The View from Ventress 2023–2024

the VIEW FROM

VENTRESS

FROM THE DEAN

You never know where life will take you. Nine years ago, my family and I arrived as strangers to Mississippi, but, as anyone who has lived in Mississippi knows, we weren’t strangers for long. We were soon engulfed in the warmth and community of a state known for its hospitality. When I think back on the past nine years that I have had the honor and privilege as serving as dean of the College of Liberal Arts, the following saying comes to mind, “You can travel the whole world looking for a place to call home, but sometimes home finds you where you least expect it.” Mississippi now carries the full resonance of the word “home,” for me. From the Hill Country of north Mississippi to the Delta and the Gulf Coast, the people and the landscape have unfolded to reveal a state with beauty, deep historical significance, complexity, and kindness.

During the 2023–24 academic year, the university celebrated its 175th year anniversary. The College of Liberal Arts was there in spirit at the beginning with the first four faculty members in disciplines that are the root of a liberal arts education. Today, we continue to carry that mission forward, as seen in our Mission Statement.

“Through exposure to innovative courses and dedicated instruction in the fine and performing arts, the humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences, and mathematics, students are well-prepared for life after college, when individuals must think critically, communicate clearly, and lead ethically to be successful. The College is committed to supporting original research, creative activities, and community engagement through the work of its faculty and students in graduate and undergraduate programs. The contributions of the College of Liberal Arts enhance student exploration and development, improving lives in Mississippi and beyond.”

As dean, I’ve seen firsthand how a great public university can serve the people of a state. As part of its ongoing mission, the College of Liberal Arts devotes its resources to meeting local, regional, and statewide challenges within Mississippi. As the flagship state university, we tackle complex problems that touch on the everyday lives of Mississippians, including rural internet access, voter registration, environmental health, food security, and the protection of our agriculture, to name just a few. Our faculty, staff, and students continually seek opportunities to innovate, educate, and create to serve the people and the land of the Magnolia State.

To celebrate some of the many outstanding faculty, staff, and students of the CLA as a community, the second annual College of Liberal Arts Awards Ceremony was held in April. You’ll read about several of the people recognized at the event on pages 10, 24, 42, and 43 of this newsletter. To see all those who were honored, please refer to the event program.

The university opened its doors on November 6, 1848, with four faculty members and 80 students, poised to become the state’s premier institution of higher learning. For 175 years, UM has empowered students, faculty, staff, and alumni to define and pursue their personal callings and lead lives of purpose. On November 6, 2023, students and university leaders led the campus in recounting UM history and highlighting its future.

“The road to the university becoming what it is today is long,” said Douglass Sullivan-González, professor of history and a member of the anniversary planning committee.

The Mississippi Legislature chartered the university on February 24, 1844, and classes began four years later. What began as a handful grew to 120+ programs of study across six campuses and a medical center. As the university expanded, it became known for its dedication to research efforts and to bettering the state.

“Our reach is local, state, and national in scope,” Sullivan-González said. “Graduates make decisions that bring about positive change.”

Stories were written by UM Marketing & Communications, UM Foundation, and College intern Audrey Samples (BA English 24).

Lee M Cohen, PhD

The View from Ventress was designed by UM Marketing & Communications with College graphic designer Yazmin Goulet (BA art, BS integrated marketing communications 21, MS integrated marketing communications 24).

EARLY DAYS

EARLY DAYS

Katie McKee, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, McMullan Professor of Southern Studies, and professor of English, presented the 175th anniversary celebration keynote speech on the steps of the Lyceum.

“In my classes, we often talk about place as a palimpsest, that is, we compare it to a document on which words have been written and erased, written and erased, until multiple stories overlap, shaping each other. Our campus is like that: what has come before matters to what is here now, and today matters to what will follow us. The story of this place begins with the indigenous people who first lived here; north Mississippi is the ancestral home of the Chickasaw nation, and we inhabit it today as uninvited guests. Mississippi was a frontier in 1848— the old Southwest—and our university arose from the dreams and ambitions of White people sweeping into the region who brought with them enslaved Black people whose labor built and maintained this campus. The work of the UM Slavery Research Group means that we know some of their names: George, Henry, John, Squash, Moses, Will, Nathan, Simon, Isaac, Harrison, Luna, and the woman whose story is immortalized on the contextualization marker in front of Barnard Observatory: Jane.”

As she was concluding, McKee said, “The future demands every day our greatest resourcefulness, our greatest ingenuity, the highest caliber of our creativity, but we owe the future that.”

ONLINE EXTRA

Watch the 175th anniversary commemoration

Chancellor Glenn Boyce (left) and Katie McKee

BLACK WOMEN PIONEERS

When James Meredith integrated the University of Mississippi in 1962, he was lauded as a national hero. Lesser known are the Black women who followed him onto campus to continue the work of integration he began.

The first of these was Verna Bailey, a Jackson native and the daughter of Sam Bailey, a national figure in the Civil Rights Movement.

When she walked into a first-year biology lecture in the fall of 1964, more than 100 White students moved away and left her sitting alone in the first three rows of the classroom. “Worse yet, my professor stood right in front of me and told racist jokes... and expected me to laugh,” Bailey told L&C Magazine, the flagship publication of Lewis and Clark College, in a 2007 profile.

She earned her master’s in education at Lewis and Clark after graduating from UM in just three years with a double major in psychology and sociology. An advocate of educational excellence for all children, she launched a 40-year career as an administrator in elementary and middle schools. In 2001, UM’s Women’s Council for Philanthropy and the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies established a $100,000 scholarship in her name. Four years later, she was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame.

A decade after Bailey set foot on campus, Dottie Chapman Reed earned a BA in political science at UM in 1974. She became the university’s first Black admissions counselor, and during her three years in that role, she significantly raised Black enrollment. Chapman Reed was lauded as the first recipient of the Dr Jeannette Jennings Trailblazer Award, named in honor of UM’s first Black faculty member.

“We wanted everyone to succeed and got excited with the breakdown of each racial barrier,” Chapman Reed told The Daily Mississippian in a 2014 interview.

She documented her life and long career in the public and private sectors in a collection of newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, correspondence, awards, certificates, writings, photographs, and other materials. Her historical papers, which she donated to UM, are now housed in the Dorothye Quaye Chapman Reed Collection at UM’s Department of Archives and Special Collections.

Chapman Reed is also a published writer. She compiled and edited oral histories in her book Outstanding Black Women of Yalobusha County: Their Stories and Their Contributions to a Mississippi Community (illustrated by Barrett Smith), and she writes a column for the North Mississippi Herald, highlighting the histories of Black members of the county’s community.

Advancing the achievements of Bailey and Chapman Reed, Valeria Ross (BA public administration 98, MS sociology 01) remains on campus inspiring change and progress as program director for access and strategic initiatives at the College of Liberal Arts. Co-creator of the College’s James Meredith Changemaker Award, she plays a major role in recruiting diverse faculty to UM.

“I have learned so much from so many,” Ross said. “The numerous ways I’ve had to engage with students, staff, faculty, and alumni of the university and with local community members has been tremendously rewarding. My focus has always been to support the university’s efforts to provide access and opportunities for all members of its community to achieve success, and I hope that is what people think of when they talk about my years of work here.”

Edited excerpts from Brynn Bates’ story, Unsung Heroes, reprinted with permission from The Daily Mississippian.

Dottie Chapman Reed with James Meredith (BA political science 63 (left) and the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., a cousin of Emmett Till.

Verna Bailey

Valeria Ross

OLE MISS SCHOLARS

E8 8

ight Mississippians are the inaugural Ole Miss 8 Scholars, an award commemorating the eight students expelled from campus after a peaceful protest in 1970.

University police arrested 89 students in front of Fulton Chapel during a protest on February 25, 1970. The students were calling on UM to hire more Black faculty, form an African American Studies program, ban Confederate imagery from official university gatherings, and establish more scholarships for Black students.

Eight of those students—Donald Ray Cole, John Donald, Theron Evans Jr, Paul D. Jackson, Linnie Liggins, Kenneth Mayfield, Alva Ruth Peyton, and Henrieese Roberts—were expelled.

The Ole Miss 8 Scholarship covers tuition, a meal plan, and housing for up to four years of undergraduate education. The inaugural recipients were two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors, and two seniors. UM selects two incoming freshmen each year for the award.

“All of us benefit from the sacrifices made by those who came before us, including the alumni who endured so much to pave the way for our presence here today,” said Shawnboda Mead, vice chancellor for for access, opportunity, and community e›ngagement. “While the process has been collaborative, recognizing the pivotal role played by the Ole Miss 8 is essential to understanding both our history and our future. This scholarship, which directly supports Mississippians with limited financial resources, is one meaningful way we are honoring their legacy.”

Archaeology Day

In 2020, UM invited all 89 to revisit the site of their arrest. Those who returned agreed that one of the best ways to commemorate their experience would be to give students a chance to earn their education.

The inaugural scholars with liberal arts majors are:

• Jae Darra Marie Betts from Flowood, biological science

• Fatimah Wansley from Jackson, international studies

Alongside alleviating the financial burden of an education, the scholarship is helping build connections and mentorships for selected students. They are paired with members of the UM community, who offer engagement opportunities and encourage participation in campus organizations.

• Ebonee Williams from Jackson, allied health studies

• Frederick Williams from Greenville, African American Studies

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology partners with the Oxford community to better understand the history of the Rowan Oak property before it became acclaimed author William Faulkner’s home in 1930. A public archaeology class excavates the area surrounding the landmark site, searching for evidence of the past when it was owned by the Sheegog family between 1844 and 1872.

Faculty and students guide community participants through the ongoing research and let them dig up some history of their own at the Before Faulkner Public Archaeology Day in October.

“A part of archaeology is sharing the information that we find with the public. We want them to see the history here and the work that is going on at Rowan Oak,” said Krista Eschbach, an archaeologist and visiting assistant professor of anthropology who led the research effort.

Donald Cole (center), retired assistant provost and mathematics professor, congratulates six of the inaugural Ole Miss 8 Scholars (from left) Deja Johnson, Fatimah Wansley, Jhalen Wells, Marcus Ball, Jae Darra Betts, and Ebonee Williams.

Anthropology students Tessa Cascio from Gautier, and Wes Newton from Guntown, inspect a possible artifact found at Rowan Oak.

Dreams FIELD OF

The Pride of the South band is marching with renewed enthusiasm on its new $5.4 million practice field—a replica of Hollingsworth Field, the playing surface at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

The practice field features lights, director’s tower, visitor seating, fence, storage building, proper field access, and drainage structures.

“Thanks to the dedicated supporters who inspired this world-class practice field, we’re excited to usher in a new era for our 300+ talented band members who work hard every day to contribute to university spirit and pride,” said Chancellor Glenn Boyce at the dedication. “We’re committed to fostering the success of all of our students, and the new field enhances the meaningful opportunities and experiences that our students gain as members of the Pride of The South. They deserve this investment in them.”

of Oxford; Kirsten and Ryan Hill of Sachse, Texas; Linda and Alex MacCormack of Tampa, Florida; Diane and Steve McKinney of Hoover, Alabama; Helen Overstreet of Oxford; Risa and Sumner Spradling of Browns Summit, North Carolina; and the estate of Cora Mitchell of DeKalb.

Nancy Maria Balach, chair and professor of music, believes the field will be the nation’s best, adding to UM’s reputation as a top school for studying music education.

“ The new facility has completely changed the atmosphere and allowed everyone to incorporate an attitude of gratitude.”

—Scott Grimes

“We’re practicing the way we actually perform in the stadium on game days,” said Randy Dale, associate director of bands and director of athletic bands. “Our product is more polished. Morale is high.”

Drum major Scott Grimes, a music education major from Corinth, sees an elevated sense of purpose among band members. “We appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts.”

Among donors whose combined gifts totaled $330,000 were Susan and Dr Brett R Bartlett

The Pride of the South Marching Band on its new practice field.

ISOM FELLOWS

The Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies awarded 20 faculty fellow grants for research that includes gender and sexuality, an increase over the average of seven per year in the past.

“We discovered that a lot of people across the university are interested in working with gender and sexuality,” said Jaime Harker, Isom Center director and professor of English.

“The Provost partnered with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs to fund the 20 projects, which include topics such as the presence of gender in medicine, how gender affects the learning of second languages, and the gendered nature of AI.”

The Isom Fellows Program promotes research collaborations across campus.

“We’re seeing that there are some interesting crosssections of interests and ideas, which builds networking opportunities for future grants or projects. When the Sarah Isom Center was founded in 1981, it placed interdisciplinary inquiry at the center of its practice, and that ethos has continued in the 40+ years since.”

Gender Studies first developed as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry at around the same time, and from the start, it represented a mode of inquiry that challenged conventional wisdom. It is organized around questions, particularly about how gender and sexuality affect people’s lives.

Painting Faulkner’s

Mule

Farm

• What do we mean when we say “gender”? Are we referring to biological sex?

• What is appropriate behavior for men and women in a particular culture?

• Does gender affect the medical care we receive? What we see in movie theaters? What sizes of clothes are available in stores?

“Gender Studies gives us a lens to see these issues in our everyday lives. It is not prescriptive; it is always evolving, questioning, and pushing the boundaries. We make critical thinking and curious inquiry the center of our courses,” Harker said.

“This Isom Fellow Program invites faculty to embrace this spirit of curious inquiry regarding gender and sexuality. It is intended to provide seed money for research projects early, in the hopes that this investment would lead to larger programs. Thankfully, the Provost’s office agreed to fund this program, and it has become successful beyond our wildest aspirations.”

A LEGACY OF CALLING

Susan Burton

Susan Burton, a visionary and inspirational leader of the criminal justice reform movement, gave the inaugural Dr. Jeanette Jennings Lecture, part of the university’s 175th anniversary celebration.

Presented by the African American Studies and the Prison-to-College Pipeline programs, the lecture series, funded by an anonymous gift to UM in 2022, honors Jennings, who became the university’s first Black faculty member in 1970.

“Dr. Jennings was pivotal to the advancement of Black studies and the cradling of Black students,” said Derrick Harriell, director of African American Studies and the Otillie Schillig Associate Professor of English.

Jaime Harker (right) and Provost Noel Wilkin

Alumna artist Hannah McCormick won best in show and a $1,000 prize for UM’s Greenfield Farm Plein Air Invitational at UM’s planned Greenfield Farm Writers Residency—20 acres east of Oxford that belonged to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Faulkner.

Dean Lee M Cohen welcomed the 2024 Black Alumni Reunion attendees from the College at a reception in Ventress Hall with faculty and staff.

&Celebrating Excellence Achievement Alumni Awards

More than 360 UM alumni returned to campus for the four-day affair. Held every three years in the past, the reunion was moved up a year because of alumni interest.

“The College recognizes the importance of celebrating the accomplishments and successes of all alumni,” said Kirsten Dellinger, associate dean for access and strategic initiatives and professor of sociology. “Participation in BAR is a wonderful opportunity to connect with our African American graduates. We have received lovely notes from attendees, and we look forward to more visits in Ventress.”

The event was hosted by the College to acknowledge and celebrate Black alumni said Valeria Ross, program director for access and strategic initiatives.

Dean Lee M Cohen (from left); alumnae Harriett Hilliard and Erica Burley; Kirsten Dellinger, associate dean for access and strategic initiatives; and Valeria Ross, program dirctor for access and strategic initiatives.

At the Black Alumni Reunion Gala, Velsie Pate (BA music 92, BA English 05, MA Southern Studies 09, MA TESL 12) won the Jackie Certion Guiding Light Award (left) and Deterrian L “D T” Shackelford (BA history 12, MA education 15, EdD 21) won the Alumni Achievement Award.

HASKELL Hall of Fame

Mary Donnelly Haskell (BM music 81) was inducted into the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame in 2023. A singer and actress, she was Miss University and Miss Mississippi in 1977.

After moving to Los Angeles, Haskell built television and theatrical careers on the West Coast, starring in productions of “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Barnum” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” many television series episodes, and 20+ TV movies. More recently, she co-starred in the Emmy Award-winning musical

“Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square.” She has released three studio albums and four children’s music CDs.

Haskell served on the board of directors for the Alumni Association and the UM Foundation. She is on the Ford Center Advisory Board and is a member and past chair of the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy. She and husband, Sam Haskell (BA 77), co-chaired the MomentUM capital campaign and received the 2023 Concerto Award from the university and Ford Center for their commitment to the arts.

“I am humbled to join this distinguished circle of almost 50 years of honorees; varied legacies, all born from a love of Ole Miss,” Haskell said.

Mary Haskell

CAPITOL COMMUNICATOR

Yasmine Brown (BA public policy leadership and integrated marketing communications 21) is press secretary and director of communications for United States Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) in his Washington, DC office.

A native of Indianola, she studied in UM’s Trent Lott Institute and served two terms as a senator in the Associated Student Body—completing a term as the Student Life Committee Chair. Brown participated in the District 7 American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition, where she won second place, creating an integrated campaign for Tinder. Brown has a master’s degree from the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and completed a public relations internship with Daniel J Edelman Holdings Agency, Edible, Inc, where she worked on accounts for Cracker Barrel and Perdue Farms. She also finished an advertising internship with FCB Chicago’s DISCOVER team.

Medal for the Arts

Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill was honored with the highest award the university gives to recognize excellence in the arts and arts advocacy. At a ceremony in the Gertrude C Ford Center for the Performing Arts, the Medal for the Arts was presented to the second-term mayor and founder of the popular Double Decker Arts Festival by UM’s Institute for the Arts, with the program produced by UM’s Living Music Resource (LMR). The UM Institute for the Arts is comprised of the departments of art & art history, music, and theatre & film and is directed by Nancy Maria Balach, chair and professor of music and CEO and artistic director of the LMR.

In its 28th year, the annual Double Decker Arts Festival, which showcases Oxford as a town that supports the arts, thrives as a top-tier event, drawing a crowd of 70,000 over two days. As then-director of the Oxford Tourism Council (now called Visit Oxford) in 1996, Tannehill grew the festival through ingenuity, perseverance, and grassroots efforts with community partners to promote music, food, and art.

“Arts and culture brought Oxford to the table. It is my job to embrace that culture and I take that job personally.”

“Investing in art and culture is an investment in the creativity of the city itself. I believe our decisions regarding local development at all levels and by all sectors should be based on an understanding of cultural—not just economic and environmental—impact.

—Robyn Tannehill BA interior design 92

“Public art is a powerful tool for building better cities. Here, it’s led to increased levels of community engagement and social cohesion. From the Shelter Show, which invited local artists to create works of art that were placed on our public transportation bus stop shelters during Covid, to large-scale outdoor murals and sculptures, art draws people to a spot and increases business. Public art offers a free experience that can be viewed alone or in groups; it’s inclusive and accessible.”

Yasmine Brown

College of Liberal Arts

ALUMNI AWARDS

Presented at the second annual College of Liberal Arts awards ceremony on April 25, 2024.

Hall of Fame Award

Recognizes recipients’ achievements in their professional career and commitment to the College through service, leadership, and giving across a broad spectrum

Donald R Cole

PhD mathematics 85

Cole is a retired associate professor of mathematics and assistant provost. Before retiring in 2018, he led the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation’s Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education and summer Bridge STEM programs and the McNair Scholars Program, which recruits low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students each year and prepares them for doctoral studies.

Johnny McRight

BS biological science and chemistry 73; MCS biological science 75

Early Impact Award

Distinguished performance in early career through advancement in one’s profession, community engagement, and/or civic participation within 20 years of graduation.

Eleanor C Anthony

BA mathematics and philosophy 16; JD law 19, Stanford

Anthony is senior corporate product counsel for Snowflake, a Cloud computing-based company offering data storage and data analysis services from the San Francisco Bay area to connect businesses globally. Snowflake’s initial public offering in 2020 raised $3.4 billion, making it the largest software IPO in history.

Charlie Buckley

BFA painting 04; MFA painting 09, Miami University

Buckley is a two-time Mississippi Arts Commission Fellow, who won the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters visual arts award. The Oxfordbased painter’s work was featured in the Mississippi Museum of Art bicentennial exhibition and the Walton Family Foundation collection.

McRight is owner and operator of DeltAg, the Greenville-based formulator and manufacturer of a complete line of crop biostimulants and micronutrients for agriculture in the US and internationally.

Renvy Pittman

BA classics 77

Pittman is co-founder of Grove Scholars, chair of the Grove Scholars Advisory Council, and an advocate for underserved students pursuing STEM and healthcare degrees nationwide. She worked as an executive recruiter specializing in computer programming and software development, served as a board member of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and UM Foundation, and is a trustee for the Center for Early Education in Los Angeles.

Twaun Samuel

BA international studies at the Croft Institute 06; JD law 08

Samuel is a senior vice president for government, public, and regulatory affairs at Moody’s Corporation, where he leads US advocacy and engagement strategy focusing on Congress, the White House, all federal agencies. He spent seven years as chief of staff in the US House of Representatives.

