Ole Miss Alumni Review - Winter 2024 by Ole Miss Alumni Association

OLE MIS S ALUMNI RE VIE W

A L U M N I

R E V I E W

WINTER 2024

Just Doing It

ALUMNA STEPS INTO CAREER WITH NIKE

Archaeologist uses unique resources to separate fact from fiction

WINTE R 2024

UM writing and rhetoric faculty examines AI opportunities, challenges

VOL . 73 NO. 1

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Contents

VOL. 73 NO. 1 | WINTER 2024 A L U M N I

R E V I E W

Five Rebels inducted into M-Club Hall of Fame ifle team shows out at R championships, Olympic trial Ole Miss Football torches nation’s top defense

44 | Just Published 46 | Rebel Traveler 50 | Alumni News

Features

24 | J ust Doing It Alumna steps into career with Nike

Ole Miss Alumni Association

By Annie Rhoades

hires fundraiser, assistant director

28 | D igging for Truth Archaeologist uses unique resources to separate fact from fiction By Kayden Breedlove

32 | ‘ Explore, Don’t Panic’ UM writing and rhetoric faculty examines AI opportunities, challenges By Erin Garrett

ON THE COVER

University of Mississippi alumna Morgan Spencer (BA 13, MBA 15), engagement coordinator for Nike, has achieved many accolades through hard work and time invested in others, and encourages college students to engage in campus activities like she did. | Photo by Jason Hill, courtesy of Morgan Spencer

Ole Miss Alumni Review PUBLISHER Kirk Purdom (BA 93) EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jim Urbanek II (BA 97) jim@olemissalumni.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR AND ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Annie Rhoades (BBA 07, MBA 09) annie@olemissalumni.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Benita Whitehorn EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Kayden Breedlove ART DIRECTOR Amy Howell CONTRIBUTORS Kevin Bain (BA 98), Srijita Chattopadhyay, Bill Dabney (BA 89), Natalie Ehrhardt (BAJ 15), Joe Ellis, Jay Ferchaud, Erin Garrett (BAJ 11, MS 20), Thomas Graning (BAJ 17), Jason Hill, Joshua McCoy, Angelica Owens, Abbie Schultz, Jonathan Scott (BA 82), Edwin B. Smith (BA 80, MA 93), Don Stanford (BS 77, MS 80), Lisa Stone (MA 97), Clara Turnage (BAJ 17), Joe Worthem (BFA 01) OFFICERS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Karen Moore (BS 82) president Jeff Hubbard (BBA 80, JD 83) president-elect Charles White (BBA 82) vice president Todd Sandroni (BSPh 92, PhMD 97) athletics committee member Bruce Ware (BBA 99) athletics committee member ALUMNI AFFAIRS DIRECTORS Kirk Purdom (BA 93), chief executive officer Joseph Baumbaugh, assistant director for information services Sunny Brown (BSFCS 09, MA 11), assistant director Clay Cavett (BBA 86), associate director, campaigns and special projects Michelle Coughlin (BAccy 93, MAccy 94), chief financial officer Savannah Dye, (BS 21, MS 23), assistant director Jessica Lynch (BSES 05), assistant director Steve Mullen (BA 92), assistant director for marketing Annie Rhoades (BBA 07, MBA 09), assistant director for communications

from the Chancellor Dear Alumni and Friends, Here’s to a happy and prosperous year ahead! Our football team set the tone for the new year with a dominant Peach Bowl victory to cap a historic 11-win season. Looking ahead, I’m excited for all that 2024 will bring as we build on our flagship growth, excellence and momentum. Our university is committed to serving student veterans and their families. That commitment is recognized in Military Times’ “Best for Vets” ranking in which we are best in the SEC and No. 5 nationally. I’m grateful to our incredible staff and the programs that promote success after service. It is one way we can thank our veterans and active-duty service members — including the 1,900 military-connected students enrolled at Ole Miss — for their service, leadership and bravery. We continue to invest in our future through our Now & Ever campaign with more than $1.44 billion raised toward its $1.5 billion goal. The campaign includes support for The Fred R. Adams Jr. MIND (Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia) Center and Geriatric Clinic at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. With a generous lead gift from Jean Reed Adams, the new facility will span more than 30,000 square feet. This investment will cement the MIND Center’s national reputation in Alzheimer’s research and clinical services as well as its efforts to improve the lives of patients in Mississippi and beyond. The university’s dedicated and talented faculty continue to deliver outstanding achievements in their fields. Ronald Rychlak, distinguished professor of law and Jamie L. Whitten Chair of Law and Government, was appointed by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann to the state’s first mobile-online sports betting task force. David McElreath, a professor of criminal justice and legal studies and a former law enforcement officer, was honored by Mississippi Crime Stoppers with a lifetime service award for his lifelong pursuit of serving and protecting others. Michelle Hanlon, executive director of the Center for Air and Space Law, is among 25 national industry leaders from across the country selected for the Federal Aviation Administration’s inaugural rulemaking committee to develop regulations for human safety in spaceflight. Another point of pride I want to highlight is our freshman retention rate that is consistently around 89%, well above state and national averages. Why does this matter? Retention rates show that more Ole Miss students are staying at the university and succeeding. It reflects that our student success programs work, including our Center for Student Success and First-Year Experience, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. By retaining our students, we are getting them one step closer to walking across the graduation stage and into meaningful careers and lives — the reason we are here. Mark your calendars for a visit as we’ve got another exciting spring in store at Ole Miss and in Oxford, including 31 baseball games at Swayze Field beginning Feb. 21 against Arkansas State, the third annual Mississippi Day (April 13), the Grove Bowl (April 13) and the Double Decker Arts Festival (April 26-27). Hotty Toddy!

Mary Kate Skelton (BS 18), alumni fundraising director Scott Thompson (BA 97, MA 08), associate director, engagement Jim Urbanek (BA 97), associate director, communications and marketing Rusty Woods (BBA 01), associate director for information services 83522

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Glenn F. Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) Chancellor

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Rebel Mug Club membership makes a great gift. For a $500 tax-deductible donation, members receive a commemorative mug and 20-ounce draft beers for the pint price in McCormick’s. Sup Support The Inn at Ole Miss with a unique gift for family and friends, all while helping us make McCormick’s a premier Oxford destination. Thank you for your support! Join the Club: olemissalumni.com/mccormicks

WE ARE PEACH BOWL CHAMPIONS! As Lane Kiffin said at the trophy ceremony, “We are just getting started!” Our fans got the memo to “show up” for the game, and we made an impressive Rebel appearance. Ole Miss marked its first 11-win season continuing a new era of Rebel football. The phrase “we are just getting started” most certainly can be applied to a multitude of areas within our great university. Ole Miss has become a formidable name across our men’s and women’s athletics, including recent accolades in women’s golf and rifle. We have seen early season success in both men’s and women’s basketball. Coach Yo and her team came off their Sweet 16 run last year and rolled their momentum into a bold start to this season, and men’s basketball set an SJB Pavilion points record with a 103-85 victory over Florida in their SEC home opener. While I love seeing these athletic accomplishments, I am most proud of our athletes’ academic achievements. Their GPAs are among the highest in the SEC. I cannot remember a time when Ole Miss has had this level of momentum in academics and athletics, and exponential growth in top-tier programs and funding. With the Now and Ever campaign fundraising at 96% of its goal and the Grove Collective moving full steam ahead, our beautiful, award-winning campus is growing with new buildings and renovations. We should all feel blessed with our position of excellence and growth in every corner of our university. College enrollment is declining across the U.S., but Ole Miss defies these odds with yet another banner class by the number and quality of students predicted for next year. We are a great American university, and I say that with resounding confidence. It is a fantastic time to be an Ole Miss Rebel! We encourage you and your family to remain active in the Ole Miss Alumni Association. An alumni membership also is an exceptional graduation gift or a gift to someone who is not an active OMAA member. This is a connection and a true kinship that lasts long after you graduate. As Frank Everett said many years ago, “ ... one never graduates from Ole Miss!” I am pleased to welcome an exceptional class of new board members including Dexter McCluster, Fred Moran, William Weatherly, Jimmy Granbery, Cooper Jones, Preston Thomas, Bill Fry and Chad Greer. President-elect Jeff Hubbard and I are thrilled to announce Charles White as incoming vice president. With this leadership team in place, I am certain we will keep the amazing momentum moving forward and build a new Triplett Alumni Center! Our long-term plan is for the new alumni building to truly be a “welcome center” to prospective students. We will be able to maintain that connection throughout their journey as students and welcome them back as alumni to that “spot that ever calls … ,” our home at Ole Miss. We hope to see you this spring at a Rebel Road Trip stop! Once announced, dates and details will be available at rebelroadtrip.com. Come join us during this remarkable time to be an Ole Miss Rebel. Hotty Toddy,

Karen Moore (BS 82) President Ole Miss Alumni Association 4

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from the Circle

THE L ATEST ON OLE MISS STUDENTS, FACULT Y, STAFF AND FRIENDS

Salute the Best UM RATED NO. 1 ‘BEST FOR VETS’ UNIVERSITY IN SEC, TOP 5 NATIONALLY

or the first time, Military Times has listed the University of Mississippi No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference and No. 5 nationally in its annual Best for Vets ranking. Military Times surveyed 325 colleges and universities across the nation for their resources, opportunities and success rates for veterans. Ole Miss has previously ranked in the top 25 universities, and the dramatic rise in the university’s ranking is proof of its dedication to serving and supporting veterans, says Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96). “The University of Mississippi has a deep commitment to our student veterans and our nation’s military,” Boyce says. “Since the first student veteran organization was established on our campus in 1920, we have worked to create an atmosphere that fosters success after service for over 1,900 military-connected students enrolled today.” Military Times’ ranking has become a metric by which potential students

and their families assess a university’s military-readiness, says Andrew Newby, assistant director of the UM Office of Veteran and Military Services. “It’s a tr usted s ource for them because this publication is on every base around the globe,” he says. “When service members go to a base exchange to get the things they need, this publication is there. When they leave active service, they recognize this outlet and will trust what it recommends.” The Office of Veteran and Military Services, which began in 2013 and moved to the George Street House in 2021, has become a “one-stop shop” for veterans on campus, Newby says. The house’s central location on campus allows veterans and military-connected students to file to access GI Bill benefits and VA benefits, and offers a place to study, eat and apply for scholarships and military transfer credits, all in one place. The office instituted the Veteran Treatment Team on campus in 2018, a program that allows student veterans to seek health

U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly (BBA 89, JD 94) speaks at the dedication of the George Street House, home of the Office of Veteran and Military Services, in 2021. | Photo by Thomas Graning 6

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Andrew Newby

care on campus instead of having to drive hours to the nearest VA facility. This saves military-connected students time and money and makes health care more accessible for veterans, Newby says. “With the addition of our embedded counselor from the University Counseling Center, we are bringing things to the students’ proverbial doorstep and putting resources in their way. We want to approach their needs in a way that puts resources ‘in their way,’ from the way we designed the layout of Veteran and Military Services and the Veterans Resource Center to the things we offer within their physical space.” The latest ranking is an honor, but Newby says the office has no intention of slowing down. “We are constantly assessing what students want from their school to ensure that we are adapting to the ever-changing needs of new veterans,” he says. “We can’t continue to offer things that worked for the veterans from a decade ago; service members change, and as a result, the needs of veterans change. “We recognize that priorities and the desires of our students will shift with new generations of veterans, and we have to continue to meet new needs, new issues and new opportunities.”

from the Circle UNIVERSITY BUILDING NEW MECHANICAL PLANT

he University of Mississippi is building a new mechanical plant north of Kinard Hall to support chilled and hot water demand for heating and cooling in that area of campus. The new facility will provide additional capacity to support new facilities for housing and academics, says Chad Hunter, associate university architect. The project is scheduled to be completed by September 2025. “The new mechanical plant will also provide greater campuswide system redundancy, geographic and utility source diversity, increased energy efficiency, greater flexibility to transfer load across the loop, and eliminates low-pressure zones within the loop,” he says. This project will help campus administrators thoughtfully manage the university’s resources as new residence halls are constructed to replace Kincannon Hall, says Ian Banner, director of facilities planning and university architect, who has served as director of the Office of Sustainability since 2012.

“We don’t want to be wasteful,” Banner says. “Our No. 1 goal is to use all our resources wisely and as prudently as we can.” The project will require that the parking lot behind Kinard Hall be closed. Employees with faculty and staff parking permits who work in Kinard and Sam-Gerard halls will have access to the Kincannon lot and Residential Garage for the spring 2024 semester, says Samuel Patterson, director of parking and transportation. Many of the reserved parking spaces in the back of the Kinard lot will be transferred to a new location in front of the building.

Meritorious Service MISSISSIPPI NATIONAL GUARD HONORS UM CHANCELLOR

aj. Gen. Trent Kelly (BBA 89, JD 94) recently presented University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) with the Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, the highest honor the Mississippi National Guard can bestow on a civilian. Kelly presented Boyce with the award on Nov. 18 during an Ole Miss football game on behalf of Maj. Gen. Janson Boyles, Mississippi National Guard adjutant general. “What I hope is that this award shows the public that the University of Mississippi cares deeply about our veterans and the challenges they face,” Boyce says. “We are committed to these students, and we want to do whatever we can to help them launch their careers. “At the end of the day, we’ll never be able to give back what they gave to us.” The award honors those who have shown commitment and support to the National Guard. The university has been named a gold-level institution by the Military Friendly Advisory Council and was recently promoted to being

No. 1 in the SEC and No. 5 nationally in the annual “Best for Vets” ranking from Military Times. “While serving as chancellor of the University of Mississippi, Dr. Boyce directly influenced personnel readiness by investing in the human capital of our service members and enabling higher education opportunities,” the award notification reads. “Dr. Boyce demonstrated utmost patriotism by serving those who serve through a free tuition program and creating a nationally ranked military-friendly institution of higher learning.” Boyce has provided “top-down support” for veterans and military-connected students since being appointed chancellor in 2019, says Andrew Newby, the university’s head of veteran and military services. “The winds really shifted when Chancellor Glenn B oyce came on board,” Newby says. “We have been able to do amazing things under his leadership because we have his support.” Boyce also improved scholarship support for Mississippi National Guard students to help eliminate tuition costs

Chancellor Glenn Boyce

through the Mississippi National Guard Tuition Program, Newby says. Part of what makes the Ole Miss student veteran experience special is that it is led by other veterans, Boyce says. Every staff member working in the George Street House is a veteran or military-connected person. “In my 40 years of education, this is the most significant award I have been honored to receive, but it’s not really for me. It’s for the people like Andrew Newby and his staff who have made Ole Miss a welcoming place for our veterans.” W I N T E R 2024

from the Circle

Elizabeth Rodgers runs into the arms of her husband, Kyle Rodgers, at a surprise reunion during the first half of the Ole Miss-Texas A&M football game Nov. 4. | Photo by Thomas Graning

Surprise Homecoming UM REUNITES MILITARY FAMILY FOR UNFORGETTABLE WEEKEND our young boys ran into their father’s arms Nov. 4, 2023, in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, kneeling and crying as they met him on the field. Kyle and Elizabeth Rodgers and their sons — Ryan, 10; Will, 8; Josh, 6; and Adam, 4 — were the university’s most recent recipients of Ole Miss Wish, a philanthropic effort of the University of Mississippi Office of Veteran and Military Services that seeks to give military families unforgettable experiences. “I’ve been wanting to hold the boys for a while now,” says Kyle Rodgers, chief warrant officer III in the Army National Guard. “It amazes me to this day how blessed I am by Jesus Christ, by these people who came together to put this event on.” At a soccer game over the summer, Elizabeth Rodgers, of Batesville, met Andrew Newby, assistant director of veteran and military services, and the two began talking. “She said, ‘I’m a single parent right now because my husband is currently deployed in Eg ypt,’” Ne w by s ays, recounting the day he met the family. 8

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“I asked her, ‘When is he supposed to get home?’ and she said, ‘Sometime in November.’ That got my wheels turning.” O ver t he next mont hs, Ne w by worked with Josh Edwards (BA 10), assistant professor of military science; Matt Smith, assistant athletics director for marketing and fan experience; Kirk Purdom (BA 93), CEO of the Ole Miss Alumni Association; and a dozen others to make Kyle Rodgers’ homecoming a once-in-a-lifetime event. “For a second, we were going to cancel it all because we didn’t believe that he could make it, but we didn’t give up,” Edwards says. “We kept calling and asking and calling. We called in a few favors.” Between the first and second quarters, Newby led the family out onto the 25-yard line, while Ole Miss Rebel and Texas A&M fans fell quiet. “Please welcome to the field the Rodgers family, who are the recipients of Ole Miss Wish,” announcer Glen Waddle said. “Their dada, Kyle Rodgers, is serving a 10-month deployment in Egypt.” Dolly Parton appeared on the big

