rising Place b y David Armstrong
The Sleeper b y Martha Roddy (BA 45), 258 pages, $35.95 (hardcover), WestBow Press, ISBN: 978-1973690115 A historical and timeless World War II espionage novel of a German saboteur and an American counterintelligence agent entwined with captivating individuals in suspenseful actions and faith far greater than a world at war. In this novel, marking the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and of her Ole Miss graduation, Martha Roddy blends her enthusiasm and passion for joyful living into thought-provoking poetry, fiction and nonfiction writing. Her experience includes teaching and res earch for medical writing. Professional memb erships include Nor thwest Houston Inspirational Writers Alive!; C entral Houston Inspirational Writers Alive!; Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators; and American Christian Fiction Writers. Roddy enjoys her three children, eight grandchildren and seven greatgrandchildren’s visits at her home in Houston, Texas. 46
ALUMNI REVIEW
back), independently published, ISBN: 978-1674594934 To grow real wealth, there are thought processes we must have right. Whether we are successful in creating wealth has to do with how we think about money and its utility. Our actions follow our thoughts. Our thoughts form a plan. But we need specifics. How much should we save and how do we do it? How do we allocate our savings? What do we invest in? How do we evaluate whether the return on a potential investment is satisfactory? In Joe’s Dynamic Investments, S. Dee Davis journeys through five principles that will help you form a plan for creating more wealth. With them, you’ll be able to understand how to make money work for you, rather than you always working for money.
Davis is a serial entrepreneur, investing professional, peewee football coach and Scout leader. He has started and grown multiple businesses in various industries including sportswear marketing, warranty, retail, e-commerce and online publishing before settling down to become chief investment officer of Fortunato Asset Management. Several of the businesses Davis managed
(JD 78), 198 pages, $13.99 (paperback), The Wild Rose Press, ISBN: 978-1509230655 If you found a box of letters written during World War II — would you read them? And what if you did and discovered an amazing story about unrequited love, betrayal and murder in a small Southern town? A young lawyer meets Emily Hodge, a 75-yearold spinster shunned by her hometown society, and can’t understand why she lives such a solitary and seemingly forgotten life. But the letters she leaves for him reveal how her choices caused her to be ostracized but definitely not forgotten by those who loved her. David Armstrong was born and raised in Natchez. He is an attorney and former mayor. The Rising Place, Armstrong’s debut novel, was previously made into a film and is available on DVD. He has written two other novels and four screenplays, and when he isn’t working his daytime j o b a s c h i e f op e r at i n g of f i c e r f or t h e C it y of Columbus, Mississippi, Armstrong is working on his fourth novel. He is the father of two grown sons, William and Canon, and lives in one of the oldest and most haunted antebellum homes in Columbus. 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.
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Among Public Universities
2020
ONLINE MBA APPLICATION DEADLINES Summer Admission (Starting in May) — April 1 Fall Admission (Starting in late August) — July 1 Spring Admission (Starting in mid-January) — November 1
olemiss.edu/onlinemba | mba@bus.olemiss.edu | 662-915-5483 S U M M E R 2 020
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Traveler 2021 REBEL
Sydney, Australia
T
he Ole Miss Alumni Association is offering spectacular trips as part of its world travel program. Alumni and friends obtain group rates and discounts. Listed prices are per person, based on double occupancy. Pricing and dates are subject to change until booking. Airfare is not included unless noted. Visit the Ole Miss Alumni Association’s website at olemissalumni.com/travel for a complete listing and the most up-to-date information. For a brochure or more information on a trip, contact Allie Little in the Alumni office at 662-915-7375 or email alliel@olemissalumni.com.
TALES OF THE TASMAN, AUCKLAND-SYDNEY JAN. 17-FEB. 2, 2021 Tour Operator: Go Next
Discover the cities of New Zealand and Australia on this exciting journey aboard Oceania Cruises’ Regatta. Begin your journey in Auckland, a stunning blend of urban bustle and breathtaking 48
ALUMNI REVIEW
views. Cruise to the Bay of Islands, a group of nearly 150 undeveloped islands that serves as a popular destination for kayaking, fishing, diving and parasailing. Next, head to Tauranga and discover its lush parks and hidden waterfalls, or venture south to the harborside city of Rotorua, a geothermal paradise with hot springs, bubbling mud pools and spouting geysers. In Napier, visit world-class wineries or stroll through the National Aquarium of New Zealand. Journey to Wellington, well known as the site where “The Lord of the Rings” was filmed. Wander the 64-acre botanical garden or pop into a chic café for a slice of pavlova, the country’s national dessert. Then sail to Akaroa, a cozy fishing town distinguished by its winding streets, fine food and serene setting. Experience the charm of Dunedin, a city overlooking the Otago Harbor that seamlessly blends nature and culture. Cruise the unforgettable fjords of Milford Sound, then head to Burnie, an artistic city on
the northwest coast of Tasmania where you can look for platypus surfacing in the Fern Glade Reserve. Before ending your trip in Sydney, head to Melbourne to peruse its museums, galleries and wineries. — From $6,999
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS FEB. 8-16, 2021 Tour Operator: Gohagan
This incredible nine-day journey introduces you to the unique Galápagos Islands, a nature lover’s dream destination and UNESCO World Heritage site, with a four-night cruise aboard the first-class, small ship Santa Cruz II, the best expedition-style ship in the Galápagos. This exploration vessel is fully equipped to make your Galápagos experience remarkable, from a fleet of Zodiacs and a glass-bottom boat to certified onboard naturalists and complimentary snorkeling gear. Visit six islands, each with their own ecosystem, to observe the exotic birds, animals and plants that inspired Charles
2021 REBEL Traveler Darwin, including species unknown anywhere else in the world. With few natural predators on the islands, the wildlife is receptive to up-close human interaction. Snorkel alongside tropical penguins and playful sea lions, and almost touch spiny-backed iguanas. On mainland Ecuador, enjoy three nights in Quito, a UNESCO World Heritage site, tour architectural treasures and stand with one foot in either hemisphere at the Equator. The six-night post-program option features Machu Picchu, Cuzco, the Sacred Valley and Lima. — From $5,795
JOURNEY TO SOUTH AFRICA MARCH 14-29, 2021 Tour Operator: AHI
Encounter exotic wildlife and wonder on this 12-night adventure through South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. With expert trackers leading your small group, scout lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos and more on lavish safari excursions in three world-class parks. Learn about the
National Park on a game drive, feel the power of crashing Victoria Falls, and spy elephants along the Chobe River during a safari cruise. This once-in-alifetime adventure includes a journey on the elegant Rovos Rail, two flights within South Africa and an extensive meal plan featuring wine with dinner. — From $8,290
VERONA AND COMO, ITALY Ole Miss Travelers Only
MARCH 17-27, 2021
Tour Operator: Anywhere Adventures
Famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Verona is a city of a thousand shades, a mix of styles and cultures that can charm and seduce any visitor. Travelers will spend the first four nights at the five-star Due Torri Hotel. This property offers luxury and elegance in the heart of Verona, next to the Church of St. Anastasia and a fiveminute walk from Juliet’s balcony. Then relax at Lake Como, an upscale resort area known for its dramatic scenery, set against the foothills of the Alps.