Marc E Walker

BS biological science 06; MBA business administration 11, MD medicine 11, Harvard

Walker is Songcharoen Endowed Chair of Hand Surgery and a plastic surgeon at the UM Medical Center in Jackson. As a researcher, author, and journal reviewer he designs clinical studies to discover and deliver the highest quality care to patients around the globe.

40 40 40 40

Scott Bierman

BA Political Science 11

Vice President of Government Affairs, Georgia Restaurant Association

Sherika Bradford

BA Psychology 11

Support Operations Transportation Officer, NATO Operation Atlantic Resolve

Robin Brown

BA Psychology and BPS Law Studies 11, JD Law 17

Clay County Attorney and Attorney Advisor, Social Security Administration

Gray Flora IV

BA English 07, PhD Higher Education 20 Director, UM Grove Scholars

Kimberly McCray Hampton

BA Political Science 09, JD Law 13

Assistant US Attorney, Northern District of Mississippi

In 2024, the Ole Miss Alumni Association celebrated 14 College alumni under the age of 40 for personal, professional, and philanthropic achievements.

“With the program in its third year, the Class of 2024 does not disappoint, boasting young alumni with diverse careers in health care, design, educational administration, and governmental affairs,” said Sunny Brown, assistant director of alumni affairs who organizes the awards. “It is so special to award them and allow students to network with alumni.”

Honorees are active members of the alumni association who have made a significant impact on their industry or field with civic or professional achievements, aspire to uphold the core values of the UM Creed, earned an undergraduate degree from the university, and demonstrate a commitment to maintaining a lifelong relationship with UM and the alumni association.

Megan Edwards Hodge

BS Mathematics 07, BA Biological Science 08 Neurologist, Oxford Neurology Clinic

Deterrian Jones

BA Political Science 23 Staff Assistant, White House Office of Digital Strategy

William Kneip

BA Public Policy Leadership 16 Chief of Staff and Director of External Relations, UM

Alexa Lampkin

BA Biological Science 13, DMD Dentistry 17

Assistant Professor, Director of Admissions, UMMC School of Dentistry

Sara Martin Robertson

BS Biological Science 06, MD Medicine 10

Associate Professor, Pediatric Anesthesiologist, UM Medical Center

Erin Smith

BA Biochemistry 07, MD Medicine 14

Owner and Facial Plastic Surgeon, Buckingham Center for Facial Plastic Surgery

Chip Trammell

BA Biochemistry and Psychology 08

Owner and Orthodontist, FMY Orthodontics

Chigozie Udemgba

BS Biological Science 10, MS Applied Sciences 12

Assistant Health Services Administrator, Department of Homeland Security, ICE Health Services Corp.

Jazzmine Williams

BA Psychology 10

Owner and Therapist, Williams Counseling & Consulting Services, LLC

EXPLORING THE

UM Summer College for High School Students provides a specialized Arts Track for rising juniors and seniors to experience the arts and campus life.

“The Arts Track specifically attracts individuals who have talent and interest in our three academic units of art and art history, music, or theater and film,” said Nancy Maria Balach, chair and professor of music and director of the Institute of the Arts. “As we’ve evolved from the 2021 launch, we’ve created an exciting interdisciplinary crossover with the program.”

In June, film students had specially curated courses designed for their interests and abilities while music students focused on strings, brass, and woodwind.

“The talent level of students was unbelievable this year. We are attracting the best and brightest students and the generous funding from Jan and Lawrence Farrington makes the program completely free for Mississippi students.”

Coursework included arts entrepreneurship, combining film and music, and a presentation/performance by world-renowned concert pianist and recording artist Bruce Levingston, the Chancellor’s Artist in Residence. The program culminated in a multi-venue showcase designed and performed by the students.

DArts

“We started at the South Oxford Center where the film students shared trailers for their films, short films, and bloopers. It is quite impressive how they come in, not having done this before and are creating all aspects of their film projects.”

Following the film presentation, the showcase progressed to Nutt Auditorium on campus for a concert of both solo and chamber music.

“It is inspiring to see the students interact along the way and then end with what they have worked so hard to create. They even crafted a unified mission statement of what they wanted the final showcase to be.”

Balach believes an interdisciplinary approach stimulates student creativity.

“We’re often stuck in our silos and Summer College shakes up that mentality. We get to create a culture of exploration beyond what the student thinks they can do and explore both creatively and collaboratively.

“The students shared that the program exceeded their expectations. This experience is the perfect balance of working hard and having fun. The students are investing in themselves in a way that is setting them up for success in the next steps of their academic and artistic trajectory. The fact that the university is affording this opportunity is impacting the state of Mississippi and beyond.”

SUMMER LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

ozens of high school students flock to UM’s annual Summer Language Institute, a rigorous training program for young language learners. The four-week program, which began in 2022, allows rising high school juniors and seniors from across the country to earn college credit in Chinese courses. Six classes, spanning two levels of Chinese instruction, are offered by highly-trained teachers of the language.

“Our Summer Language Institute has exploded,” said Donald Dyer, associate dean for faculty and academic affairs and distinguished professor of modern languages. “We had 15 students here last year for Chinese. This year, we have 74.”

Most students are language learners from the International Leadership of Texas, a charter school network across Texas. After meeting with faculty of the UM Chinese Language Flagship Program during a campus visit, charter school leaders sent 30 high school seniors to UM in fall 2022 and, ultimately, decided to send a larger cohort to the 2023 Summer Language Institute. “That school district has a mission of teaching leadership, Spanish, and Chinese from kindergarten through 12th grade. We offered an opportunity to collaborate, and they were very taken by that,” said Dyer.

CAPITAL DEBATORS

Hundred mile detours through Illinois, Vermont, and Colorado may not seem the most logical route from Oxford to Washington, DC, but that is precisely the journey several UM grads have taken to postgraduate jobs in the capital as alumni of the Warren Debate Union.

Katie Broten (BA economics and public policy leadership 23) is currently legislative correspondent in Senator Martin Heinrich’s Washington, DC office. Andy Flores, a philosophy and public policy leadership double major from the same graduating class, served as a fellow at a civil rights organization founded during the Kennedy Administration.

“Our students have gone on to jobs in DC, graduate programs, and other careers,” said Jacob Justice, assistant professor of speech communication in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, where the Warren Debate Union is housed.

Under Justice, who leads the coaching team, the Debate Union has grown to 25 members, with about 15 committed to the traveling team, which crisscrosses the country. They powered through their 2023–2024 season by reaching finals of the Hollatz debates, a tournament hosted at Wheaton College in Illionois, where the Warren two-person teams scored victories over the University of Wisconsin, Kansas State, and the University of Miami.

Justice makes a winning argument that debate is a strong foundation for success in many careers, including but not limited to law and public service. “You have to be able to articulate ideas but also be able to listen closely to other people and respond to what they are saying. That’s essential to a global working world where honed communication skills are key.”

His coaching staff for the 2023–24 season included writing and rhetoric instructor Talya Slaw as well as assistant coach Austin Brittenham (JD law 24).

Other Warren Debate Union highlights last season included reaching the semi-final round of the Seattle University tournament and earning a top-eight finish. During the 2023–24 season, the team attended 10 tournaments, participating in 180 total debates and traveling to Wheaton College, Seattle University, University of Vermont, Vanderbilt University, US Air Force Academy, and Middlebury College.

“Our debate team competes for national accolades because our students are brilliant and our professors are encouraging. Jacob Justice and Talya Slaw deserve special recognition. The University of Mississippi can be very proud of the Warren Debate Union,” said Stephen Monroe, chair and associate professor of writing and rhetoric.

lecturer in writing and rhetoric, whom Justice describes as “a great friend to the Debate Union. She’s always sending students our way.”

The new season carries on with both online and travel debate tournaments.

“When you listen to public discourse now, you hear a lot of name calling and personal attacks. Debates are about respecting other people’s ideas and expressing arguments in a civil manner. The world needs more of that now,” Justice said.

MARK MARK MAKING HIS

The team has a strong support system, including Ellie Moore, founding director of the university Speaking Center and a

Jacob Marshall has never been one to shy away from a challenge. The interdisciplinary studies student custom-made his own major, with a focus on neuroscience and psychology, while earning a reputation for academic achievement and public service.

The Hernando native graduated from high school a year early and spent a year at Northwest Mississippi Community College. In the three years since, he has been inducted into eight honor societies, was treasurer for Type One to Type NONE!—a student-led organization to raise awareness of Type 1 diabetes, and worked to establish a campus chapter of Nu Rho Psi Honor Society for neuroscience students.

Marshall enrolled at UM because it offers the flexibility to custom-build a major. He hopes to either land a research position at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and study for the Medical College Admission Test or to attend Tulane University for a master’s degree in neuroscience. His career goals are to become a neurosurgeon and a neuroscience professor.

Jacob Marshall

Mateos Lozano (from left), Gracie Roberts, Brayden McCloud, and Ainsley Corwin. Photo by Talya Slaw

SERVRING the STATE

2+2 2+2

NURSING IN OXFORD

Nursing students now have the option to spend all four years of school in Oxford instead of relocating to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson after two years to complete their studies and earn their bachelor of science in nursing degree (BSN).

Located in UM’s South Oxford Center in what was the original Baptist Memorial Hospital building, the program received its first cohort of 48 BSN students in May.

“We were losing BSN applicants to other schools because they wanted to spend all four years on campus. Admissions counselors have told us that having the option to stay in Oxford for four years has been very helpful for recruiting,” said Sovent Taylor, director of UM’s Health Professions Advising Office.

Nursing students and allied health studies majors Allie White

and Earlie

is practicing taking vital

UM nursing students have two possible tracks. They complete two years of prerequisite courses at UM and finish the last two years of the BSN program in Jackson or Oxford. Or, they earn a baccalaureate (such as allied health studies) and then enter an accelerated program to finish the nursing degree in one year. In the past, only the accelerated students had the option of training in Oxford. Now, students on either track can choose to do so.

Students train in a simulated acute care environment in the former hospital’s intensive care unit.

“We are fortunate to have this simulation lab and collaboration with the Oxford campus,” said Tina Martin, dean of the UMMC School of Nursing.

“Construction is almost complete on the fourth floor of the South Oxford Center to create additional classrooms, simulation areas, faculty offices, and a student lounge.

“Nursing enrollment at the UMMC School of Nursing in Jackson and Oxford is already on the rise. With the opening of a traditional bachelor of science in nursing degree program in Oxford, the UMMC School of Nursing is leading the way to produce more nurses to help alleviate a critical need for healthcare in Mississippi.”

One of the students in the new four-year BSN cohort, Elijah Barberi, says that the option to stay in Oxford for four years makes sense.

“I can stay involved with campus activities, be with my friends, and also complete my degree. It is a great opportunity.”

Nursing student Lindsey Andrews

(left)

Garth, who

signs in the UMMC School of Nursing simulation center at the South Oxford Center.

CELEBRATION OF SERVICE

Accomplishments in community-engaged research, scholarship, and service are recognized during UM’s Celebration of Service Awards. “These awards celebrate efforts to fulfill the university mission of transforming lives, communities, and the world by providing opportunities for the people of Mississippi and beyond,” said Castel Sweet, director of community engagement.

Excellence in Community Partnership Development Fund

Two of the three projects are in the College.

• Magnolia Minds: Statewide Community Engagement Through Evidence-Based Digital Mental Health

Elijah Murdyk, a doctoral student in clinical psychology

Danielle Maack, assistant professor of clinical psychology

• Astronomy Outreach: Learning About the Universe is Fun

Anuradha Gupta, assistant professor of physics & astronomy, and students

Community Engaged Partnership Development Fund

Four of the five partnerships between faculty, staff, or students working with a community are in the College.

• Entrepreneurship & Empowerment: Latinx Artists in New Southern Destinations of Migration in Hattiesburg

Simone Delerme, associate professor of anthropology and Southern Studies

• Mississippi Creates: Visual Art in Oxford

John Rash, assistant professor of film production and Southern Studies

• Engaging Mississippi’s Soul Through Art & Psychology

Elijah Mudryk, a doctoral student in clinical psychology

• Classics for All in Tutwiler

Molly Pasco-Pranger, chair and professor of classics

BOOSTING BROADBAND ACCESS

The Federal Communications Commission awarded the Center for Population Studies $350,000 through the new Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program.

The Center—which the FCC has recognized as a “trusted messenger”—is using the money to identify Mississippians without access to broadband internet and is offering help to qualified households who elect to secure discounted internet service and to receive a device.

“We were one of five entities selected in Mississippi, including the state’s broadband office,” said Anne Cafer, associate dean for research, scholarship, and graduate education and associate professor of sociology. “This is part of an ongoing initiative by CPS to work with communities on issues around broadband. Our Delta legal fellow, Jillian Morrison, is leading the charge.”

The goal of the FCC’s $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Outreach Program is to establish broadband internet service in households that could not previously afford it.

Eligible Mississippians include low-income households, aging populations, individuals with disabilities, individuals

with a language barrier, racial and ethnic minorities, and rural residents. The objective is to ensure that qualifying households receive the broadband access they need for work, school, health care, and other uses.

“We are excited about this grant, as this program is underutilized within the state, despite so many people— including many students on campus and in the surrounding areas—actually qualifying for it,” Morrison said.

The FCC funding allows the Center to provide information to those eligible for discounted broadband internet service and to guide the sign-up process. This combination of informing and assisting qualified households aims to bridge the digital divide, to reach those who qualify within Mississippi but have not received internet service.

The program benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for households in qualifying sectors, with up to $75 per month for households on qualifying tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute between $10 and $50 toward the purchase price.

Healthy food meets hearty appetites on campus. Open weekdays from 10 until two, the Farmstand food truck is an innovative partnership between the Office of Sustainability, Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service

The NAVY NURSING PARTNERS

An agreement between the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Nursing and UM’s Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program now offers a few new scholarships at UM to cover tuition, fees, and books for those who are conditionally approved for their spot in the nursing program as freshmen, provided they maintain academic excellence. Students will complete the full baccalaureate degree, including the Naval ROTC program, then attend the UM School of Nursing. There are 2- and 3-year scholarships available for students already in the nursing program.

“We are extremely excited about the Navy and nursing partnership,” said Sovent Taylor, director of UM’s Health Professions Advising Office.

“It allows us to help provide qualified nurses for the members of our armed services and the Navy will play an important role in identifying students interested in service and nursing.”

and Community Engagement, Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management, and Oxford Community Market. Besides offering fresh produce, it hosts local guest chefs, rotating vendors from the Oxford Community Market with menus and materials from nutrition and hospitality management. Ole Miss Dining Services prepares the meals using locally sourced ingredients.

The venture provides a mutually beneficial connection between campus and family-owned farms throughout the area, said Laura Martin, associate director of the GrishamMcLean Institute.

“Since 2018 when our work with the Oxford Community Market began, we have had a continuous partnership through the North Mississippi VISTA Project. OXCM works tirelessly to promote food security in our community and economic opportunity for their growers and producers. It’s exciting to bring the market to campus to continue to foster closer collaboration among community and campus partners.”

GAME Changers

A$150,000 grant to UM’s Prison-to-College Pipeline Program is helping expand course offerings and services to those looking to transform their lives during and after incarceration. The grant was awarded by the Laughing Gull Foundation in Durham, North Carolina, which is committed to justice issues in the South. The financial resources provide much-needed academic support services and guest speaker programming for the program’s students at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman in Sunflower County. The College continues to fund humanities-based college-level courses for the program.

Program director Patrick Alexander, associate professor of English and African American Studies, said the funds support new program staff, aid with training UM professors and teaching assistants at Parchman, and provide other program support to those behind bars. “These monies move us closer to realizing our dream to create a world where, if incarcerated students want to earn college degrees, they will be able to do so through our program. Laughing Gull funding is a huge game changer for the PTCPP.”

Key team members have included (from left) Morgan McComb, teaching assistant; Anna Ruth Doddridge, intern; Tracion Flood, program manager; Patrick Alexander, cofounder and director; and Juyoun Jang, research fellow.

The Farmstand food truck on campus.

Healthy Partners

The Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement advances transformative service throughout the university and fights poverty through education in Mississippi. Two recent collaborations address the basic needs of water and food.

Working with six north Mississippi high schools in Marshall, Panola, Pontotoc, and Yalobusha counties and a $100,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant to promote environmental education, the Institute offers information about water quality and citizen science projects around water testing in the communities.

Led by Laura Martin, associate director of the GrishamMcLean Institute, and two civil engineers, the group provides

training, research opportunities, and 300+ reusable STEM kits.

“We are grateful to our K-12 partners for the opportunity to add this dimension of environmental education. This project supports local STEM knowledge and develops skills to promote environmental stewardship.”

Many schools selected for the project work with the university through the M Partner ongoing initiative uniting Mississippi communities with UM resources to produce internships, learning experiences, and service opportunities, and the North Mississippi VISTA Project, a national service program funded by the federal AmeriCorps agency that builds capacity for organizations devoted to poverty alleviation.

BEST FOR VETS

For the first time, Military Times—an independent news source for service members and their families—has listed UM as number one in the Southeastern Conference and number five nationally for veteran resources, opportunities, and success rates.

Military Times surveyed 325 US universities. Previously ranked in the top 25, UM’s dramatic rise in ranking is proof of dedication to serving and supporting veterans.

“The university has a deep commitment to our student veterans and our nation’s military. Since the first student veteran organization was established on campus in 1920, we have worked to create an atmosphere that fosters success after service for 1,900+ military-connected students enrolled today. This ranking confirms our position as the pinnacle of the Southeastern Conference, and it sets an example for the country to strive toward in serving the ‘Next Greatest Generation,’” Chancellor Glenn Boyce said.

Additionally, the Military Friendly Advisory Council named UM among the top 10 US schools for military preparedness, an all-time high for Mississippi’s flagship. Military Friendly ranks US universities on how well they care for veterans and active military members.

“We are the number 1 school in Mississippi for veterans (number 1 in state, conference, and number 5 nationally).”

Andrew Newby director of UM Veteran & Military Services

The climb is due to an increased focus on veterans and military students, said Andrew Newby, head of UM Veteran & Military Services, who teaches the College course Humanities and the Experience of War.

In the last six years, the university has designated the George Street House on campus for veterans, brought in an in-house counselor for veteran students, and instituted the Veteran Treatment Team for student veterans to seek health care on campus instead of driving hours to the nearest VA facility. Alongside helping student veterans file to access GI Bill benefits and VA benefits, the house designated for vets is a place for student veterans and military-connected students to study, relax, and find support.

Clayton Boswell (from left), a US Marine Corps veteran and computer science major from Tennessee; Andrew Newby; and Korey Monohan, a US Navy submarine veteran and mathematics major from Colorado.

FISH SOUNDS

Kayleigh Mazariegos, a doctoral student in biology, is leading a project to determine whether fish vocalizations can identify fish species. The Acworth, Georgia, native is focusing her research on artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico.

“I’m interested in artificial reefs because I used to fish them. Research on artificial reefs is limited. While people catch fish on them, we don’t know their ecological role. We don’t know if they help increase fish and their relationship with ecological processes.”

Mazariegos received funding from the American Museum of Natural History and UM’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Research to conduct the work.

She and Richard Buchholz, professor of biology and director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Research, shared their research at their Oxford Science Café presentation Below the Surface: Fish Sounds and Community Science in the Gulf of Mexico.

NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE FELLOW

History instructor Beth Kruse (PhD history 21) is spending two years in Vicksburg, delving into the untold story of Black Americans in the Civil War. As a National Park Service Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow, she is helping tell a more inclusive and complete story of American history, particularly focusing on people who have, in the past, not been included.

Kruse is piecing together the history and experiences of African Americans living in and around Vicksburg between the Civil War and Reconstruction by examining widow and orphan pension letters and documents from African American soldiers buried in the Vicksburg National Cemetery who died in the war. She is gathering stories from descendants of Civil War soldiers and the local Freedmen communities.

“It’s a matter of looking at records with current historical understandings searching for African American history that was previously overlooked and talking to people about their ancestors’ stories. We can actually form a picture of Mississippi and Louisiana’s Civil War and Reconstruction era African Americans’ daily lives based on their documented experiences.”

Fish use sound for breeding, feeding, and alerting each other to danger. Bioacoustics, the study of animal sounds, is a new approach to understand fish ecology in the Gulf of Mexico. Even though it contributes 40% of US seafood, the Gulf’s naturally cloudy water makes it difficult to monitor and manage fisheries. They explained how fish sounds are recorded and identified and showed how their GulfSeeLife app will recruit recreational fishers to help test how fish sounds can be used for long-term monitoring of the Gulf’s ecosystem health and productivity.

V TER

REGISTRATION

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge named Alex Mobley to its 2023 Student Voting Honor Roll for his efforts to register new voters.

The Chinese and mathematics major from Oxford was among 175 US college students selected to the Honor Roll, recognizing students who advance nonpartisan student voter registration, education, and turnout efforts, as well as ensuring equitable access to the polls.