Kyle Rodgers holds his four sons during a reunion at the Ole Miss-Texas A&M football game on Nov. 4. | Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay

screen, welcoming the family to an all-expenses-paid vacation at Dollywood, which the Office of Veteran and Military Services sponsored. “Now boys, pay close attention: There’s another special guest I want you to say hello to right now,” Parton said. “And remember, I will always love you.” Newby, hands on Ryan Rodgers’ shoulders, turned the boys around, where they saw their father for the first time in nearly a year. They met with a clash of tears as Kyle Rodgers knelt on the turf and encircled the boys in his arms.

from the Circle

The Right Ingredients PHARMACEUTICS PROFESSOR WINS PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL AWARD

niversity of Mississippi pharmacy professor Michael Repka was honored with the prestigious 2023 Ralph Shangraw Memorial Award. This recognition by the International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council of the Americas Foundation is an acknowledgment of Repka’s efforts in the field of pharmaceutical excipients, or inactive medicinal ingredients. “Receiving IPEC’s highest award means that we at the School of Pharmacy have had a positive impact in drug delivery systems on the international stage,” says Repka, distinguished professor of pharmaceutics and drug delivery. “To join the past award winners, who are pioneers in the field of pharmaceutical excipient research, is extremely humbling.” The award is presented annually to an individual who has provided outstanding research contributions in the study of excipients or excipient-related

technology over a number of years. Repka was nominated by Nigel Langley, former global technical director for BASF Corp. and adjunct professor in the UM School of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery. “Professor Repka has been an exem-

academia as well as in his connections with industry.” The award is named for Shangraw, a professor who spent more than 38 years teaching and studying excipients at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and devoting many years of service

‘The Shangraw Memorial Award is a testament to Dr. Repka’s dedication, innovation and commitment to pharmaceutical excipients research.’ — DONNA STRUM plary mentor to his research students, both during their university studies and after graduation,” Langley says. “I have had the pleasure of collaborating with him for the last 15 years. “He is extremely humble and has made a substantial impact in both

Michael Repka examines a filament produced using hot-melt extrusion in his laboratory, where he and his team are exploring ways to use the filaments to deliver targeted doses of drugs to better treat various ailments. | Photo by Thomas Graning

to the expert committees of the U.S. Pharmacopeia. He was also a founding member of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. Repka was presented the award during the AAPS annual meeting, which took place in October in Orlando, Florida. “The Shangraw Memorial Award is a testament to Dr. Repka’s dedication, innovation and commitment to pharmaceutical excipients research,” says Donna Strum (BSPh 95, MS 97, PhD 99), dean of the pharmacy school. “We congratulate him for receiving this prestigious award and for his outstanding contributions to the field.” Repka received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Texas College of Pharmacy, his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Texas Dental School at San Antonio and his doctorate in pharmaceutics from the University of Texas College of Pharmacy. He joined the Ole Miss pharmacy faculty in 2000 as an assistant professor of pharmaceutics and a research assistant professor of the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He was chair of the Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery from 2005 to 2022, and was awarded the distinguished professor designation by the university in 2019. W I N T E R 2024

from the Circle

By the Numbers RECORD-BREAKING ENROLLMENT SETS UM APART IN 2023

he University of Mississippi enrolled 5,241 freshmen for the fall 2023 semester, the largest freshman class at any university in the state’s history. Bolstered by this record incoming class, a university-record 24,710 students are enrolled across the University of Mississippi’s seven campuses. This is 1,759 more than last year, an increase of 7.7%. “It is an incredibly momentous time at the university, especially as more and more students are choosing Ole Miss to build their personal legacies,” says Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96). “This fall’s record-high enrollment is a testament to all we have to offer students and families, including an outstanding value, academic excellence and strong student support programs.” As the university celebrates 175 years as Mississippi’s flagship university, Ole Miss is drawing more students to its halls. Fall 2023 marks the third consecutive year that the university has seen enrollment growth, despite the national trend of enrollment decreases seen in recent years.

Students celebrate the fall semester with selfies on campus. | Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay

The university’s freshman class grew 16.9%, or more than 750 students, making it the largest incoming class in state and university history. The 2023 class includes 1,598 Mississippi residents, an increase of 293 since fall 2020, with representatives of 76 of the state’s 82 counties. “We are known far and wide for a campus culture that nurtures a sense of belonging, cultivates a vibrant student life and offers countless life-changing opportunities,” Boyce says. 10

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“This is especially evident in how our dedicated and talented faculty contribute to the draw of our academic reputation and pour into how our students thrive with support and personal mentoring. It is rewarding to see so many students and families recognize Ole Miss as a welcoming place to learn, grow and excel.” The university’s retention rate remains high, with 88% of students returning to continue their studies in fall 2023. The retention rate demonstrates the effectiveness of the staff and success programs dedicated to supporting students throughout their undergraduate studies. “As the university continues to enroll record numbers of new freshmen, retention rates are also at all-time highs,” says Kyle Ellis (PhD 11), director of the Center for Student Success and First-Year Experience. “The university is experiencing more second- and third-year students enrolled on the main campus than ever before.” The freshman class also includes 17 recipients of the Stamps Scholarship, one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious merit scholarships, funded through the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation. “The growth in the freshman class is a testament to the quality of the programs offered, and the value and opportunities that our degree programs afford students once they finish,” says Noel Wilkin, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “The academic credentials of the incoming class indicate that they are well prepared to take advantage of the outstanding educational experiences offered and had choices as to where they wanted to go to college.” The university’s minority enrollment totals 4,884, a 4.6% increase year over year. African American student enrollment is 2,235, or 10.3% of overall enrollment. Hispanic/Latino students make up 5.4%, or 1,175 students. To support enrollment growth, the university will construct three new campus residence halls on the former site of Kincannon Hall, which was recently razed. The new construction will allow for almost 1,000 more student occupants on campus. The university is in the back half of the largest single construction project in the Oxford campus’s history: the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation. With the goal of becoming one of the nation’s top facilities for STEM education, the building includes 202,000 square feet of teaching space and laboratories and is set to open next fall. “The trajectory of our university and brand continues to grow nationally,” Boyce says. “We are attracting high-caliber students who arrive prepared to excel and eager to reach their best potential. “Through a deep commitment to student success efforts, our students are benefiting from the tremendous foundation of knowledge, skills and opportunities we offer.”

from the Circle

Abbas Ali, principal scientist at the National Center for Natural Products Research, has tested thousands of natural product specimens during his time at Ole Miss. His latest research seeks to find safe and cost-effective natural products that can support fire ant management. | Photo by Thomas Graning

Putting Out Fires UM RESEARCHERS FIND TURMERIC, THYME OILS REPEL FIRE ANTS

ew findings from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy’s National Center for Natural Products Research show that two plant oils can effectively repel fire ants. The papers, recently published in Insects and the Journal of Medical Entomology, investigate compounds found in thyme and turmeric essential oils for their repellency and toxicity against fire ants. The natural compounds were found to be as effective as some synthetic insecticides. “Imported fire ants are a very dangerous pest, especially for humans because of their bites and the venom that they inject into the body,” says Abbas Ali, NCNPR principal scientist. “Many people are allergic to their bites. “It is important for our researchers to find a natural solution to combat them so we can protect human beings and prevent loss to agriculture.” According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, fire ants are responsible for more than $6 billion annually in damage repair, medical care and control costs. Besides their impact on humans, fire ants pose a serious threat to crops, agricultural equipment and endangered wildlife. The USDA’s federal imported ant quarantine aims to manage the spread of the pests by regulating movement of plants, hay and soil-moving equipment. Listed among the world’s top 100 worst invasive species, fire ants arrived in Mississippi around 1930 and have since spread to every county. Red, black and hybrid imported fire ants are found in the state.

For years, research scientists at the natural products center have studied natural methods to repel mosquitoes in partnership with the USDA. The center’s new focus on fire ants builds upon this work and features some of the same compounds that showed promise against mosquitoes. The goal is to find effective natural products for the management of fire ants that are safe and cost effective, Ali says. “Synthetic insecticides can harm humans in numerous ways — they go through the food chain and damage the environment,” says Farhan Mahmood Shah, NCNPR postdoctoral research associate. “Continuous use of synthetic insecticides pose serious threat to human beings, and their use is dangerous particularly in and around homes and public places.” Fire ants live in mounds, which create a microenvironment that protects them from the outside environment. The scientists use bioassays, or biological tests, that leverage the digging behavior of the fire ant. They treat sand with natural compounds to test their repellency and toxicity. Ali says he is excited about the outcome of the initial studies and looks forward to the next step in the research: determining how long the effects of the treatments last. “Until now, we didn’t have any natural products that were being used to manage fire ants under field situations,” he says. “With the discovery of the repellent activity of these natural compounds, we are hopeful that this is going to make a real difference with the way that fire ants are controlled.” W I N T E R 2024

from the Circle

Slam Dunk WOMEN’S COUNCIL HONORS SMITH AS EMERGING YOUNG PHILANTHROPIST

fter sharing her exceptional athletic skills with her University of Mississippi women’s basketball teammates back in the 2000s, Tywanna (Inmon) Smith (BBA 04, MBA 05) devotes much of her time and talents to improving the lives of new generations of student-athletes. Celebrating her benevolent nature, Smith was honored Nov. 2, 2023, with the Emerging Young Philanthropist Award by the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. “To be recognized with this award by the Ole Miss Women’s Council is humbling,” says Smith, of Proctor, Arkansas. “While I don’t serve others for the recognition, but for the fulfillment brought

Ole Miss students and Women’s Council scholars (from left) Davis Brewer, Madison DeVaul, Kaitlyn White, Nadia Corder and Dylan May attend the program honoring servant leader Tywanna Smith. | Photo by Amy Howell

Margaret Barker (left), a member of the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy; Ole Miss head women’s basketball coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin; and Betsy Collier Smith, an OMWC member, congratulate Tywanna Smith on being named the council’s 2023 Emerging Young Philanthropist. | Photo by Amy Howell

through giving, I feel incredibly blessed to inspire others through my philanthropy, and I graciously accept this award.” Nurturing philanthropic behavior is one of the most fundamental aspects of the council’s mission. The program encourages its scholars to develop strong leadership skills while also becoming caring, ethical leaders within their communities and with causes that are important to them. Only 41, Smith has accumulated a long 12

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list of achievements and accolades and serves as a positive role model for others, says Yolett McPhee-McCuin, head coach of the Ole Miss women’s basketball team. McPhee-McCuin was one of the featured speakers during the Emerging Young Philanthropist Award ceremony. “Dr. Tywanna Smith was a tremendous student-athlete at Ole Miss and has gone on to have a career as an outstanding professional player,” she says. “In addition to playing professionally,

she has continually impacted others by encouraging growth and advocacy for athletes and entrepreneurs.” In 2022, she was named to the Ole Miss Alumni Association’s inaugural 40 Under 40 class and gave the commencement address for Ole Miss MBA graduates. Smith also serves as a mentor to students for the council’s Rose Society. She is a working mother with two children, Tyson, 8, and Tatum, 6. In her professional life, Smith is an award-winning sports manager, bestselling author, in-demand speaker and president of The Athlete’s Nexus, a sports marketing and business management firm for international professional athletes. For more than 16 years, she has worked with over 50 professional athletes and coaches. Much of her free time focuses on helping those in need. Smith says her passion for helping others is deeply rooted in her life experiences. For instance, she was able to travel around the United States as part of the Amateur Athletic Union because of financial and in-kind support provided by others. Scholarships also helped her afford college. “Without that ‘spirit of giving,’ I would never have experienced some of the most enriching moments of my life,” she says.

from the Circle CHEF KELLY ENGLISH COOKS FOR A CAUSE

enowned chef Kelly English (BSFCS 02) served a gourmet meal in November as part of a benefit dinner at the University of Mississippi. Proceeds will help fund the renovation of the Childhood Nutrition Kitchen at the South Oxford Center. “The generosity of chef English toward our university knows no bounds,” says Peter Grandjean, dean of the School of Applied Sciences. “We are grateful that he and his staff have offered to assist our students in this much-needed fundraising event.” English is executive chef and owner of Restaurant Iris and The Second Line in Memphis. The James Beard Award semifinalist is known for his menus that feature

contemporary Southern cuisine and his passion for his community, which have led to being featured in publications such as Food & Wine and Garden & Gun. English agreed to participate and helped create the benefit because he is grateful for Ole Miss and loves giving back. “I decided to participate in this event to help give back to a place that really shaped my life and show the foundation that Ole Miss hospitality management gives to students when they apply it as a practiced profession,” English says. “I hope donors take away the opportunity that exists to invest in the culture and furthering of the culture in Mississippi.”

Kelly English

Noteworthy Achievement CENTER MARKS 10 YEARS OF HELPING STUDENTS FIND SUCCESS AT OLE MISS

he University of Mississippi’s Center for Student Success and First-Year Experience is celebrating 10 years of helping students navigate the college experience and find success at Ole Miss. The center, which was created in 2013, has five units and 40 professionals dedicated to helping students find their niche on campus, says Kyle Ellis (PhD 11), the center’s founding director.

“When we first started, there were three initial units and about 15 staff members,” Ellis says. “Now, with the growth that we’ve had and the increase in enrollment, we have 28 professional staff members and another 12 graduate students. “We are all pulling that student success rope in the same direction.” A marker of that success is the continuous growth of student retention

Kyle Ellis, director of the Center for Student Success and First-Year Experience, speaks Nov. 9 to a crowd of current and former staff members at the center’s 10-year anniversary celebration. | Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay

rates, which reached a record high of 89.3% in the 2022-23 academic year, Ellis says. Maintaining and improving retention rates through enrollment growth over the last decade — the university welcomed the state’s largest-ever freshman class this fall — is a feat unto itself, he says. “A lot of people in this center played a key role in that. Our instructors, advisers, academic support staff, success coaches — everybody plays a role in student retention.” While maintaining their efforts to guide first-year students, the center is also a resource for students of any year, particularly in academic support, says Jeremy Roberts, assistant director of academic support programs. Academic support programs primarily provide assistance for students who have fallen behind or who may be struggling in their classes but are also a resource for any student looking for help, he says. “We do a lot of academic consultations — it does not matter if you’re a freshman or a graduate student,” Roberts says. “We’re here for everyone.” W I N T E R 2024

from the Circle

Expertise in the Field UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES NEW CANNABIS, DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS PROGRAM

he University of Mississippi has created a new online graduate program focusing on medical cannabis and dietary supplements, leaning on the university’s long-standing reputation for expertise in both fields. The new degree program builds on the expertise and research excellence found in the National Center for Natural Products Research and National Center for Cannabis Research and Education, both housed in the School of Pharmacy. “Our goal is to create one of the best programs, if not the best, to serve the industry, and it really builds off our strengths,” says David Colby, the program’s organizer and a professor in the school’s Department of BioMolecular Sciences. Organizers of the new Master of Science in Dietary Supplements and Medical Cannabis program, housed in the pharmacy school, expect to accept students into the program this year following accreditation. “With these industries growing in our state and our country, this program is designed to ensure the workforce is well-trained and has the knowledge and skills to be effective and contribute to these industries,” says Donna Strum (BSPh 95, MS 97, PhD 99), dean of the School of Pharmacy. “This new online program promises to open up a world of opportunities for those looking to advance their careers in these industries.” No other institutions in the state offer such a program, and only a handful exist nationwide, though Colby says even those

are operating in a different space educationally. “They’re mostly focused on training pharmacists and health care professionals how to manage patients on medical cannabis and how to help train patients who want to know about therapeutics,” he says. “We want to train them in the chemistry, the biology and the toxicology. “We’ll be teaching about plant genomics and formulation and manufacturing, as well as regulation. We want to train people who want to work in those industries, not necessarily a pharmacist who wants to recommend the correct cannabis product.” The program will officially launch in fall 2024 and offer rolling admissions.

Photo by Don Stanford

UM STUDENT RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE COMMUNICATIONS

University of Mississippi doctoral student in physics has been recognized nationally for his excellence in science communications.

Sumeet Kulkarni 14

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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in partnership with Schmidt Futures awarded Sumeet Kulkarni (MEd 21) with a 2023 Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award. He is among 24 honorees in eight categories. Kulkarni, an aspiring science journalist, is studying astrophysics at Ole Miss. His research with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, experiment involves studying violent black hole collisions through the gravitational waves that they emit. “It is an incredible honor to win this award and see my work recognized by the science communication community,” he says. “It strengthens my resolve to freely explore multimedia storytelling and produce content that informs, engages and

captivates audiences. “This award is crucial to advancing my career as a science journalist.” As an amateur astrophotographer, Kulkarni captures celestial images with his camera and, when applicable, uses them as storytelling elements. He is passionate about increasing public engagement in science and does so via co-hosting the Oxford Science Café; helping lead “ComSciCon,” a science communication workshop for graduate students; and writing science news and feature stories. Kulkarni spent summer 2022 as an American Association for the Advancement of Science mass media fellow with the science desk at the Los Angeles Times. He also has written for Scientific American, Astrobites, IndiaBioscience and LIGO Magazine.

from the Circle

Product of the Year UM STUDENTS WIN NATIONAL AWARD FOR OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE

he OSINT Foundation has awarded its inaugural OSINT Product of the Year to a research project conducted by students in the University of Mississippi Center for Intelligence and Security Studies. The OSINT Foundation is a national nonprofit organization devoted to promoting open-source intelligence tradecraft and developing professionals in the intelligence community. The foundation selected UM students’ publication in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Tearline Project, “China’s Interests in Montenegro: Alternative Analysis Case Study — Debt Traps Revisited,” for an award that recognizes research that “demonstrated exceptional value to the nation,” according to the award notification.

