NOTES FROM HOME Who can forget the exhilarating days of unprecedented academic and athletic successes at The University of Southern Mississippi during the early 1980s? As a rather noncommittal student at CLASS NOTES the time, I took advantage of several of the University’s excellent programs, including computer science, mathematics, foreign languages, British Studies, English and, if only as a spectator, performing arts, the Nasty Bunch, the Working Class and the opening of Pete Taylor Park. While SNAPSHOTS serving as president of the Southern Miss Alumni Association for 2012-13, I reconnected with many of those programs and found them prospering. Even more rewarding were the occasions for exploring other corners of the Southern Miss ALUMNI AUTHORS campuses this past year. To mention only a few, I was fortunate to meet two outstanding professors in the Department of History, Andrew Wiest, one of the world’s leading war historians, and Kenneth McCarty, who recently received the Mississippi Historical Society’s Dunbar Rowland Award for Lifetime Achievement in Mississippi History. Visit the Department ALUMNI ALMANAC of Communications Studies and you will find some of Southern Miss’ most engaging students, including the 2013-14 president of the Student Government Association, Ann Marie Chilcutt. In a sophisticated but nurturing facility, The Children’s Center for Communication and Development provides comprehensive educational and therapy services to more than 90 disabled Mississippi children and their families, helping each child achieve his maximum potential while training some of the most caring professionals to be found anywhere. Unfortunately, the jazz studies program came to my attention only a few weeks before the February tornado destroyed its unique venue, the Jazz Station. But jazz studies are now improvising all over campus, and Director Larry Panella promises to rebuild bigger and better. Led by Katherine Nugent, the ultra-competitive College of Nursing will soon begin construction of a new facility, increasing enrollment from 550 to more than 800 nursing students. The business building was unknown territory to me as student, but I can tell you where Scianna Hall, the new home of the College of Business, is currently under construction. Everywhere you go on campus at Southern Miss, remarkable things are happening. One of the president’s more enjoyable duties is representing the Alumni Association at commencement exercises. I was honored to attend seven of the last eight graduation ceremonies. All were unequivocal affirmations of the mission of our University, the devotion of the faculty and staff, and the bright futures of the new degree recipients. A highlight was congratulating the record graduating class at Southern Miss Gulf Coast a few weeks ago, as our newest alumni danced down the faculty receiving line in the Gulf Coast Coliseum while President Rodney Bennett guestconducted the Southern Miss Steel Pan Orchestra. What a memorable and distinctive Southern Miss experience! The Southern Miss Alumni Association exists to connect alumni with the University for the good of both. I certainly have benefitted from my membership. If you are not a member, you should of course join. Regardless, consider getting more involved in the Association and by supporting another program and attending additional events at Southern Miss. Public universities offer extraordinary opportunities to enrich your life or, as I tell our two children, to have more fun. To suggest just one more opportunity available at Southern Miss, see a show at the Tatum or Hartwig theatre — you cannot beat Broadway performances at Hardy Street prices. As a Southern Miss supporter, you are aware of the challenges and opportunities ahead for our University. Several of those are covered in this issue of The Talon, the magazine of the Alumni Association. Executive Director Jerry DeFatta and the talented Association staff are incredibly dedicated, and I am grateful for the privilege of working with them this past year. It was also my great pleasure to help welcome Rodney Bennett to Mississippi just before he was named the 10th President of our University. Before his official start date, Dr. Bennett demonstrated his commitment to Southern Miss by leading cleanup efforts after the tornado. With the continuing contributions of people like Dr. Bennett, Jerry, the other leaders of our University, and most importantly each of you, Southern Miss cannot fail to go... ...to the Top!
Dale Shearer Past President Summer 2013
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