“Although a personal award, this was really given to me based on the incredible work our team was able to do,” said Mobley, who was student leader of the UM Voting Engagement Ambassador team in the Center for Community Engagement. “It is always great to have your work recognized and even better when it is from a national organization.”

Over the year, Mobley’s team gave presentations, conducted research, and taught students about voting and voter registration. As a result, UM voter registration numbers doubled from the previous year.

Kayleigh Mazariegos retrieves recording equipment from an artificial reef near Cat Island in the Gulf of Mexico.

Beth Kruse

Alex Mobley

JAZZ EUROPE in

The Mississippians student jazz ensemble returned to Europe to perform at three renowned music festivals in 2023.

Twenty musicians played at the Jazz à Juan Festival in Antibes, France; Jazzaldia in San Sebastian, Spain; and the Jazz in Marciac Festival in Marciac, France.

The Mississippians first performed abroad at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, and Gezmataz in Genoa, Italy, in 2018.

“This was a great way to commemorate the 100 years of jazz at Ole Miss and to publicize our remarkable legacy to an international community of jazz fans,” said Michael Worthy, associate professor of music and director of The Mississippians.

Among the ensemble’s set list were compositions made popular by artists such as Michael Mossman, Duke Ellington, Radiohead, Quincy Jones, and the Average White Band.

“The expectations for a university big band from America are high, and we delivered exciting, swinging performances of Ellington, Basie, and more contemporary jazz composers. We also played a piece by John Clayton commissioned to commemorate 100 years of Ole Miss jazz.”

The journey abroad began when judges selected The Mississippians from a pool of applicants from multiple countries.

“Experiencing European culture, while playing the universal style of jazz and seeing how others across the ocean interpret it was exciting,” said Ella Kate Nichols from Pontotoc, who plays trumpet. “Making incredible music alongside some of my favorite people in the coastal city of San Sebastián with a gorgeous view of the ocean was beyond imaginable.”

The Mississippians performing at a festival in Marciac, France. Olivier Graveleu created the mixed media artwork as they played.

STUDENT EXCELLENCE

GOLDWATER SCHOLARS SCHOLARS

Two students are UM’s 25th and 26th Goldwater Scholars for their dedication to pursuing biomedical research—Lyle Tobin, a biochemistry, biology, and classics triple major, and George Taylor, a biomedical engineering major.

“As a university, we are only allowed to nominate four students for Goldwater scholarships, and George and Lyle were undoubtedly at the top of the crop,” said Vivian Ibrahim, director of UM’s Office of National Scholarship Advisement and an associate professor of history.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation award is for sophomores and juniors planning research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

From Montgomery, Texas, Tobin said his three majors, although seemingly unconnected, are complementary.

“The classics, and more broadly the humanities, provide both an ethical basis and a source of inspiration for science. These degree programs help me learn a lot of material. My long-term goal is to develop novel therapies against cancer and other diseases.”

Lyle Tobin

Josh Sharp, associate professor of pharmacology and chemistry and biochemistry, mentors Tobin in his lab while working on new methods to characterize the structure of proteins—research that could aid the design of protein therapeutics.

He calls Tobin an “outstanding young researcher with an inspiring level of drive and creativity—performing research at a graduate student level since he was a sophomore. He constantly has new ideas based on the experiments he runs. It’s a joy to work with him.”

Tobin also participated in two summer research programs led by Nikki Reinemann (BS chemistry and chemical engineering 13), assistant professor of biomedical engineering and UM’s 13th Goldwater Scholar, and Jeffrey D. Cirillo, Texas A&M professor of microbial pathogenesis and immunology, both of whom he considers research mentors.

Tobin is UM’s first Goldwater scholar planning to pursue an MD/PhD in immunology and oncology, Ibrahim said. His decision was influenced by volunteering for several hundred hours as an emergency medical technician with the Lafayette County Fire Department.

“You can’t see those kinds of things and not be struck by how incapable and futile a lot of modern medicine is. I want to do my part to address that.”

A Southaven native, Taylor joined the lab of Eden Tanner, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry. He was intrigued by her work on ionic liquids and nanoparticle drug treatments, which has a wide range of implications for improvements in drug delivery.

“George is a valued member of our lab who has been working diligently to try and better understand the mechanisms underlying ionic liquid-mediated blood cell hitchhiking,” Tanner said.

Taylor plans to pursue a doctorate in chemistry.

Lyle Tobin (left) and George Taylor

TRUMAN SCHOLAR SCHOLAR

Biology major Christian Boudreaux was on an island in the West Indian Ocean when he received an unexpected call from Chancellor Glenn Boyce. The Chancellor phoned Boudreaux to tell him that he was UM’s 19th Truman Scholar, a life-changing event.

The Truman Scholarship awards $30,000 toward graduate studies for students like Boudreaux who have demonstrated commitment to public service and plan to work in government or for a nonprofit. The competitive national award has 800 applicants for 55 to 65 scholarships.

Awardees receive funds for graduate school and opportunities for selective internships that prepare them to serve society in a field they are passionate about.

Boudreaux’s passion is the ocean.

“There are few places of study left on Earth that are as exciting and unknown as the ocean,” he said.

When Boyce called, Boudreaux was in the Zanzibar Archipelago 15 miles off the coast of Tanzania, researching coastal and ocean natural resource management in a studyabroad program.

Boudreaux–a senior in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College–has also been awarded prestigious Stamps and Goldwater scholarships. His applications were aided by UM’s Office of National Scholarship Advisement directed by Vivian Ibrahim, an associate professor of history.

“With his experience in science, public service, and leadership, Christian is a citizen scientist who will be a change agent in his field,” said Ibrahim. “I’m delighted that the Truman Scholarship will help him pursue a doctoral degree and do research.”

Boudreaux earned his public service chops with two student organizations. He founded Aqua Culture, dedicated

to preserving marine life, and served as president of Hill Country Roots, which focuses on preserving Mississippi forests and native trees.

He also helped organize compost pickups to reduce food waste that would otherwise end up in landfills.

“In my career I hope to combat the adverse effects of climate change on the marine environment and work to conserve it to the best of my ability.”

Christian Boudreaux

Moving forward, Boudreaux will choose a doctoral program with a strong program in marine resource management. Specifically, his research will focus on how marine life can better adapt to climate change and other environmental stressors. His specialty is genetics and “chimerism,” the presence of two different sets of DNA in a single organism that create and maintain biodiversity. He researched chimerism in coral in the lab of biology professor Tamar Goulet and traveled to Israel with her in the summer of 2023 to study coral chimera in the Red Sea.

“He is absolutely a go-getter, but that doesn’t even begin to encompass Christian,” Goulet said. “The mere fact that he studied in multiple countries during his undergraduate years while completing coursework and maintaining an excellent GPA is telling. He seizes every opportunity to get the most out of every experience. He is not afraid to embrace and experience the culture—he lives life to the max and is going places.”

Boudreaux also studied marine animal genetics during an internship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Turtle Genetics Laboratory in La Jolla, California. Scientists there gather genetic data about the sea turtles to support genetic diversity and the conservation of that species.

He has already published an article in an online academic journal, Aquaculture Reports, and coauthored a paper on chimerism with Goulet that they are submitting to the renowned journal Nature.

“I want to see how marine organisms respond to climate stress by researching which genes are more useful for adaptability and survival in rapidly warming oceans and coastal environments,” Boudreaux said. “My goal is to strengthen populations and preserve biodiversity in the wild.”

For Boudreaux, photography is a pastime during his travels.

THE JOURNEY OF A GOLDWATER SCHOLAR

Two years ago, Ally Watrous took a chance and applied for a Goldwater Scholarship—one of the most prestigious national undergraduate scholarships in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics—and became the university ’s first sophomore to win.

“I was not expecting to get it that year and I ended up with two years of funding for my research.”

As a chemistry, German, and physics major minoring in French and mathematics, Watrous’ educational passions and abilities are well-rounded. She attributes her ability to start research in computational chemistry as a freshman as the reason for her success.

“I met my research advisor, Dr. Fortenberry, on admitted students day and I joined his research group at orientation. I’ve been there ever since.”

Ryan Fortenberry, associate professor of chemistry, values Watrous’ four years in his lab. “Ally is the heart of the research group. She is respected by undergraduate and graduate students alike.”

The Goldwater changed a lot for Watrous. Since winning the award in 2022, she has gone from three published peer

review papers to having her ninth accepted in 2024.

Ally Watrous’ honors thesis is “Methods for Computing Rovibrational Spectral Data with Applications to Inorganic Oxides and Hydrocarbons.”

Apart from success on campus, in her junior year she completed an internship at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria as well as a study abroad program in Berlin, Germany.

“I would not have applied for these opportunities if I hadn’t won the scholarship. It gave me confidence to pursue experiences like international research. I now know that graduate school is attainable for me.”

She has applied for multiple chemistry PhD programs in the US and the Fulbright Master’s Program in Finland. After completing her educational journey, her goal is to pursue a career in computational chemistry.

“Ally is well-set to have a wonderful career in science,” said Fortenberry. “She has an incredibly bright future, and she will be a singing star for our university wherever she goes.”

NEWMAN CIVIC FELLOW

Clinical psychology doctoral candidate

Elijah Mudryk is spending the year learning how to make the world a better place as a 2024 Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow.

The cohort of 142 students from 38 states, Washington, DC, and Mexico were nominated by university presidents based on their potential for public leadership and community work.

“This fellowship reflects Elijah’s outstanding leadership, and I applaud his engagement with communities and his drive to problem-solve and help groups access resources,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce said. “His work with UM’s Psychological Services Center helps provide evidence-based social skills training for neurodivergent children, demonstrating the reach and impact of our graduate students’ efforts on the greater community.”

Fellows participate in learning and networking sessions, one-on-one leadership development, and opportunities to present or publish work through Campus Compact, a coalition of universities with a goal of expanding the public impact of higher education.

Mudryk connects with people from other disciplines in search of new ways to approach community issues.

“I’d love to learn as much as I can from business, from art, from sociology, from communications, from the sciences. Trying to learn from different perspectives and seeing how they’ve applied civic change will be most useful.”

His research and personal interests focus on community health and resilience. Some projects include investigating what inspires African Americans to vote, organizing free chronic pain clinics, working with hospitals and clinics to educate on behavioral health, and helping to organize digital mental health training workshops.

Mudryk is UM’s second Newman Civic Fellow, following Caroline Leonard, an Arabic and international studies major and member of the 2023 cohort.

Elijah Mudryk

SHOWSTOPPERS

Three theatre arts students won awards in design and theatre production at the 2024 Southeastern Theatre Conference—the largest in North America.

• Ava Greer, a BFA in theatre arts student with an emphasis in design/theatre production, won first place for undergraduate costume design and landed an apprenticeship with the Santa Fe Opera. “I was a nervous wreck; having to compete and participate in the job search. Despite it being scary, the feedback helped me to grow as a designer.”

• Kayla Jacobs, a BFA in theatre arts student with an emphasis in design/ theatre production, won second in the undergraduate scenic design competition for the production of Silent Sky. “After callbacks, I got to explain my designs to a Broadway scenic designer, Beowulf Boritt.”

• Alyssa Sheppard, a BA theatre arts student, won second place in the technical category as a stage manager. “Being a well-rounded theatre student who knows a little bit of everything definitely helps, especially for stage management. You must be able to communicate with every group.”

Kayla Jacobs (from left), Ava Greer, and Alyssa Sheppard won awards at the 2024 Southeastern Theater Conference in Mobile, Alabama.

Kayla Jacob’s winning set design for the production of Silent Sky

Ava Greer’s award-winning costume design for Head Over Heels

The prize recognizes those who walk in the footsteps of the first African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi, continuing the difficult and critical work of change and transformation that requires personal courage and resilience.

“These extraordinary graduating seniors have made significant positive change in broadening access, participation, and opportunities in higher education for individuals from minoritized or underrepresented groups,” said Kirsten Dellinger, associate dean for access and strategic initiatives and professor of sociology.

Jametrice Blanchard, Jonathan Dabel, Tina Truong, Sara Austin Welch, and Samorria Williams were selected as finalists and received a medal at the second annual College of Liberal Arts Awards Ceremony.

Jonathan Dabel was announced as the winner and presented with a plaque and monetary prize. A major in economics and public policy leadership from Diamondhead, he was a resident assistant and student success coordinator for the First-Gen Network ensuring that international students were aware of resources for professional development and success. Focused on solving problems of housing and food insecurity on and off campus, Dabel wrote a paper on how food insecurity negatively impacts the upward mobility of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and presented his work to university administrators and at a conference at the University of Maryland.

Jametrice Blanchard, a political science major from Clinton, led and fostered the growth of the Ole Miss Undergraduate Legal Society from four student ambassadors to 32. She provided knowledge about the field of law and opening access to higher education for all students, with a special focus on students of color.

Tina Truong, a biology major from Madison, worked for greater food security for students and volunteered for the Jackson Free Clinic. She helped the Grove Grocery university

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

JAMES MEREDTH CHANGE MAKER Award

food pantry for three years and directed it for two years broadening access to food on campus.

Sara Austin Welch, a public policy leadership major from McCarley, was Associated Student Body president. Highlighting increased accessibility on campus, she added a position on accessibility to the president’s cabinet and encouraged better policy and good citizenship to assist students with visual, mobility, and learning challenges.

Samorria Williams, a political science major from Brandon, was vice president of both Blacks in Political Studies and Champions of Hope, Inc, a nonprofit empowering, educating, and inspiring at-risk youth in Mississippi. In these roles and as a mentor to 13 first-year students, Williams provided resources and created spaces where underrepresented students felt supported and empowered to pursue their academic and professional goals.

Award Finalists

Jonathan Dabel, award recipient

Jametrice Blanchard

Sara Austin Welch

Tina Truong

Samorria Williams

EXPERIENCE of a

Emmie Burgess, a public policy leadership major with a minor in Italian and an Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy Scholarship, long dreamed of traveling to Italy, a nation historians consider a cradle of Western civilization.

“I’ve had a lifelong interest in Italy. Studying Italian at Ole Miss, I fell in love with the language. I always wanted to study abroad, but the financial burden made my dream to study in Italy difficult.”

The Women’s Council Global Leadership Circle made her vision come true. It was established in 2017 to provide the financial assistance deserving students need to study abroad or participate in a national or an international internship. Council Scholars with a minimum 3.0 GPA can apply.

DIVING DEEP

After Violet Jira (BA journalism and philosophy 24) discovered her love for writing as opinion editor of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science student newspaper, the Cleveland native found a passion for critical thinking and reporting at UM.

“At The Daily Mississippian, learning how to write a news story and covering tough topics was invaluable. Moving forward, it is helpful to know that I can do the tasks I’ll need to do,” said Jira, the editor-in-chief for 2023–24.

The Stamps Scholar and Aspen Young Leaders Fellow was also an involved philosophy major—a study she described as “humbling.”

“It’s the first time in my life I struggled to get a grip on something,” said the recipient of the department’s Erlenbusch Award for Excellence in Philosophy and captain of UM’s Ethics

Lifetime

The GLC made it possible for Burgess and three other OMWC scholars to study abroad last summer: Caroline Brock, a premed public health major from Greenwood, traveled to Paris; Daneel Konnar (BA public policy leadership 24) from Meridian, toured Florence, Italy; and Ben Oliver (BA public policy leadership 24) from Jonesboro, Arkansas, studied in Geneva and Vienna.

Burgess, who grew up in Fort Smith, Arkansas, said her month in Italy was life-changing academically and personally. “My classes were in Salerno, a small town on the Amalfi Coast that is not a common tourist destination. Few people speak English, so I was forced to speak Italian everywhere. This immersive experience could not be replicated in the classroom.

“We are an interconnected world, and understanding how to properly interact with different cultures is invaluable.”

Burgess completed all academic requirements for her minor in Italian while enjoying a variety of cultural experiences. The resources for her study abroad program included excursions to explore the southern Italian coast and visit the ancient city of Pompeii.

“I encourage other students to go. It is the experience of a lifetime.”

Violet Jira was editor-in-chief of The Daily Mississippian her senior year.

Bowl team. “It forced me to learn and think in ways I never had. You are given a problem and then you have to tease through the moral and ethical implications of the solution you are presenting.

“The Ethics Bowl helped me grow into the philosophy major because I had this activity accompanying what I was doing in the classroom.”

Studying philosophy yielded multiple benefits. “The skills are transferable. Philosophy is a lot of reading, logic, and training yourself to think in a certain way to solve problems. It’s been incredibly helpful in journalism and a lot of aspects of my life.”

UM’s Swahili minor was another rewarding experience. “It was cool to study with native Swahili speakers and to learn the language. My parents are immigrants from Kenya, where Swahili is their national language.

“Since I was born in America, I didn’t have the capability to communicate as well with my family here and in Kenya, so taking Swahili classes was valuable. It’s one reason I selected Ole Miss.”

Awarded a Fulbright to research Germany’s Black population at the University of Leipzig after graduation, Jira chose instead to accept an Allbriton Journalism Institute Fellowship.

Emmie Burgess (right) and a friend tour the ruins of ancient Greek temples in Paestum, Italy.

UM’s new competitive award to support undergraduate-initiated, faculty-mentored research and creative achievement projects had 13 inaugural recipients.

The program is the first of its kind in the nation to receive a renewable $100,000 gift from E. Roe Stamps and his family, which is matched by UM’s investment. Students are invited to apply for the awards, which provide financial resources for their research projects.

“It is exciting to see through the lenses of our students’ bright young minds the important issues needing to be addressed in science, culture, and society,” said program leader Ken Sufka, distinguished professor of psychology and pharmacology and research professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

“To have these creative minds explore their great ideas as undergraduates certainly makes you wonder what larger impactful issues they will tackle in the years to come. This is exactly what the Stamps Impact Prize wants to support and nurture.”

Lindsay Ashton

Hometown: Franklin, Tennessee

Major: Biological Science

Project: “Investigating the Role of microRNAs in Shoot Negative Gravitropism in Plants”

Mentor: Yongjian Qiu, assistant professor of biology

THESE SIX STUDENTS IN THE COLLEGE WERE SELECTED—

Isabella Arthurs

Hometown: Jackson, Tennessee

Major: English

Project: “From Poem to Performance: The Professional Production of an Original Studio Album”

Mentor: Bruce Levingston, the Chancellor’s Honors College Artist in Residence and holder of the Lester Glenn Fant Chair

Ella Jordan

Hometown: Roseville, California

Major: Political Science

Project: “Breaking Barriers or Building Resistance? Female Undergraduates’

Response to Body Politicization and Its Impact on Legal Attitudes”

Mentor: Miles Armaly, associate professor of political science

Autumn Payne

Hometown: Union

Major: Film Production

Project: “Autistic Women: An Overlooked Community”

Mentor: Sarah Hennigan, associate chair of theatre & film and associate professor of film production

William Baggett

Hometown: Petal

Majors: International Studies at the Croft Institute and Spanish

Project: “Comparing Drag Performance in the Americas: Rio de Janeiro, Guadalajara, and Oxford”

Mentor: Marcos Mendoza, associate professor of anthropology

Angeline Morgan

Hometown: Olive Branch

Major: Art

Project: “Skin to Skin: A Photographic Investigation into Identity and Collaboration”

Mentor: Brooke White, professor of imaging arts

NETFLIX BOOK DEAL

Transferring from a Los Angeles Catholic school to Calabasas High, located in the now-renowned hometown of the Kardarshians and other celebrities, Via Bleidner kept detailed journals about wealthy, fameseeking teenagers. Her coming-of-age account shared in If You Lived Here You’d Be Famous by Now has scored a Netflix series deal.

MacMillan published Bleidner’s book in 2021.

A student in the Department of English master’s program in creative writing, Bleidner shares her journey navigating the drama and culture shock of Calabasas, a California city known for its rich families, including the Kardashians.

“I knew lots of people

whose goal when they grew up was to be famous. That’s the end goal, which I think is unique to that area.”

Kim Kardashian and actor Emma Roberts are on the team producing “Calabasas,” a scripted Netflix series based on the book published in 2021, when Bleidner was a freshman at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Via Bleidner

“I still can’t believe it. I’m excited—and a little nervous, but I have confidence in the team working on the streaming series.”

Bleidner aimed to write something humorous to resonate with her fellow Gen-Zers. “I especially wanted to reach young women. I get messages on Instagram from girls who read my book, and that is the coolest part for me.”

Now nearly 2,000 miles from Calabasas, Bleidner is working on a collection of short fiction stories for her thesis at UM.

“I have a lot to learn. I want to be a better writer. All the MFA professors are amazing. The workshops with other MFA writers are challenging because everyone is so talented. Just being around all these other talented writers is helping me become a better writer.

“I encourage writers to try. When I was a freshman in college sending my writing out blindly, it happened for me.”