DUTCH WATERWAYS APRIL 20-28, 2021 Tour Operator: AHI
From the thatched farmhouses and footpaths of fairy-tale Giethoorn to the medieval landmarks of Antwerp, fall in love with the Netherlands and Belgium as you relish their intimate waterways. See bygone eras take shape aboard a first-class river ship for seven nights. In Amsterdam, get a close-up look at 17th-century canals and landmarks on a river cruiser, then choose to dive into acres of colorful tulips at Keukenhof Gardens, bike through charming villages, or gaze at masterpieces by Rembrandt and other Dutch artists at the Rijksmuseum. Explore The Hague and the art of the Mauritshuis, or watch an artisan paint porcelain at the Royal Delft factory. Tour Bruges’ Old Town, then savor its chocolate, discover its beer culture or visit the Groeninge Museum. Immerse yourself in the seaport of Antwerp with its quaint architecture and café-filled lanes. Enjoy an extensive meal plan featuring wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner. No single supplement. — From $3,390
SPRINGTIME IN PROVENCE AND BURGUNDY MAY 5-13, 2021 Tour Operator: Gohagan
Pont d’Avignon, France
majestic African animals and efforts to conserve them and their pristine habitats. Explore Cape Town, where Table Mountain towers over colorful streets and glistening beaches. Spot penguins on a drive along the Cape Peninsula to the Cape of Good Hope. Travel to Johannesburg and Soweto to see the home of Nelson Mandela, and visit community leaders at a local youth program. Relish the riches of Hwange
Enjoy the mountain air and views in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Located on the Italian-Swiss border, the city of Como overlooks the southwest end of its lake and is surrounded by green ridge hills, resulting in unparalleled, natural scenery. Participants will spend five nights at the four-star Palace Hotel, located in landscaped gardens on the shore of Lake Como, a five-minute walk from Como Cathedral. — From $3,698
Join this specially arranged, nine-day French sojourn in world-famous Provence and the wine regions of Burgundy and B eaujolais during springtime, the best time of year to visit. Cruise from historic Lyon along the fabled Rhône and Saône rivers aboard the exclusively chartered, deluxe Amadeus Provence. Enjoy an excursion to the Beaujolais vineyards for a private wine tasting and fortepiano performance at the Château de Montmelas and a walking tour of Lyon, France’s gastronomique gateway. Dock in the heart of port towns and visit the legendar y Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune, the Roman city of Orange, the medieval Papal Palace of Avignon and the wonderfully preserved Roman amphitheater in Arles. Marvel at the S U M M E R 2 0 20
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2021 REBEL Traveler UNESCO-inscribed Pont du Gard, an exquisite 2,000-year-old aqueduct, and classical antiquities of Vienne. Experience a specially arranged wine and chocolate tasting with a wellknown French oenologist in Vienne. The carefully designed pre‑program option features cosmopolitan Geneva, Switzerland, and the beautiful towns of Gruyeres and Montreux, Switzerland. — From $3,695
historic churches and monuments. In Acajutla, pitch a sun umbrella on the sand or head inland to see the wildlife of El Imposible National Park. Spend a day discovering Acapulco, one of Mexico’s oldest resort cities. Visit the world-class botanical garden or check out the cliff divers of La Quebrada who fearlessly dive into the sea from heights of over 100 feet. Cruise the Pacific to Cabo San Lucas and experience its world-class
of Betws y Coed. Then ferry across the Irish Sea and cap off your adventure with two nights in vibrant Dublin. Local lecturers share enriching insights on the Celts, Welsh history and Dublin’s literary giants. Other unforgettable treats include special performances by Scottish and Welsh musicians, plus a themed dinner and talk about Lake District author Beatrix Potter. This small group program features first-class hotels and an ample meal plan. — From $5,490
ANCIENT EMPIRES: ROME TO MALTA MAY 30-JUNE 7, 2021 Tour Operator: Gohagan
Caernarfon Castle, Wales
TAPESTRY OF CULTURE, MIAMI – SAN FRANCISCO MAY 10-28, 2021 Tour Operator: Go Next
Encounter enchanting destinations in the Caribbean and Central America on this incredible 18-night odyssey aboard Oceania Cruises’ Regatta. Begin your journey in Miami and set sail for Key West, the southernmost point in the continental United States. Cruise the Straits of Florida and stop in George Town, where you can swim with stingrays or try your hand at scuba diving. In Cartagena, stroll the cobblestone streets of the walled city and see the dominating fortresses of the Old Town. Transit the famed Panama Canal, a modern-day wonder of the world, and head to Puntarenas. Enjoy fresh-caught lobster in a waterfront restaurant or discover wildlife as you walk through the rain forest. Next, set off for Corinto, a quaint village on the shores of the Pacific. Explore its quiet beaches or discover nearby León and its many 50
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beaches and diverse marine life. Before your adventure ends in San Francisco, encounter the enthusiasm of sunny San Diego — from Balboa Park to the picturesque Point Loma. — From $4,599, including airfare from select cities
CELTIC WONDERS MAY 29-JUNE 9, 2021 Tour Operator: AHI
Fascinating histor y, architectural treasures and scenic splendor await you on this 10-night journey in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. Delve into Scottish and Welsh lore at Edinburgh Castle and the imposing fortress castles of Conwy and Caernarfon. See remnants of Britain’s Roman past along Hadrian’s Wall. Be inspired by the marvelous pastoral beauty of Scotland’s Loch Lomond, the English Lake District’s glacier-carved valleys and the rugged mountains of Wales’ Snowdonia National Park. Explore beloved Welsh gems from Llandudno, a Victorian-era seaside resort, to the woodland village
Discover the intriguing mélange of cultures that flourished in the wake of ancient empires on this exclusively chartered cruise to the shores of Italy, Sicily and Malta. Cruise for seven nights from Valletta, Malta, to Rome, Italy, along two of Europe’s most dramatic coastlines, aboard the five-star expedition ship Le Bougainville, with only 92 suites and staterooms, each with a private balcony. Our outstanding, custom-designed itinerary features the quintessential seaside villages and monumental antiquities of this historic region at the ideal time of year — affording a unique opportunity to travel with a small group that visits seven UNESCO World Heritage sites. Experience the rich history of Malta, the island nation where St. Paul was shipwrecked. Discover Sicily’s storied town of Taormina, the legendary city of Syracuse and the classical perfection of Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples. Marvel at Italy’s stunning Amalfi Coast, legendary Capri and charming Positano. Gain insight into the Roman way of life in A.D. 79 in the superbly excavated city of Pompeii. Malta pre-program and Rome post-program options are available. — From $4,795
SCOTTISH ISLES AND NORWEGIAN FJORDS JUNE 6-14, 2021 Tour Operator: Gohagan
Join us for this singular, customdesigned journey across the pristine natural beauty of Norway’s mighty fjords
2021 REBEL Traveler to the mist-enshrouded peaks of Scotland. The legacies of Viking and Celtic clans are entwined in each civilizations’ rich cultural traditions and compelling archaeological heritage. Cruise into ports accessible only by small ship on this exceptional, seven-night itinerary from Bergen, Norway, to Glasgow, Scotland, aboard the exclusively chartered, five-star Le Dumont-d’Urville, with a private balcony in all suites and staterooms. Enjoy a specially arranged ride on Norway’s Flåm Railway, one of the world’s most scenic rail journeys, and a full-day scenic excursion into the beautiful glens of the Scottish Highlands, with visits to Glenfinnan, Glencoe and the 13th-century Eilean Donan Castle. Discover the Orkney Islands’ fascinating Neolithic history at the UNESCOinscribed Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae, featuring a special presentation by the Ness of Brodgar head archaeologist, Nick Card. Other stops include Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands, prehistoric Jarlshof in the Shetland Islands and Bergen’s picturesque Bryggen (old wharf), a UNESCO World Heritage site. Norway/ Copenhagen pre-program and Edinburgh/Glasgow post-program options are available. — From $5,495
EASY COMPANY: ENGLAND TO THE EAGLE’S NEST JUNE 7-19, 2021 Tour Operator: WWII Museum
Made famous by The New York Times bestseller Band of Brothers and the
Berchtesgaden, Germany