For more than eight months, five Ole Miss students sought publicly available information regarding the Montenegrin-Chinese Belt Road and Initiative Loan agreement of 2014. The students found that although a Montenegrin default is unlikely, the result of such a lapse could include China gaining railroads, ports and other infrastructure in the Balkan country. The NGA’s Tearline Project is an open-source intelligence platform created to expand analytic outreach with outside groups and encourage in-depth understanding of various topics for the intelligence community. Researchers writing for the Tearline Project run the gamut from undergraduate students to postdoctoral researchers and members of think tanks, says Chris Rasmussen,

David Reese (left), chair of the Practitioners Committee of the OSINT Foundation; Shaio Zerba (third from left), director of the UM Center for Intelligence and Security Studies; and Chris Rasmussen (right), Tearline Project manager for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, congratulate Ole Miss students Lee Holmes (second from left), Zachary Partin (fourth from left) and Landon Lunsford for producing the winning entry in this year’s NGA Tearline Project. The student team gathered and analyzed data for a report on ‘China’s Interests in Montenegro: Alternative Analysis Case Study – Debt Traps Revisited.’ | Submitted photo

“It’s an honor to be selected for the inaugural OSINT Product of the Year,” says Shaio Zerba, director of the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies. “I am very proud of the students and faculty who worked as a team to produce this exceptional open-source intelligence piece.”

Tearline Project manager for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The five students, all of whom are members of the Center for Open Source Analysis, a UM student-run analysis group that works to publish open-source intelligence pieces on national security issues, approached the NGA in fall 2022

Sydney Lynch

about contributing to the Tearline Project. Sydney Lynch, a senior art history and classics major from Long Island, New York, led the Montenegro Belt Road Project. She says the students never considered that their effort would win an award. “When we worked on that project, we didn’t think we’d have our inaugural piece be product of the year,” Lynch says. “That wasn’t on our radar. We focused on creating this piece that was applicable to the world of intelligence.” The students spent months identifying and analyzing open-source information and commercial imagery in Montenegro to determine what state assets could be subject to seizure under a breach of contract. Additionally, the group examined the financial state of Montenegro. Now that the Montenegro project has ended, the university has partnered again with the Tearline Project this fall to create a new intelligence report on climate change in the Benelux region of Europe, which includes Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Lynch is leading the new project. “The team is really fantastic,” she says. “Everybody is new, but there’s also a lot of underclassmen that we want to train to this so that when we graduate, we have someone to pass the torch to and Ole Miss will be a continuing Tearline Project.” W I N T E R 2024

from the Circle

UM alumni and Curtsy founders Clara Agnes Ault (left), William Ault, Eli Allen and David Oates offer insights and encouragement to more than 250 Ole Miss students at the 2023 REDe Entrepreneurship Summit. | Photo by Joe Worthem

‘REDe’ for Inspiration OLE MISS ALUMNI ENCOURAGE STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS AT SUMMIT

he University of Mississippi graduates responsible for introducing a groundbreaking marketplace app that has made thrift fashion more accessible for college students encouraged budding entrepreneurs and offered advice at the sixth annual REDe Entrepreneurship Summit in the fall. Hosted by the UM Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the annual summit celebrates and enhances entrepreneurial initiatives undertaken by Ole Miss students from various disciplines, with a unique theme being emphasized each year. “The sixth annual REDe Summit was about inspiring our students to find their calling and to better understand where their passion lies,” says Clay Dibrell, CIE co-director. “As we celebrate the University of Mississippi’s 175th anniversary, we want our students to be inspired by their calling and to better understand how passion can pull them through difficult times by having their life callings drive their passion.” More than 250 students gathered to hear from Claire Ficek, an Ole Miss integrated marketing communications junior from Maple Plain, Minnesota, as well as William Ault (BSCS 15), Clara Agnes Ault (BS 16) and Eli Allen (BSCS 16), all Ole Miss alumni and co-founders of Curtsy, along with their CEO, David Oates, who moderated the panel discussion. “Meeting the Curtsy team and hearing their story about 16

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how they got their start right here at Ole Miss inspired me and many of my peers who were in attendance,” says Ficek, founder of Altar’d Socials, a social media management company that she started in high school. “I think it’s safe to say that the CIE equips their students to be successful entrepreneurs, no matter what field of business they may enter.” Ficek, the summit’s opening speaker, was also the firstplace winner of the 2023 Gillespie Business Plan Competition in April. As head of growth for Curtsy, William Ault focuses on developing the business through marketing and product initiatives to reach more customers. “I enjoyed visiting Ole Miss and speaking with students interested in starting businesses,” he says. “I was excited to share our challenges and experiences starting a company in Oxford, hoping it would help students avoid making the same mistakes.” After honing their concept at Ole Miss and landing a grant in 2015 from the Rebel Student Venture Fund, the Curtsy founders moved to San Francisco, where they have raised more than $15 million in capital. The company has grown into a nationwide business and has a projected 2023 revenue of $30 million.

from the Circle

Rewarded for Innovation FRESHMAN ENTREPRENEUR WINS AT UM BUSINESS MODEL COMPETITION

n Apple Watch app that provides data and feedback on the wearer’s basketball shooting motion won first place during the 2023 Servin’ the South Business Model Competition. Hosted by the University of Mississippi Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the annual competition allows students to pitch their business to expert judges for a chance to win $10,000. Ju l i e n B o u r g e o i s , a f r e s h m a n computer science major from Metairie, Louisiana, is the co-founder and CEO of Automatic AI LLC, which took home the Best Technology Utilization/ Development Use award in addition to the competition’s top prize. “When the first-place prize was announced, at first I was completely shocked,” Bourgeois says. “Since I had previously been named as the prize winner for ‘Best Tech’ seconds earlier, I figured that I wasn’t going to be named as the first-prize winner for the entire event. “The presentations of the other teams involved in the final round were absolutely incredible.” This marks the second first-place win for Automatic AI, which won the inaugural StartupUNO competition, a business accelerator and pitch competition for students at the University of New Orleans. Andrew Bradford, a marketing major at UNO, is Bourgeois’ partner on the startup. The partners won $7,000 at the UNO competition. Paired with $10,000 for the first-place showing at Ole Miss and $4,000 for winning the Big Tech segment, they have brought in $21,000 in funding for their concept. Twenty-five teams of entrepreneurs from across the country were selected from 41 entries to compete, with six advancing to the final round. All six finalists received at least $1,000 in funding. “The Servin’ the South Business Model serves as our students’ opportunity

Julien Bourgeois (left), a freshman computer science major at the University of Mississippi and co-founder of Automatic AI, accepts a check from Rich Gentry, co-director of the university’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, as winner of this year’s Servin’ the South Business Model Competition. | Submitted photo

Automatic AI provides instant feedback via an app on users’ basketball shots, helping them to improve their game in real time. | Submitted photo

to participate in the entrepreneurial ecosystem through the Southeast,” says Rich Gentry, CIE co-director. “Thanks to generous donor support, we were able to gather students from across the region to compete for funding but, most

importantly, build connections and learn from other students. “As a learning opportunity, this was a fantastic success, but as a networking opportunity for our students, this competition is transformative.” W I N T E R 2024

from the Circle

Sarah Harmon decorates cookies in Rebel Market as part of her effort to commemorate both White Cane Day on Oct. 15 and World Braille Day on Jan. 4. | Photo by Thomas Graning

No Ordinary Cookies SWEET TREATS RAISE AWARENESS OF BLINDNESS, VISION IMPAIRMENT

niformed in a chef ’s hat and jacket, University of Mississippi freshman Sarah Harmon sat at a special table in the Rebel Market on Nov. 10 decorating cookies. She adorned the treats with words such as “dream,” “love” and “joy.” These were no ordinary cookies, however, and Harmon is no ordinary baker. Harmon, who has been blind since birth, wrote the words in braille to raise awareness of those with visual impairments. “It made me feel like I was in a Hallmark movie,” says Harmon, a music education major from Oxford. “Making cookies while the music was playing and people were going about their day.” The idea for braille cookies came to her while she and her family were driving home from a summer trip. “Of course, I was thinking about sweets because I love them,” she says. “I was thinking, ‘You know what? You see cookies these days with all this print writing on it, but I’ve never seen any that have braille.’” In recognition of White Cane Day on Oct.15 and World Braille Day on Jan. 4, 18

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Harmon set out to offer cookies to fellow classmates. A regular at Rebel Market, Harmon reached out to Michael Brainard, executive chef of Ole Miss Dining, to put the wheels in motion. Brainard says Harmon is an “inspiration to all students.” “She has encountered challenges on campus that other students might not think about in their everyday life, such as navigating her way around the dining hall, finding food options, understanding menu information, and finding seating and safely moving through the dining hall — especially when it’s busy,” Brainard says. Transportation to and from campus is one of Harmon’s prime challenges as she adjusts to college life. The first few weeks of class were a frustrating mixture of over assistance and under assistance, she says. “Blind people can do things,” she says. “We just need a little help every now and again.” A soloist and pianist since elementary school, Harmon uses music as an outlet. It was the reason she decided to

attend Ole Miss. “Music has helped me over the course of my life,” she says. “It’s not just a hobby; it makes a positive influence on mental health. “Music has helped me prove people wrong. For some reason, when people think of blindness, they think of a mental deficit instead of a visual deficit. They treat me differently. When I sing or play piano, however, they say, ‘Whoa, I didn’t think you could do that.’” Harmon says she has found a home in the Department of Music. “In the music building, a lot of students have gotten to know me,” she says. “I have a lot of friends who will hang out with me while I wait for my ride.” Nancy Maria Balach, chair and professor of music, says her department is filled with “a supportive community of incredible people.” “From the first time Sarah visited campus, her passion for music and commitment to learning were evident,” Balach says. “We are thrilled she chose UM music, and it is pure joy to be around her.”

Calendar Performance: ‘The Cher Show’ FEB. 24

Photo courtesy of the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts

FEBRUARY

Through March 23 Exhibit: “Recent Acquisitions, 2012-Present.” This exhibition celebrates recent donations and purchases to the University of Mississippi Museum over the past decade. UM Museum, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.4 p.m. Visit museum.olemiss.edu. Through June 1 Exhibit: “Continued Artistry.” Choctaw basket weaving is an important traditional artistry that has been practiced for centuries. UM Museum, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.4 p.m. Visit museum.olemiss.edu.

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Auburn. The SJB Pavilion, 5 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

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17-18

Performance: “Arrival from Sweden: The Music of ABBA.” Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m. Visit olemissboxoffice.com.

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Memphis. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 5 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Women’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Baylor. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 2 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

23-25

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M. The SJB Pavilion, 6:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Missouri. The SJB Pavilion, 7:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

M-Club: Women’s Basketball Alumni Weekend. Various times and locations. Email jessica@olemissalumni.com. Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State. The SJB Pavilion, 3 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com. Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Arkansas State. Oxford-University Stadium, 4 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com. Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Georgia. The SJB Pavilion, 6:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com. Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Delaware. OxfordUniversity Stadium, 4 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday. Visit olemisssports.com.

Calendar

Performance: “The Cher Show.” The Tony Award-winning musical is her story, and it’s packed with so much Cher that it takes three women to play her: the kid starting out, the glam pop star and the icon. Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m. Visit olemissboxoffice.com.

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. South Carolina. The SJB Pavilion, 2:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Honors College: Third Annual Honors Undergraduate Research Symposium. Gertrude C. Ford Center, 6:30-7:15 p.m. Visit honors.olemiss.edu/ events/.

Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Little Rock. Oxford-University Stadium, 4 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Missouri State. Oxford-University Stadium, 4 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Alabama. The SJB Pavilion, 8 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

2024 RMI Spring Career Fair: Paul B. Johnson Commons, 10 a.m.2 p.m. Visit olemissalumni.com/events. -March 3 Reunion: 2024 Black Alumni Reunion. Various times and locations. Visit olemissalumni.com/ events or call 662-915-7375.

Women’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 1 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

MARCH

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Auburn. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 3 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Softball: Ole Miss vs. Southeastern Louisiana. Ole Miss Softball Complex, 3:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Softball: Ole Miss vs. UAB. Ole Miss Softball Complex, 6 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

1-3

First Friday Free Sketch Day: Free sketch session for all skill levels. UM Museum, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (drop-in). Visit museum.olemiss.edu.

Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Iowa. Oxford-University Stadium, 6:30 p.m. Friday, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, noon Sunday. Visit olemisssports.com.

Softball: Ole Miss vs. Kent State. Ole Miss Softball Complex, 3:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Softball: Ole Miss vs. Southeastern Louisiana. Ole Miss Softball Complex, 6 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Softball: Ole Miss vs. UAB. Ole Miss Softball Complex, 12:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Tulsa. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 1 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Arkansas. The SJB Pavilion, 3 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Alabama FEB. 28

Photo by Abbie Schultz

W I N T E R 2024

Calendar Softball: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State

MARCH 8-10

Photo by Joshua McCoy

8-10

15-17

8-10

22-23

Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Memphis. Oxford-University Stadium, 6:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com. Performance: “Come from Away.” This stirring and inspiring musical takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of the small town in Newfoundland that opened its homes to 7,000 stranded travelers on 9/11. Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m. Visit olemissboxoffice.com.

Performance: Lawrence Brownlee. Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m. Visit olemissboxoffice.com.

Women’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. LSU. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 3 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

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Softball: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State. Ole Miss Softball Complex, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com. Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Morehead State. Oxford-University Stadium, 6:30 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Visit olemisssports.com. Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M. The SJB Pavilion, 1 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com. Women’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M. Palmer/ Salloum Tennis Center, 1 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Arkansas. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 3 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Baseball: Ole Miss vs. South Carolina. Oxford-University Stadium, 6:30 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Visit olemisssports.com. Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 1 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com. Women’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Auburn. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 3 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com. Law Weekend: All alumni and friends of the law school are invited back to campus for a weekend of fun, food and networking. The 2024 class of Law Alumni Hall of Fame recipients will be inducted. Various times and locations. Visit olemissalumni.com/events.

Calendar

22-23

5-6

M-Club: Track Alumni Weekend. Various times and locations. Email jessica@olemissalumni.com.

22-24

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Tennessee. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 1 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Murray State. Oxford-University Stadium, 6:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Softball: Ole Miss vs. Georgia. Ole Miss Softball Complex, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com. Reunion: Rugby Alumni Club 50 Year Reunion. Various times and locations. Visit olemissalumni.com or call 662-915-7375.

Women’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Alabama. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 1 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Austin Peay. Oxford-University Stadium, 6:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Performance: “Shrek the Musical.” Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m. Visit olemissboxoffice.com.

29-31

Softball: Ole Miss vs. South Carolina. Ole Miss Softball Complex, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

29-31

Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Kentucky. OxfordUniversity Stadium, 6:30 p.m. Friday, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Visit olemisssports.com.

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Kentucky. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 1 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

APRIL

Performance: Imani Winds. Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m. Visit olemissboxoffice.com. Softball: Ole Miss vs. USM. Ole Miss Softball Complex, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

11-13

School of Pharmacy: Pharmacy Alumni Reunion. Various locations and times. Visit olemissalumni.com/events or email savannah@olemissalumni.com.

40 Under 40 Class of 2024: Ceremony and Reception. The Inn at Ole Miss Ballroom, 4:30 p.m. Email sunny@olemissalumni.com.

School of Applied Sciences: Alumni Advisory Board Meeting. Closed group meeting, time TBD. Email sunny@olemissalumni.com.

Women’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Missouri. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 3 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Softball: Ole Miss vs. UT Martin. Ole Miss Softball Complex, 3:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

12-13

First Friday Free Sketch Day: Free sketch session for all skill levels. UM Museum, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (drop-in). Visit museum.olemiss.edu.

12-14

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Georgia. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 3 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

M-Club Weekend: Various times and locations. Email jessica@olemissalumni.com. Softball: Ole Miss vs. Western Kentucky. Ole Miss Softball Complex, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

Young Alumni: Crawfish Boil. Behind left field at Swayze, time TBD. Visit olemissalumni.com/events. Women’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs. Arkansas. Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, 1 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com. Baseball: Ole Miss vs. North Alabama. Oxford-University Stadium, 11 a.m. Visit olemisssports.com. College of Liberal Arts: Alumni Chapter Board Meeting. Closed group meeting, 2 p.m. Email sunny@olemissalumni.com. College of Liberal Arts: 2024 Awards Celebration. Johnson Commons Ballroom, 4 p.m. Email sunny@olemissalumni.com.

25-26

Patterson School of Accountancy: Accountancy Alumni Weekend. Various locations and times. Visit olemissalumni.com/events or email savannah@olemissalumni.com.

25-27

Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Alabama. OxfordUniversity Stadium, 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Visit olemisssports.com.