MATHEMATICS GROUP EARNS NATIONAL AWARD

The Association for Women in Mathematics honored the university with its 2024 Student Chapter Award for Community Outreach. Presented at the Mathematical Association of America MathFest in Indianapolis, it celebrates work UM’s student organization completed during its first Sonia Kovalevsky Day and a research symposium for undergraduate and graduate students from multiple departments and universities about how they use mathematics in their research.

Mathematics doctoral candidate Gauree Wathodkar founded UM’s AWM chapter in 2023. Considering the 100+ student chapters nationwide, landing the award in one year is a source of pride. “The reason is our team of officers,” Wathodkar said.

The team invited Oxford-area high schoolers to campus for Sonia Kovalevsky Day honoring the groundbreaking mathematician with interactive mathematics activities, workshops, and panels.

“Giving high school students that perspective of what math really is—which is taking a problem that’s complex and that you don’t know how to solve and breaking it down into smaller problems that you do know how to solve—that kind of idea is applicable across all areas of life no matter what you want to go into,” said Ayla Gafni, an assistant professor of mathematics and chapter faculty adviser.

National Awards

TO STUDY ABROAD

College of Liberal Arts students had an outstanding year for prestigious national scholarships to study abroad.

Ten students received David L Boren scholarships from the National Security Education Program, the most ever in a single year for UM. Boren Scholars study languages of crucial importance to the US government and plan to work in positions vital to national security. Nine recipients are in the College.

The Fulbright US Student Program supports students and young professionals to teach, study, or conduct research abroad. Six of the seven UM recipients are in the College.

BOREN AWARDS

• Landon Bradley, an international studies and Spanish major from Laurel, is studying Thai in Thailand and researching tourism and digital nomads—those who work remotely and travel freely.

• After years studying Korean, Binta Fadiga, an international studies major from Cleveland, is in the African Flagship Languages Initiative Wolof program—a special initiative of the Boren Awards—studying in Senegal. As a Senegalese-American, the language connects with Fadiga’s family heritage and prepares for a future career in intelligence.

• Jonah Gattey, a forensic chemistry major from Tracy, California, is studying Swahili in Tanzania and plans to become a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

• Three students with the Arabic Language Flagship Program are studying Arabic in Morocco. Lee Holmes, an international studies and Arabic major from Tullahoma, Tennessee, plans to apply to the Consular Fellows

Program and Peace Corps upon return. Benjamin Newton, an international studies and Arabic major from La Grange, Texas, will pursue a career as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sydney Rehm, an international studies and Arabic major from Collierville, Tennessee, has a goal to work with the US Department of State.

• Two students with the Chinese Language Flagship Program are studying at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. Jonah Kocisko, a Chinese and chemical engineering major from Fort Myers, Florida, interests in Chinese focus on global affairs and business. Syd Woodard, an international studies and Chinese major from Paducah, Kentucky is interested in international relations and environmental sustainability in China.

• Maggie Thomas, an international studies and Spanish major from Lilburn, Georgia, is studying in Indonesia after which she will apply to the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

FULBRIGHT AWARDS

• Landon Bradley, a Laurel native majoring in international studies and Spanish and a Boren Scholar, was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Colombia.

• Binta Fadiga, an international studies major from Cleveland and a Boren Scholar, was awarded a Fulbright ETA to South Korea.

• Violet Jira, a journalism and philosophy major from Cleveland, was awarded a research Fulbright in Germany.

• Paola Leon, an international studies major from Corinth, received a Fulbright ETA to South Korea.

• Regeana Peeler, a psychology major from Oxford, was awarded a Fulbright ETA to Uganda.

• Matthew Travers, an international studies and Chinese major from Chesterfield, Missouri, received a Fulbright ETA to Taiwan.

GRADUATE STUDENTS Award Winning

Each year the College of Liberal Arts and Graduate School recognize outstanding scholars with the Graduate Student Achievement Award at Honors Day.

Mahesh Acharya

PhD Political Science 24

Mahesh Acharya teases out policy insights such as foreign policy orientations from the psychological characteristics of political leaders. To that end, Acharya employs recent advances in machine learning techniques to understand the personality of global leaders using their linguistic cues from textual statements.

His project won the prestigious Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (NSF fund) from the American Political Science Association which enabled him to collect novel textual datasets on Indian prime ministers including their rare private letters. His other research projects link dispositional traits of populist and women leaders to policy outcomes and examine the political trust of religious minorities in South Asia which has been published as a co-authored paper in Asian Survey from the University of California Press.

Ellie

Black

PhD English, Creative Writing Concentration 25

A poet, memoirist, screenwriter, and editor from Arkansas, Ellie Black (MFA poetry 22) has poems in The Drift, Ninth Letter, Mississippi Review, Black Warrior Review, Best New Poets, and DIAGRAM.

Her prose and criticism appear in Hayden’s Ferry Review, Georgia Review, and the Adroit Journal.

She has attended the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, the Bucknell Seminar, and New York University’s Writers program. Winner of the 2023 Pinch Literary Prize in Poetry, she has received awards from UM, the C D Wright Women Writer’s Conference, the Poets’ Roundtable of Arkansas, Hendrix College, Split Lip Magazine, and the Austin Film Festival.

Somayeh Faal

MFA Art, Emphasis in Printmaking 24

An award-winning artist originally from the Middle East, Somayeh Faal studies the desertification of wetlands caused by human action. Her concepts and materials are interdisciplinary—from using scientific processes to experiment with how salt can become an art medium to exploring ecological issues through printmaking, sculpture, and video.

“I have many stories, and I put my foot beyond the boundaries to prove all the impossibilities are possible. I usually interpret my stories in my paintings and artworks. In my first and second series, I survey women’s obstacles in my society. In my recent artworks, I invest in environmental issues and their effect on humans.”

Peyton Lawler

MFA Art, Emphasis in Ceramics 24

A ceramic potter and artist from Huntsville, Alabama, Peyton Lawler creates utilitarian vessels paired with sculptural stands that are centered around the idea of relationships between objects with influence pulled from architecture and birds. Her award-winning work has been nationally exhibited.

“My work is centered around the solitude found in morning coffee; a ritual that directly influences how I interpret the world around me. I am interested in creating distance between objects that reflects relationships in my own life. I utilize wheel-thrown utilitarian pottery paired with hand-built stands to heighten the intimate experiences the user has with the work, visually or physically. Through this endeavor, I intend to capture quiet subtleties through the interplay of line, color, and texture to emphasize what it means to slow down and look closer.”

Matthew Saucier

PhD Chemistry 24

Matthew Saucier (BA biochemistry 20) from Diamondhead, pursued undergraduate and graduate studies in organic chemistry with specializations in medicinal chemistry methods development, fluorine chemistry, NIR dye synthesis, and photophysical characterization. His dissertation, “Near Infrared and Shortwave Infrared Dyes for Biological Imaging, Bloodstain Detection, and Optoelectronic Applications,” has opened this field in new directions that are providing novel molecules with the potential for the highest resolution yet for such applications. His research is at the forefront of making medical imaging more precise, less invasive, and more affordable.

With several publications in international academic journals and a presentation at the American Chemical Society national meeting, Saucier is completing his doctoral degree in less than three years, a notable achievement.

Rabina Shrestha

PhD Biological Science 24

Originally from Nepal, Rabina Shrestha studies the role of intracellular signaling pathways in heart development. An accomplished researcher and teaching assistant, she has more than five years of laboratory expertise in genetics and molecular biology techniques and is passionate about applying this knowledge to advance innovative research projects.

With multiple awards for research and publications in four journals, Shrestha’s studies have received international attention and been selected for presentations at several conferences.

Natasha Wood

PhD Psychology 24

Natasha Wood studies experimental psychology focusing on extremism, social technologies, and ostracism/ isolation. Her dissertation topic is the online radicalization dynamics in incel communities.

“In general, I study the motivations that drive people to radicalize to violent extremism, particularly when they are deprived of their psychological needs, such as after experiencing social isolation, loneliness, and/or ostracism. In my research, I use both experimental manipulations of isolation/ostracism and measure self-reported real world experiences of these constructs. While I primarily study extremism, I also have separate lines of work investigating firearm ownership, ghosting intentions, and the use of smartphones as replacement of face-to-face communication.”

Callings

Kirk Johnson, associate professor of sociology and African American Studies, first inspired Randy Morgan from Sherman, while teaching Race and Ethnicity Studies at UM’s Tupelo campus.

“I fell in love with sociology when I met Dr. Johnson, when I saw how he viewed it, how he taught it. He introduced a lot of new concepts and theory and applied them to his worldview. It was incredible,” said Morgan (BA sociology 19, MA 21), a learning specialist for the FedEx Student-Athlete Academic Support Center who also teaches Sociology 101.

Johnson joined the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in 2005 after a career as senior researcher for the Emmy Award-winning PBS civil rights documentary Eyes on the Prize, editor of the award-winning Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved for Meharry Medical College in Nashville, teacher at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and writer of several books.

“I love to help students,” Johnson said. “I think my passion comes from feeling isolated and alone when I was a student. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to work with them at this time in their lives. In a large lecture hall, they can feel like they’re one grain of sand in a sandbox. I want them to realize that someone notices, someone cares.”

Professor Kirk Johnson (left) and Randy Morgan

TOMORROW'S LEADERS

New Social Science Degrees

The departments of political science and psychology have created a Bachelor of Science option for students.

“The Bachelor of Science degree offers a more quantitative version of the political science major,” said John Bruce, chair and associate professor of political science. “Many students are drawn toward data analytical jobs in politics, business, and government; the work they do in the BS builds a strong foundation for that type of work.”

Mary Huckaby is pursuing a BS in political science to strengthen her logic, reasoning, and qualitative skills. “This degree program will better prepare me for a future career in law by improving my analytical and research skills. It will not only give me skills for my undergraduate studies but also for my future JD degree.”

Both the BA and BS degrees provide a strong grounding in the core knowledge of the field, with options to go into greater depth in American politics, international relations, or comparative politics; the BS degree will prepare students for more empirically demanding areas of employment (business, big data, marketing, campaign work, and sectors of law) by requiring additional courses in quantitative analysis.

“The world is increasingly quantitative,” Bruce said. “Having graduates with stronger analytical skills prepares them for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

“A large number of our graduates go on to law school. Having good analytical reasoning puts them on a path to being an effective lawyer. For students interested in graduate school, a BS degree can give a stronger base from which to apply.”

The BS in psychology provides students with a solid foundation for graduate programs as well as for careers in which an understanding of human behavior and psychological research is beneficial. Students learn the scientific approach to the study of human and animal behavior, engage in experiential learning, gain an understanding of cultural perspectives, and practice using statistical tools. The BS degree provides additional training in statistics and research methods and a requirement to complete five of six core courses (compared to three core courses for the BA).

“We are thrilled to introduce our new Bachelor of Science degree in psychology,” said Kate Kellum, instructional associate professor of psychology, director of undergraduate studies, and assistant department chair. “This program, alongside our existing Bachelor of Arts degree, broadens opportunities for our students, paving the way for diverse careers and further education. The BS degree particularly appeals to those with a strong interest in science and math, offering an enriched curriculum with more specialized courses in psychology and related fields.”

Natalie Howard, a psychology major, said the BS degree program influenced her decision to attend UM. “I love how detailed and focused this major is and how it is uniquely tailored for students like me who want to be psychiatrists and also work in forensics. I find psychology to be central to understanding human behavior, mental health, and societal issues, so this program allows us the community outreach to address mental health challenges, inform public policy, and promote wellbeing to help many lives.”

“Not many schools offer a degree program that allows students the means to learn about the scientific and experimental aspects of psychology while at the same time understanding and researching human behavior.”

Natalie Howard

STAMPS SCHOLARS

In 2012, a significant gift established UM’s Stamps Scholars program—the most comprehensive, full scholarship package for students featuring a generous enrichment fund for exceptional educational pursuits including travel, research, internships, and academic conferences. The 2023–24 class of 17 freshman Stamps Scholars rounds UM’s total number to 60, making it the third-largest program in the nation.

• Aminata Ba, a public policy leadership major from Southaven

• Tyneah Buckley, a mathematics major from Flowood

• Lindsey Cole, a biochemistry major from Laurel

• Chloe Dobbins, a classics major from Leakesville

• Amos Hightower, a political science major from Durant

• Matelyn Hill, a theatre arts major from Jackson

• Adam Maatallah, an international studies major from Madison

• Emerson Morris, a public policy leadership major from Gulfport

• Benjamin Nordstrom, a political science major from Oxford

• Raegan Settle, a public policy leadership major from Murray, Kentucky

• Anika Ravi, a public policy leadership major from Meridian

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE

Front page headlines often concern pressing issues that fall into the discipline of geography, including global human migration; international trade; and how an ever changing landscape shapes environments, cultures, and ecomonics.

“Almost any topic can be studied from a geographical perspective, and the minor will enrich students’ perspectives of their world,” said Bridget Martin, Croft assistant professor of anthropology and Korean Studies.

“Geography is much more than memorizing capital cities. To study geography is to study the dynamic interaction between place, people, and environment.”

Martin directs a new minor in geography, along with her Croft colleague Nora Sylvander, Croft assistant professor of anthropology and international studies.

The minor introduces students to key concepts and methodologies of the discipline of geography with an emphasis on human geography. It complements many majors, from physical, social, and applied sciences to the humanities.

Students in the minor hone their critical thinking ability and develop skills in geo-literacy, the ability to reason about Earth systems and their interconnections in order to make far-reaching decisions. For example, how to deal with natural disasters caused by global warming or how to make policy about the more than 200 million people–most from Latin America, South Asia, and Africa–who are migrants both within and across continents.

“The new geography minor is uniquely situated to provide students with tools to improve their understanding of our complex world,” Sylvander said. “The study of geography helps students broaden their academic horizons, enhance their problem-solving abilities, and become engaged global citizens.”

Housed in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the minor offers courses on a wide range of topics–from natural sciences to social and cultural identity, so students tailor the program to their interests.

POLITICS PLACE

Tof

he intersection of race and politics is the focus of an undergraduate summer research program. The Interdisciplinary Study of the Politics of Place undergraduate research experience—funded with a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation—offers a unique focus on the relationship between race, power, and place in the US South.

Beginning in May 2024, undergraduate students from other colleges and states come to campus to learn and put into practice basic principles of social scientific research design and methodology.

“This program immerses students in a 10-week summer research experience focused on the relationships between race, power, and the politics of place in the American South.

M E Garrison map of the American South in 1909, Library of Congress

“Students have the opportunity to conduct interdisciplinary social scientific research with faculty,” said Simone Delerme, McMullan associate professor of anthropology and Southern Studies, the program codirector with James M Thomas, associate professor of sociology.

The program goal is to increase students’ social scientific literacy, equip them with the necessary knowledge and training to conduct social scientific research, and increase the number of students pursuing graduate education and professional careers in the social sciences, Thomas said.

WELCOMING MANDELA WASHINGTON SCHOLARS

Twenty-five scholars toured campus with the ninth annual Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. The visit came about through a connection with J R Love, project manager of the Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement who serves on the Mississippi Entrepreneurship Forum planning committee. “They are learning about how Mississippi leaders do business and how state universities operate.”

A group from Jackson State University, one of 28 US institutions hosting the Fellows, networked with UM and local leaders, the African Caribbean Students Association, Office of PreCollege Programs, Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence. The Fellows shared their experiences with high schoolers at a cultural exchange luncheon.

“What a pleasure to meet such dynamic leaders asking insightful questions and sharing knowledge about how to build successful businesses that support communities,” said Kirsten Dellinger, associate dean for access and strategic initiatives and professor of sociology. “The potential for local and global partnerships is immense.”

4CATALYSTS CHANGE4

The university won the inaugural Outstanding Chapter of the Year at the national honors and service society Gamma Beta Phi convention.

“They were selected for the award due to their tireless service to the community that surrounds the UM chapter and also for years in national community service efforts, such as Wounded Warrior, Little Library, and multiple hurricane relief, to name a few,” said Sharon Jean-Philippe, national president.

Chapter members credit the communication between executive members, chapter members, and advisor Denis Goulet, instructional professor of biology and coordinator of

laboratory programs, for the honor.

Marissa Ingram, a psychology major from Memphis and chapter vice president, got involved as a freshman—an experience she believes will affect her future as she begins a PhD program.

“Gamma Beta Phi gave me a chance to collaborate with likeminded individuals with the goal of helping the Oxford community.”

Marissa Ingram

“We have the most members of any honors society on campus so we have the numbers to make a difference.

That’s one reason I love Gamma Beta

Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society chapter members, executive board leaders, and advisors at the 2024 National Convention (from left) Denis Goulet, Maianh Tran, Sharon Jean-Philppe, Brenna Luff, Emilie Mai, Aaliyah Gates, Jordan Cochran, and Zachary Armstrong.

Phi. We are catalysts for change.

“Being part of such an effective executive board with an involved advisor engaged my leadership skills. I learned more about delegation and leaning on my peers in ways I hadn’t before. It broadened my horizons on what a chapter officer can be, what they can look like, and what they can do.”

In April the UM chapter celebrated its 60-year anniversary with a ceremony for graduating seniors and a celebratory banquet.

“As one of the oldest chapters in the nation, the UM chapter has led and will continue to lead the way to support service, scholarship, and character development,” said Jean-Philippe.

STUDENTS PUBLISH INTELLIGENCE

Five students contributed research to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Tearline Project, an opensource intelligence platform created to expand analytic outreach with outside groups and encourage in-depth understanding of various topics.

The project supplies open source intelligence to grow authoritative reports for federal agencies and the general public.

The students studied what could happen if Montenegro were to default on the Montenegrin-Chinese Belt Road and Initiative loan agreement. In 2014, China agreed to help fund a highway between Montenegro and Serbia to boost economic growth.

“It was an exciting way for students to interact with the intelligence community and practice the analytical tradecraft they learned in intelligence and national security courses,”

said Shaio Zerba, director of UM’s Center for Intelligence and Security Studies.

Sydney Lynch, an art history and classics major from Long Island, New York, was a project team leader. Working with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency gave her experience in creating high-level intelligence reports while using what she learned as an intelligence and security studies minor.

“The foundation that the CISS provides gave me a lot of applicable skills. Our class projects produce real intelligence reports. While it was theoretical, the methods and techniques taught in class were important in writing this report.”

The researchers are members of the Center for Open Source Analysis, a student-led group producing open-source intelligence on issues of national security.

Sydney Lynch

SERVING STATE TEACHERS

Governor Haley Barbour

This US presidential election year, 20 Mississippi high school teachers of social studies and government visited campus for a refresher on national conventions and the general election.

“The second Haley Barbour Center for the Study of American Politics Teacher Conference was designed to advance part of the Center’s mission by sharing with the public detailed information about how campaigns really operate,” said event cohost John Bruce, chair and associate professor of political science.

“With the help of Governor Barbour, teachers were exposed

to two days of speakers from across the range of campaignrelated work. They heard about everything from fundraising to opposition research, from the party nomination process to messaging.”

The teachers also took part in a brainstorming exercise led by Jonathan Klingler, associate professor of political science, illustrating ways to incorporate the material into class activities.

“By sharing this information with teachers from around the state, we help them refine and enrich how this important material gets covered in their classes,” Bruce said. “The university is always seeking ways to reach more effectively into the community. The Barbour Center Teacher Conference is a very effective way for us to share a deeper understanding of how campaigns work with the individuals teaching Mississippi’s children.”

The conference was supported by the Walton Family Foundation. “Attracting external dollars to help the university provide outreach is a great way for us to extend the reach of the programming we offer.”

MODEL UNITED NATIONS

Sophia Toner, an international studies major and treasurer for UM’s Model United Nations, and five other students—all members of the Arabic or Chinese Flagship Programs—attended the national conference in New York City.

Toner said, “The university’s support for our club has allowed us to attend conferences since the 90s and to excel as we represent the school. Last year, we won two Position Paper Awards and a Best Delegation Award, both highly coveted and selective. Our team members learned about the UN and made lasting connections with students from around the country.

“During the National Model United Nations conference, our team represented the Republic of the Union of Myanmar on seven UN committees. We worked to create compromises and solutions regarding topics such as emergency preparedness and response in the nuclear field, the return of cultural property to its country of origin, disarmament and development, sustainable tourism, and much more.”

The team’s efforts towards diplomatic conversations and engagement as well as solutions earned three awards that were presented at the UN General Assembly headquarters. The teams in the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

both won awards for Best Position Paper, recognizing their outstanding research and writing skills. Overall, the team won Outstanding Delegation, placing them in the top 10% of all delegations who attended.

“This has been our best performance at the New York National Model United Nations conference, and we are excited to continue improving our work.”

LEADING THROUGH DISASTER

National and state leaders shared lessons from their struggles and successes during times of crisis with former Senator Trent Lott (BA public administration 63, JD law 67) moderating the Follow Me: Citizens, Soldiers, and Crisis Leadership panel.

Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (JD law 72) joined Deborah Birx, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Global HIV/AIDS; Paul Critchlow, former press secretary to Pennsylvania’s governor; and Sam Skinner, former US secretary of transportation and White House chief of staff under President George W Bush. During their service, the panelists faced the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Katrina, the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, and the 1979 meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor.

“My leadership motto is, ‘Always ride to the sounds of the cannons—wherever there’s a problem, go there,’” Lott said. “Let the people see you. Make sure you understand the magnitude of the crisis.” The panelists had followed that advice. Barbour spent time after Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast assessing damage and speaking with citizens who had lost everything. While maintaining communication, it’s important to remain flexible as the situation demands, the leaders said. Barbour added that preparations—like those Mississippians made for each major hurricane following Hurricane Camille’s disastrous path through the South in 1969—can fail, and leaders must be ready to change the plan if they do.

After the response and first aid have ebbed, lasting change must be made, the panel advised.

Attendee Keerthin Karthikeyan, a biology, international studies, and public policy leadership major from Oxford, said, “I loved when they weren’t in agreement. It was an example of polite discourse. They could have different opinions and still work together.”

PAST MEETS PRESENT

Through her studies, Greta Koshenina (BA classics 20, MA Southern Studies 23) discovered her interests and turned them into a full-time position at the University Museum.

As assistant curator and collections project manager, she blends a lifelong curiosity for science with her studies in classical archaeology and Southern folklore. Her skill set is helping the museum expand its offerings to a broader range of interests.

“As a modern anthropologist, I’ve been able to merge classics and Southern Studies and use interdisciplinary methods to look at everything differently here, including all of the different studies of culture and contextualization and humanizing the ancient people through looking at modern culture.”

The Army Heritage Center Foundation and the BGR Group hosted the panel (below) in support of the US Army Heritage and Education Center and UM’s Haley Barbour Center for the Study of American Politics. The Trent Lott Leadership Institute helped coordinate the event.

Greta Koshenina examines artifacts.

Lauded by students and peers as an inspiring teacher, chemist Jason Ritchie is the second Doctors Andrew Stefani and Eldon Miller Memorial Chair for STEM Teaching and Research in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Established by Dr Rhett Atkinson and his wife, Elaine, with a $1.5 million gift in 2019, the chair honors Stefani, a former professor and chair of chemistry, and Miller, a former professor and chair of mathematics.

Recipient of UM’s 2023 Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award, Ritchie plans to use the chair’s resources to develop new teaching materials and activities to support active learning in his classroom. He also wants to help other faculty members stimulate the adoption of active learning techniques across campus.

FRitchie runs a research laboratory studying polymer electrolytes for fuel cells and batteries with both undergraduate and graduate student researchers. He has been the principal or coprincipal investigator on external research grants totaling $7+ million.

Rather than using her research just to reach other professionals, she prioritizes serving students first. “I fuse research into my classes because students are very interested in what’s happening in the world around them and they are often looking for the language to identify and understand current events.”

APPLAUDING FACULTY TEACHING EXCELLENCE COMMUNITY ENGAGED RESEARCH

irst year professor and Mississippi native Kesicia Dickinson teaches political science and African American Studies. Her research focuses on the perception of African American female candidates by potential voters.

“One project looks at first generation students and students of color and how they take the information they gain around voting and voting engagement on college campuses back to their homes and families,” said Dickinson, a member of the College of Liberal Arts Cluster Hire Initiative. “They act as knowledge brokers by sharing this information with their families.”

In Dickinson’s courses, students learn to tackle big conversations. “I emphasize the communal space in the classroom and respecting everyone’s opinions and experiences. We establish that on day one and that leads to an openness from everyone to share their perspectives. By the end of the class, I think everyone has a better understanding of each other.”

Colleagues find her new courses complement the department’s emphasis on student engagement in research. “Part of what makes Dr Dickinson’s scholarship especially valuable here is that a lot of her work involves going out in the community and so it is easy to bring students along,” said John Bruce, chair and associate professor of political science.

Kesicia Dickinson

Jason Ritchie

AIRLINE ECONOMICS

The National Science Foundation awarded a grant to Garrett Scott, assistant professor of economics, and two other researchers at the University of North Carolina for their work on the economics of airplane ticket prices.

“The grant is important because it allows us to ask questions that we wouldn’t be able to ask without this kind of data,” said Joshua Hendrickson, chair and professor of economics. “From our perspective, projects like this are super rare. It’s a big deal because we get to be one of the few departments in the country that has access to this kind of information.”

The collaborative project began in 2019 to assist an airline company. Following the Covid pandemic in 2021, the researchers resumed work analyzing ticket price discrimination for factors such as loyalty status, amenities, and capacity.

“Ideally, we are improving overall welfare —increasing company profits and getting consumers on planes who otherwise wouldn’t fly,” Scott said.

“Our proposal idea was to get a stamp of approval from the NSF in terms of the validity of our research because we already have all of the data, something that grants in economics are commonly used for. That means most of the grant will be used towards graduate students for summer funding, traveling, and disseminating research.”

The work influences Scott’s econometrics and industrial organization courses. “I spend probably two to three weeks just talking about price discrimination and my students all know I work with airlines because I constantly refer to it. It’s fun for me to think about and to allow them to see what’s behind the curtain by providing some insight.”

PULLING STORIES

out of THE AIR

Celebrated Associate Professor of Fiction Writing Tom Franklin is the Mississippi Humanities Council University of Mississippi Humanities Teacher of the Year.

“I’m so glad to have won this—it’s my first ever teaching award,” Franklin said.

“The truth is, I love this job, a job where I get to talk about stories all the time, and get to see students create them. Just yesterday my Beginning Fiction Writing class and I composed a scene, together, on the white dryerase board in our classroom. It was amazing to see what they pulled out of a prompt I’d given. The whole class worked as some kind of force, creating something (a story) out of nothing.”

Franklin—who joined the English faculty in 2003—is “a mainstay of our creative writing programs,” said Caroline Wigginton, chair and professor of English.

“An acclaimed fiction writer renowned

as an originator of a subgenre called Southern Grit Lit, his reputation helps attract hundreds of applications for our graduate programs. Graduate students in his workshop and craft classes find him a brilliant yet affable and warm teacher who pushes them to be stylish, interesting, and innovative authors themselves.

“Our undergraduates, who often take his classes unaware of his standing as an iconic Southern writer, similarly find him an excellent teacher, one who helps them transition from thinly veiled autobiographical musings to well-plotted narratives with insight into place and character.”

The author’s New York Times bestseller Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award for Best Novel, and other honors.

Recognized with a Guggenheim fellowship, Philip Roth Residency in

Creative Writing, the Berlin Prize, and Willie Morris Prize for Southern Fiction, Franklin also received the Harper Lee Award and the Edgar Award from Mystery Writers of America.

“We are nationally recognized as having top-ranked graduate creative writing programs, receiving hundreds of applications each year for the 10 or so spots,” Wigginton said. “We owe much of this success to Professor Franklin. He is one of our most beloved faculty members. We simply could not be the same Department of English, indeed the same university, without him.”

Garrett Scott

Tom Franklin

tiny prints, BIG PICTURE

As a student Kaleena Stasiak, assistant art professor, developed an excitement for printmaking she wanted to explore.

“I like the community aspect of printmaking. As a drawing and painting major, I found that everyone is in their own studio whereas printmakers are in a shared studio space and get to interact.”

When she came to the university in 2023, Stasiak brought the Teeny Tiny Print Exchange, a project she developed to fuel the community.

“There’s a tradition of the print exchange in printmaking and because we print multiples, it’s a great way to trade or share your work with others. I started this expanded print exchange where students, faculty, and community members are invited to come and make a small relief print at an open workshop.”

Stasiak collects and redistributes the work so that each participant has a unique print from another artist.

“It’s a recruitment activity and a fun, relaxing, and low stakes form of art.”

Stasiak also started the Pixel Press Club combining printmaking and photography to bring students together to make art, raise money for travel, and host visiting artists. They have a Valentine’s Day sale, participate in the Double Decker Arts Festival, and hold a live printing event to raise money for Marsha’s Tea Room.

“I’m inspired by my surroundings.”

“During graduate school at the University of Georgia, my work was about the South. Now, my work is inspired by yard art and self-taught artists. The front yard is this egalitarian and democratic gallery space where you don’t necessarily have to have artistic training. It’s a space where people just have the impulse to create and share their vision.”

Moving forward, Stasiak hopes to develop a collaboration with the English department and her book arts classes. As for her printmaking classes, she plans a steamroller event to create large prints.

“Kaleena has been great for the department, especially in the printmaking area,” said Michael Barnett, interim chair of art & art history and chair and professor of theatre & film. “She has brought a great deal of energy and excitement to the work that the students are generating throughout the entire unit—invigorating both students and faculty.”

Kaleena Stasiak

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EMERGING EXPLORER

Christine Lee, an assistant professor of anthropology, was featured by National Geographic Magazine as part of National Geographic Asian Heritage Month.

Lee specializes in bioarchaeology, which uses biological techniques to learn about ancient humans and their culture through the study of their skeletons. The National Geographic Emerging Explorer studies the remains of ancient peoples living in what are now China and Mongolia. She researches what life was like for them and about the cultures in which they lived.

Inaugural Faculty Laureate

Afaculty jury chose Stephen Fafulas, associate professor of Spanish, as one of two Faculty Laureates in a new program by the Mississippi Lab. The Lab is underwritten by the Dr Daniel W Jones Endowment for Faculty Support, named for the 16th chancellor (2009–15).

Faculty Laureates receive stipends for travel, project development, and reduced course loads for a semester, resulting in a proposal for grant funding.

The Laureates’ dynamic work makes it possible for new alliances, projects, and knowledge, amplifying the impact of higher education in Mississippi and beyond.

“My goal is to create opportunities and partnerships between students and faculty, as well as other schools and the public, to serve Latinx communities across the US South,” said Fafulas, who has worked with Latinx communities in the South since 2013. Cofounder of the SEC Spanish Consortium, he teaches and conducts research in sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, US Spanish, and Amazonian Spanish while mentoring students as director of the Study of Community Involvement and Outreach in Linguistics Laboratory.

Stephen Fafulas

A digital re-creation of a tomb mural depicts people playing polo during the Han Dynasty.

ONLINE EXTRA

Christine Lee at an archaeological site to learn more about the people who lived along the Silk Road.

FACULTY AWARDS

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

teaching awards

James Bos Associate Professor of Religion

Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of First Year Students

Bryan McAdams Instructional Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre

Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of First Year Students

Marcos Mendoza Associate Professor of Anthropology

Howell Family Outstanding Teacher of the Year

Tom Franklin Associate Professor of Fiction Writing

University of Mississippi Humanities Teacher of the Year

research awards

Peter Thilly Associate Professor of History

Dr. Mike L. Edmonds New Scholar Award in the Humanities

James Cizdziel Professor and Interim Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Melinda and Ben Yarbrough, MD, Senior Professor Research Award for the Natural Sciences

Aaron Lee Assistant Professor of Psychology

Dr. Mike L. Edmonds New Scholar Award in the Social Sciences

Jodi Skipper Professor of Anthropology and Southern Studies

Sanford and Susan Thomas Senior Professor Research Award in the Social Sciences

Jake Bennett Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Dr. Mike L. Edmonds New Scholar Award in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics

TEAMWORK AWARD

For a group that showed outstanding teamwork in the College Center for the Study of Southern Culture

STAFF AWARDS

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

STUDENT SUPPORT AWARD

For providing outstanding assistance to students

NEWCOMER AWARD

For administrative professionals in their positions for three or less years

COMMITMENT TO ADMINISTRATIVE EXCELLENCE AWARD

For the outstanding staff member of the year in the College

Rebecca Cleary Communications Specialist

Bert Neal Administrative Coordinator

James G Thomas Associate Director for Publications

Kell Kellum Operations Assistant

Afton Thomas Associate Director for Programs

Ingrid Valbuena Academic Counselor II College Office of Student Services

Gwen Rogers Operations Coordinator II Biology

Glenn Schove Administrative Coordinator II Writing & Rhetoric

RESEARCH & CREATIVE AWARDS

Brooke Alexander Instructional

Assistant Professor of Art, Drawing, and Painting

South Arts

Mississippi Fellow for Visual Arts

Susan Allen Professor of Political Science

Academic Council on the United Nations System Book Award

George Walasi Kwasi Dor Professor of Music

Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow

Jerriod Avant John & Renée Grisham Writer in Residence

Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Poetry Award

Beth Ann Fennelly Distinguished Professor of English

Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest Prize

Vivian Ibrahim

Associate Professor of History

Director of UM Office of National Scholarship Advisement

National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend

Aimee Nezhukumatathil Professor of English and Creative Writing

John William Corrington Award for Literary Excellence, Centenary College of Louisiana

Kate Centellas Croft Associate Professor of Anthropology and International Studies

Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Award

Melissa Ginsburg Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing

South Arts Mississippi Fellow for Literary Arts

Lauren Bone Noble

Assistant Professor of Movement for the Actor

Mississippi Arts Commission Performing Arts Fellow

Jamiko Deleveaux

Assistant Professor of Sociology

Director of the Center for Population Studies USAID Fellow

Nathan Hammer Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

UM Distinguished Research & Creative Achievement Award

Julie Wronski

Associate Professor of Political Science

Journal of Politics Associate Editor

Service Awards

Melanie Ho Assistant Professor of Practice

Southern Documentary Project

UM Excellence in Community Engagement Award

John Rash Assistant Professor of Film Production and Southern Studies

UM Excellence in Community Engagement Award

Tracy Case Koslowski

Associate Director of the Intensive English Program

Frist Student Service Award

Colin Jackson Professor of Biology

Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching & Mentoring

Andrea Drummond Department of Music Program Coordinator

UM Staff Creative Residency

Lance Sullivan Biology Laboratory Technician II

UM Overall Outstanding Staff of the Year Award

Timothy Nordstrom Professor of Political Science

Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher of the Year

Amy Evans College and Marketing & Communications

Graphic Web Designer

UM Staff Creative Residency

Rebecca Symula Instructional Associate Professor of Biology

MS Institutions for Higher Learning Diversity Award for Excellence

Jeffrey Watt

Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Chair and Distinguished Professor of History Last Lecture

Dakota Robertson FASTrack Learning Community

Academic Adviser

UM Staff Creative Residency

Carmen SanchisSinisterra Instructional Associate Professor of Spanish Campus Compact Engaged Scholar

Donald Trott Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities

Southern Region American Choral Directors Association Award of Excellence

David Rutherford Associate Professor of Public Policy Leadership

National Council for Geographic Education Distinguished Teaching in Higher Education

Teaching Awards

Mississippi Historical Society

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY COLLABORATION

UM physicists’ research at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago could point to undiscovered subatomic particles or forces that could change the current understanding of how the universe works.

Since its inception in 2008, the Department of Energy Fermi Lab’s Muon g-2 experiment has attempted to seek new physics beyond the Standard Model, the theory by which scientists describe and predict the actions of the universe’s basic building blocks.

Announced August 10, 2023, the Muon g-2 experiment found that some of the observations differ from the predictions of the Standard Model to such a degree that the differences point to the existence of previously unknown particles affecting the rotation of muons, subatomic particles roughly 200 times heavier than an electron. Scientists from 33 institutions across seven countries contributed to the experiment.

One of those scientists, Breese Quinn, professor of physics and director of UM’s Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics, has been working on Muon g-2 since 2013. He said the announcement could signal one of the most important measurements in particle physics in 20+ years.

“Our g-2 experiment is probably the most important particle physics experiment in the world right now. This is the best evidence we’ve had for decades that we have something new in the field of particle physics.”

UM graduate students and a postdoctoral research associate served as run coordinators and data analysts for the experiment at Fermilab. Run coordinators manage the daily operations of the experiment and ensure the safety of all of those involved. It is rare for graduate students to be charged with such an important role, Quinn said.

“Our young scientists have done incredible work and have gotten us to a level of understanding on this data that we’ve never had before. We understand our data to about 100 parts per billion; to be able to understand our data to that extent is astounding. This is the highest precision measurement that Fermilab has ever achieved.”

Charles Reagan Wilson, history professor emeritus and former director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, receives the Mississippi Historical Society Lifetime Achievement Award from Katie Blount (MA Southern Studies 90), director of the Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

Jodi Skipper, professor of anthropology and Southern Studies (second from left), and Carolyn Freiwald, associate professor of anthropology (second from right), accept the Excellence in History prize for their Behind the Big House Project multi-year work Interpreting slavery in Holly Springs.

Charles Ross, professor of history and African American Studies (right), and Jeff Jackson, professor and chair of sociology & anthropology (left), accept the Award of Merit for the University of Mississippi Slavery Research Group from MHS President Will Bowlin.

Breese Quinn, Affiliate Academic at University College London and US Department of Energy/National Science Foundation High Energy Physics Advisory Panel

Doing Community Engagement: Frameworks, Challenges, Support

• Anne Cafer, associate dean for research, scholarship, and graduate education and associate professor of sociology

• Laura Martin, associate director of the Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service & Community Engagement

• Castel Sweet, director of the Center for Community Engagement

The College of Liberal Arts Forum fosters discussion of innovative research topics and approaches that impact today’s communities.

The Power of Creativity, Collaboration, & Community in Higher Education

• Theresa Starkey, associate director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women & Gender Studies

• Nancy Maria Balach, chair and professor of music, director of Institute for the Arts, and CEO and artistic director of the Living Music Resource

Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize: What If We Filmed a Landmark Civil Rights Documentary in 2024?

• Kirk Johnson, associate professor of sociology and African American Studies

microplastic POLLUTION

Stationing themselves along Highway 6 near Oxford, two researchers investigated what happens when the rubber meets the road. Their findings have led to a published paper in the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.

James Cizdziel, professor and interim chair of chemistry and biochemistry, and Boluwatife Olubusoye, a doctoral chemistry student from Lagos, Nigeria, studied the increase and possible effects of the microscopic particles shed by tires near major roadways.

For 10 days, they collected air samples at varying distances along Highway 6. At each sampling station, they found tire wear particles containing toxic compounds, 6PPD-Q and 4-ADPA, with more particles closer to the road.

“Tire wear particles generally fall in the category of microplastic pollution,” Cizdziel said. “Think about when driving your car; every couple of years, you have to change the tires. Where does all that tread go? It breaks off into particles and gets into the environment.”

The smallest particles can pass through the lining of the lungs and into the bloodstream when inhaled. Tire wear particles have also been found in soil and in stormwater runoff from roadways.

“We detected these two toxic compounds in the air at each of the locations,” Olubusoye said. “Mind you, this was for just 10 days. Humans can inhale these particles, and when they get into their system, these same toxic compounds may be leached from them, exposing people to these compounds as well.”

whether toxic compounds from tire wear particles are present.

In the next phase of the study, the team will examine how much of these toxic compounds leach into bodies after being inhaled, and will develop innovative ways to remove them in runoff from roads before they enter streams, rivers, and lakes.

Doctoral student Boluwatife Olubusoye collects stormwater runoff in Oxford to determine

James Cizdziel

PLANT RESEARCH

The groundbreaking work of biology professors is receiving national attention and support.

AGRICULTURAL CHALLENGES

The National Science Foundation awarded biologist Yongjian Qiu a $1 million grant to further his research into the effects of global warming on crops.

Designed to help new professors establish their research programs, the NSF CAREER grant is helping Qiu conduct more in-depth analysis of the processes that alert plants when to absorb sunlight: phytochrome-interacting factors and HEMERA protein signaling.

“This project is highly relevant to plant growth, development and crop yield under the changing climate,” said Sixue Chen, chair and professor of biology.

Qiu’s lab, which focuses on biological solutions to agricultural challenges, is working to solve a problem caused by increasing temperatures due to global warming: which causes a plant stem to grow too fast, damaging the plant’s biomass and leading to severe crop reductions. Their goal is to develop climate-smart crops.

To conduct the study, they are evaluating plant growth in controlled warm, nonstressful environments, a process known as thermomorphogenesis.

“We try to see how plants can cope with this warmer climate,” Qiu said.

Developing Pest-Resistant Soybean

Adevastating pest for soybean farmers may soon be a problem of the past, thanks to research conducted by Sixue Chen, professor and chair of biology.

He is collaborating with scientists nationwide to combat a microscopic roundworm that causes up to 50% of a soybean crop’s yield loss. “We are trying to solve a realworld problem—the soybean is an important legume crop. It supplies more than half of the vegetable oil in the world and is a significant source of protein.”

Mississippi farmers planted nearly 2.3 million acres of soybeans in 2023, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Funded by a five-year Plant Genome Research Program award from the National Science Foundation, the research is targeting resistance to the soybean cyst nematode by “going back to the wild,” Chen said.

“We know there are wild soybeans that maintain a lot of genetic variation, and they are resistant to nematodes. We will try to learn from the wild soybean and see what they have in their genetics that gives them a broad spectrum of resistance. That’s what we need in the cultivated soybean.”