critically acclaimed miniseries that followed, the stories of the Easy Company members were immortalized by the National WWII Museum founder Stephen E. Ambrose. On this unforgettable, 13-day travel experience, follow in the footsteps of Easy Company, from England to the hedgerows of Normandy, along “Hell’s Highway” in the Netherlands, through the foxholes surrounding Bastogne, and atop the Eagle’s Nest. Led by expert battlefield guides, and accompanied by original cast members from the miniseries, this tour immerses you in the incredible lives of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne. — From $6,995
GREAT JOURNEY THROUGH EUROPE JUNE 21-JULY 1, 2021 Tour Operator: Gohagan
This extraordinary, 11-day “Grand Tour” of Europe features an incredible combination of river, rail, lake and mountain travel including five nights aboard the new, deluxe Amadeus Imperial. Journey through the western center of the C ontinent through Switzerland, France, Germany and the Netherlands, cruising the fabled Rhine River. This program features five UNESCO World Heritage sites: C ol o g ne’s G ot h i c c at he d r a l ; t he Middle Rhine Valley; the Alsatian city of Strasbourg; Bern’s Old Town; and the Jungfrau-Aletsch region of the
Swiss Alps. Visit medieval Rüdesheim i n t h e h e a r t o f G e r m a ny ’s w i n e country and the historical treasures of romantic Heidelberg. Spend two nights each in Lucerne and Zermatt, Switzerland; ride aboard three legendary railways — the Pilatus Railway, the world’s steepest cogwheel railway, the Gornergrat Bahn for breathtaking views of the Matterhorn and the Glacier Express from Andermatt to Zermatt — and enjoy a scenic cruise on Lake Lucerne. This is the trip of a lifetime at an exceptional value. Complement your journey with the two-night Amsterdam post-program option. — From $3,995
BALTIC SEA JULY 16-25, 2021
Tour Operator: Gohagan
Join us for the opportunity to experience the lands and legacies forged by centuries of Baltic history. By special arrangement, hear from Lech Wałęsa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former president of Poland; and Pavel Palazhchenko, who was the chief English interpreter for Mikhail Gorbachev. Explore the cultural rebirth of the Baltic states, the imperial riches of St. Petersburg and the luminous “White Nights of Summer” on this sixcountry, eight-night program. Cruise aboard the exclusively chartered, five-star Le Dumont-d’Urville from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Stockholm, Sweden, with an excursion included in ever y port. Tour the medieval Old Town of Tallinn, Estonia, and the Hanseatic League town of Visby, S w e d e n , b o t h U N E S C O Wo r l d Heritage sites; discover the storied architecture of cosmopolitan Helsinki, Finland; and immerse yourself in the legacy of the Solidarity movement in Gdańsk, Poland. Enjoy two days exploring St. Petersburg, including specially arranged entry into the State Hermitage Museum, a visit to Peter and Paul Fortress and an excursion to Catherine’s Palace and Peterhof. Wonders of Norway pre-program and Splendors of Stockholm post-program options are available. — From $6,995 S U M M E R 2 0 20
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News ALUMNI
Buy One, Give One
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MASK SALES HELP UMMC FIGHT COVID-19
O
le Miss alumni have a new way to show their Rebel pride, all while helping University of Mississippi Medical Center caregivers, patients and their families stay safe from COVID-19. The Alumni Association has created a limited-edition, reusable cloth face mask that is being sold in its online store. For every mask purchased, a second will be donated to UMMC. Masks can be purchased at olemissalumni.com/shop. “The Ole Miss alumni family cares about protecting each other during this challenging time,” says Alumni Association Executive Director Kirk Purdom (BA 93). “These masks not only help alumni show their pride while staying safe in their 52
ALUMNI REVIEW
own communities but will also help protect our heroic health care workers and their most vulnerable patients at UMMC.” The new three-layer face mask features an OMAA logo pattern and has adjustable ear straps and a metal strip across the bridge of the nose that allows for a snug fit. The Alumni Association will donate half of its initial order of 500 masks to UMMC. “We are grateful for the Alumni Association’s assistance in securing masks,” says Meredith Aldridge, UMMC director of development. “They are needed now more than ever. As our health care team steps up to fight COVID-19 on the front lines, we appreciate the support of our University of Mississippi alumni family.”
ALUMNI News
Class Notes
’60s
HENRY A. FRAZER (BSPh 63) of
Montgomery, Alabama, was selected as a member of the 2020 class of the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions and exemplary service to health care throughout the state. JOHN A. GRANT JR. (BS 68) of Poplarville,
retired vice president of instruction at Pearl River Community College, was selected to the Pearl River Community College Alumni Achievement Hall of Fame.
’70s
DAVE NELSON (BBA 77) of Eau
2019 after 38 years as an obstetrician/gynecologist. He and his wife, Belinda Blake Whittington (BA 78), are looking forward to a relaxing life with each other and spending more time with family and friends.
’80s
REBECCA BROWN (BA 84, JD
88) of Mooreville was selected to serve as chief administrative law judge for the downtown Office of Hearings Operations in Dallas, Texas. She previously served in the same position in Tupelo for the past five years.
Claire, Wisconsin, received the national Healthcare Financial Management Association’s 2019 Medal of Honor, recognizing him for his contributions and leadership.
JENNIFER BELK CHEEK (BAEd 86) of Kos-
FRANKIE KIM WHITTINGTON (BA 77, MD 82)
MIKE EDMONDS (BA 84, MEd 85, PhD
of Pike Road, Alabama, retired in December
ciusko is teaching online English at Holmes Community College and is teaching elementary visual art in public and private schools, as well as at home. 90) of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was
named acting co-president at Colorado College, effective July 1. Edmonds is dean of students and vice president for student life at the college. JAMES R. GORDON (BAccy 87) of Lebanon,
Tennessee, was named executive vice president and chief financial officer of First Financial Bankshares Inc., headquartered in Abilene, Texas. CARL L. POWELL (BAccy 89) of Roswell,
Georgia, was appointed chairman of Verde Leaf, one of the hemp industry’s first vertically integrated hemp processing solutions. PHIL WILLIAMS (BBA 84, MBA 86) of Yazoo
City was elected to a three-year term on the Mississippi Bankers Association board of directors. Williams will represent his region of the state on the board, which governs the 132-year-old association.
S U M M E R 2 0 20
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ALUMNI News
’90s
DOUG HEDERMAN (BBA 93)
of Ridgeland, president and CEO of Hederman Bros., was appointed by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves to serve on the Restart Economic Recovery Impact Committee. KEVIN KINKADE (BBA 93) of Madison was
promoted to senior vice president of Trustmark in Ridgeland, where he previously served as residential real estate consumer construction manager. MISTY WAKELAND MONROE (JD 95) of Jack-
son is now a realtor at Charlotte Smith Real Estate Inc., a full-service real estate agency handling homes both locally and worldwide. She is married to Clark Monroe (JD 94), a partner at DunbarMonroe PLLC in Jackson. GRADY FRANKLIN “GRAY” TOLLISON (JD 90)
of Oxford was appointed by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves as circuit court judge for the Third Circuit Court District.
’00s
KEVIN ALLEMAND JR. (BAEd
05) of Perkinston was named the 2020 John K. Bettersworth History Teacher of the Year by the Mississippi Historical Society. R. WILLIAM ANDERSON (BA 01) of Phila-
delphia was hired by East Central Community College to teach Law and Public Safety at the Philadelphia Neshoba County Career Technical Center. TAYLOR B. MCNEEL (BBA 05, JD 08) of Pas-
cagoula was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. McNeel is a member at Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes PLLC in Biloxi. DR. JOHN P.F.H. VANDERLOO, FAAFP (BA 02,
MEd 10) of Jackson opened his private practice, Vanderloo Family Medicine, in Jackson in January. He is the first in Jackson to offer direct primary care.
’10s
B. BRIAN FOSTER ( BA 1 1 ) ,
assistant professor of sociology and Southern studies at the University of Mississippi, authored I Don’t Like the Blues: Race, Place, and the Backbeat of Black Life, which will be released by UNC Press on Dec. 14. NEAL WILKERSON (BBA 13) of Nashville,
Tennessee, was promoted to mergers and acquisitions senior associate with Benchmark International in January 2020. He also was engaged to Hillari Michelle Forrester on May 9.
FRIENDS MIKE BIANCO, Ole Miss head baseball
coach, was named Division 1 Coach of the Year in June. Bianco is the first in program history to be named National Coach of the Year.