26-28

Softball: Ole Miss vs. Auburn. Ole Miss Softball Complex, time TBA. Visit olemisssports.com. For a complete and latest listing of Ole Miss sports schedules, visit olemisssports.com.

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

Baseball: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State. Oxford-University Stadium, 7 p.m. Friday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Visit olemisssports.com. W I N T E R 2024

Spencer’s first day at Nike’s world headquarters | Photos courtesy of Morgan Spencer 24

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JUST DOING IT Alumna steps into career with Nike BY ANNIE RHOADES

niversity of Mississippi alumna Morgan Spencer (BA 13, MBA 15), engagement coordinator for Nike, has achieved many accolades through hard work and time invested in others. A few highlights include the UM Jackie Certion Guiding Light Award, Ole Miss Alumni Association 40 Under 40 Award and Girl Scout Gold Award. “I really encourage current college students to actively engage in campus activities to build a supportive community,” Spencer says. “Participate in clubs, events and organizations that align with your interests, and don’t underestimate the power of networking. Ole Miss’ network is expansive, so build relationships with professors, peers and community members to broaden your opportunities.” The granddaughter of Ole Miss alumni, Spencer briefly explored other SEC schools before settling on her family’s alma mater. “I have family roots in Oxford,” Spencer says. “My grandparents, Lee and Jeanette Thomas (MEd 69), were teachers for the South Panola School District and Oxford City School District [respectively] and attended Ole Miss, so as early as I can remember I was introduced to Ole Miss. It always had a special place in my heart. “I’ve been on campus plenty of times visiting family, but it really solidified when I came down for a tour in the spring and saw how beautiful those tulips are and thought, yes, this is where I want to get my education.” The Atlanta native graduated from St. Pius X Catholic High School in nearby Chamblee before enrolling at Ole Miss in fall 2009. She dove headfirst into as many campus activities and organizations as possible to take advantage of everything the university has to offer.

The Spencers at Nike’s annual SNKRBALL showcasing their favorite Nike shoes of the year W I N T E R 2024

“I got some great advice my freshman year to get plugged in, so I started with the Ole Miss ambassador program and served in that role from 2009 to 2012. That led to me being an orientation leader, and just more and more from there,” she laughs.

Spencer and fellow orientation leaders before hitting the stage to perform their ’80s themed routine at the 2010 SROW (Southern Regional Orientation Workshop)

LEARNING AND LEADING Spencer’s list of accomplishments grew to include involvement in the Associated Student Body and Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society, a graduate assistantship with the Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs office, service as director of social and philanthropic affairs for the Graduate Student Council, and service on the Ole Miss Ambassadors’ Leadership Council, Ole Miss Women’s Council Leadership Series and Sigma Alpha Lambda National Leadership and Honors Organization.

Representing Ole Miss at the 2014 SEC Symposium 26

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After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in business, she decided to enroll in the university’s MBA program to refine her business skills. “I was going to go into the corporate law sphere, but then I decided to get my master’s in business administration,” she recalls. “I decided I liked the business side more. I was looking at my personal timeline for my career and realized the law track was going to take a little more commitment.” Eager to begin a career in higher education, Spencer finished the yearlong graduate program in 2015 and soon accepted a job focusing on student life with Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville, Georgia. “I started looking at job boards and knew I wanted to stay in the university realm,” she says. “Gwinnett had an opportunity that I was interested (in) — a student life specialist overseeing campus clubs and organizations.” Spencer thrived during her nearly seven years with Gwinnett, developing innovative professional opportunities for students, managing 30 clubs and organizations, and serving as an adviser to both the Student Government Association and Student Ambassadors. The GTC Student Government Association received numerous awards under her advisement including Chapter of the Year and Event of the Year. She was a recipient of the Gwinnett Young Professionals 35 Under 35 Award for her contributions to being a changemaker in her field.

JUST DO IT Spencer married Adrien Spencer, a Nike employee, in August 2022. The couple knew they would eventually relocate near the company’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, so Spencer began looking in the area for jobs in higher education. “My husband told me to see what Nike has to offer,” she says. “They had an opportunity for an engagement coordinator, and I realized it was similar to what I was doing at Gwinnett — providing special development opportunities and things of that nature. I interviewed for the job during our honeymoon!”

Spencer and her husband, Adrien, wed on Aug. 27, 2022, in Atlanta.

Spencer began her current role as engagement coordinator for Nike in October 2022, focusing on the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, professional development, community involvement and much more. “My favorite part of my job is being that bridge to connect people to others,” she says. “That is my biggest joy — to create those meaningful connections. You never know who can lead you into the next step in your journey.” Staci Holgate, manager of engagement, business operations and enablement with Nike’s technology operations, says Spencer’s “positivity and energy” jumped off the Zoom screen during her interview. “I knew she had to be a part of the team,” Holgate says. “Morgan can energize any room she’s in. She not only naturally generates enthusiasm on project teams, but she brings a level of encouragement and optimism that can’t be taught.” As t he comp any’s engagement coordinator, Spencer is tasked with cultivating an engaging workplace by proactively nurturing meaningful connections, providing opportunities for personal and professional development, and recognizing the contributions of

Nike’s diverse technology operations teammates. “My responsibilities center on the success of diversity representation, inclusive leadership, recognition, and creating and promoting a culture of belonging and community value within the Nike playing field,” Spencer says. “At the end of the day, my mission is to facilitate best-in-class approaches and strategies to amplify employees’ voices.” Holgate could not be more pleased with Spencer’s contributions to the team. “Morgan can quickly prioritize, set goals and work efficiently while simultaneously running several programs at once — whether she’s building supporting artifacts, moderating a leadership panel or executing against an employee-facing event. All these qualities make her a pivotal player on our engagement team.” For Spencer, the work is fulfilling, and there’s always something “exciting” happening on campus. Working for a global brand largely affiliated with athletes comes with its share of perks.

Spencer and Nike teammate, Erika Joseph, enjoy JDI festivities at Nike’s world headquarters.

“The very first day of my onboarding, Serena Williams was on campus,” Spencer enthuses. “She is the GOAT! I like to tell people that every day at Nike is something different, from influential conferences that take place, to different workshops, to the athletes that come and

40 UNDER 40

Behind the scenes in the audio/video room with the tech ops engagement team at Nike

do panels on campus. The most recent was our big JDI Day, which is ‘Just Do It,’ and they had [all of these athletes] like Sha’Carri Richardson, Kevin Durant and Sheryl Swoopes.” Aside from the fame associated with Nike, Spencer enjoys being part of a company that also focuses on making an impact. “Things like making sure that kids, no matter gender, continue the art of play and making sure that we continue to give back for future generations,” she says. “Nike does some amazing work surrounding the art of play. Girls face more challenges to getting and staying active than boys, dropping out of sports at twice the rate. By focusing on our Made to Play initiative [for example], we hope to turn that trend around.” Spencer credits her mother, Audrey Burns, as being the “ultimate pillar of support” and the reason for her success. “She has really helped shaped me into the person that I am today,” she says. “I appreciate her empowering me to leave my mark in the world; even when people told me that I might need to pivot or couldn’t do something, she always told me, ‘Yes you can, just keep your head down and continue to grind.’ “I inherited her creativity and grit, which is a big part of who I am. For as long as I can remember, learning, evolving and growing were important in her own life, so that inspired me to do the same. She encouraged me to get my master’s degree and continue to go outside of my comfort zone.”

Due in part to her many accomplishments, Spencer was named a member of the Ole Miss Alumni Association’s 2023 40 Under 40 class recognizing the personal, professional and philanthropic achievements of successful UM graduates under the age of 40. “That meant the world to be recognized by my alma mater and just knowing that I’m providing that light and continuing to let people know that amazing people are coming out of Oxford, Mississippi,” she says. “I tell everybody that they should keep their eye on Ole Miss and the incredible work the university is doing. It was such a great honor. All the hard work, late nights of studying and taking the opportunities to put myself out there truly paid off.” Spencer hopes to continue to grow in her career, bring people together and boost positivity. “I’m thankful for the connections that I’ve made along the way, and I hope we all can continue to find the good in one another and amplify those positive aspects. I hope when people look back and say, ‘Oh, I remember Morgan,’ that it’s because I made them feel a part of the community that they are in, and I left a smile and a good laugh in their hearts.”

Spencer and her mother, Audrey Burns, attend the OMAA’s 2023 40 Under 40 Awards ceremony. W I N T E R 2024

Martin and a K9 work in the woods during a survey of unmarked graves. | Photos courtesy of Martin Archaeology Consulting 28

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Digging

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for Truth

-----------------------------Archaeologist uses unique resources to separate fact from fiction By Kayden Breedlove

aul Martin (MA 15) spends his days immersed in the puzzle that is America’s past, conducting archaeological surveys and performing digs focused on contributing pieces that help form a more complete, accurate picture of what came before us. “As my wife says, archaeology is a piece of history that you can hold,” Martin says. “It provides us with opportunities to confirm suspicions and stories about the history of an area that we never would have otherwise and allows us to explore those things even deeper.” Through his experiences with law enforcement — training canines in forensic archaeology, that is, training dogs to find human remains — and academic pursuits in archaeological geophysics, Martin is a trailblazer in the field of anthropology and archaeology, offering services not yet seen.

Childhood Observations

Growing up in Greenville, Martin found himself constantly intrigued by his surroundings. The rich histories that encompassed the space around him, about the people and the land alike, helped nurture a strong sense of curiosity and interest in the history of the every day. “These aren’t just abstract stories, but lived experiences and events that had actual consequences,” he says.

Martin had several sources to turn to during his childhood to learn about the personal, unique histories of people who were not often talked about in his school history books. Aaron James, a delivery driver for his mother’s flower shop, was one of those sources who left a lasting impression on Martin. As someone touched personally by the effects of slavery, James presented Martin with a perspective that helped shape the way he approached history. Stories of growing up on the plantation where his family had once been slaves, to then becoming foreman of that plantation, filled the rides on which Martin would accompany him to deliver floral arrangements. “I think growing up down there and hearing his experiences, and the experiences of others, really opened my eyes and gave me a greater appreciation,” he says. The building that Martin grew up playing in, his mother’s flower shop, held some of the first archaeological evidence that he encountered. The flood of 1927 in Greenville left a permanent mark on the wall that he was able to see every day. “Even though they tried to plaster over them, the bricks were never quite the same,” Martin says. “And so, there’s a W I N T E R 2024

Martin presents findings on-site in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in June 2022.

water line, an eternal water line. And a lot of people have seen the pictures and heard the stories, but I grew up seeing that direct evidence.”

Pursuing the Dream

After working for a few years in law enforcement training canines, Martin moved to Asheville, North Carolina, found his passion for archaeology rekindled and pursued a degree in the subject. As a nontraditional student, Martin expressed great appreciation for his own path and the family that he brought along with him. “Coming back to school with a wife and kids is different than most students,” Martin says. “But at the same time, it’s with their love and support that I was able to do what I did.” While pursuing a Bachelor of Science in anthropology from the University of Western Carolina, Martin had the opportunity to explore the University of Mississippi Center for Archaeological Research and the UM Field Station before enrolling as a graduate student. He found tools available in the UM Department of Sociology and Anthropology that helped him expand his research topics and ideas. Instead of being limited by traditional methods of archaeology, Martin was able to explore possibilities opened by methods of geological prospecting using tools such as ground penetrating radar and thermal infrared sensors. Originally using it for surveying minerals or ore, archaeologists now also use geological prospecting to detect abnormalities in the soil of a site to map out a particular area. Martin notes that these tools are particularly useful in cases where 30

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archaeologists are trying to preserve a site while mapping it. His work with canines and his reignited archaeological interests posed a unique combination — one that opened doors in Martin’s mind. Using both skills, the area in which Martin and his team go to survey could be more accurately mapped and sectioned off without having to physically dig into the land. “I saw a need, actually before I returned to Ole Miss,” he says. “There was no one that was able to offer the combined services — the usage of dogs with the geophysics — in a combined package. And there was a need for it. I was able to go out with the Ole Miss archaeological field school prior to returning to my [graduate studies] and was able to do a couple of small projects, small surveys.” Martin conducted one of those small projects as part of his senior thesis for his undergraduate degree at the University of Western Carolina. His former instructor, geologist Blair Tormey, lent him a hand in this endeavor and was a part of the project. “He somehow heard that I had experience with groundpenetrating radar,” Tormey says. “So, he stayed after class one day and presented me with the idea of pitting the technology against his dogs.” Tormey says Martin took his cadaver dog, as well as a few others, and tested them against ground-penetrating radar in a controlled setting. The two found a historic cemetery that had burials that ranged from the mid-1960s to the early 2000s. Because of the date range, it covered a variety of grave types that were also well documented. “The idea was that you were going to set the dogs loose and see what they could find and then survey the grounds with the radar machine and see what it could find,” Tormey says. “We pretty much knew what was where and who the burials were.”

Tormey says they did the experiment, expecting one to come out on top, but it didn’t turn out as initially expected. In the older part of the cemetery, the dogs did far better, and in the newer part, it was the reverse. “We thought about it, and it all made sense,” Tormey says. “Of course, they’re going to do better where the smell can escape. We found, essentially, that where the dog’s skills began to drop off, the radar picked up.” Tormey says students like Martin are special. “It’s great when they come along and teach you something,” he says. “Then it’s rare when they stretch your understanding of something, and that’s exactly what Paul did. It’s remarkable when you have those students.” Martin’s knowledge of cadaver dogs along with the archaeological research center gave him a general goal to work toward: How could he take these two things and come up with a system to make them work cohesively? “I started to research what was possible with the dogs, and conducted a five-year study to ascertain under which parameters would be best to implement the dogs as a tool for archaeological purposes,” Martin says. “For the first time, I had grant money to be able to put the dogs and the geophysics together, where I actually did all of the work.”

K9 Ziva works as Martin’s team conducts a survey for the nonprofit History Flight Inc. in the Odenwald Forest in Germany, looking for American MIAs from a World War II crash.

Business Today

As Martin continued his research, he stayed focused on his goal. In 2007, when he was still a student, Martin and a team were able to perform a successful survey using his methods. However, the development of his company, Martin Archaeology Consulting, was not all smooth, he says. “I’ve been my own worst obstacle,” he says. “I learned to get out of my own way.”

In everyday business for him now, the concerns come with the preservation of data that he collects from each site. “One of the biggest things I worry about is the loss of data,” Martin says. “It’s always about mitigating against the loss of data, so you’ll see me a lot of times saving data to two or three sources, putting it on the cloud or on extra hard drives, just so that we don’t lose stuff.” Another factor that seems to be always looming when it comes time to start a project, looking to uncover things taken over by the natural elements, is nature itself. “One of the hardest things to do sometimes is account for what the weather conditions are going to be when we actually get there for a survey,” Martin says. “Are we going to have to spend an extra day here? Are we going to have to get up super early to get the dogs in the field for them to do their jobs before it’s 101 degrees? That’s the biggest thing to work around.” Spurred on by success, Martin was able to establish his business. He works with many organizations and private individuals, including the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, City of Richmond, smaller historical organizations and large engineering firms. The projects that Martin and his team work on vary in size. Surveys of land in certain areas can help prove that events happened, who was present at that time, and, in some cases, what is different about what is told today. Martin is interested in the unmarked gravesites of communities that have been forgotten by history. The request for Martin to conduct a survey across acres of a former plantation led to the discovery of graves of the enslaved men, women and children who once lived there. “You know, their graves had been lost to the memories of time,” Martin says. “And we were asked to go in and find them. We found some of them. It’s a lot like a snapshot.” Another big project that Martin was able to work on in 2023 was surveying and conducting excavations for the redevelopment of the childhood home of well-known musician and civil rights activist Nina Simone. “We did a survey and excavations related to understanding that home site of where she grew up, and how to best go about redeveloping that site so that they can turn it into a retreat center for a young artist in residence program for the National Trust for Historic Preservation,” he says. The history of the sites that Martin works on also plays a large part in why he enjoys his career. He recalls the history of an area that he had the privilege of working on in Richmond, Virginia, where a group of free African Americans thrived 70 years before the Civil War. “My work in Richmond has been some of the most rewarding work, simply because of the things I’ve been able to learn and experience that’s so completely different from what we’ve been taught,” he says. Martin would like to continue to expand his business and help uncover the larger picture of America’s history. With his passion and curiosity, he strives to tell the truth about the sites he works on, the people who lived there and the events that happened there. “It allows us to separate the fact from the fiction,” Martin says. W I N T E R 2024

‘ EXPLORE, DON’T PANIC’ UM writing and rhetoric faculty examines AI opportunities, challenges BY ERIN GARRETT

hen generative artificial intelligence first emerged, three faculty members in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Mississippi were fascinated, intrigued and concerned. “I initially encountered it in April of 2022,” says Robert Cummings (MA 99), associate professor of writing and rhetoric. “I saw a presentation by a team of researchers at Stanford who were going to try to envision what we’re living with now, which is word processors that are enabled with generative AI output. “Then I saw a book written entirely by generative AI. That was a wakeup call for me — it was written in six hours and published on Amazon.” Cummings, along with Marc Watkins, academic innovation fellow and lecturer in composition and rhetoric, and Stephen Monroe (MA 03, PhD 07), chair and associate professor of writing and rhetoric, quickly realized the impact that this emerging technology would have on their field. Without hesitation, they began developing and fine-tuning strategies for colleagues and students to tackle this new writing landscape. With the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, generative AI exploded onto the scene, taking over social media chatter, news articles and talk shows. The ability of the platform to automatically generate text based on prompts was unlike anything seen before. Educators are trying to keep up with this fast-paced technology as they learn to navigate issues surrounding Photo illustration by iStock

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tools such as ChatGPT in the classroom. Generative AI presents numerous challenges, including plagiarism, “hallucinations” and data privacy. For higher education institutions, worries of cheating and diminishing critical thinking skills abound.