Yongjian Qiu (right) and graduate student Anupa Wasti are working to understand the processes that alert plants when to absorb sunlight.

Yongjian Qiu is building on his earlier studies of plant growth to understand how different parts of plants react to rising temperatures.

Sixue Chen collaborates with researchers nationwide on a project that has huge implications for Mississippi farmers.

ORESTORING OAKS

ak trees are powerhouses of forest ecosystems in the eastern US, providing homes to insects and animals, food to herbivores, and oxygen for all. But in many areas, the numbers of some species of oaks are declining.

Steven Brewer, a biology professor, is working to discover why. He hopes to find ways to reverse the trend and restore oak forests. In fire restoration areas—forests that have undergone prescribed burns—one species is regenerating more slowly than other trees and undergrowth, causing their numbers to dwindle.

The plight of the post oak is important because their loss would weaken North American ecosystems, Brewer said. “More insects feed off of oak trees than any other plant in North America. This is not just about the trees.”

His research team found that post oak—a species usually found along ridgelines and in uplands—is losing ground to lowland and flood plain trees such as maples, sweetgums, and white oak.

What is the reason for the change? Not enough fire.

Early Career Award

AUS Department of Energy Early Career Award recognizes Kensha Clark’s research converting waste gases into valuable products. Her goal is to create a cost-effective, clean process for converting greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide, into value-added offerings in a way that incentivizes industries and organizations to participate.

“As academics, we get a lot of interesting fundamental knowledge,” said Clark, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry who joined the faculty in 2022 with a doctorate from the University of California at Irvine and a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship at Boston College. “Often, the knowledge we gain does not translate directly to industrial change, because that change is not necessarily industrially viable. I am taking that industrial sensibility and applying it to a problem that affects us all: the reduction of greenhouse gases and chemical waste.”

Through her work, Clark seeks ways to use inexpensive and sustainable metal ions to break apart the greenhouse gases and convert them to important commodity chemicals. For

example, methane and carbon monoxide can be employed to make acetic acid, the major component of common household vinegar.

“We can have technological scientific advances but also do them in a conscious way, thinking about the effects on our environment, the effects on society. We want to make sure that this planet can sustain life for generations to come. It is not just about now; it is about the impact on the future.”

Kensha Clark

Steven Brewer

EARTH EXCAVATION

Researchers are closer to having the technology to unravel one of the most mysterious particles in the universe after the US Department of Energy Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced that excavation on three giant caverns in South Dakota is complete.

In a former gold mine, 1,400+ scientists and engineers from 200 institutions and 36 countries are building the world’s largest neutrino detection facility. The goal is to better understand the mysterious “ghost particle” approximately 1,000 times smaller than an electron.

UM is partnering on Fermilab’s Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or DUNE. Gavin Davies, assistant professor of

NSF CAREER

Award

Eden Tanner, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, received a $850,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to further her study of salts called “ionic liquids.” She is investigating how a coating of them enables selective “hitchhiking” on blood components.

physics and principal investigator for DUNE’s Mississippi group, said completing the excavation is a significant step toward better understanding the physics and interactions of neutrinos. “This is going to be a new dawn for neutrino physics,” said Davies who has worked with Fermilab for 13+ years on the NOvA Project. “The possibilities are endless for what we can do with a better understanding of neutrinos.”

Although scientists don’t know any practical application for neutrinos, they hope the particle’s behavior can help them understand complex questions about the universe such as: Why is there more matter than antimatter in the universe? How does an exploding star create a black hole? Are neutrinos connected to dark matter or other undiscovered particles?

The Tanner Lab works with nanoparticles, which are considered a strong possibility for ideal drug delivery systems due to their ability to deliver drugs effectively, safely, and specifically. It also focuses on solving specific biomedical and bioengineering challenges. Her five-year project, Elucidating the Mechanism of Ionic Liquid-Coated Nanoparticle Interactions with Blood Components, could lead to the development of targeted drug delivery systems that are safer and more effective for patients.

The NSF encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply for the CAREER award.

Tanner extends the NSF expectations by staffing her lab to reflect those goals of enhancing diversity in STEM education. She seeks diversity, too, in the varying expertise of the graduate students who staff her lab.

“My graduate students have backgrounds in chemical engineering, bioengineering, molecular biology, physics, and of course, they are all here earning a PhD in chemistry. They have an interest in chemistry, but their backgrounds are diverse.

“Engineers and scientists think about problems—the same problem—from different perspectives. I find having multiple perspectives in the room strengthens the kind of questions we can ask, the experiments we are able to design, and the ideas coming in.”

GROUNDBREAKING TREATMENT

University researchers are developing a novel treatment for the neurological complications of HIV, also known as neuro-HIV.

The National Institutes of Health awarded a fiveyear grant to Eden Tanner, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and Jason Paris, research associate professor of pharmacology, to support this work. The duo received $436,000 for the first year of the project.

“What I’m most excited about is the opportunity to provide help to this patient population who is often vulnerable in other ways as well,” Tanner said. “That’s something the team hopes to accomplish, to develop technology that improves people’s quality of life.”

Gavin Davies

Eden Tanner (right) and Jason Paris

A CLEAR ROUTE TO ENERGY

Vignesh Sundaresan, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is partnering with Texas A&M electrochemists to explore ways to make clean energy more affordable. Their research received $224,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation.

The research focuses on innovative and cost-effective means of producing clean hydrogen, a fuel used in electronic vehicles and other clean-energy devices. Clean hydrogen produces minimal or no greenhouse gas emissions, in contrast with fossil fuels. The ultimate goal of the project is to gain a deeper understanding of the process of creating clean hydrogen at a molecular level. Sundaresan’s research team is trying to create a highly specialized electrochemicaloptical microscope to do that.

“Hydrogen production is costly. If we gain a better understanding of the chemistry of producing clean hydrogen, we can make it less expensive to use, which will encourage people to choose energy sources that won’t add to greenhouse gas emissions and worsen global warming.”

His research is assisted by Shubhendra Shukla, a second-year doctoral student, who came to the United States from his native Gonda, India, to study in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

In addition to funding clean hydrogen research, the grant funds STEM summer research projects for Mississippi students in grades K-12. Sundaresan’s first initiative is at Coffeeville High School, where his group teaches students the basics of optics using a mini optical kit.

“We have so many challenges in STEM that are critical for the future of our country, and we need scientists to face those challenges,” Sundaresan said. “I hope this program will inspire underserviced communities to encourage a love of STEM learning. Maybe someday those students will work in my lab at the University of Mississippi.”

HISTORIAN GENERATES INTERNATIONAL INTEREST

Professor Mohammed Bashir Salau studies and teaches African history focusing on slavery and labor, primarily in West Africa. Salau, who joined the faculty in 2006, is the author of two books, The West African Slave Plantation: A Case Study (Palgrave Macmillan) and Plantation Slavery in the Sokoto Caliphate: A Historical and Comparative Study (University of Rochester Press). For his next project, he is engaging with the literature of prisons in Africa to find correlations with his previous slavery studies. “I have been lucky to receive a lot of university grants to support my research in Northern Nigeria. This summer I traveled to study convict labor in colonial Nigeria.”

Noell Wilson, chair of history and Croft associate professor of history and international studies, praises his accomplishments. “Professor Salau has been one of the most important faculty members in helping recruit international graduate students, which has really helped diversify our graduate program. In particular, students coming from West Africa have produced some especially strong dissertations and are now going into the academia field. He has helped create one of the strongest African history programs in the South. Dr. Salau has created a strong international profile, particularly in Canada. He received his PhD from York University and has a lot of interaction with the academic community in Canada.”

UM has shaped Salau’s teaching and inspired him to establish a strong program in African history. “I take it seriously to assign a range of works from different perspectives to attract students from diverse fields to take interest in this study. This is encouraged by the commitment to fostering diversity, especially through the administrators in the College of Liberal Arts,” he said.

Vignesh Sundaresan (left) and Shubhendra Shukla

Bashir Salau

& PHILOSOPHY THE LAW

Aaron Graham took his first philosophy course while attending Harvard Law School. Finding it more exciting than his other courses, Graham continued studying philosophy while completing his law degree.

“After four years of practicing law, my then-girlfriend (now wife) encouraged me to pursue philosophy full time.” Upon completing his masters at UM, Graham earned a doctorate from the University of Chicago before returning to Oxford.

“When the inimitable Dr. Robert Westmoreland, my former advisor, retired from the department, there was a search for a new philosopher of law. I applied for the job and was so fortunate as to get it.”

Steven Skultety, chair and professor of philosophy and religion, said, “He’s a fantastic teacher. Part of what’s exciting about Professor Graham is that he is a philosophy professor and he was a practicing lawyer. So, students get advice about a philosophy degree and about law school and legal careers in a way that’s philosophically informed.”

Graham’s primary research and teaching focus emphasizes the role of ethics and logic in law studies.

N“I am interested in general theories of law, which seek to answer questions such as: What does it take for a legal system to exist? And what is the relationship between law and morality?”

The assistant professor said of his teaching methods and research, “Lately, I have been thinking more about the question of whether citizens are under a moral obligation to obey the law, which is a question that touches on both legal theory and ethical theory.”

The department plans to offer a philosophy of law emphasis for the major as Graham develops more classes on the subject, which is popular among students. “I am happy the department is doing this, both because I personally find this area of philosophy fascinating, and also because I sincerely believe philosophical training is among the very best preparation for law school.”

EARLY MEDIEVAL

“It is common for scholars to study Christian, Jewish, and Islamic art during this time period. I study none of the above. So, I’ve been widening the scope of early medieval art in the US.

“How can we art historians try to bring global concerns to medieval art if we don’t cover all of Europe? It’s a really important role to open the stage.”

Art

Sweden, Viking archaeological site.”

In 2010, Wicker was the first woman elected to foreign membership in the Philosophical-Historical Section of the Royal Society of Humanities at Uppsala, Sweden. She is the only American ever to be included in the International Sachsen Symposium, a research network for the archaeological study of the Saxons and their neighboring peoples in northwestern Europe.

ancy Wicker, professor of art history, is the university ’s newest Distinguished Professor in recognition of her demonstrated sustained excellence in research and creative achievement, teaching, and service. Wicker, who joined the faculty in 2003, studies early medieval art—including the art and archaeology of Scandinavia from the Migration Period of the fifth and sixth centuries through the Viking Age.

Her published research covers a wide range of topics, including bracteates, or gold pendants; Viking art in Spain; the sensory effects of jewelry; female infanticide in the Viking Age; and runic literacy. She has presented 200+ papers across 19 countries and conducted on-site research in numerous additional nations.

“The things I study are found archaeologically; they come out of the ground. I’ve been on several excavation sites, and I was the first and only American at UNESCO’s Birka,

The Institute for Research in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin–Madison awarded Wicker a Solmsen Fellowship to spend a sabbatical year writing a book on Art Before and During the Viking Age and Beyond.

One of her objectives is to advocate for research in the humanities.

“When people think of research, they usually imagine enormous science grants.

I try to be a leader in saying that research in humanities is extremely important.”

Aaron Graham

Nancy Wicker

SCIENCE FUN

Nature’s Death Stars: A Discussion of Supermassive Black Holes, Relativistic Jets, & The Event Horizon Telescope

Nicholas MacDonald, assistant professor of physics and astronomy

MacDonald discussed the international effort involved in capturing the first ever image of a black hole. This image has helped scientists understand the extreme physics taking place in the environments surrounding black holes. MacDonald leads a UM team studying how black holes launch beams of gas (blazars) that shine across space. See image above.

Cows, Trash, & Gas: Saving the World One Reaction at a Time Kensha Clark, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry

Clark discussed the origins of methane and carbon dioxide emissions, relationship to the atmosphere, as well as efforts to develop sustainable, environmentally benign approaches that convert them into important commodity chemicals.

Oxford Science Café conversations inform and entertain all ages. Presented by the Department of Physics and Astronomy with UM Women in Physics, the monthly events are held at Heartbreak Coffee off the Courthouse Square and on Zoom.

From Plankton to Planets: Science Poems and Possibilities

Aimee Nezhukumatathil, professor of English and creative writing

New York Times bestselling author Nezhukumatathil discussed using science in poems and essays. She provided a writing prompt for all ages.

Below the Surface: Fish Sounds & Community Science in the Gulf of Mexico

Richard Buchholz, professor of biology and director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Research, and Kayleigh Mazariegos, PhD student

Buchholz and Mazariegos showed how their community science project in the GulfSeeLife app will recruit recreational fishers to help test how fish sounds can be used for long-term monitoring of the Gulf’s ecosystem health and productivity.

Ice Age Archaeology and the First Americans

Jesse Tune, associate professor of anthropology and director of Center for Archaeological Research

Tune’s discussed the ongoing pursuit to understand the earliest archaeological evidence of humans in the Americas using unique techniques, such as drones to help locate sites.

WILLIE MORRIS

Awards

Three writers who incorporated universal themes of art, landscape, and family in their latest works received this year’s Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing, housed at the Department of Writing & Rhetoric since 2020. Honoring the contributions and writing of Morris, former editor-in-chief of Harper’s Magazine and a longtime instructor and writer-in-residence at UM, the awards are supported by an endowment from Dave and Reba White Williams of Connecticut. A national panel of judges selected the winners from hundreds of nominations.

Fiction

North Carolinabased writer

David Joy’s novel, Those We Thought We Knew: A Novel Penguin

Non Fiction

Alabama native Cassandra Jackson for her memoir, The Wreck: A Daughter’s Story of Becoming a Mother Penguin

Poetry

Lauren Crawford from Houston, Texas, for “Galveston”

TERRITORY New

Associate professor Laura Dixon has been at UM since 2016 working in clinical psychology, specifically with anxiety disorders. Presently, she is studying misophonia—a rare disorder that causes extreme sensitivity to noises like chewing and slurping—with aid from a grant funded by the Misophonia Research Fund.

“One of the core aspects of my lab is experimental psychopathology research. In this current study, we are recruiting a group of individuals with and without misophonia. Participants view randomized clips of misophonia, unpleasant, and neutral videos that include audio and visual, and we measure emotional and psychophysiological reactions to these videos to better understand unique attributes of emotional responses among individuals with misophonia.”

Dixon received the 2021 Dr. Mike L. Edmonds New Scholar Award from the College of Liberal Arts.

“Dr. Dixon is a rising star in the field, both in terms of the quality of her research, but also in providing outstanding teaching and mentoring that is preparing the next generation of scholars,” said Rebekah Smith, chair and professor of psychology.

The Health and Anxiety Research Treatment (HART) Lab utilizes students who assist with conducting research. Part of the clinical psychology doctoral training program with four graduate students in her lab and two others arriving this fall, Dixon also has between eight to 14 undergraduate students working in her lab each semester.

Her research on misophonia and other disorders focuses on understanding the processes contributing to symptoms and causing impairment. “Our studies emphasize the examination of transdiagnostic processes like emotion regulation, anxiety sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty that underlie many psychological disorders—what’s particularly important about these constructs is that although they are known to worsen symptoms, we also have interventions that can target these processes and improve symptoms across disorders, which is more efficient than trying to solve one problem at a time.”

In the future, Dixon hopes to test intervention components for misophonia and continue to collect data on the understudied disorder. “Currently, we have limited evidence-based treatments for misophonia so I want to contribute to the development of effective treatments. In our recent studies, we conducted a nationally representative study where we surveyed people who were randomly identified from the US population. We estimated that 4.6% of the population is affected by clinical levels of misophonia, which had not been established. From the same study, we identified that only about 11% of people have heard of misophonia, which points to the need for wider dissemination and increasing awareness.”

CLOTHING A CHILD

Carey Hanson, professor of costume design in the Department of Theatre & Film, recently released her book, Early American Children’s Clothing and Textiles: Clothing a Child 1600-1800

An exploration of the life experiences of children in colonial America, their connections to textile production, the process of textile production, the textiles created, and the clothing they wore, the book stems from Hanson’s career in the costume industry. Her award-winning designs include collaborations with the internationally acclaimed Santa Fe Opera and Utah Festival Opera.

“I am excited to have the years of research finally in print,” said Hanson, who travels globally as a costume historian. “I am excited for readers around the world to access the work I had the opportunity to gather with support from College Summer Research Grants. Without those grants, this book would not exist.”

In tandem with producing Clothing a Child (Focal Press), Hanson is cultivating a historical clothing collection as a resource for students. Her book is part of a larger project. “My goal is to publish a series that details the life experiences of Indigenous, Anglo-American, Black, and mixed-race children through to 1938, when the Fair Labor Standards Act laws were passed concerning child labor. I have research and information through 1840 at present. I see it as the first in a series. I think this book has the potential to make a shift in how the history of early American children is told in connection to their clothing and textiles.”

Laura Dixon

A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Ana Velitchkova, Croft associate professor of sociology and international studies, researches the role of culture in global social stratification.

“I address several dimensions of global cultural stratification, including citizenship, civil society, gender, and language. My mixedmethod research addresses two fundamental questions. The first is: How does social continuity emerge amidst conflict, inequality, and change? The second question I work on is: What influences people’s actions?”

She is influenced by her experiences living, working, and studying in Europe, North America, and South America. They include a postdoctoral fellowship with the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies in Santiago, Chile, and a PhD in sociology and peace studies from the University of Notre Dame.

Upon meeting her fellow sociology professors when she joined the faculty in 2016, Velitchkova noticed a pattern of studying inequalities and has adapted that to a global scale.

“The issues that preoccupy me may be big and the questions I ask may appear abstract and removed from the immediate Mississippi context. Still, I was given the space and the support to work on them.

“My students constantly challenge me to think about how

“My students constantly challenge me to think about how my work is relevant to them and to the world.”

my work is relevant to them and to the world. I challenge them to think about how their experiences compare to the experiences of others and how they can contribute to the broader world. In this exchange, I hope we help each other find manageable ways to understand social complexity and face our challenges.”

In 2023 Velitchkova was a visiting research fellow for the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies examining a theory of violence she developed in the context of US extremism. She also has a Sarah Isom Center Fellowship and Achieving Equity Grant for the project.

“Dr Velitchkova tends to ask the big, hard theoretical questions that make everyone else’s brains hurt,” said Jeff Jackson, chair and professor of sociology and anthropology. “She likes to dig in and really go deeper with her projects to make some progress on answering those questions.”

Assembly Quartet founding member Adam Estes is associate professor of music. His quartet’s (Re) Mix album was released by Amp Recordings last September.

Formed in 2003 as a graduate student ensemble, the group celebrated its 20th anniversary with Jeffrey Heisler, associate professor at Oakland University, on soprano saxophone; Ian Jeffress, associate professor at Western Carolina University, on alto saxophone; Matthew Younglove, assistant professor at Tennessee Technological University, on tenor saxophone; and Estes on baritone saxophone.

The group engages with public schools and communities— audiences that often have limited experience with chamber music or with the music of our time, Estes said.

“Dr Estes is a stellar teaching artist, and the work of the Assembly Quartet is impressive. UM Music has had the pleasure of hosting the group on campus and experience their brilliant artistry in person,” said Nancy Maria Balach, chair and professor of music. “This album allows a broader audience to enjoy the Assembly Quartet and become a great addition to any music collection.”

The Assembly Quartet

Ana Velitchkova

Transfer Student Honor Roll

For the eighth consecutive year, the national Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society recognized UM for its dedication to supporting transfer students. Among fewer than 200 universities on the annual Excellence in Community College Transfer Honor Roll, UM remains the only university in the state to be recognized consecutively for the last eight years.

Tia Adams, a psychology major from Horn Lake who was chapter fellowship chair, said, “I could not relate to my peers because most did not understand the struggle of being the ‘new kid.’ It was difficult to navigate my new situation until I found out about the PTK alumni chapter. PTK creates a welcoming environment. It gives me a space to belong.”

Trade War and Policy

Christina Liu, former finance minister of Taiwan, managing director of her own consulting firm in Hong Kong, and board member for Foxconn—Apple’s largest manufacturer, discussed the Role of the Central Banker in the World Economy: Monetary Policy During the COVID Crisis and the Effects of the US-China Trade War at two campus lectures.

“This was a great opportunity for our public policy students,” said John Conlon, professor of economics who coordinated the visit and befriended Liu as a fellow graduate student at the University of Chicago. “If you want to be an important policymaker, she has advice for you.”

Making the Case for Nuclear Alternative

Political science major Lake Dodson of Madison is working to spread the word about a seldom-used radioactive element that he believes can help solve energy needs and lessen the threat of nuclear conflict. Dodson thinks that thorium could provide plentiful, cleaner energy for countries around the world. He presented his case at the Atoms for Peace conference, a joint annual gathering of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management and Europe’s counterpart, the European Safeguards Research and Development Association, in Vienna.

“Basically, the premise of my presentation was about how if we further the research of thorium energy, it will decrease the likelihood of nuclear weapons development. I show that there is a correlation between the rising amount of usage of nuclear energy and the falling amount of production of nuclear weapons.”