Innoducing THE 2020
SHIRT FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
25
We may have left Ole Miss, but our hearts remain in the Grove. Show your love for America’s most beautiful campus by wearing The Shirt, and buy one for each member of your family! Adult and youth sizes are available. Shirt is a 100% cotton Comfort Colors pocket tee. Proceeds fund our alumni scholarship endowments.
$
Buy at OLEMISSALUMNI.COM
Brrght to yy by
SUPPORT OLE MISS. BUY THE SHIRT. WEAR THE SHIRT. 54
ALUMNI REVIEW
ALUMNI News BIRTHS
Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of Ashley Browning Ball and Richard Keith Ball Jr. (JD 06), July 13, 2020. Frances Berkley, daughter of Catherine Dorroh Simpson (BS 10) and James Francis Simpson III (BAccy 08), March 5, 2020.
WEDDINGS
Anne Louise Ervine (BSFCS 99) and Jason Taylor Causey (BA 01), Feb. 15, 2020. Katherine Elizabeth Pickering (BBA 18) and Tyler Leigh Berry (BBA 17), April 18, 2020.
IN MEMORIAM
Audrey Camille McLain Dale (47) of Columbia, April 7, 2020
Doris Thompson Ellison (BBA 48) of Lexington, June 23, 2020
Belle Wade Bowen Frame (46) of Pinellas Park, Fla., June 14, 2020 Mary Marjean Woodward Gillis (48) of McComb, April 20, 2020
Blanche Patricia Faherty Hosemann (43) of Grays Knob, Ky., June 7, 2020 William Richard Jackson (47) of Senatobia, May 1, 2020
Aster Bunch Jones (BAEd 47) of Madison, April 29, 2020 Jane Herring McLarty (BA 48) of Oxford, June 20, 2020
Jefferson Boswell Naugle (BSCvE 48) of Atlanta, Ga., July 2, 2020 Betty Coker Wade (49) of Houston, Texas, May 9, 2020
1950s
Joe Frank Allen (MS 59) of Clemson, S.C., April 15, 2020
1930s
Hilda Frances Haley Anderson (MA 54) of La Follette, Tenn., April 30, 2020
Virginia Toomer Spight (BA 36) of Tupelo, June 7, 2020
Marjorie Ann Weller Arnett (54) of Yazoo City, May 4, 2020
1940s
Mary Margaret Elliott Bickerstaff (BA 56) of Ridgeland, Oct. 23, 2019
Montie Barringer Calvert (BA 49) of Sherwood, Ark., July 9, 2020
Clovis Smith Burch (BSPh 54) of Shreveport, La., June 18, 2020
Mary Rebecca Ferrell Hendrick (38) of Jackson, May 29, 2020
Marion Eldridge Addison (BBA 49) of Olive Branch, June 2, 2020
Robbie Nell Hartley Berry (BAEd 58) of Brandon, April 19, 2020 Clarke Daniels Bishop (51) of Greenwood, April 29, 2020
WHERE THE THIRD GENERATION IS CATCHING FIREFLIES IN A JAR. C O U N T RY H O M E FINANCING
PROUDLY SERVING NORTH MISSISSIPPI I MSLAN DBAN K.COM I
S U M M E R 2 020
55
ALUMNI News
Sustaining Life Membership Program
T
he Sustaining Life Membership Program is a voluntary way for current Life Members to provide additional annual support to the Ole Miss Alumni Association at one of several tax-deductible levels: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Blue and Red. These contributions are used to support necessary programs to engage Ole Miss alumni and friends and to help create future alumni leaders through student involvement, scholarship and leadership programs. Thank you for your generous support of Ole Miss and the Alumni Association.
FY 2020 MEMBERS Platinum: $1,000+
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Walman
Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Nance III
Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Bailess
Dr. and Mrs. Lynn K. Whittington
Mr. Tally D. Riddell Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. David E. Brevard
Mr. and Mrs. Julius M. Ridgway
Mr. and Mrs. Lampkin Butts
Gold: $500-$999
Dr. Taylor D. Caffey
Mr. Larry H. Bryan
Dr. and Mrs. John H. Selby Jr.
Mr. J. Truman Channell
Mr. Robert W. Byrd
Mr. and Mrs. W. Marion Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Clark
Ms. Angela D. Carney
Mr. Jay S. Street
Mr. and Mrs. Frost W. Cochran
Ms. Kathleen Cottingham
Mr. and Mrs. Sandy Williams
Drs. Frank A. and Ann D. Critz IV
Mr. William M. Dalehite Jr.
Mr. Mac Elliott
Mrs. Georgia McKenzie Ellison
Silver: $250-$499
Mr. and Mrs. Roger M. Flynt Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Lee Falkenheiner
Dr. James N. Anderson
Mr. Rusty Gebhard
Mr. and Mrs. S. Lawrence Farrington
Dr. Antrece Lynette Baggett
Lt. Col. Howard L. Gerlach
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel R. Fooshee
Ms. Carol Jo Barnes
Mr. and Mrs. James W. Granbery
Dr. William B. French Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Beecroft
Ms. Miriam Smith Gurman
*Dr. Barry Elmo Gerald
Mr. and Mrs. Fred A. Bell Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel B. Haskell III
Mrs. Marjorie Brown Gerald
Ms. Kathryn Brewer Black
W. Robert Hudgins, M.D.
Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey R. Godwin Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. David B. Blackburn
Mr. William F. Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. William W. Gresham III
Dr. J. Steven Blake
Mr. Rudolf G. Kittlitz Jr.
Mrs. Patricia S. Hopson
Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin E. Box
Mr. William N. Krucks, Esq.
*Dr. William Briggs Hopson Jr.
Mrs. Marvine M. Brand
Dr. and Mrs. Ronald M. Lewis
Mr. David A. Huey
Mrs. Joyce Bray
Mr. and Mrs. C.M. Lusco
Mrs. Betty Haraway Jackson
Mrs. Bettye M. Butler
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick McNarny
Mr. and Mrs. William M. James
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy J. Carter
Mr. and Mrs. Sam M. Millette Jr.
The Hon. E. Grady Jolly
Mr. Mark J. Chaney Sr.
Dr. and Mrs. Paul H. Moore Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Maloney
Mr. James W. Chiles
Dr. and Mrs. Paul H. Moore Jr.
Dr. Gloria L. Martin
Mr. B. Craig Clemmer
Mr. and Mrs. George L. Price
Mr. and Mrs. William T. Mays Jr.
Maj. Gen. and Mrs. Augustus L. Collins
Mr. and Mrs. William N. Reed
Mrs. Dorothy Miller
Ms. Sue C. Dabbs
Mrs. Carol C. Satterfield
Mr. and Mrs. Guy W. Mitchell III
Mrs. Sarah P. Dantin
Mr. Michael R. Sweet
Mr. Terrence B. Mohr
Dr. James W. Davis
Mr. and Mrs. William F. Tait
Mrs. Martha R. Morgan
Mrs. Kathy Davis
56
ALUMNI REVIEW
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Rocconi Jr.
ALUMNI News *Mr. Sid Davis
Mr. and Mrs. G. Terrell Morgan
Mr. Jeffrey D. Aldridge
Dr. and Mrs. Don L. Frugé
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne C. Oglesby
Mr. Walter Leroy Allen Sr.
Mrs. Christian Legate Funderburk
Mr. Bond E. Oman
Mr. Chester Anderson
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Geary
Mr. Tommy C. Pannell
Mr. and Mrs. Hilary T. Barrier III
Mrs. Laura L. Gradolf
The Hon. Charles W. Pickering
Mr. and Mrs. Dewitt T. Bates Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Griffith
Mr. and Mrs. Gary L. Ramsay
Mr. Roeland T. Bell
Dr. and Mrs. Charles B. Hargrove
Mr. and Mrs. Lee W. Randall
Mr. T. Marion Booth
Mr. and Mrs. Fred M. Harrell Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. James W. Rayner
Mr. and Mrs. William R. Bouchillon
Mr. R.W. Heidelberg III
Mr. Danny Eugene Reynolds
*Mr. Henry Clyde Brevard Jr.