“From the assignments we started developing in the fall of last year, we gathered 100,000 words of student reflections,” Watkins says. “We found that students explored the tools tentatively and responsibly. Some of them ultimately decided to not use AI at all.” Educators nationwide began taking note. Cummings, Monroe and Watkins have been quoted in articles appearing in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed and the Washington Post. They have presented the AI working group’s findings at conferences and consulted with colleagues at other institutions. Watkins recently published an article on the research in a peer-reviewed collection of essays and assignments about teaching with AI. This past summer, the department hosted the AI Summer Institute for

Robert Cummings

“There is a very treacherous path ahead filled with massive ethical issues,” Watkins says. “Tech companies are deploying these tools as quickly as they can without considering their potential use.” In August 2022, writing and rhetoric faculty members began testing AI-powered assistants in their first-year writing courses. This allowed them to build their knowledge base to assist others on campus. Monroe coined the department’s AI philosophy, “Explore, don’t panic.” “Our faculty in the DWR are realistic and care first and foremost about our students,” Monroe says. “We decided to engage this new technology right away, even though many of us were worried about its disruptive power. “AI literacy is suddenly an essential skill, and I’m proud of our faculty for adapting so quickly.” Cummings created the “DEER” approach to guide their work to build student assignments that utilize AI: • D – Clearly define the stages of the project and describe how each stage will affect student learning outcomes • E – Evaluate a specific AI technology to pair with the learning activity in each stage • E – Encourage students to explore that technology for that stage • R – Allow space for reflection. 34

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Monroe, Watkins and Cummings agree that the biggest challenge with AI is the rapid development of the technology. “The tools are evolving so quickly,” Cummings says. “In addition to text, there are image generators, video, audio — the range of rhetorical questions that our students are being asked to make are multiplying.” The technology also offers opportunities, Monroe says. He praises the Ole Miss department for looking at both the positives and negatives of generative AI. “We have an innovative group of faculty who are thinking pragmatically about AI in the classroom,” he says. “Teachers like Guy Krueger, Angela Green, Chad Russell, Andrew Davis, Emily Donahoe, Colleen Thorndike and Brian Young — experienced faculty creating brand-new learning opportunities for UM students. “It’s a brilliant and inventive team.” The department will continue to identify generative AI tools and develop meaningful ways to incorporate them in the academic writing process, Cummings says. “This is a shift in literacy — this is a shift in what it means to read and write,” he says. “There’s no way to underestimate the effects when we take humans out of the loop of text creation. “Prior to April 2022, if I was given a piece of text, I would not question

Marc Watkins

Teachers of Writing. The two-day workshop trained nearly two dozen educators in best practices for incorporating generative AI into their courses. Cummings has chaired an AI task force for the university since 2022. The group was formed to coincide with the SEC Artificial Intelligence Consortium. “The AI task force encompasses everything that we are trying to do at the university that engages AI,” Cummings says. “It brings together the teaching and res e arch community and t he grant-making community as well. Those three functions are combined to try to raise awareness of AI so that different fields can use it. “We’re also able to highlight work that people are doing in this area. It fires up the imagination of everyone who attends.”

Stephen Monroe

whether a human wrote it. People wrote whatever text I was reading somewhere down the line, and now that’s changed. “It’s going to take time for our brains to shift, and we have to prepare our students to work in that world.”

Ole Miss Sports High Achievers FIVE REBELS INDUCTED INTO M-CLUB HALL OF FAME

le Miss officially honored its 2023 inductees into the M-Club Hall of Fame in November, with five Rebels across four different sports being enshrined. The 2023 M-Club Hall of Fame class includes Todd Abernethy (BBA 07) (men’s basketball), Zack Cozart (07) (baseball), John Fourcade (BSPHE 86) (football), Jennifer Lorenzen (07) (rifle) and Fred Roberts (BBA 65, JD 67) (football and baseball). Additionally, Clay Cavett (BBA 86) (administration) received the George Lotterhos Service Award. The Hall of Fame class was also honored at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium during the Rebels’ contest against Texas A&M on Nov. 4.

TODD ABERNETHY

Todd Abernethy

Zack Cozart

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Men’s Basketball (2003-07) Todd Abernethy was a four-year starter under Rod Barnes (BBA 88) (three seasons) and Andy Kennedy (senior season), playing in 122 games, with 101 of those in a starting role. Abernethy served as co-captain during his final three seasons and scored 1,036 career points over his four seasons. As a senior, Ab ernethy earned second team All-SEC accolades by the league coaches after he averaged 11.2 points and 5.5 assists per game. He helped lead Ole Miss to a 21-13 record, a Southeastern Conference Western Division title and an appearance in the NIT. Abernethy earned SEC Sixth Man of the Year by the league coaches and

was named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2004. Following six seasons playing professionally overseas, the Indianapolis native joined the collegiate coaching ranks in 2013, including a stop back at his alma mater from 2014 to 2018. Abernethy is an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic University and helped lead the Owls to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in school history and advanced to the 2023 Final Four.

ZACK COZART

Baseball (2005-07) Zack Cozart starred at Ole Miss from 2005 to 2007, becoming the first shortstop under head coach Mike Bianco to start as a true freshman. During his

John Fourcade

Ole Miss Sports three seasons, Ole Miss won three straight Oxford NCAA Regional crowns and appeared in three NCAA Super Regionals. For his career, Cozart batted .312, with 237 hits, including 24 home runs. At the end of his Ole Miss career, Cozart ranked fifth all-time in number of at-bats (760), fifth in RBI (157) and eighth for most hits (237). The Collierville, Tennessee, native registered only single-digit errors at shortstop in back-to-back seasons and helped Ole Miss turn in the top fielding defense in the SEC all three seasons of his career. He was a finalist for the Ferriss Trophy, awarded to the top college baseball player in Mississippi, in 2007. Cozart was an All-American selection in 2006 and earned freshman All-America honors in 2005. He played in the FISU World Games for the USA National Team in 2006. Cozart was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 2007 MLB Draft and spent nine seasons in the major leagues, seven with the Cincinnati Reds. During his MLB

career, he started 791 games and was named an All-Star in 2017.

Jennifer Lorenzen

Fred Roberts

JOHN FOURCADE

Football (1978-81) John Fourcade was a four-year letterwinner and quarterback for Steve Sloan’s Rebels from 1978 to 1981. Fourcade compiled an outstanding record, completing 445-of-819 pass attempts for 5,412 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also rushed for another 1,301 yards and 22 TDs. After his four years, Fourcade set Ole Miss career records for most plays (1,275), most yards (6,713), most pass attempts (819), most pass completions (445) and most passing yards (5,412). As a senior, Fourcade was selected team captain of the 1981 Rebels. He was named the Outstanding Offensive Player of the 1982 Senior Bowl after passing for 115 yards and rushing for 33 yards and two touchdowns as the South defeated the North 27-10. Fourcade led the SEC in total offense as both a sophomore and junior. He

earned first team All-SEC honors in 1980 after amassing 2,299 total yards, the most-ever at the time by a Rebel in an individual year. Fourcade would go on to play in the NFL for four seasons with the New Orleans Saints. He also had a long playing and head coaching career with numerous non-NFL teams.

JENNIFER LORENZEN

Rifle (2003-07) Je n n i f e r L ore n z e n , a t h re e - t i m e All-America selection, helped shape the Ole Miss rifle program in its early stages and will be the first rifle inductee into the M-Club Hall of Fame. As a senior, Lorenzen was one of two Rebel shooters who competed in the 2007 NCAA Rifle Championships and finished 35th nationally in smallbore in her final collegiate competition. She was named second team All-American in smallbore by the National Rifle Association after her senior season. As a junior, she earned honorable mention All-America accolades in smallbore. As a sophomore, she set a new

Clay Cavett Photos by Bill Dabney

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Ole Miss Sports school record for air rifle with a 590 score at Nebraska. Lorenzen also set a new school record for smallbore with a score of 582 at both the Ole Miss Invitational and the NCAA Sectional. At season’s end, Lorenzen became the first All-American in program history when she received honorable mention for air rifle.

FRED ROBERTS

Football (1961-63) and Baseball (1962-64) A two-sport athlete at Ole Miss, Fred Roberts earned three letters in football (1961-63) and three in baseball (1962-64). During his three seasons on the gridiron as a fullback and linebacker, Ole Miss had an overall record of 26-3-2, while going a perfect 10-0 in 1962 and winning a share of the National Championship. The 1962 and 1963 teams also won back-to-back SEC championships. During his three varsity seasons, the Rebels played in the Cotton Bowl and two Sugar Bowls. On offense, his career totals included 629 yards rushing on

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141 carries (4.5 yards per rush) and six touchdowns. Although playing a position known for blocking, his 273 yards rushing led the team in 1963. Defensively, Roberts tallied four career pass interceptions. D u r i ng h i s t h re e ye ars on t he baseball diamond, Roberts helped the Rebels post an overall record of 58-24, including a 24-7 record in 1964 when Ole Miss captured the SEC crown and won the NCAA District III title to advance to the College World Series in Omaha. Roberts was selected to the 1964 All-SEC Western Division team as an outfielder when he led the SEC in home runs with seven. He finished his career with 77 hits, including 16 doubles, two triples and 15 home runs, while driving in 59 runs.

2023 LOTTERHOS SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENT CLAY CAVETT

Clay Cavett is a 1986 graduate of Ole Miss with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and joined the Ole Miss

Alumni Association staff in 1988. He serves as director of campaigns and special projects. For years, he coordinated alumni activities as assistant director for the schools of Accountancy, Business, Engineering and the M-Club Alumni Chapter. With the M-Club Alumni Chapter, his efforts were tireless, and his servant attitude was particularly noticeable in trying to fulfill all the needs of each campus alumni club. In addition to his duties at Ole Miss and previously serving the M-Club, Cavett has been a leader with the National Letter Winners Association since the early 2000s. He has served as the NLWA president and continues to be a leader within the organization. He remains heavily involved at NLWA conferences while serving as treasurer along with planning committee member for the host school each year. Visit olemissalumni.com to learn more about the Ole Miss M-Club Alumni Chapter, including membership, benefits and more.

YOU ARE PART OF OUR PAST.

BE A PART OF OUR FUTURE.

he Ole Miss Alumni Association allows you to have the connection with the place and people that share your past, while securing Ole Miss’ future with funding for student outreach, scholarships, reunions, alumni communications and athletics support. Lend us your voice by remaining an active, duespaying member. Renew at olemissalumni.com/join and encourage family and friends to remain active. Thank you for being an active part of the Alumni Association.

Ole Miss Sports

Photo by Joshua McCoy

Sighted in RIFLE TEAM SHOWS OUT AT WINTER AIR GUN CHAMPIONSHIPS, SMALLBORE OLYMPIC TRIAL

le Miss Rifle landed three in the top 40 at the Winter Air Gun Championships and top 20 for the second smallbore Olympic trial among the best in the nation. The Rebels sent eight current athletes and four signees to the competition in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Air Gun Championships acted as the second Olympic trial for air rifle. Leading the way for Ole Miss was incoming freshman Gracie Dinh. The signee fired off a 625.2 on day one and a 625.6 on day two for a spot in the finals with a 1250.8 total. Despite going into the finals in eighth, Dinh battled against some of the nation’s top competitors for fourth place overall. She would take the silver in the junior category. Younger students continued to excel as freshman Regan Diamond finished in the top 30 with a two-match score of 1245.3. Diamond stepped up immediately by tying her highest score in air rifle, a 595 integer score, to a 623.9 decimal score. She came back the next day to shoot another mark above 620. Six other Rebels made it into the top 75 out of 170 participants. Kristen Derting fired a 1241.4 for 39th place, 40

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and Julianna Hays got 53rd place, shooting a 1235.8. Emma Pereira and Katie Tedeschi took 58th and 59th place with scores of 1232.6 and 1231.7, respectively. Martina Gratz and M’Leah Lambdin rounded out the top 75. The rest of the Ole Miss signees landed in the top 90, including Jordan de Jesus, just missing the top 75. Immediately following the Winter Air Gun Championships, USA Shooting hosted the second trial for Olympic smallbore. After making the smallbore finals during the first trial, Dinh was again at the top of the leaderboards. The incoming freshman had the eighth-highest score on day one, hitting 587. However, she finished 11th overall with an 1172. Just a point behind, Diamond rattled off an 1171 for 14th place. The first match didn’t go Diamond’s way; she shot a 581. She turned things around the next day, firing her first-ever 590. Pereira was consistent, notching a 585 on both days, including a perfect prone score in match two. Pereira found herself just outside the top 15 in 16th. The final smallbore trial is after the collegiate rifle season March 17-19 at Fort Moore in Georgia.

Ole Miss Sports

Peach Bowl Champs OLE MISS TORCHES NATION’S TOP DEFENSE

he 2023 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl pitted the nation’s No. 1 defense, brought by No. 10 Penn State, and one of its best offenses, and in the end, No. 11 Ole Miss and its offense won out in a 38-25 victory for a school record 11th win. Penn State entered the game allowing an FBS best 223.2 total yards per game. The Nittany Lions led the nation in total defense, turnover margin, first downs allowed, rushing defense, sacks and tackles for loss. Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss

just shy of 400 yards at 394. It was also the only time this season a team threw more than 40 times against the Nittany Lions without an interception. Jaxson Dart’s three touchdown passes also tied a season-high for the PSU secondary. Before the Peach Bowl, Penn State had allowed just two 100-yard receivers: 104 yards from Indiana’s Dequece Carter and 162 yards by Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. In the Peach Bowl, Penn State allowed two 100-yard receivers: Caden Prieskorn at 136 and Tre Harris with 134.

Ole Miss defeated Penn State 38-25 in the 2023 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. | Photo by Joshua McCoy

responded to the challenge by posting the most points (38), passing yards (394) and total yards (540) Penn State has allowed this season. “It’s one thing to win some games — if you win a game in the last second, a field goal goes in or it doesn’t — that’s one thing, but to play a game and in a lot of the phases of the game, these guys played extremely well. Kind of dominated certain phases of the game against — I know they were a little short with opt-outs, but the No. 1 defense in the country,” Kiffin says. Penn State hadn’t allowed a team to hit the 300-yard mark through the air this season, and Ole Miss finished 42

A LU M N I R E V I E W

On the ground, Ole Miss tied for the second-most yards against the Nittany Lions this season, matching the 146 yards produced in the season opener by West Virginia and falling short of Michigan’s 227 yards. Quinshon Judkins joined Michigan’s Blake Corum as just the second 100-yard rusher against the Nittany Lions this year. The other two teams, WVU and Michigan, which broke 100 yards on the ground against Penn State, failed to break 200 yards passing. The No. 1 Wolverines only had 60 yards through the air in their matchup. In terms of total offense, Ohio State had the most against Penn State before the Nittany

Lions came to Atlanta with 365. Ole Miss bested that by almost 200, notching 540 total yards in the win. “Just in studying and game planning, didn’t really feel in that conference they had played much tempo,” Kiffin says. “Obviously that’s part of what we do, and we were able to — that only works when you make first downs. So, we made some plays, and we were able to get into some tempo situations where they weren’t aligned and took advantage of that.” The Nittany Lions were allowing 12.5 first downs per game, leading the nation, and Ole Miss moved the chains 30 times, including a perfect 3-for-3 mark on fourth down. “Really pleased with our players to play really clean, kind of penalty free,” Kiffin says. “Did a good job in situations, the 3-for-3 on fourth downs, those are very critical plays in the game.” No team had scored more than 24 points against Penn State this season. Ole Miss was almost there at halftime, leading 20-17 at the break. Despite the lead, the Rebels had to overcome another overwhelming strength of the Nittany Lions: the third quarter. PSU had outscored its opponents 115-3 in the third quarter this season, and the Nittany Lions began the second half with the ball. Ole Miss responded defensively by posting three three-and-outs to start the second half, winning the quarter 11-0 to all but put the game away. “That was really cool to come out in the second half like that, a game that we had the lead and really had a great, kind of dominant third quarter in a lot of phases of the game,” Kiffin says. “I don’t have it in front of me, but I saw the drive chart up on the big screen before the end of the game there, the last couple series. There were a lot of touchdowns and scorers over here on our side in that third quarter and the first half of the fourth quarter and a lot of punts and then a blocked field goal on their side.”