Phi Kappa Phi Fellow

The national honor society awarded alumna Margaret Walker (BA public policy leadership, BS integrated marketing communications 23) one of 62 national annual fellowships funding the first year of a member’s graduate study. The Suwannee, Georgia, native is putting her $8,500 toward a law degree at the University of Virginia. “I look forward to working at the intersection of international law, conflict studies, and gender advocacy. Studying law will enable me to advocate for women in both the courtroom and policy arena.”

Founder and president of Period@UM, a women’s advocacy group providing sanitary pads and tampons on campus, Walker distributed 20,000+ products and rallied to bring free pad and tampon dispensers to high-traffic buildings.

“I am proud to have created an open, inclusive environment where students work together. Alongside Dr. Jody Holland’s public policy leadership class, Period@UM successfully campaigned for UM to fund free menstrual product dispensers across campus. Starting this conversation and advocating for change made an impact that will exist long after I graduated.”

Lake Dodson (right) met Enobot Agboraw, executive secretary of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy.

Mississippi Institute of Arts & Letters Awards

NONFICTION

PHOTOGRAPHY

Kate Medley (MA Southern Studies 07)

Thank You Please Come Again: How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American South BS Publishing

Charles Reagan Wilson professor emeritus of history and Southern Studies

The Southern Way of Life: Meanings of Culture and Civilization in the American South University of North Carolina Press

Developing Leaders

Planting Roots

A group of 11 undergraduates, led by biology major Norah Bruce (second from right in the photo) helped plant 5,000+ hardwood trees on a private nature reserve in Humphreys County.

Air Force ROTC cadet Graylee Guthrie, a criminal justice major with minors in aerospace studies and Russian, spent the summer in Kyrgyzstan with ROTC ProjectGO, a nationwide program whereby future military officers develop linguistic and cross-cultural communication skills required for effective leadership in the 21st century.

“This summer I visited Central Asia where I studied the Russian language in Kyrgyzstan. During the week, I attended a Russian language school while on the weekends, we went on excursions around the country and even to neighboring Russian-speaking countries. It was eye opening to see how much Kyrgyzstan has been influenced by super powers like China, Russia, and the US yet still fights to hold on to its own heritage. I enjoyed learning about the culture of the Kyrgyz people and exploring their beautiful wild lands.”

Podcast Publicity

Deanna Kreisel, associate professor of English and co-director of the environmental studies minor, discussed her research on two podcasts this year.

She was interviewed about her work on utopias, sustainability, ecocriticism, and political economy for the Cultural Studies podcast in January. In February, she appeared on the New Books podcast along with her co-editor, Devin Griffiths, to discuss their new volume After Darwin: Literature, Theory, and Criticism in the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge University Press). Kreisel enjoyed both conversations and appreciated the opportunity to present her research to a wider audience.

Student Diversity Innovator Award

Gauree Wathodkar, a mathematics doctoral candidate, received the prize given to one student for their commitment to the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the university and in their respective communities by the Division of Access, Opportunity, and Community Engagement, Gertrude C Ford Ole Miss Student Union, and the Center for Inclusion and CrossCultural Engagement.

Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award

The university’s highest prize for outstanding community service recognized Bre’Anna Coleman, a political science major from Drew (left), and Kaleb Henry, a biochemistry major from Waynesboro. Given for excellence of character and service to humanity, the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation established the award in 1890.

Music & Gender

Obianuju Njoku, assistant professor of ethnomusicology and gender studies and the first member of the College Cluster Hire Initiative, moderated a student panel on the topic of Soundscapes of Intersectionality: Music and Affective World-Making at the 2024 Isom Student Gender Conference. Pictured from left to right are Antoin Marshall, If-not-god Moses, Njoku, Olivia George, Kennedy Uselton, and Nodoka Yoshida.

Coleman, vice president of the Black Student Union and the UM Coalition and an employee of Mississippi Votes, volunteered at the Oxford Animal Resource Center and taught art to children in the Mississippi Delta. An Ole Miss First Scholar, Henry volunteered for the Leap Frog afterschool tutoring and mentoring program, the St. Peter’s Episcopal Church youth program, and as a basketball coach for 7- and 8-year-olds with the Oxford Park Commission during winter break.

History in the Books

Top presses recently published books by university historians—

An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South Oxford University Press

Robert Colby assistant professor of history

Empire of Commerce: The Closing of the Mississippi and the Opening of Atlantic Trade University of Virginia Press

Susan Gaunt Stearns associate professor of history

Veteran Overcoming Housing Instability

UM Army ROTC cadets Dominic Lola Cheves, a political science major from Newnan, Georgia, and Tate Bell, an Arabic major from Fairview, Tennessee, participated in a Mission Complete ceremony honoring local Army veteran Frankie Dunn with a new home.

Purple Heart Homes, a North Carolinabased nonprofit supporting veterans, provided Dunn’s tiny home after US Marine Corps veteran Scott Burns, founder of 7 Days for the Troops, a Tupelo-based nonprofit, shared that Dunn had lived in a shed for the past five years following a house fire.

Working-Class Raj: Colonialism and the Making of Class in British India

Cambridge University Press

Alexandra Lindgren-Gibson associate professor of history

Frankie Dunn

A Greener Community

Through an Ignite Ole Miss crowdfunding campaign, Mia McKey sought financial support for her project, Re-Rebs, a campus-enrichment idea that became reality in the senior’s Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College public policy leadership course.

Re-Rebs, which places clothing-donation bins in residence halls, is already making a positive impact on UM and surrounding communities. “We hope the implementation of permanent bins helps divert the average 82 pounds of clothing waste the average American consumer throws away every year into the hands of those in need,” said McKey, a psychology major from Oxford. Ultimately, the goal is to install durable steel, anti-theft donation bins in all 15 residence halls on campus.

National Recognition

Alumnus Tyriek White (MFA creative writing 20) was named a 2024 “5 Under 35” author by the National Book Foundation—the folks who give the National Book Award.

A NPR Best Book of 2023, it won the 2023 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.

The Center for the Study of Southern Culture and Yoknapatawpha Arts Council partnered for Mississippi Creates, an event pairing musical performance with short documentary films, providing a glimpse into the creative life and environments of local musicians Tyler Keith (BA English 08, MA Southern Studies 11, MFA documentary expression 20) and Schaefer Llana.

The pair of films is part of a series highlighting artists and performers influenced and inspired by Mississippi culture. The screening included a live musical performance by Llana and was followed by a brief Q&A with the musician along with film directors Annemarie Anderson, an oral historian for the Southern Foodways Alliance, and Kelly Spivey (MA Southern Studies 20, MFA documentary expression 21), a documentarian in Memphis.

Documentary Filmmaker

Alumnus Field Humphrey (BS political science 11) took many film production classes offered for UM’s interdisciplinary cinema minor. A film he edited and coproduced, Aielli Experience, won an audience award at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas. His film It’s in the Voices exploring the origins of the 1970 Washington County oral history program was featured in the PBS series Reel South season 9 broadcast and streamed.

Mia McKey (left) and Ross Cohen, an accountancy major who continued working on Re-Rebs with McKey following the conclusion of their public policy leadership class.

ONLINE

GIFTING GENEROUSLY

CLASSICS CONTRIBUTION

An unexpected gift to the Department of Classics is the result of a campus sojourn.

The book collection of Gilbert W Thibedore of Franklin, Tennessee, was donated to the department by his widow Dr Renata Bluhm, MD, an internal medicine specialist. He completed a Master’s degree in ancient history at the University of Chicago, and though his career in information technology took Thibedore in other directions, he maintained an interest in the field throughout his life, and amassed a sizable collection of books relevant to classics.

“Although neither Dr Bluhm or her husband are alums, she told me that they traveled through Oxford once years ago and visited the Robinson Collection at the University Museum, and that put us on her radar when she was considering a recipient for the collection,” said Molly Pasco-Pranger, chair and professor of classics.

Comprised of 400+ volumes, the donation includes historical and literary studies, valuable reference works, and many Greek and Latin texts and commentaries; there are also materials on other ancient languages such as Hebrew, Hittite, and

Akkadian. Labeled with a bookplate commemorating Thibedore, some of the books will be gifts to students; many have been incorporated into the department’s collection for use in their building and some will be evaluated for accession at the J D Williams Library.

“The classics faculty and students are excited to receive the Thibedore book donation—we have a community of bibliophiles and scholars in Bryant Hall who will make sure that the books are cherished and, more importantly, used.”

Bluhm also added an $25,000 unrestricted cash gift to classics that will help process and house the books and will also be used for other initiatives.

“This gift is already funding a pilot program this fall to supply introductory and intermediate Greek and Latin texts to students at no cost, which we hope will help even more students make the decision to study the ancient languages.”

SCHOLARSHIP CELEBRATES Life

Wendy Garrison is honoring her late husband, Richard “Rich” Raspet by establishing a scholarship that enables students to obtain a transformative higher education at the university.

Each year, a student will be selected as a scholarship recipient from among 18 counties in the Mississippi Delta. Raspet, a professor emeritus of physics and astronomy and researcher with UM’s National Center for Physical Acoustics, died of natural causes on November 3, 2023, while pursuing one of his passions: bicycling the back roads of Lafayette County.

“Rich would have wanted to encourage public high school students, especially those who come from

economically challenged areas of the Mississippi Delta, to go to college. Rich was proud of the education he received at Starkville High School, and he believed in the importance of public education,” Garrison said about her inspiration to create the Richard Raspet Memorial Scholarship Endowment.

Garrison encourages her husband’s family, friends, former students, and others to consider honoring Raspet’s memory and his desire to help future scholars by giving to the new scholarship.

“A liberal arts education exposes one to a wide variety of viewpoints and ways of thinking, including a belief in science. That’s why this scholarship is earmarked for students in liberal arts. Rich’s students are out in the world carrying on his legacy, and he was so proud of that. With this scholarship, his positive influence will branch out in even more directions. I hope his scholarship helps that one person a year and lets them know they are important and that the University of Mississippi wants them to succeed.”

Rich Raspet

Molly Pasco-Pranger and classics student Clay Murry (right)

Dreams

MAKING MUSICFILLED COME TRUE COME TRUE

Ellis C Lindsey Jr was passionate about music.

The alumnus earned a degree in business in 1951 and had a successful 40-year career at Texaco (now Chevron). But, after his family and his church, it was music that Lindsey most enjoyed.

Whether it was singing in the church choir in his hometown of Moss Point, attending an opera, or listening to classical music, Lindsey devoted much of his time to music-related endeavors.

He passed away three years ago at the age of 93. However, his passion continues to touch the lives of former and current students majoring in music education, such as Frankie Amore.

“Because of the generosity of the late Mr Lindsey, I was able to purchase my own bassoon and continue to pursue my academic goal of majoring in music,” said Amore, originally from Charles Town, West Virginia, a former UM studentathlete, and one of three current Lindsey-Snell Scholars.

Thanks to the endowment established by Lindsey in 2002, Amore and many other music majors have received financial assistance over the last 20 years.

The Lindsey-Snell Scholarship honors the memory of Lindsey’s father, Ellis Cleveland Lindsey Sr, and his mother, Esther Snell Lindsey. The endowment supports students pursuing a music degree and is awarded based on scholastic ability, leadership potential, and financial need.

Lindsey created the scholarship with an initial gift of $5,000 but regularly contributed to the endowment over the years. Upon his death in 2021, his estate gift provided an additional $120,000 to the scholarship.

“Mr. Lindsey’s generous gift means many future generations of students will be able to pursue their music-filled dreams,” said Nancy Maria Balach, chair and professor of music and director of UM’s Institute for the Arts. “The department is grateful for the support Mr. Lindsey gave during his life and the enormous impact he will have as his legacy lives on for years to come through his estate gift. He truly appreciated music and the arts, and I so appreciate Mr. Lindsey’s vision to provide transformative opportunities for our music majors.”

IN SUPPORT OF SINGING

Debra and Alan Spurgeon of Oxford, met in their college choir, and ever since choral music has been the focus of their life together.

The retired professors, who joined the Department of Music faculty in 2001, have made a $100,000 gift establishing a scholarship endowment specifically for choral music students.

Alan Spurgeon, who was the department graduate coordinator for 20 years and was instrumental in establishing the doctoral music program, explained that the gift continues their legacy while helping attract the state’s most outstanding vocal performers.

“There’s a real struggle to get the very best without being able to offer scholarship resources,” said Debra Spurgeon, who taught music teacher education courses for 18 years and was director of Women’s Glee. “It’s just like sports. If someone’s good at what they do, everybody wants that person. We had 46 years of choral and musicrelated teaching, so this gift to continue to support the music department and choral area seemed logical.”

Nancy Maria Balach, chair and professor of music, expressed her appreciation: “Alan and Debra have meant so much to the department for many years. Their gift is music to my ears!”

Frankie Amore presents a recital in Nutt Auditorium.

Alan and Debra Spurgeon

The Rhythm of Life

Nancye Starnes, a lifelong supporter of the arts, has made a $4.5 million gift toward realizing immediate facilities needs identified through an extensive arts master planning process—a new scene shop for the Department of Theatre & Film and an on-campus recording studio for the Department of Music. Starnes of Daniel Island, South Carolina, hopes the lead gift toward the arts facilities will inspire others to join her in supporting a robust arts program.

“Can you imagine a life without theatre, without music, without dance? Where’s the rhythm of life if you don’t have all of that? You may not need the arts to survive but you do need the arts to thrive. The arts are not just something that happen on Saturday nights; they are with us every day, all day long.”

“We are grateful to Nancye Starnes,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce said. “She is helping us take the performing arts to an exceptional level, giving our students and the Oxford community priceless arts experiences.”

Starnes’ donation will be added to the $25 million the university has committed to the projects. Additional funds must be raised to complete the projects, estimated at $33 million.

A new recording studio will allow the music department to expand opportunities into the music industry. It will give the university a working record label to release its own projects.

“The recording studio will attract students interested in careers in the recording industry, enable the addition of contemporary courses and experiences for current students, and connect the university to industry in an innovative manner,” Nancy Maria Balach, chair and professor of music, said.

The new space allows ensembles and solo performers to record live, studio-quality projects. Music students and faculty will have priority, but the studio will be available to the campus community. Professional recording artists will be allowed to rent the space.

A new scene shop will have 22-foot ceilings for taller scenery and a gantry crane to move items. Currently, eightfoot ceilings in the basement of Fulton Chapel don’t allow this. Sets could be built over several weeks and then moved to the Ford Center, Fulton Chapel, or Meek Auditorium just in time for productions instead of taking those venues off-line for weeks while they are built on-site.

“The new space will help us recruit top talent and provide exceptional experiences and preparation for career success,” Michael Barnett, chair and professor of theatre & film, said. “Our students will enter the workforce having worked in professional-level facilities and high-quality productions.

“Nancye Starnes has already transformed our film studios and costume shop and elevated our program to compete with top schools. She is helping realize our vision for all the performing arts.”

Nancye Starnes

SUPPORTING A WINNING COMBINATION

STEM

Amajor gift from alumnus Waddell Mashburn and his wife, Sally, supports the teaching of chemistry in lab courses housed in the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation. The couple’s $250,000 gift adds to the funds available for the building, which ensures that state-of-the-art equipment and instrumentation are available to students in the new, premier STEM building.

Just as well-thought-out drink pairings enhance a meal, the partnership between the Southern Foodways Alliance—based at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture—and small-batch bourbon whiskey distillery Maker’s Mark is proving to be a winning combination.

Since 2018, Maker’s Mark has contributed $200,000 to support the SFA mission, including a recent $50,000 gift.

“I feel privileged to be in a position to contribute to a school like Ole Miss. Particularly in the competitive world of higher education, I continue to be impressed with how well Ole Miss performs in a number of areas and that, as much as anything, inspires me to want to make a gift,” said Waddell Mashburn, a 1969 graduate and the owner of Mashburn Commercial Realty in Dallas. “I’m interested in mathematics and science and thought it was appropriate to contribute.”

The couple’s gift is recognized with the naming of the Sally and Waddell Mashburn Chemistry Lab.

Construction began in 2020 on the building, which houses teaching spaces for biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, math, and physics.

“After attending an SFA symposium and learning more about their work to preserve the history of the South, I saw a similarity in the leadership there and the values held by our founders, Margie and Bill Samuels, Sr,” said Rob Samuels, managing director and an eighthgeneration distiller at the Kentucky-based company.

Along with being the underwriter for the Maker’s Mark toast to SFA’s Lifetime Achievement Award honoree at the annual symposium, Maker’s Mark cocktails are proudly served at various SFA events.

THE POWER OF HIGHER ED

Alumnus John Covert (BA biology and English 72) has lofty goals for the planned gift he committed to the College of Liberal Arts and schools of applied sciences and education.

“I’m hoping my gift helps Ole Miss remain in the top tier of public universities. I think there is a transformative power of higher education, and I would like for my legacy gift to be part of that. If my legacy can help students fulfill their legacies, then I see that as the greatest accomplishment.”

Of his gift, $750,000 goes to the John W Covert, Jr Graduate Support in Liberal Arts Endowment, to assist graduate students with expenses.

Recipients will be known as Covert Scholars.

He supports the College because of his UM education. “There’s no organization that I’ve been associated with that deserves these gifts more. It felt good to be on campus in 1968 as an 18-year-old kid, and it feels good today. I’m proud to make this gift to benefit students at my university.”

The Meridian native paid his college tuition with student loans and parttime jobs. He estimates that it took 10 years after graduation to repay the loans, prompting him to designate half his gift for graduate student support. Covert enjoyed a 28-year career with Valley Food Services, a regional company covering 20 states, which

he eventually owned with six others. The group sold Valley to a national conglomerate.

John Covert (second from left), with Peter Grandjean, dean of applied sciences; David Rock, dean of education; Nikki Neely Davis, assistant vice chancellor for development; and Lee M Cohen, dean of liberal arts.

Rob Samuels

Waddell and Sally Mashburn

GROVE SCHOLARS

USCHOLARS

M’s Grove Scholars program—which helps Mississippians from underrepresented demographic groups earn degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or health care—is growing in numbers as it enriches lives and makes the state’s workforce more competitive.

Grove Scholars qualify for the Ole Miss Opportunity scholarship, guaranteeing that eligible Mississippi students receive financial aid if their family’s annual income is $40,000 or below. By employing a cohort model, an incentive structure, and a summer bridge program, the Grove Scholars program works to close the gap between access and equity for students before their freshman year through graduation.

The program has garnered $2.1 million in support from UM alumna Renvy Pittman of Los Angeles, California, and she has committed a planned gift of $2.5 million to Grove Scholars. “This is important work being done in the state where I grew up. These students are so bright and happy to be here, and they are working hard in challenging disciplines. The hope is this encouragement allows them to have meaningful careers and that will have a good effect on their families.”

There are 62 Grove Scholars, with plans to increase to 100 in the near future. “We want Grove Scholars to get a great degree and have a transformative educational experience that sets them on a trajectory as lifelong learners and as individuals with marketable skills who can contribute to Mississippi’s economy and beyond,” said Gray Flora IV, program director.

All Grove Scholars expenses, such as tuition, room, and food are covered by the program for a summer session prior to their freshman year, a bridge experience that orients them to UM and college-level work in STEM courses. The Ole Miss Opportunity scholarship covers most expenses during the fall and spring semesters; Grove Scholars then pays for one class every summer of participants’ undergraduate years as part of its year-round approach to student development.

While still a relatively new program, the Grove Scholars’ model has proven to be effective, currently boasting a 77% success rate for students who participate.

In addition to this financial support, Grove Scholars receive direct mentorship from the director and and Yasmin McLaurin, program manager, increased tutoring, help finding internship and shadowing experiences, stipends for unpaid or underpaid internships, study abroad opportunities, financial assistance with fees related to graduate school and entrance exams, and programs related to student success and belonging in STEM fields. The program hosts gatherings and dinners throughout the year. There are also student leadership opportunities within the group. Grove Scholars offices are located in the newly built Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology.

“The program is a beacon of encouragement for people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds like me and my Grove Scholar friends,” said former Grove Scholar Ansu Edwards (BS chemistry 21) of Ocean Springs, a medical student at UM Medical Center. “It advocates for diversity and equity, ensuring everyone can pursue their dreams with the support they need. Additionally, it provides a foundation of essential college and life skills indispensable for personal growth and success both during and after college.”

ENHANCING STUDENT SUPPORT

ADallas, Texas, couple is helping strengthen the university’s academic reputation with a $250,000 gift for graduate student stipends.

“Working with university leadership, we learned that a gift to the College of Liberal Arts for graduate students could help attract the students who would enhance Ole Miss’ educational standing and prestige as it helps recruit top

graduate students,” said Bill Searight, who made the gift with his wife, Judy, both alumni.

“I think every donor hopes their gift, no matter how small, will enable their alma mater to make a difference in the lives of its students.”