Mr. H. Richard Hemmings
Mr. and Mrs. Philip M. Salemi
Mr. James D. Brickell
Ms. Lori R. Henry
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Seibels III
Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Broun III
Mr. and Mrs. Hardy M. Hill
Mrs. Lisa Puckett Sinders
Mr. G. Rice Byars Jr.
Mr. Thomas N. Horton
Dr. Warren A. Todd Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Jason V. Calvasina
Mr. and Mrs. Walker W. Jones III
Mr. and Mrs. Jon C. Turner
Mr. and Mrs. Don B. Cannada
Mr. and Mrs. Greg S. Lane
Dr. Meredith S. Wagner
Mrs. Marilyn M. Carr
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Lane
Mr. and Mrs. Trammell P. Wells II
Dr. David K. Carter
Dr. and Mrs. George H. Leggett III
Mr. Michael W. Wright and Mrs. Vickie M. Cook
Mrs. Hilda Louise Casin
Mr. and Mrs. Rick R. Zeiher
Dr. Mark William Cawman
Mr. and Mrs. Jon V. Lewis Mr. W.S. Lott Dr. and Mrs. Robert A. Magarian
Mr. Charles M. Cassidy Mr. David H. Chapman
Mr. and Mrs. John A. Maloney
Blue: $100-$249
Mr. and Mrs. Cooper A. Manning
Dr. Richard S. Abney
Mr. John M. Christian
Dr. and Mrs. Eric A. McVey III
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin F. Adams III
Mr. Jeptha C. Clemens
Dr. Ping C. Cheng
JOIN THE REBEL MUG CLUB $500 per member. Membership includes a commemorative beer mug for your home, 20-ounce draft beer for the price of a pint in McCormick’s and a tax-deductible donation to the University of Mississippi. The first 200 charter members will have their names placed on a plaque at McCormick’s.
olemissalumni.com/mccormicks S U M M E R 2 020
57
ALUMNI News Dr. and Mrs. Alton B. Cobb
The Hon. and Mrs. David W. Houston III
Mr. Sidney Gerald Morgan
Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Cook
Mrs. Trentice G. Imbler
Dr. and Mrs. Lee D. Morris
Dr. William Samuel Cook Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ted D. Jackson
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher N. Mouron
Mr. and Mrs. John M. Crossman
Mr. and Mrs. Augustus R. Jones
Mr. Thomas Munoz Jr.
Mr. Shelby B. Drummond Jr.
Mrs. Melissa M. Jones
Mrs. Tommie Netterville-Blackmon
Mr. John B. Dubberly
Mr. and Mrs. Donald H. Keith
Dr. and Mrs. R.B. Newell
Dr. and Mrs. David N. Duddleston
Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. Keleher
Mrs. Lynne S. Newman
Dr. A. Percy Durfey Jr.
Dr. Reita S. and Mr. Billy W. Keyes
Mr. Samuel J. Nicholas Jr.
Mr. Roy C. Eliff
Mrs. Martha S. Kimes
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Norwood
The Hon. and Mrs. Robert W. Elliott Sr.
Ms. Leone D. King
Mr. and Mrs. Rush O’Keefe
Mr. Joe M. Enoch
Mrs. Cynthia Kitchens
Mrs. Sue Pearson
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Epting Jr.
Mr. Roosevelt Kitchens
Mr. James A. Peden Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. James V. Ferguson Jr.
Mrs. Jane H. Knight
Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Pointer
Mr. and Mrs. Brooke Ferris
Mr. Don P. Lacy
Mr. and Mrs. Ray S. Poole Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Samuel E. Field Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. John B. Laney Jr.
Mrs. Jennifer Hall Posey
Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Flenorl
Mr. and Mrs. Preston H. Lee Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. John W. Prados
The Hon. and Mrs. Webb Franklin
Mr. Jeffrey N. Lewis
Mr. Michael L. Pratt
Dr. and Mrs. Robert M. Freeny
Mrs. Barbera Hollowell Liddon
Mr. Floyd E. Pruden Jr.
Mrs. Kathleen F. Gann
Mr. Hubert S. Lipscomb Jr.
Mrs. Camille S. Puckett
Mr. and Mrs. H.W. Gates
Mr. John W. Locovare
Mr. Kenneth G. Ray
Mr. and Mrs. Gerard R. Gibert
The Hon. Deneise T. Lott and Dr. W. Criss Lott
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Renovich
Ms. Tammy S. Lum
Mr. William Robert Roberts
Dr. Randel C. Gibson Mr. Karl D. Gottschalk Mrs. Barbara K. Gragson Mr. T.H. Hamilton III Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Hancock Jr. Dr. John Francis Hassell *Mrs. Martha Lee Hassell Mr. and Mrs. Van E. Hedges Mr. and Mrs. Mike Henry Ms. Monica M. Hewes Mr. Robert D. Hickson Dr. and Mrs. Frank S. Hill Jr. Mr. Harold E. Hill Jr. Dr. and Mrs. John E. Hill Mr. Joseph M. Hinshaw III Mrs. Jean Hobby Holmes Mr. Jeffrey E. Hood Mrs. Ann Phillips Hough Mrs. Anne McCaslin House 58
ALUMNI REVIEW
Mr. M. Leonard Lurie Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Maness Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Maples Hon. John N. Martin Mr. and Mrs. Harmon O. Massey Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Scott T. Matlock Mr. Thomas M. McCann Dr. and Mrs. Philips R. McCarty Mrs. Daisye R. McGee Mr. William A. McGinnis Jr. Dr. and Mrs. William T. McLarty Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss C. McLaurin Jr. Lelia R. McNickle Mr. and Mrs. Floyd M. Melton III Dr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Meredith Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey C. Mitchell Mr. and Mrs. Markeeva A. Morgan
Dr. Jeff W. Rish III Dr. and Mrs. Gerald M. Robertson Dr. Tommie L. Robinson Jr. Mrs. Merrell Rogers Mr. Bernard L. Royce *Mr. Donald Bruce Samuels Mr. Ronald L. Samuels Mr. J.H. Sasser Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Lenny Sawyer Mr. and Mrs. Ben B. Sayle Mr. and Mrs. Eugene R. Schnierle Mr. John R. Schwalje Mr. Tommy W. Scott Mr. Frank Seid Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Singley Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Sloan Capt. Jack F. Speed Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Gordon L. Stanfield
ALUMNI News Mrs. Nina J. Stephenson
Mrs. Anne J. Wilbourne
Mr. and Mrs. William D. Kidd
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey B. Strouse
Mrs. Marsha D. Williams
The Hon. and Mrs. G. Manoli Loupassi
Mr. Stanley M. Swentkowski
Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Witty
*Mrs. Judy Toler Mullen
Mr. Walter R. Taylor
Dr. and Mrs. Travis W. Yates
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Paris
Mr. and Mrs. Barrett B. Teller
Mr. J. Larry Young
Dr. and Mrs. Donald Rockey Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell D. Thompson
Dr. and Mrs. Dave A. Russell
Red: $1-$99
Dr. and Mrs. Ancel C. Tipton Jr. Mrs. Pamelia T. Tisdale
Ms. Liping Ai
Mr. Kam-Chuen Tse Mr. Vincent M. Tsin Mr. James Allen Turner
Dr. William E. Wheeler
Mr. Raleigh H. Byars
Mr. Jerome W. Wilson Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. R. Steven Cox
Mr. Charles E. Warren
Mr. David L. Wagers
Mr. J. Michael Blackburn Mrs. Desiree P. Casey
Mr. and Mrs. James A. Ventress
Dr. Kimberly W. Tolbert
*Deceased
Mr. William Joseph Dennis
Dr. James E. Warrington
Mr. Steve Donosky
Dr. Elizabeth C. Washburne
Mr. Xavier Omar Edwards
Mrs. Jeanie C. Washington
Dr. Edwin E. Flournoy Jr.