Just Published

The Exchange: After The Firm by

John Grisham (JD 81), 352 pages (hardcover; also available in paperback and Kindle), Doubleday, ISBN: 978-0385548953 What became of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke and fled the country? The answer is in The Exchange, the riveting sequel to The Firm, the blockbuster thriller that launched the career of America’s favorite storyteller. It is now 15 years later, and Mitch and Abby are living in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Mitch finds himself at the center of a sinister plot that has worldwide implications — and once again endangers his colleagues, friends and family. Mitch has become a master at staying one step ahead of his adversaries, but this time there’s nowhere to hide. John Grisham is the author of numerous No. 1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly 50 languages. He is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction. Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. He lives on a farm in central Virginia.

Rowdy Boundaries: True Mississippi Mississippi Supreme Court from 1983 Tales from Natchez to Noxubee by to 1992, taught law at the University of James L. Robertson (BA 62), 224 pages (hardcover), University Press of Mississippi, ISBN: 978-1496847102 Dwelling along the Mississippi River, the Tennessee state line, the Tenn-Tom Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico are a trove of characters with fascinating lives and histories. In Rowdy Boundaries: True Mississippi Tales from Natchez to Noxubee, author James L. Robertson weaves these stories to reveal a tapestry of Mississippi’s border counties and the towns and people that occupy them. From his unique vantage as a former Mississippi Supreme Court justice and seasoned lawyer, he documents the legal, geographical and biographical tales revealed during his journeys along and within the state lines. The volume features the true stories of musicians, authors, portrait painters and football players, as well as political activists, educators, politicians and judges. Also featured are tributes to noteworthy newspaper editors and columnists for their many contributions over the years. Robertson covers pivotal moments in Mississippi history, including the Mississippi Married Women’s Property Act of 1839, the development of Chinese culture in the Mississippi Delta and Freedom Summer of 1964. James L. Robertson served on the

Mississippi School of Law from 1977 to 1992, and was a shareholder in the Wise Carter law firm from 1993 to 2016. He is author of Heroes, Rascals, and the Law: Constitutional Encounters in Mississippi History, published by University Press of Mississippi.

No Reindeer This Year! Santa’s Christmas Crisis b y Linda Denning (BA 06), edited by Emily Denning (BA 78), 31 pages (paperback), Linda Denning (publisher), ISBN: 978-1737389620 In No Reindeer This Year!, Santa’s reindeer plan to skip Christmas and hightail it to the beach. Their “other plans” threaten to ruin Christmas for all the children in the world. Can their friends help the reindeer find their Christmas spirit before it’s too late? Join Santa, Mrs. Claus, elves, snowmen and, of course, reindeer, in this North Pole adventure. This Christmas story captures the season’s excitement and will have young readers laughing out loud while learning about the importance of keeping promises and caring about others. Linda Denning, co-author of the children’s story Bear’s Hair Is Everywhere!, is committed to writing wholesome and amusing tales that teach life lessons. Themes in her books include responsibility, problem solving and empathy.

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. 44

A LU M N I R E V I E W

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Rebel Traveler

2024

Dordogne, France

he alumni travel program is a ser vice the Ole Miss Alumni Association offers as part of its mission to unite its alumni and keep them connected to Ole Miss and one another. OMAA has partnered with several tour operators that specialize in alumni travel to offer a broad selection of educational tours. Visit olemissalumni.com/travel for more information on these trips and others. Offerings and itineraries are subject to change or cancellation. For a brochure or more information on a trip, contact the Alumni office at 662-915-7375 or email travel@olemissalumni.com.

CRUISING LISBON TO BARCELONA: THROUGH THE STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR APRIL 10-19, 2024

Tour Operator: Gohagan Trace the cultural legacy of the most storied civilization of the Middle Ages on this spectacular eight-night cruise 46

A LU M N I R E V I E W

featuring the Iberian Peninsula and Portugal’s breathtaking Algarve coast. Visit 10 spectacular cities — Lisbon, Portimão, Seville, Gibraltar, Tangier, Malaga, Granada, Valencia, Tarragona and Barcelona — with excursions in every port. Stand on the “Top of the Rock” in Gibraltar, considered one of the two Pillars of Hercules by ancient Greeks and Romans. Explore Granada’s magnificent Alhambra Palace and discover the historical hillside port of Tarragona. Extend your journey with the Lisbon pre-program and/or Barcelona post-program options.

VILLAGE LIFE FRANCE APRIL 18-26, 2024

Tour Operator: Gohagan Immerse yourself in the authentic provincial character of the Dordogne region in Sarlat-la-Canéda, one of France’s most beautiful and well-preser ved medieval towns, on this one-of-a-kind, seven-night experience. Discover

charming villages, medieval castles and prehistoric treasures through specially arranged excursions, including Sarlat’s famous open-air market; the pilgrimage site of Rocamadour; the English-style gardens of Eyrignac; the fascinating prehistoric cave paintings of Cap-Blanc; the perfectly reproduced cave art at Lascaux and Rouffignac; and a specially arranged gabare cruise on the Dordogne River.

CHARISMATIC MEDITERRANEAN (BARCELONA TO VENICE) APRIL 19-29, 2024

Tour Operator: Go Next Lose yourself in the wonders of the Mediterranean on this 10-night cruise. Your journey begins in beautiful Barcelona. Set sail for Marseille and venture to the pleasant Provençal countryside where fields of lavender and sunflowers are abundant. Try your hand at the famed Monte Carlo Casino. In Rome, get your fill of Italian Renaissance art and architecture and see the towering remains of

2024 the ancient Roman Empire. Enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables along the colorful Amalfi coast. Marvel at the stunning Mou nt Et na i n Ta or m i na , and i n Argostoli explore ancient artifacts from the Mycenaean, Hellenistic and Roman periods. Take in the sights of 15th-century monasteries in Igoumenitsa, and in Kotor enjoy an entertaining tuk-tuk ride. Explore Split’s UNESCO-listed Old Town or go local and cook coastal cuisine with Croatian villagers.

HOLLAND AND BELGIUM ALONG THE DUTCH WATERWAYS APRIL 26 – MAY 4, 2024

Tour Operator: Gohagan Celebrate the spectacular beauty of Holland and Flanders in springtime on this uniquely exclusive, seven-night cruise. Expert-led excursions include visits to the historical canals of Amsterdam; the world-class Kröller-Müller Museum; K i n d e rd ij k a n d t h e D e lt a Wor k s

engineering projects; storybook Bruges; the 2,000-year-old city of Nijmegen; the incomparable Keukenhof Gardens; the blue pottery center of Delft; and the Golden Age trading center of Hoorn. Immerse yourself in local culture during our exclusive River Life forum. Enhance your experience with the Amsterdam p r e ‑ p r o g r a m a n d / o r T h e Ha g u e post-program options.

CROATIA AND THE DALMATIAN COAST APRIL 26 – MAY 7, 2024

Tour Operator: AHI Discover Croatia’s incredible bounty on this sensational 10-night journey, including a seven-night Adriatic cruise. Begin in Dubrovnik, one of the world’s best-preserved medieval cities. Enjoy exploring its legendary ramparts and proud old town; then get a taste of cruising life as your vessel glides away from the crowds to showcase the Dalmatian

Rebel Traveler

Coast. Each day reveals a new port of call, a sunny island or an exquisite, secluded bay. Hop off to explore the enchanting islands of Rab, Hvar and Korčula, as well as Split, Zadar and Trogir, storied cities with centuries of history and heritage. Plus, choose between touring St. James Cathedral or Krka National Park in Šibenik. After disembarking the ship, travel on to Plitvice National Park, an astonishing natural marvel. Your adventure concludes with three nights in vibrant Zagreb, home to the Mirogoj Cemetery and beautiful St. Mark’s Church. Along the way, expert lectures shed light on the region’s history, and traditional dishes indulge your palate.

EUROPEAN COASTAL CRUISE MAY 12-21, 2024

Tour Operator: Gohagan Explore the storied legacies and dynamic cultures of coastal Portugal, Spain, France and England, and commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day on this eight-night cruise itinerary. Discover Portugal’s renowned wine country, walk in the footsteps of ancient pilgrims in Santiago de Compostela, visit Bilbao’s iconic Guggenheim Museum, and see UNESCO-inscribed Mont-St.-Michel’s impressive abbey. Meet guest speaker Dwight David Eisenhower II, grandson of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as he joins us on a special anniversary tour of the hallowed Normandy beaches. Extend your journey with the Lisbon pre-program and London post-program options.

CRUISE THE RHINE AND MOSELLE RIVERS MAY 17-25, 2024

Cochem, Germany

Tour Operator: AHI Journey along the storied Rhine and Moselle rivers on a seven-night cruise that reveals the historic riches of Old World cities and towns. Unpack once and revel in enchanting scenery, hilltop castles, grand cathedrals and picturesque canals. Plus, choose from a variety of included excursions, featuring biking, culinary tours and cultural experiences, in Amsterdam, Rüdesheim, Heidelberg and Strasbourg. W I N T E R 2024

Rebel Traveler 2024 IRELAND AND NORTHERN IRELAND: EMERALD ISLE CRUISE MAY 21-30, 2024

Tour Operator: Gohagan From Dublin town down to the “rebel city” of Cork, then around and up the coast to Galway and Belfast, this enchanting eight-night cruise itinerary includes some of the island’s most iconic sites. From an excursion to the famous Blarney Castle and Cliffs of Moher to visits to legendary landmarks such as the UNESCO-inscribed Skellig Michael, Giant’s Causeway and the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, the best of the Emerald Isle awaits. Extend your journey with the Dublin pre-program option and/ or the Glaslough, County Monaghan, post-program option.

CELTIC LANDS MAY 28 – JUNE 7, 2024

Tour Operator: Gohagan Discover the legacy of the Celts in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, England and France on this carefully curated, nine-night itinerary. Enjoy two full-day excursions to the hallowed beaches of Normandy on the 80th anniversar y of D-Day — each accompanied by acclaimed historians Dwight David Eisenhower II and Allen Packwood, OBE. Your Celtic journey begins in Glasgow, Scotland, before continuing to the isles of Iona and Tobermory and then onward to Wales. From there, you will cruise to Dublin, Ireland, and then on to England before arriving at the shore of France to visit Utah Beach near Cherbourg and Omaha Beach near Caen. Complement your tour with the Edinburgh and Glasgow pre - pro g r am an d / or t h e L on d on post-program options.

80TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY CRUISE: D-DAY AND THE BOMBER WAR MAY 29 – JUNE 8, 2024

Tour Operator: National WWII Museum Join us as we sail from Hamburg on May 29, with ports of call and a custom itinerary emphasizing the land, sea and air campaigns of World War II. Be there with us in Normandy for an unforgettable 80th anniversary ceremony on 48

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Mystras, Greece

June 6. A two-day stop in East Anglia, England, will specially emphasize the airmen and their ground support who helped make D-Day possible. Share in rich discussions with revered historians Donald L. Miller, Alexandra Richie, John McManus and Keith Lowe. Enjoy privileged access to top World War II sites and special invitations to events both onboard and ashore during this major commemoration. For a more robust experience, add a specially arranged pre-cruise tour in Hamburg or our post-cruise program in London.

GREECE JUNE 7-16, 2024

Tour Operator: AHI Greece’s cultural riches await you on this eight-night journey to Athens and Kalamata. Ascend the Acropolis to admire the Parthenon and sweeping views of Athens. Visit the celebrated birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games at Olympia and explore the fortified Bronze Age

citadel of Mycenae. Set off to an underthe-radar gem, the beautifully preserved classical city Messene, and discover a one-of-a-kind treasure, mountainside Mystras, an important center of Byzantine culture. During your stay in seaside Kalamata, savor the bustling coastal life, its namesake olives and freshly caught seafood. You’ll also learn about Greek history, from classical to contemporary, during illuminating lectures with experts. This trip includes deluxe and first-class hotels and a generous meal plan with wine at dinner. Solo travelers enjoy no single supplement.

ENCHANTING GEMS OF AUSTRIA JUNE 12-21, 2024

Tour Operator: AHI Be captivated by Austria’s splendor on this exceptional, eight-night experience brimming with history, natural beauty and scrumptious cuisine. Enjoy four nights in the heart of both Graz and Salzburg, named UNESCO World

2024 Heritage sites. Take in Graz’s charming ambience on a guided stroll and from atop its iconic hilltop. In music-filled Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, delight in a memorable performance of his works and see the landmarks of his life. Outings around the Styria region introduce you to mighty Riegersburg Castle and the renowned Lipizzaner horses. You’ll also discover the farmfresh delicacies and fine wines that have made Graz Austria’s culinary capital. Sample pumpkin seed oil at a family farm and creamy sweets at a chocolate factor y. Other standouts include a cruise on picturesque Lake Hallstatt and a day in Bavaria featuring the historic Eagle’s Nest, a salt mine tour and a beer garden lunch! This small-group journey features insightful guides and lecturers.

RADIANT ALASKA JULY 9-19, 2024

Tour Operator: Go Next Explore the “Last Frontier” on this riveting, 10-night cruise. Revel in the scenery of steep, forested mountain slopes and pristine waters while cruising the Outside Passage and Hubbard

Glacier. Begin your journey in Seattle and set sail for Seymour Narrows. Catch a crab feast or enjoy fresh salmon in the salmon capital of the world, Ketchikan, where fishermen pull each day’s dinner fresh from the water. Witness the picture-perfect Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. Feel the excitement of the gold rush in Skagway, a scenic valley town rooted in history and surrounded by rugged, white-capped mountains. Spot Icy Strait Point’s spouting whales and immerse yourself in nature in Hoonah. Test your luck at salmon sport fishing and get the local experience in Sitka. Before journey’s end in Seattle, seek out craft breweries, gardens and local seafood specialties in Victoria, British Columbia.

CAPE COD AND THE ISLANDS JULY 13-19, 2024

Tour Operator: Premier World Discovery “The Cape” — Cape Cod, located in eastern Massachusetts, is among New England’s favorite summer destinations, and it thrives on tourism, beautiful ocean beaches and small unique businesses. Travelers visit to lose themselves

Rebel Traveler

among endless miles of windswept seashore, dune-studded landscapes, inshore forests and historic sights. Enjoy your first night in exciting Boston before heading to “the Cape” for five nights to experience its beauty and history. Visit amazing Boston, mansion-filled Newport, Rhode Island; Provincetown; a cranberry bog; and ferry to the two most scenic and famous Islands off “the Cape”: Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

VILLAGE LIFE – ITALIAN LAKES SEPT. 21-30, 2024

Tour Operator: Gohagan Northern Italy’s fabled Lake District beckons with its shimmering glacial waters, soaring Alpine peaks and bijou towns on a seven-night itinerary that immerses you in the distinct bella figura Italian style that has inspired poets, composers, artists and philosophers for centuries. Visit Bellagio, Villa del Balbianello, Stresa, Isola Bella and Sacro Monte di Orta, a UNESCO World Heritage site. In Milan, visit the Duomo and Teatro alla Scala, and enjoy a specially arranged viewing of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”

Hallstatt, Austria W I N T E R 2024

Alumni News Class Notes ’50s

ALBERT LYLE (BBA 59), of

Jackson, was a member of the 85 and over four-man U.S. team that won the World Team Tennis Championship in Mallorca, Spain, in October. He was also selected to be on the 2024 U.S. team.

’60s

in the state of Iowa. During Clarke’s distinguished career, he received numerous awards and recognitions, including from the Iowa Judges Association, Iowa Supreme Court, Iowa Trial Lawyers Association and many others.

WILLIAM DUNLAP (MFA 69),

W. RALPH EUBANKS (BA 78), of Washing-

of Coral Gables, Florida, was featured in American Landscapes: Meditations on Art and Literature in a Changing World. This volume in the University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses collection considers the contributions of its authors and artists in relation to the nation’s history during a time of unprecedented change since spring 2019.

ton, D.C., was featured in American Landscapes: Meditations on Art and Literature in a Changing World. This volume in the University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses collection considers the contributions of its authors and artists in relation to the nation’s history during a time of unprecedented change since spring 2019.

ROBERT E. STEWART (BBA 64, BA 65), of

LISA HOWORTH (BA 76, MA 84), of Oxford,

Montgomery, Alabama, celebrated 50 years associated with First Federal Bank of Tuscaloosa in June 2023.

was featured in American Landscapes: Meditations on Art and Literature in a Changing World. This volume in the University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses collection considers the contributions of its authors and artists in relation to the nation’s history during a time of unprecedented change since spring 2019.

CURTIS WILKIE (BSJ 63), of Oxford, was

featured in American Landscapes: Meditations on Art and Literature in a Changing World. This volume in the University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses collection considers the contributions of its authors and artists in relation to the nation’s history during a time of unprecedented change since spring 2019.