The Judy and Bill Searight Graduate Student Stipend Endowment awards support to students working toward PhDs in the departments of economics and mathematics. Previously, the Searights provided a gift for graduate student stipend support to the Department of Modern Languages, where Judy Searight earned an undergraduate degree in French.

Bill and Judy Searight

Renvy Pittman (center) with Grove Scholars Jaylia Jones of Grenada (from left), Andre’onna Orange of Waveland, Helena Hansen of Carriere, and Ivy Nguyen of Ocean Springs.

Giver A CHEERFUL

The Grove Scholars program blends academic excellence with career exploration, research experience, and the promotion of personal growth and camaraderie among qualifying students.

Mary Louise Rosenbush is a cheerful giver, especially knowing that her $125,000 gift will support students who share her values: humble beginnings, hard work, and higher education.

“I’ve been very blessed in my life, very blessed. And it’s my pleasure to make this gift,” said Rosenbush, a 1954 graduate. “I pray that it can be used for people who are unable to afford college.”

The Demopolis, Alabama, resident established the Mary Louise Bell Rosenbush and Bert Rosenbush, Jr Grove Scholars Endowment to support eligible students from Mississippi with a family income of less than $40,000.

A diligent worker herself, Rosenbush graduated from UM with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. Originally from Marks, she earned a master’s degree in religious education with an emphasis on student affairs, guidance and counseling from Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. After teaching, she was director of women’s housing, director of a residence hall, and assistant dean for student development at the University of Alabama.

“The generosity of Mrs. Rosenbush is truly inspiring,” said Gray Flora IV, director of Grove Scholars. “I am convinced that the only way to truly thank someone so kind is to ensure that her gift is efficiently used to target the needs of our scholars, many of whom will be the first in their family to graduate college, as they diligently work toward a life-changing STEM or health professions degree from our institution.”

ENCOURAGING Advanced education

With a $100,000 gift, alumnus Ken Lackey of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and his wife, Carol, hope to enhance UM’s R1 mission by supporting doctoral stipends for students in the Department of Mathematics.

“The bachelor’s degree in mathematics I received in 1965 enabled me to successfully complete an MBA at the University of Texas at Austin. Moreover, it was the basis for selection into a special Army program while serving as an artillery officer during a difficult period (1967–1969) in the Vietnam War. Both of those events were life-changing experiences,” Ken Lackey said.

In 2018, the Lackeys designated UM as the beneficiary of a planned gift estimated at more than $2 million. Additionally, the couple established the Ken and Carol Lackey Excellence Fund in 2012. Their gifts support the natural sciences and mathematics.

“I appreciate the opportunity to financially support individuals like Dean Cohen who are focused on making significant improvements in higher education. To move the needle, they need financial support above and beyond that

allocated by the state or available from tuition fees.”

The Lackeys hope their most recent gift will help the College attract more students to its doctoral program in mathematics while strengthening the university’s academic reputation in fields crucial to the 21st century—specifically professions supported by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

“A gift of this magnitude will help transform our math department by making it more competitive,” said Talmage Reid, chair and professor of mathematics. “Specifically, we will be able to better attract and serve students seeking doctoral degrees in math. We are extremely grateful to Ken and Carol for their generosity and support.”

Carol and Ken Lackey

Mary Louise Rosenbush

YOUNG ALUM MAKES INVESTMENT

Daniel Roberts (BA public policy leadership 14) becomes one of the youngest alumni to establish an Ole Miss First Scholarship, which supports students demonstrating outstanding scholastic achievement and leadership. During their four undergraduate years, scholars meet with mentors to receive the guidance and encouragement they need to take chances, explore opportunities, and make a difference.

“Mentorship played a huge role in my life from high school to college to even now. I want to make sure a young person has the same opportunity,” said Roberts of Washington, DC, head of communications for BrightDrop, a commercial EV and logistics startup by General Motors.

Roberts has worked in policy roles at the White House and Congress, and in communications positions at Facebook, Lyft, and Viacom International.

“I hope this scholarship unlocks the next level of success for the young person who receives it.”

“I believe giving back is much more than donating money— it’s about planting seeds that live on longer than you.”

—Daniel Roberts

Founded in 1848, the College of Liberal Arts is the largest academic division of the University of Mississippi. The College encompasses the fine & performing arts, humanities, natural sciences & mathematics, and social sciences.

Lee M. Cohen Dean

Anne Cafer Associate Dean for Research, Scholarship, & Graduate Education

Kirsten Dellinger Associate Dean for Access and Strategic Initiatives

Donald L. Dyer Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs

Holly Reynolds Associate Dean

AEROSPACE STUDIES

Matthew Mills, Chair

AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

Charles Ross, Interim Director

ART & ART HISTORY

Michael Barnett, Interim Chair

BIOLOGY

Sixue Chen, Chair

CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY

Jim Cizdziel, Acting Chair

CLASSICS

Molly Pasco-Pranger, Chair

Carmen Riggan Assistant Dean

Delia Childers

Senior Director of Development

Nikki Neely Davis Assistant Vice Chancellor of Development

Caroline Hourin Director of Development

Rhodes Morgan Development Associate

ECONOMICS

Joshua Hendrickson, Chair

ENGLISH

Caroline Wigginton, Chair

HISTORY

Noell Wilson, Chair

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Oliver Dinius, Director

MATHEMATICS

James Reid, Chair

MILITARY SCIENCE & LEADERSHIP

Nicholas Kalitka, Chair

MODERN LANGUAGES

Daniel O’Sullivan, Chair

MUSIC

Nancy Maria Balach, Chair

NAVAL SCIENCE

John Bub, Chair

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

Steven Skultety, Chair

PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY

Luca Bombelli, Chair

POLITICAL SCIENCE

John Bruce, Chair

PSYCHOLOGY

Rebekah Smith, Chair

PUBLIC POLICY LEADERSHIP

Mark Chen, Chair

SOCIOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY

Jeff Jackson, Chair

THEATRE & FILM

Michael Barnett, Chair

WRITING & RHETORIC

Stephen Monroe, Chair

CENTER FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

Jesse Tune, Director

INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTS

Nancy Maria Balach, Director

HALEY BARBOUR CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF AMERICAN POLITICS

CENTER FOR BIODIVERSITY & CONSERVATION RESEARCH

Richard Buchholz, Director

CENTER FOR CIVIL WAR RESEARCH

April Holm, Director

CLINICAL-DISASTER RESEARCH CENTER

Stefan Schulenberg, Director

CENTER FOR ECONOMIC SCIENCE AND ECONOMIC EDUCATION

Mark Van Boening, Director

FASTRACK LEARNING COMMUNITY

Derrick Jones, Director

HEALTH PROFESSIONS ADVISING OFFICE

Sovent Taylor, Director

GRISHAM–MCLEAN INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE & COMMUNITY

ENGAGEMENT

Albert Nylander, Director

CENTER FOR MULTI-MESSENGER ASTROPHYSICS

Breese Quinn, Director

CENTER FOR POPULATION STUDIES

Jamiko Deleveaux, Director

PRISON-TO-COLLEGE PIPELINE PROGRAM

Patrick Alexander, Cofounder

PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES CENTER

Kristin Austin, Director

SARAH ISOM CENTER FOR WOMEN & GENDER STUDIES

Jaime Harker, Director

SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH

LABORATORY

Jonathan Winburn, Director

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF SOUTHERN CULTURE

Katie McKee, Director

SOUTHERN DOCUMENTARY PROJECT

Andrew Harper, Director

SOUTHERN FOODWAYS ALLIANCE

Melissa Booth Hall, Mary Beth Lasseter, Interim Codirectors

The College of Liberal Arts is grateful to the following donors of gifts made between July 1, 2023—June 30, 2024:

PATRON

Elaine H. and Rhett W. Atkinson

Stephanie G. and Richard R. Barrett

Renata E. Bluhm

Anurekha and Punit Chadha

Linda L. and Dean Copeland

John Covert

Susan W. and Jerry B. Cowgill

Meredith and James H. Creekmore

Misty Shaw-Feder and Ronald M. Feder

Wendy J. Garrison

Bettie Y. Graham

Reba M. Greer

Ann S. Hardy

Cecile B. and Robert H. Harper

James and Madeleine McMullan

Family Foundation

James H. Creekmore & Meredith

W. Creekmore Fund

Ann W. and Jimmy Hunt

Larry K. Johnson

Cheryl and Bob Kellermann

Steven B. King

Kite Foundation

Laughing Gull Foundation

Grace Lawson and David Lawson

Lodge Cast Iron

Stewart M. Madison

Maker’s Mark

Helen G. Overstreet

Paul and Sherry Broadhead Foundation

Scarlotte M. and Crymes G. Pittman

Renvy G. Pittman

Robert H. and Cecile B. Harper

Charitable Fund

Marvin S. Rosen

Mary Louise Rosenbush

Judith K. and W. H. Searight III

Debra L. and Alan L. Spurgeon

Nancye B. Starnes and David Hughes

Robert S. Summers

Walmart Foundation

Hope C. and Matthew B. Wesson

M. Amanda and Edward R. Wilson, Jr.

BENEFACTOR

Anson Mills

Mary L. and Freddie J. Bagley

Marsha D. and Haley R. Barbour

Frank W. Bishop III

Graham G. Boyd

Xiomara and Brad Brewster

Virginia F. and James G. Brooks

Ed Uihlein Family Foundation

Ruth U. Fertel Foundation

Lee Anne and William N. Fry IV

Alexis L. and T. Wynn Giles

Teresa and Lance Hirsh

Michelle and J. David Hobbs

Cathy and Jay U. Howington

HQ Trane Technologies

Illinois Tool Works

Meredith and Scott Keating

Scott R. King

Carol and P. Ken Lackey, Jr.

Susan and David Marcinek

Karen C. Matthews

Michelle and David Hobbs Foundation

Michelle S. and S. K. Morgan, Jr.

J. Byron Morris

National Philanthropic Trust

The Indigo Road

Kathryn S. and Andrew P. Prosser

R&B Feder Foundation

Trinity T. and Bradley O. Roberts

Joann S. and R. P. Scruggs III

Sara M. Shoemaker

Shirley and Harry D. Simmons, Jr.

Simmons Farm Raised

Catfish Inc.

Risa P. and Sumner S. Spradling

Richard Stazzone

Adrianne and Todd D. Tillmanns

Virginia Wine Board

Polly F. and Parham Williams, Jr.

Melinda C. and Benjamin Yarbrough

EXECUTIVE

Adam H. and Lissa Lamkin

Broome Charitable Fund

Charlotte A. Baine

James E. Baine (In Memoriam)

Susan E. Bostick

Lissa L. and Adam H. Broome

Amanda B. and James R. Carr

Dana D. and Adrian W. Cartier

Elizabeth and Grant Clark

Martha Derbyshire and Adam Derbyshire

Lara M. and Vance P. Derryberry

ExxonMobil Foundation

Sara Hart and Gordon W. Fellows

Carol H. and William T. Gafford

Caren L. and Tom T. Gallaher

Grey Restaurant LLC

Dorris S. and William E. Gulley

Indigo Road

Kappa Alpha Order

Leah K. and Gary G. Lawson

Laura LeBel

Laurance Lee

Deborah F. McAbee (In Memoriam)

Diane W. and Steven G. McKinney

L. Madison Michael II

Amy and Thomas C. Norton

Arnita and Tim Ozgener

Elizabeth A. Payne and Kenneth A. Rutherford

Hilda C. and John K. Povall

Floyd E. Pruden, Jr. (In Memoriam)

Rebecca Purvis

David Raspet

Michael Rawdon

Marc Rosen

Peter Roy

Self Foundation

Catherine C. and Taylor M. Sledge, Jr.

Jenny and Jamie Smith

Jeanne and Gerald Spedale

Pardis and Frank Stitt

Jessica and Michael Sznapstajler

Virginia N. and J. C. Taylor

The Rice Bluff Charitable Fund

Eleanor A. Gill and Pete R.

Thomas II

Ashley Valentine Visit Raleigh

Rhondalynne and Bruce E. Ware

Patricia C. White

Noell and Gary M. Wilson

ADVOCATE

Billy Reid Inc.

Norma S. Bourdeaux

Charles A. Brown

Elizabeth M. and L. M. Brunt

Mike L. Edmonds

Nancy C. Garrison

GBU Life

Chern J. and John C. Hsu

HSU Charitable Foundation

Kathryn W. and Terence M. Hynes

Martha Johnston

Johnson & Johnson Foundation

c/o Cybergrants

Jennifer and Glen Jones

Gloria Kellum

Lenell Kittlitz

Merrill H. Klapthor

Pamela B. and William F.

Lawhead

Thomas L. Lee

Robert C. Long

Charles R. McMurchy

Mississippi Bankers Association

Barbara S. and S. Milburn

Price, Jr.

Oscar Price

Kimberly S. and Peter Robertson

State Farm Companies

Foundation

Bill St. John

The Clorox Company c/o Benevity

The Lyric Oxford, LLC

William Thomas

Visit Oxford

Kathryn L. Wiener

ASSOCIATE

Ann J. Abadie (In Memoriam)

Apple c/o Benevity

H. Dale Abadie

James M. Achord

Ann and Lex Alexander

Mary A. and Timothy J. Alford

Deborah D. and Steven D.

Ammann

Trevor Anderson

Beth P. Bartlett

Beverly Bartow

Courtney A. and Michael Benedict

Allyson M. and Robert B. Best

Diane G. and Ed J. Birkenstock

Ananda K. Bollu

Demetria T. and William R.

Bouchillon

Leigh H. and Billy M. Bounds

Stacy D. Bruton

Kaye H. Bryant

James C. Cantrell

Carolyn M. Carothers

Ashley Christensen

Charles C. Church

Thomas J. Cobb

Kathryn C. and William D.

Coleman

Community Bank

Margo Cooper

Barbara H. and Mike J. Daush

Wallace E. Davenport

Douglas R. Davis

Megan E. Davis

Janie and Dennis E. Dollar

Caroline Donelan

Joseph P. Donelan III

Ouida C. and W. W. Drinkwater, Jr.

Susan K. and Maurice R. Eftink

Valerie and Eron H. Epstein

Judith C. and Charles H.

Ferguson, Jr.

Wayne Ferguson

Marcie C. and William R. Ferris, Jr.

Rien T. Fertel

Ronald M. Frith

Dana L. George

Staci and Scott R. Gill

Sarah D. Gillespie

Debra A. and John J. Gilluly

Janice M. and Chellis O. Gregory

Stephen L. Guyton

Alice L. Hammond

Susan S. Hayman

Jackie and John S. Hicks

Sarah and Tim Hicks

Sarah L. and Guy L. Hovis, Jr.

Dorothy M. and Thomas S.

Howorth

Susan S. and John N. Hudson

Elizabeth and D. Holden Hummel

Jolee C. and Charles L. Hussey

Harriet L. and Joel R. Jones

Katy and Joe Kindred

Amanda B. and Jason Landry

Mary B. Lasseter

James L. Lindsey

Lori L. and T. Bruce Longest, Jr.

Kelly B. and Samuel H. Love

Linda D. and Alexander

MacCormack

Susan Marquis

Margaret E. McGuire

Ellen and E. Patrick McIntyre, Jr.

Carolyn H. and David L. McMillin

Monteith IV

Karen C. and Robert S. Montjoy

C. Sue Moore

Nancy W. Murrill

Linda K. Myers

Lucile M. McCook and Clifford A. Ochs

Joseph F. Odom

Walterine P. and Cecil D. Odom

Gregory Otte

Mary Ownby

Ted M. Ownby

Scott Parris

William E. Pegues III

K. Gail Russell and Ken Potish

Virginia Rankin

Diana W. and John B. Read III

Linda F. and Michael E. Riley

Halle Scaturo

Beverly C. and J. Gorman

Schaffer, Jr.

Susan P. and David C. Shaw

Patti and Scott Simpson

Frances P. Smith

Rebekah E. Smith

Patricia H. and John B. Sneed II

Jerry D. Strickland II

Forrest W. Stringfellow

Dax Swatek

The Alton & Mary Cobb

Charitable Fund

The Linda K. Myers

Charitable Fund

The Marshall Fund

The Newtmont Foundation

Laura H. and Samuel R. Thomas

Kristin and Eric Thompson

Emily J. and Gregory S. Tschumper

Mary Ellen B. and Robert L. Warner, Jr.

Monica and James A. Washington

Jenny L. and Dennis E. Watts

Wellspring Fund

Marylyn N. and Edwin N. Williams

Melissa and M. B. Williams

Jacob H. Williamson

Marie L. Antoon and Charles R. Wilson

Brooke B. and Michael D. Worthy

Jiao Yu

STEWARD

Margaret Achatz

Shelley B. and Benjamin F. Adams III

Janet L. and Fritz Anderson

Mimi Arnold and Robert M. Arnold

Linda Arrington

S. Jennifer Sugarman and Konrad J. Banaszak

Robert D. Barnes

Susan H. and Brett R. Bartlett

Mary Celeste Beall

Heather Boggess and Ian Woodbury

Suzanne and Anthony J. Breckner

Sharm E. Buras and Jonathan J. Gisclair

Sara J. and Thomas R. Burke

Daniel K. Carpenter

F. Cade and Jason M. Clurman

Jason J. Cobb

Beverly J. and Kevin N. Cole

Marcia S. and Donald R. Cole

J. Richard Cox, Jr.

Dianne and Mark H. Craig

Virginia M. and Campbell P. Craig

Catherine B. and William L. Crews

Jennifer and James M. Cross

Lucy P. and Eskridge V. Culver

Donald H. deVeer

Shawna R. Dooley

Priscilla and Joe D. Dowdy, Jr.

Cliff Eames

Entergy Corporation

Richard Estrin

Michelle C. and David W. Fiedler

Martha and Paul Fogleman

Teresa O. and Roy C. Fox

Martha Ann Franco

Fritz And Janet Anderson Donor

Advised Fund

Gavin And Meredith Scruggs

Charitable Fund

Sherrie D. and Adam S. Gussow

Paige Gutierrez and Gerald Blessey

Susan S. and John R. Guyton

Dorothy S. and Charles B. Hargrove

Robert C. Hazelrigg

J. Coleman Howard

Susan Hunt

Bruce Iglauer

Lynnie Jefferson

K. A. and William T. Johnsen

Jay A. Johnson

Stephanie Kemp

George Klein

Leila B. and Samuel M. Lane

Lynn and George H. Leggett III

Connie L. Lester

Marcy Loomis

Kristen S. and Nathaniel G. MacAdams

Lauch M. Magruder, Jr.

Suzanne M. McDonald (In Memoriam)

McDonald Family Charitable Fund

Kristina and Tom Montague

L. Thomas & Kristina M. Montague Fund

Catherine W. and Rance Moring

Angela D. and Johnny B. Mosier

Claire C. and William P. Moss III

Dianna and Timothy Nieman

James S. Osborne, Jr.

Ronald D. Nurnberg and Joe Osgoode

Rose L. and Henry Paris

Karen Parker

Iona C. and Kenneth P. Parks USN (Ret)

Julia R. and Rush A. Peace, Sr.

Natasha and Steve Prakope

Keat D. Pruszenski

Regina Purnell-Adams

Edward J. Quigley

Kathy S. and Lee W. Randall

Carlton Reeves

Patricia B. and William L. Reeves

John H. Rice

Kevin Roberson

Roberson Family Fund

Kerri and John Rowe

Turkessa M. Rudder

Rosa C. and Michael P. Ryan

Carol C. Satterfield

Ellen F. and Marc H. Schneidau

Schneidau Family

Charitable Fund

Meredith and Gavin S. Scruggs

Cristy and John Seibel

Melvin H. Seid

Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society

Donna W. and Donald S. Smith

Mary Catherine L. and David O. Smith

Kathleen Sprague

Susan & John Guyton Gift Fund

Katelyn A. and Joshua L. Triplette

Diana and Mark Van Leuven

US District Court

Michael L. Vicars

Virtus Investment Partners

Charitable Gift Fund

William D. Waff

Keren E. and David K. Wells

Tina Marie W. and Geoffrey J.

White

Blake Wilbanks

Veronica D. and David D. Wilson

Gabriella and Marshall St. Amant

Neighborhood Realty LLC

Christopher A. Noone

Michelle M. and Richard E. Olson

Janet Miller

Michael B. Mitchell

Elizabeth Ann and Hugh M.

James M. Ewing, Jr. (In Memoriam)

Julie T. and Henry R. Fanton

Marvin D. Woody

Zingerman’s Community of Businesses

Ventress Hall P.O. Box 1848

University, MS 38677

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EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION NOW & EVER

Your support can strengthen the work of the College of Liberal Arts to prepare students for meaningful lives, increase our ability to attract and support outstanding faculty and students, fuel more innovative research, inspire creative achievements, modernize our facilities, and create access to education for all. Private investment will help the CLA ensure that all students thrive as they begin their journey at UM. Our growth and success are critical benchmarks for the health of the university, and, by partnering with us, you can make an important difference in this effort.

The