Ms. Mary Virginia Watson Mrs. Fay J. Webb
Dr. Sasha J. Lambert and Mr. Brentleigh J. Fogle
Dr. Emily S. Weber
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Gex II
Dr. Benjamin O. Weeks Jr.
Mr. James H. Gilmer
Mr. James H. Wheeler Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Haley III
Mr. J.R. White
Ms. Jacinta Andreanna Hall
The Hon. Thomas Frederick Wicker
Dr. Thomas L. Jones Jr.
FOR SALE:
Nested T Hangar at University-Oxford Airport Price: $60,000.00 Hangar includes a hydraulic door and bathroom with shower Hangar measures approximately 44' wide x 42' deep x 16' tall For more information, contact Ginger Richards email: ginger@barryblackburn.com /phone: 901-826-8990 S U M M E R 2 020
59
ALUMNI News Martha Belle Caldwell (MA 58) of Rockingham, Va., June 15, 2020
Kenneth Wayne Whitten (MS 58) of Athens, Ga., April 8, 2020
Norma Christine Coleman Dale (BA 51, MA 62) of Brandon, April 20, 2020
1960s
William Lampkin Calhoun Sr. (BSHPE 53, MEd 54) of Oxford, June 17, 2020
Leslie Carlisle Daniel Jr. (BBA 56) of Germantown, Tenn., May 21, 2020 Kenneth Dean Draper Sr. (56) of Iuka, July 10, 2020
Robert Grooms Drewry (BBA 55, LLB 58) of Arlington, Tenn., June 19, 2020 Anne Stanford Duffy (BSN 54) of Cincinnati, Ohio, June 1, 2020
Robert Goss Edwards Jr. (BBA 56) of Arrington, Tenn., March 25, 2020
Buford Hayes Wilkerson (MedCert 51) of Ocean Springs, June 28, 2020
Martha Lou Latimer Adams (MA 65, PhD 68) of Sumter, S.C., May 17, 2019 Therrell Lane Allen Jr. (BSEE 63, MS 65) of Jackson, May 23, 2020 Charles Melvin Anderson (BBA 69) of Southaven, May 31, 2020
Tom Shulley Anderson (BBA 63) of Bokeelia, Fla., May 12, 2020
Malcolm Davis Baxter Jr. (MD 61) of Hernando, March 18, 2020
Mary Stevens Effinger (BBA 50) of Rome, Ga., July 3, 2020
Dolores Ann Smith Bell (BA 66, MA 87) of Memphis, Tenn., June 10, 2020
Margie Roach Farese (BSC 59) of Ashland, May 14, 2020
Jerry Holmes Blount (BA 65, JD 67) of Madison, July 5, 2020
Marjorie Ratliff Ely (BSC 55) of Port St. Joe, Fla., June 23, 2020
Jimmie Files Berry (BAEd 61) of Robinsonville, May 25, 2020
Roger Patterson Friou (BBA 56, MS 59) of Ridgeland, April 14, 2020
Laura Ann Hall Bridgforth (BAEd 68) of Olive Branch, June 26, 2020
Frank John Gerred (57) of Lusby, Md., May 5, 2020
Orrin Sterling Gillis III (MD 59) of San Angelo, Texas, April 9, 2020 Polly Matthews Gordon (MBEd 58) of Union, May 20, 2020
William Thomas Graves (BSGE 50) of Ridgeland, April 25, 2020
Dorotha Jean Beck Hollinghead (BSHPE 52) of Waynesboro, June 10, 2020 Mildred Douglass Hopkins (BA 54) of Oxford, April 9, 2020
William Briggs Hopson Jr. (BS 59) of Vicksburg, June 20, 2020 Betty Sue Hough Hoyle (55) of Greenville, Feb. 3, 2020
Ada Zulene Melton King (BAEd 51) of Greenwood, June 13, 2020 Bobby Frank King (MD 57) of Florence, Ala., May 3, 2020
William Joseph Burnett (BS 62, MD 65) of Oxford, May 13, 2020 John Andrew Carothers (MD 63) of Paramus, N.J., April 3, 2020
John Thomas Carter (BBA 62) of Richardson, Texas, May 27, 2020 Bessie Fisher Chisum (BA 67) of Beaumont, Texas, May 30, 2020
Bessie June Gallaspy Cousar (MD 65) of Huntsville, Ala., April 12, 2020 Richard Langford Crenshaw Jr. (BSPh 65) of Grenada, May 19, 2020 Marcia Huff deBary (MA 65) of Asheville, N.C., June 16, 2020 Fred White Edmiston (MA 62) of Meridian, April 14, 2020
George Ronald Edwards (BSPh 66) of Foxboro, Mass., May 13, 2020 Cecil Atha Ford (BBA 64, JD 66) of Ridgeland, May 7, 2020
Huldah Cousins Merchant (BA 50, MEd 51) of Jackson, April 12, 2020
Edmund Dickinson Gabriel (BS 61, MS 67) of Columbus, Ohio, March 20, 2020
Patricia Graham Mounger (56) of Jackson, June 13, 2020
Haley Spencer Gates (BBA 69, MBA 73) of Gulfport, July 13, 2020
Joan Bat Thomas Moore (BSC 51) of Brookhaven, Ga., June 22, 2020
Christian B. Garrison (BA 65) of Winston-Salem, N.C., July 2, 2020
Josephine Holland Odom (BA 52) of Madison, April 5, 2020
Nancy Harris Gilder (BA 66, MS 67) of Hattiesburg, May 4, 2020
Mary Lewis Poole (BA 56) of Oxford, April 22, 2020
Lenore Loving Prather (JD 55) of Columbus, April 11, 2020
William Andrew Hailey (BBA 65) of Belden, May 11, 2020
Harvey Blanton Ray (LLB 59) of Meridian, June 24, 2020
Barbara Kaye Smith Hamblin (MEd 65) of Cape Girardeau, Mo., April 10, 2020
Joe Terry Rye (BBA 59) of Georgetown, Texas, June 12, 2020
Glenn Wesley Harwell (BA 68) of Helena, Mont., May 15, 2020
Donald Bruce Samuels (BBA 55, LLB 57) of Brookhaven, Sept. 24, 2019
Phyllis Anne Gibson Iccomb (Cert 67) of Brandon, June 18, 2020
Robert Eugene Slater (BBA 50) of Leawood, Kan., June 20, 2020
Robert Arthur Jensen (MD 66) of St. Paul, Minn., May 4, 2020
Osborne Britain Rogers III (55) of Southaven, April 16, 2020
Billy Harold Harthcock (BBA 69) of Brandon, May 20, 2020
Vance Sales (MEd 57) of Jonesboro, Ark., April 21, 2020
Lynda Brumby Holder (62) of Mobile, Ala., June 25, 2020
Doyle Wesley Seal (BBA 56) of Shreveport, La., July 12, 2020
Catherine Brigita Janes (EdD 68) of Lafayette, La., June 30, 2020
Rudolph F. Slovick (BSEA 51) of Lisle, Ill., May 25, 2019
Gladstone Nathaniel Jones Jr. (BA 61, LLB 64) of Waynesboro, April 27, 2020
Shirley Allen Smith (BA 53, MA 56) of Jacksonville, Fla., June 3, 2020 William Henry Tate (BBA 50) of Oxford, April 11, 2020
Liston Lavon Thomasson (BBA 55) of Summit, June 29, 2020
Edna Lee Thompson (BSHPE 55) of Ocean Springs, May 6, 2020
Harold Eugene Waddle (MEd 51) of North Las Vegas, Nev., Feb. 14, 2020 60
ALUMNI REVIEW
Margaret Ann Shields Jones (BAEd 67) of Amory, April 26, 2020
Charles Schmeades Jordan III (BSChE 67) of Hattiesburg, June 6, 2020 Judith Oswald Kay (BS 69) of Miami, Fla., June 8, 2020
Gloria Camp Lawrence (BAEd 61) of Madison, May 3, 2020 Thomas William Lester (BA 60) of Laurel, April 20, 2020
ALUMNI News Malcolm Hosea Mabry Jr. (MSS 60) of Dublin, June 12, 2020