’70s

JAMES D. BELL (BAE d 75,

JD 77), of Crystal Springs, has authored a new book titled BeeBop: The Honeybee Wannabee Hero. The story encompasses themes of determination, resilience, compassion and belonging by following a young orphan bee trying to prove himself to his adopted hive. STEPHEN C. CLARKE (JD 73), of Water-

loo, Iowa, retired after 35 years as a judge 50

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ARCHIE MANNING (BPA 71) and OLIVIA MANNING (BAEd 71), of New Orleans,

were recognized as recipients of the 2024 Paul “Bear” Bryant Heart of a Champion Award. The award recognizes individuals whose notable contributions and positive influences have helped define the ways in which we enjoy, watch and engage in sports, and whose life exemplifies characteristics for which Coach Bryant was known. DAVID F. RANKIN (PhD 70), of Magnolia, Arkansas, was appointed as Southern Arkansas University’s interim president.

M. KERWIN TRUSSELL (BBA 78), of Mem-

phis, is scheduled to retire after 40 years with Morgan Keegan/Raymond James. Trussell retires as a senior vice president and director in the Mortgage Financial Department.

’80s

MARK BUYS ( B BA 8 0 ) , o f

Vi ck s bu rg , re t i re d f rom Cadence Bank after 43 years in the banking industry. JOHN GRISHAM (JD 81), of North Gar-

den, Virginia, was featured in American Landscapes: Meditations on Art and Literature in a Changing World. This volume in the University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses collection considers the contributions of its authors and artists in relation to the nation’s history during a time of unprecedented change since spring 2019. MARY KAY HANSEN (JD 85), of Lincoln,

Nebraska, was presented with the Jan Gradwohl Outstanding Contributor to Women in the Law Award. This award recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of an individual who directly contributed to the active integration and participation of women in the Nebraska justice system. G. DEWEY HEMBREE III (BBA 83, JD 86), of

Madison, was recognized on the 2023 MidSouth Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list and named among the top 50 attorneys in the state of Mississippi. BOBBY MOAK (BPA 80), of Bogue Chitto,

was inducted into the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame for his work helping to revitalize the Mississippi Gulf Coast gaming industry after Hurricane Katrina.

Alumni News

ALUMNI CLUB SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

Submitted photo

he Central Mississippi Ole Miss Rebel Club held a luncheon on Dec. 13 for 2023-24 recipients of a $1,000 scholarship the club provided to five local students attending Ole Miss. The three students pictured who were able to attend the luncheon at The Manship in Jackson are Jude Williams (left), Ian Robinson and Anna Maria Martin.

’90s

TREY EUBANKS (BSPh 90, MD

94), of Memphis, was named president of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital after serving as its interim president.

’00s

BILLY GLASCO JR. (BA 05), of

ELI MANNING (BBA 02), of Summit, New

Locust Grove, Georgia, was promoted to the position of supervisory archivist at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta.

Jersey, was inducted into the 2024 Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. The quarterback set or tied 47 school records with the Rebels and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft and won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants, among numerous other accolades.

DAVID HARRIS (BBA 93, MBA 95), of New

Orleans, accepted a position as the athletic director at Tulane University in New Orleans. MICHAEL LINDSEY (BBA 92), of Tupelo,

joined ServisFirst Bank as chief information and operations officer. With three decades of experience in financial services, Lindsey brings exceptional leadership and strategic thinking to his new role.

TYWANNA INMON-SMITH (BBA 04, MBA

05), of Proctor, Arkansas, was honored with the Emerging Young Philanthropist Award by the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy. ALEX JACKSON (BA 09), of St. Louis, Mis-

MARKEEVA MORGAN (BSEE 01), of Frisco,

Texas, was promoted to vice president and program manager of VC-25B, the new Air Force One.

souri, accepted the position of director of program strategies within university advancement at Washington University in St. Louis. W I N T E R 2024

Alumni News JIM W. MORRISON (BBA 03), of Edmond,

Oklahoma, was named the new chief strategy officer by the University of Oklahoma. Morrison brings to this role nearly 20 years of experience in higher education administration and consulting. ROBERT SAVOIE (BBA 07), of Solon, Ohio,

was honored in three categories in the Chambers FinTech Guide for the fourth consecutive year and is only one of six attorneys to achieve Chambers’ highest ranking in the Nationwide FinTech Legal: Payments and Lending category. MIKE WILLIAMS (BSChE 01), of Keller,

Texas, joined Arlington-based U.S. Energy Development Corp. as vice president of engineering. RICHARD “RICKY” WOOD (BBA 09), of Atoka,

Tennessee, joined the Lyric Hotel, West End District in Cleveland as general manager.

’10s

SARAH BURNETT (BA 13), of

Franklin, Tennessee, was promoted to chief of staff at the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry. STEPHEN POWELL (BA 11, MD 15), of

Atlanta, created Classic Fella, a clothing line that features traditional, old-style underwear, socks, tank tops and Oxford shirts and walking shorts.

’20s

JILKIAH BRYANT (BPHHS 23),

of Oxford, is the university’s third recipient of the Marshall Scholarship, a prestigious award annually providing a select 50 American students graduate-level study in the United Kingdom. MADISON SCARPINO (BAJ 20), of Atlanta,

was promoted to the role of correspondent based out of Atlanta for Fox News. She previously served as a Fox News multimedia reporter based out of St. Louis.

TOY DRIVE

KERRY J. YANCY (MCJ 22), of Cleburne,

Texas, successfully passed the exam for the American Board of Physician Specialties disaster medicine certification. Yancy is now certified in disaster medicine and carries the title of diplomate in disaster medicine, the first physician in the state of Mississippi to hold this board certification.

ALUMNI FRIENDS JASON BOULDIN, of Oxford, was featured

in American Landscapes: Meditations on Art and Literature in a Changing World. This volume in the University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses collection considers the contributions of its authors and artists in relation to the nation’s history during a time of unprecedented change since spring 2019.

Submitted photo

he Houston Rebel Club raised $1,000 for a local toy drive benefiting underprivileged families in Houston, Texas. Stephen Rao (right), club president, and Jackson Oaks (left), club treasurer, present the check to Derick Craig for Rose of Sharon Missionary Baptist Church. The children received all the toys on Dec. 21.

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Alumni News BIRTHS

Anna Griffith Ellis (BA 49), of Port Gibson, Nov. 1, 2023

Grayson Ryan, son of Stephanie Rice Williams (BS 05) and Ryan Jerome Williams (BSCvE 05), July 5, 2023.

Mary Cornelia Elliott Ferriss (BAEd 46), of Jackson, Dec. 10, 2023 Maurice Uriah Labens (49), of Plano, Texas, Oct. 6, 2023 Mary Gravlee Putnam (44), of Tupelo, Nov. 20, 2023

WEDDINGS

Ben Barnes Sayle (47), of Greenville, Oct. 13, 2023

Olivia McCall Bailey (BS 18) and Jacob Merrill, Sept. 2, 2023.

Azilee West Suddath (BAEd 48), of Katy, Texas, Nov. 15, 2023

Mary Morgan Grantham (BAccy 20, MAccy 21) and Addison Martin Harbour (BMDS 20), May 27, 2023.

Watts Rankin Webb (BA 42), of Alexandria, La., Nov. 4, 2023

Savannah Rose Jumper (BBA 20) and Ryan Michael Harriman, April 16, 2023. Anne Russell Webb (BGS 19) and Jeffrey William Lancaster Jr. (BAccy 18, BBA 19), Aug. 12, 2023.

1950s Eddie Evaughn Barlow Jr. (BBA 58), of Austin, Texas, Oct. 3, 2023 Joan Whitten Bossung (BAEd 58), of Houston, Texas, Nov. 18, 2023 Norma Bradshaw Bowen (BAEd 55), of Madison, Dec. 8, 2023

IN MEMORIAM

James Franklin Brent (BM 50, MEd 51), of Gulfport, Sept. 18, 2023

1940s

Chester King Burnham (BBA 52), of Ridgeland, Sept. 19, 2023

Francisco De Leon (BSPh 43), of Camuy, P.R., June 5, 2023

Doris Bean Caldwell (BSC 56), of Fairhope, Ala., Oct. 11, 2023

A LU M N I R E V I E W

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W I N T E R 2024

Alumni News William Austin Carroll Jr. (BSPh 54), of Columbia, Aug. 27, 2023

Billy Wayne Stanford (BSChE 57), of Clinton, Nov. 12, 2023

Thomas Arthur Currey (55), of Germantown, Tenn., Nov. 4, 2023

Thomas Henry Tharp (50), of Fredericksburg, Va., Oct. 1, 2023

Edna Margaret Read Dessauer (BA 53), of Covington, La., Nov. 17, 2023

Jack Brooks Yates (BBA 50), of Oxford, Nov. 8, 2023 Myrna Carolyn McCurdy Young (BA 52), of Destin, Fla., Oct. 19, 2023

Norman George Ellis (BBA 51, MA 52), of Terry, Dec. 8, 2023 George Edward Falls Jr. (BBA 59), of Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 18, 2023 Billy Lee Foley (BBA 58), of Blue Springs, Sept. 19, 2023 John Hart Geary (BBA 52), of Jackson, Oct. 17, 2023 Betty Jones Gengnagel (BA 59), of Auburn, Ind., Nov. 2, 2023 Mary Payne Hairald (BSC 57, MBEd 63), of Nettleton, Nov. 1, 2023 Martha Reid Hammond (51), of Dallas, Texas, Nov. 4, 2023 Lewis Carter Heidelberg (BBA 50), of Port Charlotte, Fla., Nov. 22, 2023 Virginia Peter Hoover (BA 57), of Fairhope, Ala., Nov. 16, 2023 Jane Baker Howton (53), of Jacksonville, Fla., Nov. 9, 2023 Russ Jennings (58), of Oxford, Dec. 11, 2023 John Joseph Kenney (59), of Madison, Nov. 28, 2023 Jean Bailey Kirk (BAEd 52), of Tupelo, Nov. 21, 2023 Martha Boring Kittleman (BAEd 50), of McAllen, Texas, Nov. 12, 2023 Shirley Atkinson LeBlanc (BA 53), of Oklahoma City, Okla., Sept. 24, 2023 Leroy Boyd Letcher Jr. (BBA 56), of Gulfport, Nov. 20, 2023 Jamie Stillions Longley (BA 56, BA 56), of Ozona, Fla., Sept. 19, 2023 Alvie Carl McCully (BS 52, MedCert 52), of Tallahassee, Fla., Oct. 3, 2023 Marie Stokes Melichar (BAEd 50), of Hattiesburg, Oct. 11, 2023 John Robert Merryman Jr. (BBA 53), of Tyler, Texas, Nov. 26, 2023 Ray Janney Nichols Jr. (MD 59), of Deering, N.H., Dec. 5, 2023 Walter Joseph Pierron Jr. (BSPh 54), of Monroe, La., Oct. 17, 2023 Jack Westbrook Robertson Jr. (BBA 53), of Jackson, Dec. 8, 2023 Thomas Banks Shepherd Jr. (BA 56), of Aberdeen, Sept. 27, 2023 Elizabeth Luckett Simmons (BAEd 51), of Ridgeland, Oct. 18, 2023 Thomas Stanley Sims (MBA 56), of Vestavia, Ala., Dec. 1, 2023

A LU M N I R E V I E W

1960s William Mangum Aden (BS 67, MD 70), of Ridgeland, Oct. 4, 2023 Cary Conn Bass Jr. (JD 65), of College Station, Texas, Nov. 12, 2023 Neal Brooks Biggers Jr. (LLB 63), of Oxford, Oct. 15, 2023 Guynell Strong Carr (BSN 61), of Hattiesburg, Oct. 18, 2023 William Franklin Chatham (BAEd 67), of Malvern, Ark., Oct. 31, 2023 John Gordon Corlew (BA 65), of Jackson, Dec. 6, 2023 Dallas McCarley Covington Sr. (BBA 61), of Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 8, 2023 Edward Scott Cracraft (BBA 60, MS 60), of Northville, Mich., Nov. 23, 2023 John Lipscomb Dale Sr. (BSChE 67), of Sylvania, Ohio, Nov. 21, 2023 Patty Downs Dillard (BAEd 62), of Myrtle, Oct. 15, 2023 William Leflore Dillon (BBA 61), of Jackson, Dec. 6, 2023 Allen Terrell Edwards (BPA 63), of Hernando, Sept. 21, 2023 Sammy Ray Fooshee (BSHPE 66, MEd 71), of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., Nov. 23, 2023 Frank Elwin Gammill Jr. (BSPh 63), of Memphis, Tenn., Nov. 9, 2023 James Robert Gilfoy IV (JD 66), of Saltillo, Nov. 16, 2023 William Shelton Gillis (BBA 66), of Germantown, Tenn., Oct. 7, 2023 John Garvin Gregory (64), of Brunswick, Ga., March 6, 2023 James William Griffith (68), of Clinton, Sept. 18, 2023 Anthony Earl Hale (BBA 65, MS 66), of Granger, Ind., Oct. 16, 2023 Marshall Earl Hanbury (BA 67), of Sandy Hook, Va., Nov. 24, 2023 James Byrnes Heidel (BBA 66, MSS 70), of Oxford, Nov. 4, 2023 Ose Fenn Henderson (MEd 63, EdD 68), of Little River, S.C., Sept. 8, 2023 Doris Pannell Hood (BAEd 63, MEd 68, AMEd 68), of Blue Springs, Nov. 28, 2023

Alumni News ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PAST PRESIDENT Jack Geary, 1930-2023

ohn Hart (Jack) Geary (BBA 52) died on Oct. 17, 2023. He served as president of the Ole Miss Alumni Association in 1983-84. Born in Vicksburg on Dec. 1, 1930, his mother died when he was 6 years old. His father raised him with the support of family, friends and the nuns and brothers at St. Francis Xavier Academy and St. Aloysius High School, the Catholic schools in Vicksburg. He met his wife, Shirley Hester, in 1954 and built a wonderful life and loving family with her. Family was the most important thing to him, and he was very close to their four children and 12 grandchildren. Geary enrolled in the University of Mississippi in September 1948. He joined Kappa Alpha Fraternity and was elected president and was later elected student body president his junior year. In addition to his term as president of the Ole Miss Alumni Association, Geary was one of the early presidents of the University of Mississippi Foundation. He was also co-chairman of the first major gifts campaign in 1984 and was inducted into the Ole Miss Alumni Hall of Fame in 2010. After graduating from Ole Miss in May 1952, he served for two years in the U.S. Air Force and was discharged in 1954 as a first lieutenant. Geary began his career in the investment business in 1959 in the Jackson office of Equitable Securities, a Nashville investment firm where he became a senior vice president and director. Geary later opened Paine Webber’s first branch office in the South. He went on to open his own firm, Geary and Patterson Inc. Morgan Keegan bought Geary and Patterson in 1980, and Geary stayed with Morgan Keegan until his retirement in 2006. Active in the Catholic Church throughout his life, Geary lived out his faith in everything that he did. He was an active member of St. Richard’s Catholic Church in Jackson for 65 years, serving as finance chairman when the current church was built and co-chairman of the first major gifts campaign. He was also the founding president of the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Jackson, served as chairman of the Investment Committee and was a member of the executive committee for over 35 years. In addition to his interest in his church, Ole Miss and politics, Geary was involved in his city as either an officer or director of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, Jackson Preparatory School, Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi Mental Health Association and other organizations.

As we celebrate 185 years in business, we thank our loyal Ole Miss alumni and friends for your continued support.