Nancy Ann Kincade Williams (BAEd 63) of Corinth, April 26, 2020
William Archie Matthews (63) of Wytheville, Va., May 19, 2020
Myrtis Kay Lamb Woodrick (BS 62, MA 69) of Meadville, Dec. 11, 2019
Elmer William Matthews (BSHPE 69) of Pascagoula, May 1, 2020 William Brannock May (BSPh 61) of Amory, May 21, 2020
Louis Henry McCraw Jr. (BS 60, MD 63) of Lake Oswego, Ore., July 3, 2020 John Raymond McCully Jr. (MA 60) of Ames, Iowa, June 25, 2020
Duncan Crittenden McInnis III (BA 64) of Jackson, Tenn., June 3, 2020 Robert Cecil McReynolds Jr. (67) of New Roads, La., May 28, 2020
James Otis Murrell (MEd 64, EdD 72) of Nashville, Tenn., May 13, 2020
Vernelle Woods Winter (BSC 61) of Holly Springs, June 17, 2020 May Collier Wren (MCS 63) of Bartlett, Tenn., July 11, 2020
1970s
Anna Jean Watson Allen (BAEd 71) of Louisville, April 5, 2020 Ronald Glenn Bennett (BRL 79) of Oxford, June 20, 2020
Patrick John Boyle (BBA 71, JD 73) of Oxford, June 7, 2020
Venie Edward Brown (EdD 71) of Statesboro, Ga., June 18, 2020
Mary Bullock Payne (MA 63) of Madison, June 29, 2020
Doris Miniard Bryant (BSN 76) of Pearl, June 3, 2020
Darryel Lee Roberds (BS 67, PhD 87) of Dothan, Ala., June 28, 2020
Deborah Holt Carter (BA 74, MCD 75) of Oxford, May 25, 2020
David Joseph Sconyers (BA 63) of Sarasota, Fla., Jan. 22, 2020
John Carey Clarke (BBA 72) of Knoxville, Tenn., May 18, 2020
Elizabeth Jeneanne Sharp Story (MEd 60) of Indianola, June 9, 2020
Hugh Long Davis III (BBA 78, MBA 80) of Jackson, April 14, 2020
Robert Raymond Rester (MD 68) of Pearl, June 10, 2020
Wanda Holder Bunch (EdD 79) of Greenville, N.C., April 29, 2020
Lois Estes Ruleman (BAEd 68) of Memphis, Tenn., May 31, 2020
Douglas Earl Clark Jr. (MD 71) of Tupelo, May 19, 2020
Dale Holloway Steckler (BA 64) of Natchez, May 22, 2020
Daniel Curtis Cuthbert (BBA 76) of Baton Rouge, La., Oct. 31, 2020
Leonard Julian Sullivan (BSPh 62, MS 67, PhD 68) of St. Francisville, La., April 19, 2020
Margie Nell Fincher Dillon (MN 79) of Martin, Tenn., May 5, 2020 Linda Dickerson Dismuke (MEd 77) of Ridgeland, April 9, 2020
Robert Ronald Sullivan (BSPh 67) of Kosciusko, April 24, 2020
Cheryl Lee Drennan (BS 70) of Madison, April 17, 2020
Cecil Rhodes Walley Jr. (BSPh 69) of Oxford, July 2, 2020
Kathleen Mona Fealhaber (BM 71) of Tupelo, June 21, 2020
Hugh Anslum Warren III (BBA 60) of Greenwood, July 2, 2020
Eva Mae McClinton Gorman (MBEd 72) of Clarksdale, May 22, 2020
George Knox White (66) of Gulfport, May 3, 2020
Wesley Allen Henderson (BA 70) of Sun City Center, Fla., Dec. 5, 2019
Carl Ray Williams (MEd 67) of Willow Springs, Mo., May 20, 2020
Ronald Dean Hooten (MM 71, DA 80) of Richmond, Va., April 23, 2020
Mary Beth Cooper Walden (BSC 68, MLS 75) of Oxford, June 7, 2020
Geneva Waits England (MEd 76, SpecEd 81) of Grenada, June 9, 2020
Joel Price Walton (EdD 67) of Mount Juliet, Tenn., June 3, 2020
Lee Partee Gore (JD 77) of Hattiesburg, April 4, 2020
Billy Eugene Warrington (BSPh 61) of Lexington, June 29, 2020
Jerry Lane Harmon (MEd 75) of New Albany, May 26, 2020
Martha Ruth Sansom White (BSC 62) of Booneville, June 24, 2020
Michael Carroll Hill (JD 76) of Gulfport, April 16, 2020
S U M M E R 2 020
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ALUMNI News James Clayton Hopper (BBA 75) of Ripley, June 30, 2020
James Ralph Cranford Jr. (MD 81) of Pelham, Ala., May 11, 2020
Nita Kay Burgess Jones (BSB 75, MBEd 77, SpecBEd 78) of Midland, Ga., June 26, 2020
Jerry Thomas Harris (BFA 85, MFA 91) of Duck Hill, May 16, 2020
Robert B. Hughes (BBA 73) of Alexandria, Va., March 29, 2020
Jane Dearing Kearney (72) of Long Beach, June 21, 2020
Wanda White Kenney (77) of Cleveland, Ohio, April 18, 2020
Alice Stallworth Lancaster (MFA 75) of Columbus, May 21, 2020
Nicholas Anthony Leonard (JD 73) of Doylestown, Pa., May 15, 2020
Joseph Daniel Letteri (BSPh 78, DMD 82) of Louisville, May 12, 2020 Chip Limbrick (MCS 71) of Armuchee, Ga., April 11, 2020
Stephen Price Livingston Sr. (BA 70, JD 74) of New Albany, June 19, 2020 Joyce Whitten McManus (MN 78, PhD 89) of Natchez, May 11, 2020
Margaret Lynne Murchison (MA 70, PhD 78) of Oxford, June 1, 2020 Beverly Fedrick Nordin (BAEd 77) of Sevierville, Tenn., July 10, 2020 Susan Kilpatrick Norman (71) of Oxford, May 21, 2020
Deborah Taylor Orr (BA 79, MA 83) of Corinth, June 27, 2020 Charles Ivy Owen (70) of Lavaca, Ark., June 5, 2020 Nell Pickett Partin (PhD 77) of Utica, July 7, 2020
Genela Curry Hardin (84) of Lebanon, Tenn., June 24, 2020
Evelyn Morris Hokey (BS 81, MS 83) of Ripley, April 16, 2020 Ruth Duvall Kuhnel (BA 84) of Salem, Va., May 2, 2020
William Martin Myers II (DMD 81) of Kosciusko, April 28, 2020
Robert Thomas Plants (BAEd 80, MEd 81) of Oxford, June 3, 2020 Bruce Alan Presson (BPA 84) of Greenville, April 8, 2020 Darrell Scott Riley (BBA 83) of Saltillo, April 21, 2020
William Edward Rutledge (MPA 83) of Florence, Ala., April 8, 2020 Christopher Scott Sandefer (BPA 85) of Pontotoc, April 25, 2020 John Carrolton Smith (BBA 82) of Vicksburg, April 10, 2020
Ophelia Nichols Thompson (MEd 80) of Hickory Flat, May 3, 2020
1990s
Joe Marshall Anoatubby (MA 97) of Oklahoma City, Okla., April 1, 2020 Gloria Faye Atkins (BA 92) of Decatur, Ga., July 12, 2020
Durrett Barnes Sayle Peeples (BBA 79) of Coffeeville, April 11, 2020
Michael Davis Ballard (BAR 93, MA 97) of Cordova, Tenn., April 26, 2020
Marlin Medford Pittman (BSChE 70) of Rienzi, April 17, 2020
Lamar Bradley Dillard (BBA 92, JD 95) of Saltillo, April 16, 2020
Berniece Payne Pryor (MEd 74) of Holly Springs, May 14, 2020
Mary Lynn William Hilliard (MSN 96) of Jackson, May 2, 2020
George Nick Peters (BA 70, MD 74) of Dallas, Texas, April 15, 2020
Lara Ashley Root Coleman (JD 96) of Jackson, April 13, 2020
Elton Charles Plaisance (MA 72) of Union, April 15, 2020
Patricia Potwin Ellis (MA 99) of Greenwood, April 10, 2020