W I N T E R 2024

Alumni News Harvey Terrell Huddleston (MD 62), of Overland Park, Kan., Sept. 15, 2023 Joan Bennett Jameson (BSC 63), of Canton, Ga., Oct. 6, 2023 Bradley Benton Jordan Jr. (BSCvE 61), of Little Rock, Ark., Nov. 24, 2023 Phil Kline (60), of Oxford, Oct. 5, 2023

Sarah Longino Thornton (BAEd 60), of Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 1, 2023 Carolyn East Triplett (BA 63), of Forest, Nov. 11, 2023 Gerald Donald Turberville (BBA 65), of Brandon, Oct. 14, 2023 Sally Turner Walker (BAEd 67), of New Orleans, La., Dec. 8, 2023 Louis Buford Yerger Jr. (MD 60), of Madison, Oct. 11, 2023

Helen Ray Herard Lewis (BAEd 69), of Eupora, Sept. 26, 2023 Lois LaFollette Lewis (BAEd 68), of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Nov. 14, 2023

1970s

Linda Gayle Ivy McCallister (BSN 67), of Bellaire, Texas, Sept. 19, 2023

Geraldine Beam Beeson (MEd 78), of Oklahoma City, Okla., Nov. 16, 2023

Bonnie Miles McMullan (BS 65), of Cottage Grove, Ore., May 8, 2023 James Kenneth Metcalfe (BSChE 61), of Tuscumbia, Ala., July 24, 2023 Robert Hill Milner Jr. (JD 67), of Gulfport, Sept. 24, 2023 Darlene Scott Moreton (MEd 68), of Plantation, Fla., Nov. 19, 2023 Albert Lionel Necaise (62), of Gulfport, Nov. 19, 2023 James Quay Parks (BSHPE 68), of The Villages, Fla., May 19, 2023 Wendell Keel Parks (62), of Oxford, Oct. 18, 2023 John Langan Pendergrass (MD 69), of Hattiesburg, Nov. 8, 2023 William Murphey Rainey (JD 67), of Franklin, Tenn., Dec. 3, 2023 Andrew John Ritch (BA 62, MA 65, MA 66), of Santa Fe, N.M., Oct. 25, 2023

Charles Singleton Bidgood III (BA 71, JD 74), of Meridian, Dec. 12, 2023 Sarah Elizabeth Ware Chiles (70), of Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 9, 2023 Sheila West Clark (BBA 78), of Oxford, Oct. 19, 2023 Mary Susan Clayton (MA 76), of Harrisonville, Mo., Oct. 2, 2023 Ellen Lucretia Cobb (MBEd 75), of Thomasville, N.C., Oct. 11, 2023 Thomas Randy Cobb (BA 70, JD 75), of New Albany, Oct. 27, 2023 David Wayne Cook (BSPh 77), of Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 14, 2023 Sandra Heard Ford (MA 72), of Orange Beach, Ala., Nov. 10, 2023 Phillip David Graham (BAEd 75), of Kingwood, Texas, Sept. 29, 2023 Zach Hederman Jr. (BBA 70), of Jackson, Oct. 23, 2023

James Lawton Robertson (BA 62), of Jackson, Dec. 10, 2023

Debra Ann Helms (BM 73, MEd 75), of Oxford, Oct. 4, 2023

Don Wintford Sheffield (BSHPE 64, MEd 72), of Oxford, Nov. 28, 2023

George Thomas Hester (74), of Pearl, Nov. 17, 2023

Mary Frances Devaughn Sheffield (64), of Mantachie, Dec. 13, 2023

Ronald Harris Hill (BSCvE 70), of McKinney, Texas, Nov. 19, 2023

Harold Padgett Smith (MCS 63), of Corinth, Dec. 11, 2023

Maria Martinez Irby (BA 77), of Arecibo, P.R., Oct. 28, 2023

Mabel Moore Smith (MLS 67), of Belzoni, Oct. 2, 2023

Donald Karl Johnson (BA 75, JD 77), of Gulfport, Sept. 13, 2023

Charles Ross Spencer (BBA 68), of Miami Beach, Fla., Dec. 9, 2023

Earl Patrick Jordan Jr. (JD 72), of Meridian, Nov. 1, 2023

Jere Gibert Stansel (65), of Greenwood, Dec. 16, 2023

Fritz Albert Katzenmeyer (BSHPE 73, MEd 74), of Madison, Sept. 30, 2023

James Nathaniel Stearns Jr. (JD 69), of Melbourne, Fla., Nov. 27, 2022 Gary Allan Stewart (BA 67), of Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 4, 2023 Faytema Treloar Suzy Strain (BAEd 64, MLS 69), of Tupelo, Sept. 29, 2023

Robert Joe Kelly (EdD 76), of Searcy, Ark., Sept. 25, 2023 Sammy Guy Ketchum (BBA 71, MBA 72), of Ripley, Oct. 30, 2023 Samuel Bowen King (BBA 73), of Athens, Ala., Nov. 5, 2023

David Raymond Thomas (BS 68, MD 71), of Austin, Texas, Sept. 19, 2023

Peter Linwood Ladd (79), of New Gloucester, Maine, Oct. 19, 2023

James Howard Thompson (MEd 67), of Coldwater, Dec. 4, 2023

Kaye Garrigues Martin (71), of Louisville, Nov. 27, 2023

A LU M N I R E V I E W

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• Special events throughout the year just for student members • Receive special gifts every year • Access to MEMBER ZONE on home football game days • Discounts and special offers at local and national retailers • Meet prominent alumni and learn valuable career advice at our networking events • Special car decal

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Alumni News Judith Crawford Mauney (MEd 76), of Mulvane, Kan., Nov. 30, 2023

1980s

Mary Frances May (MN 72), of Bogalusa, La., Nov. 24, 2023

Gus Barry Brady (MS 86), of Little Rock, Ark., Sept. 19, 2023

Katherine Ditto McClain (BA 75, BA 75, JD 83), of Oxford, Nov. 4, 2023

Richard Burch (BBA 82), of Sumrall, Oct. 10, 2023

Francis Roberta Haynes McKay (BAEd 75, MLS 80), of Baldwyn, Dec. 3, 2023

Rose Marie Christian (MEd 86), of North Little Rock, Ark., Nov. 13, 2023

James Horace McKinney Jr. (BBA 77), of Oxford, Oct. 16, 2023

Margaret Gwin Ferrell Chunn (MEd 82, EdD 85), of Oxford, Nov. 15, 2023

Frank Landel McWilliams (JD 77), of Jackson, Oct. 11, 2023 George Kristofer Mihalyka (JD 70), of Vicksburg, Sept. 25, 2023 Sam Martin Millette Jr. (BBA 75), of Destin, Fla., Nov. 24, 2023 Martin Craig Montgomery (BSHPE 76), of Pontotoc, Oct. 23, 2023 Guy Wilson Moore Jr. (BBA 72), of Pascagoula, Sept. 30, 2023 George Cleveland Morrow (BSHPE 71, MEd 76), of Hixson, Tenn., Oct. 14, 2023

Susan Gail Curry (SpecH 81), of Mathiston, March 22, 2023 Allen Lyn Darby (BSHPE 84), of Batesville, Nov. 26, 2023 Joseph Todd Davie (BBA 82), of Pensacola, Fla., Oct. 27, 2023 Heather Joanne Gillis (BSW 82), of New Orleans, La., Dec. 2, 2023 Tracy Martin James (BSCvE 85), of Hernando, Nov. 30, 2023 Howell Robinson Jones (BA 83), of Irving, Texas, Nov. 23, 2023

Kenneth Walker Peters (MD 76), of Spring, Texas, Sept. 1, 2023

Angela Holloway Marcus (BA 88), of Starkville, Oct. 3, 2023

Jesse Lloyd Petty (BSPh 77), of Ramer, Tenn., Sept. 19, 2023

Traci Leigh Mitchell (BA 89, MA 98), of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Dec. 3, 2023

William Larry Phillips (BPA 75), of Mantachie, Sept. 20, 2023

Clay Anthony Myrick (BFA 81), of Laurel, Nov. 23, 2023

Myra Ice Pruet (MEd 74), of Houston, Texas, Nov. 22, 2023

Jacqueline Herrington Panda (BSB 80), of Wallingford, Conn., Oct. 29, 2023

Todd Miller Pyles (BBA 74), of Jackson, Nov. 3, 2023 Richard Raspet (MS 73, PhD 75), of Oxford, Nov. 2, 2023 Cecil Lee Rector Jr. (JD 77), of Ocean Springs, Oct. 27, 2023 Tyrone Richard (79), of Cleveland, Dec. 6, 2023

Bobby Hugh Papasan (EdD 82), of Tunica, Oct. 6, 2023 Krushna Chandra Sahu (MEd 81), of Ridgeland, Oct. 12, 2023 Minna Phillips Ulmer (MD 82), of El Dorado, Ark., Oct. 7, 2023

David Michael Roberts (BBA 78), of Durham, Conn., Oct. 27, 2023 John David Roberts Sr. (BBA 73), of Cordova, Tenn., Oct. 25, 2023

1990s

Delorise Arnold Shaw (BA 73, MA 74), of Pope, Dec. 10, 2023

Carol Anita Williamson Beach (MEd 98), of Natchez, Sept. 27, 2023

Bobbye Jackson Shields (MEd 73), of Oxford, Oct. 28, 2023

Gerald Wayne Beard (BA 93, MEd 95), of Pope, Nov. 14, 2023

Charles William Steadman Jr. (71), of West Palm Beach, Fla., Sept. 20, 2023

John Thomas Church Jr. (BA 96, JD 99), of North Charleston, S.C., Nov. 11, 2023

Purvis Barry Switzer (BBA 78), of Brandon, Aug. 4, 2023

Holly Blades Hasty (BBA 96, MBA 97), of Plano, Texas, Sept. 28, 2023

Marty Lane Winter (BSPh 79), of Germantown, Tenn., Sept. 21, 2023

Erik Christopher Kählstorf (BBA 94), of Watkinsville, Ga., Nov. 13, 2023

Dorothy Hegenbart Yeoman (MA 79), of Silverdale, Wash., Aug. 21, 2023

Stephanie Ertle Kersey (BSES 99), of Corinth, Texas, Sept. 25, 2023

Susan Brown Yeoman (BA 72, MEd 77), of Saltillo, Nov. 30, 2023

Keith Nichols (92), of Olive Branch, Dec. 2, 2023

Bergy Bonds Young (BBA 75), of Charleston, Oct. 25, 2023

Kevin Michael O’Shea (BAEd 98), of Mount Pleasant, S.C., Oct. 7, 2023

A LU M N I R E V I E W

Alumni News Brenda Glover Robertson (MA 92), of Pine Bluff, Ark., Oct. 23, 2023

Phillip Alan Messer (BA 04), of Wilmington, N.C., Oct. 27, 2023

Lawrence Allen Rosenbluth (JD 92), of Atlanta, Ga., Nov. 30, 2023

Sandra Eileen Van Pelt (PhD 03), of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Oct. 2, 2023

Lori Webb Steen (BS 98), of Florence, Dec. 4, 2023 Mary Frances Grace Reeves Williams (MEd 99), of Sardis, Oct. 1, 2023

2000s Jennifer Jeanne-Mary Allen (BA 08), of Southaven, Oct. 22, 2023

Chelsea Strickland Wildman (BAccy 09, MTax 10), of Southaven, Sept. 18, 2023

2010s

Krystal Rudolph Beasley (MSESC 05), of Brandon, Nov. 23, 2023

Sarah Michelle Barker (BSN 18), of New Braunfels, Texas, Nov. 11, 2023

Reynolds McKean Bromley (BBA 09), of Baton Rouge, La., Sept. 25, 2023

Hillary Ellington Brown (13), of Oxford, Nov. 28, 2023

Amy Dew Dornbusch (BA 02), of Oxford, Nov. 22, 2023 Kristin Clay Dunavant (BAccy 05), of Memphis, Tenn., Nov. 17, 2023 Michael Edward Hollinger (BBA 04), of Metairie, La., Nov. 4, 2023 Joshua Garrett Jenkins (BBA 04, BAccy 05, MAccy 06), of Oxford, Dec. 9, 2023 Chelsea Lewis Kelly (Cert 09), of Winona, Sept. 14, 2023

Ricky Lee Clayton Sr. (BSW 16), of Oxford, Dec. 10, 2023 Katie Virginia Grantham (BBA 17), of Sumrall, Nov. 23, 2023 Jeff Alboine Miller Sr. (BGS 13), of Riverview, Fla., Sept. 27, 2023 Sarah Dale Montgomery Pullen (BS 16), of Batesville, Nov. 22, 2023 Alexander James Roy (15), of San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 20, 2023 Sawyer Tomas Steede (BAEd 17), of Lucedale, Sept. 28, 2023

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W I N T E R 2024

Alumni News

Familiar Faces, New Roles OLE MISS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION HIRES FUNDRAISER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

ollowing extensive searches, the Ole Miss Alumni Association made organizational changes in November as two current staff members accepted new roles and responsibilities. Mary Kate Skelton (BS 18) was hired for the newly created position of alumni fundraising director. Skelton will remain in the alumni office, but she will work closely with the Office of Development. Her focus will be on raising funds to build a new Triplett Alumni Center and on projects needed throughout The Inn at Ole Miss. Skelton joined the Alumni Association staff in June 2022 as assistant director where she worked as the alumni liaison for UM’s Patterson School of Accountancy, School of Business Administration and School of Pharmacy. Skelton received a bachelor’s degree in integrated marketing communications from UM’s School of Journalism and New Media in 2018 and a Master of Business Administration from Mississippi State University in 2021. As an undergraduate, she was a member of the women’s soccer team where she served as captain. Before joining the Alumni Association staff, she served as a business account executive for Howard Technology Solutions. Savannah Dye (BS 21, MS 23) was hired as assistant director to fill Skelton’s previous role. Dye will work with the schools of Accountancy, Business Administration and Pharmacy on their engagement efforts including reunions and Hall of Fame

awards. In addition to these responsibilities, Dye will work with various constituency groups to provide engagement services. Dye joined the Alumni Association staff in 2021 as a special events assistant before being promoted to club coordinator, where she worked with alumni clubs outside Mississippi to coordinate in-person meetings, game watch parties, summer picnics and more.

Savannah Dye

Mary Kate Skelton 62

A LU M N I R E V I E W

She received a bachelor’s degree in integrated marketing communications from UM’s School of Journalism and New Media and a master’s degree in hospitality management. As an undergraduate, she was a Rebelette and member of Delta Gamma Fraternity. OMAA CEO Kirk Purdom (BA 93) said he is confident both Skelton and Dye will excel in their new positions. “Mary Kate and Savannah have both been tremendous assets to the Alumni Association, and I’m excited to see them grow in their new roles,” Purdom says. “Their great initiative and work ethic combined with their existing experience on our staff will continue to serve alumni and friends well.” To make a gift or learn more about supporting the new Triplett Alumni Center project, contact Skelton at marykate@ olemissalumni.com or 662-915-2377. For more information on the Alumni Association’s mission, programming and benefits, visit olemissalumni.com.

Alumni News 2020s

Jean Caines Brammer, of Oxford, Dec. 6, 2023

Aaron Samuel Barrick (BBA 20), of Coppell, Texas, Oct. 25, 2023

Debbie Burgess, of Gilbert, W.Va., Sept. 16, 2023

Aaron SinQ’ue Harper (BUS 20), of Jackson, Nov. 4, 2023

Ching Jygh Chen, of San Jose, Calif., Dec. 9, 2023

Marissa Jalin West (21), of Waynesboro, Nov. 3, 2023

Jessica Barton Clarke, of Jackson, Oct. 25, 2023 Suzanne McRae Clay, of Ridgeland, Oct. 13, 2023

STUDENTS

Betty Darby Cole, of Saltillo, Oct. 24, 2023

Sawyer Joseph Megehee, of Brandon, Oct. 27, 2023

Mary Lou Erickson Conner, of Oxford, Nov. 1, 2023

Cameron Tucker Rutland, of Perkinston, Oct. 6, 2023

Andrew Edwin Davidson, of Tylertown, Nov. 19, 2023

Brett Matthew Williams, of Collierville, Tenn., Sept. 23, 2023

Jerry Foust, of Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 24, 2023 Alice Lean Frison, of Abbeville, Dec. 8, 2023

FACULTY, STAFF AND FRIENDS

Sandy Brockman Gordon of Oxford, Oct. 24, 2023

Russell Newton Barringer Jr., of Durham, N.C., Nov. 10, 2023

Jerry Ward Griffin, of Starkville, Nov. 30, 2023

Warren Robert Benton, of Pine Bluff, Ark., Nov. 25, 2023

Bobbie Jean Harris, of Southaven, Dec. 2, 2023

Dana Beard Brammer, of Oxford, Nov. 2, 2023

Freda Wallace Harrison, of Memphis, Tenn., Nov. 4, 2023

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Alumni News Harold Vernon Jones, of Oxford, Oct. 7, 2023

Billie Thomas Sewell, of Hixson, Tenn., Nov. 29, 2023

Judith Burton Martinez, of Oxford, Oct. 29, 2023

Laura McCrea Shelton, of Ridgeland, Oct. 3, 2023

Paula Grider McDaniel, of Marion, Ark., Nov. 19, 2023

Jay Spitchley, of Madison, Oct. 14, 2023

Minnie Lillian McEwen, of Oxford, Nov. 9, 2023

William A. Staton III, of Oxford, Nov. 13, 2023

Anne Puryear Otts, of Oxford, Nov. 13, 2023

Sandra Campbell Stone, of Batesville, Nov. 26, 2023

Vivian McGarrh Papasan, of Tunica, Aug. 22, 2023

Thomas Lee Thornton, of Brownsville, Tenn., Oct. 7, 2023

Tommy Harold Parker, of New Albany, Nov. 17, 2023

Carl William Torbush Jr., of Sevierville, Tenn., Nov. 6, 2023

Margaret James Phillips, of Round Hill, Va., Oct. 4, 2023

Rosemary Collins Watts, of Shreveport, La., Nov. 11, 2023

Jay Roger Robinson, of Memphis, Tenn., Nov. 20, 2023

Harold Birts White Jr., of Huntsville, Ala., Oct. 23, 2023

Mary Joyce Platner Robinson, of Memphis, Tenn., March 11, 2023

Betty Gore Wiseman, of Oxford, Sept. 23, 2023

Wayne Roch, of Vancleave, Oct. 7, 2023

Susan Crow Young, of Corinth, Nov. 10, 2023

Mary Ernestine Cruse Rosenbaum, of Pontotoc, Nov. 3, 2023

Judy McClanahan Youngblood, of Oxford, Oct. 26, 2023

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

SHOW YOUR PRIDE! If you live in Mississippi, get your Ole Miss affinity plate today! Affinity plates are $51 a year, $32.50 of which comes to the university to support student scholarships and keep the Grove and Circle vibrant.

Ole Miss affinity license plates also are available in AL, GA, TN, TX, and Washington, DC. For more information, visit olemissalumni.com.

A LU M N I R E V I E W

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