Matilda Davis Stengel (MEd 70, SpecEd 74, EdD 77) of Niceville, Fla., June 9, 2020
Kerry Lavon Parker (BA 99) of Raymond, July 4, 2020
Susan Glenn Sullivan (BA 74) of Knoxville, Tenn., May 31, 2020
Lori Jean Unger Reep (BSW 99) of Oxford, April 10, 2020
Randall Mitchell Tatum (BAEd 73) of Byram, July 2, 2020
Elizabeth Ann Gowan Turnbow (BAEd 72) of Oxford, May 25, 2020
Charles Richard Walker (BBA 79) of Brentwood, Tenn., July 11, 2020
James Bryan Ramsey (BA 97) of Horn Lake, June 26, 2020 James McCall Vickers (BBA 97) of Memphis, Tenn., April 17, 2020 Jana Faith Williams (BAEd 92) of Hernando, May 23, 2020
Greeta Fuller Waycaster (MEd 75) of Etowah, Tenn., July 8, 2020
2000s
Barbara Elizabeth Williams (BSPh 70) of Lynchburg, Va., July 6, 2020
Anthony Nolen Aycock (BAccy 07, MAccy 09) of Prairie, May 22, 2020
Robert Jerry “Ben” Williams Jr. (BBA 76) of Jackson, May 18, 2020
James Franklin Long III (09) of Macon, Ga., April 25, 2020
Leslie Jane Whitehead (BBA 79) of Everglades City, Fla., April 8, 2020
Joshua Phillip Adams (BA 02) of Opelika, Ala., April 25, 2020
Olivia McGough Williams (EdD 75) of Madison, May 13, 2020
Rodney Darrel Hitchcock Kennedy (BSN 06) of Pontotoc, April 24, 2020
Harry Culeon Young III (BPA 74) of Memphis, Tenn., April 17, 2020
Keith Cullen McMullen (Cert 01) of Bay Springs, May 23, 2020
1980s
Donna Nettles Trotter (BSN 01) of Bolton, June 9, 2020
Earl Wayne Adams (EdD 80) of Duck Hill, July 4, 2020
Kimberly Williams Napper (BSN 05, MSN 07) of Canton, April 12, 2020
Norman Farrell Adcox (BA 85) of Memphis, Tenn., May 5, 2020
2010s
Arlie Ray Avent (BAEd 84) of Hernando, May 22, 2020
Brandon Wayne Box (14) of Gulfport, May 25, 2020
Daniel Henry Bullock (BBA 81) of Bella Vista, Ark., April 14, 2020
James Matthew Welch (16) of Amory, June 22, 2020
Peter Anthony Armatis (BBA 89) of Fredericksburg, Va., April 1, 2020 Frances Elaine Bryant (BA 87, MEd 89) of Tupelo, April 22, 2020 Gary Gene Clark (BSN 86) of Bentonia, June 19, 2020
Nellie Murrah Counce (MEd 86) of Corinth, May 4, 2020 62
ALUMNI REVIEW
Patrick Harbin Blades (11) of Ocean Springs, May 22, 2020 David Franklin Reece Jr. (BGS 15) of Booneville, May 1, 2020
ALUMNI News 2020s
Charles Edward Daley Jr. of Brandon, April 24, 2020
Jamal Dant’e Lydie (20) of Ocean Springs, May 7, 2020
Ronald Eugene Denney of Oxford, June 28, 2020
John Michael Aulds Jr. (20) of Archer City, Texas, May 15, 2020 Anna Grace Miller (20) of Franklin, Tenn., June 19, 2020
Michael Alexander Taylor (20) of Olive Branch, May 31, 2020
Jamie Carl Green Jr. of Olive Branch, June 1, 2020
Barbara Gandy Banks of Madison, April 9, 2020
Richard Stanley Biernacki of Shreveport, La., July 6, 2020 Mark Alan Billings of Oxford, July 9, 2020
Dewitt Carl Black Jr. of Jackson, June 17, 2020
Lou Weddington Hart of Meridian, April 16, 2020
Jerry Wayne Helms of Cordova, Tenn., June 10, 2020 Billy Carl Holcomb of Oxford, May 24, 2020
Kitty Hill Brewer of Tupelo, July 13, 2020
Carmen Nina Jannik of Tuscaloosa, Ala., April 20, 2020
Wayland Ross Clifton Jr. of Pass Christian, May 29, 2020
ARE YOU READY
David Andrew Grimes of Nashville, Tenn., June 15, 2020
Franklin Joseph Heuser III of Oxford, June 5, 2020
Richard A. Boyd of Rocky River, Ohio, April 5, 2020
...to place your brand in front of the most educated, affluent and dedicated Ole Miss alumni?
Marcia Neil Wilson Field of Cordova, Tenn., June 21, 2020
Waveland D. Gray of Jackson, April 25, 2020
Charles Edward Atkins Jr. of Columbus, May 6, 2020
Helen Scrivner Cox of Oxford, June 21, 2020
Samuel Hardy Farris Jr. of Oxford, June 30, 2020
Matthew Giddings Fry of Hattiesburg, April 16, 2020
George Douglass Alexander of Oxford, April 6, 2020
Daniel Oza Conwill III of Gulfport, April 16, 2020
Miriam Stacy Ellis of Richland, June 24, 2020
Stephen C. Fowler of Lawrence, Kan., June 15, 2020
FACULTY, STAFF AND FRIENDS
Edsel Ray Carpenter of Smithville, June 9, 2020
Billie Sondra Braddy Davis of Oxford, April 18, 2020
Edward Earl Kannada of Oxford, July 7, 2020
Bruce Lamar Livingston of Kansas City, Mo., June 20, 2020 John Fair Lucas Jr. of Greenwood, May 29, 2020 James Kevin Malloy of Oxford, April 16, 2020
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63
ALUMNI News Joan Roche McCain of Amory, June 5, 2020
Ottis Wayne McCormick of Saltillo, June 8, 2020
Martha Dean Breedlove Oliver of Southaven, June 2, 2020 Ronald Eugene Palmerton of Oxford, May 20, 2020 Herby Pearson of West Point, May 22, 2020
Doris Shorter Popernik of Oxford, June 14, 2020
Barbara Sutton Shackelford of Columbus, May 20, 2020 Ruth Berryhill Shelton of Saltillo, June 10, 2020
Hugh Johnston Sloan III of Oxford, April 19, 2020
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 386771848. 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.
Donald Cleveland Smith Jr. of Tupelo, April 17, 2020 Albert Clifford Staheli of Oxford, July 8, 2020
Agnes Ming Turley of Memphis, Tenn., May 17, 2020 Charles Michael Varner of Magee, June 30, 2020 Brad Watson of Laramie, Wyo., July 8, 2020
David Goulding Watson of Miramar Beach, Fla., June 14, 2020 Bobby Ray Westbrook of Collierville, Tenn., June 19, 2020 Patrick Howard White of Stuart, Fla., Jan. 11, 2020 Elwin James Williams of Ridgeland, May 3, 2020
Show your Ole Miss pride Show your loyalty to Ole Miss by owning an official University of Mississippi license plate. Mississippi residents pay an additional $51 a year for the affinity plate, $32.50 of which returns to the university and is applied toward student scholarships and keeping the Grove and University Circle green and vibrant.
Ole Miss affinity license plates also are available in some other states, including Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Washington D.C. For more information visit olemissalumni.com. 64
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