Spring 2015 Millsaps College Magazine

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE

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THE SCIENCE OF

BUSINESS

SPRING 2015

“What is Millsaps all about?”

Answering this question is tricky. In some respects, of course, Millsaps’ core values—including academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, and the exploration of faith to inform vocation—have remained constant since the College’s founding. These core values, however, are interpreted and expressed in new ways every year when one set of graduating students leaves and a new set of freshmen arrives. In fact, it is vitally important that Millsaps be an institution characterized by both adherence to principle and a commitment to progress.

The recent commemorations surrounding Millsaps’ 125th anniversary have me thinking about what has made Millsaps what it is and where the College is headed in the next 125 years and beyond.

One recent moment offered a glimpse of the ways that past, present, and future sometimes intersect in the life of the College. As you will read in this magazine, Madeline Iles, a junior history major from Natchez, recently discussed how she has used her Millsaps education, along with a grant for experiential learning, to undertake historical research on the civil rights movement under the tutelage of Millsaps alumnus Ed King and others. That experience, in turn, led Madeline, queen of the 2015 Natchez Spring Pilgrimage, to lobby for a more expansive history to be included in this spring’s Historic Natchez Tableaux that is part of the pilgrimage. Phoebe and I were guests of Madeline’s on the last night of the program, and words cannot describe how proud we were of her for her quiet but powerful presence. By engaging history with professors, alumni, and civic leaders, Madeline has helped re-envision the future of the storied tableaux and of her community.

Millsaps benefits from being firmly rooted to core institutional values that have remained constant over the years while also adapting to new circumstances and developing new traditions. Consider these dual values of “principle and progress” in the context of our curriculum. When Millsaps opened 125 years ago, all students studied the same humanities-centered curriculum that was designed in significant part to prepare students for the ministry. While continuing to prepare pastors, Millsaps soon expanded its offerings in the sciences, and the College developed a top-notch pre-med program, among other things.

With the addition of the Else School of Management, Millsaps significantly expanded course offerings in business, and shortly thereafter Millsaps became (and remains) one of the only liberal arts colleges in the nation to have a chapter of both Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious liberal arts honorary, and an AACSB-accredited business school, the gold star of business school accreditation.

It is this unusual, but extremely fruitful, pairing of business and science in Millsaps’ liberal arts context that is the primary focus of this edition of this magazine. This issue highlights the “science of business” and the “business of science” while illustrating the impressive and life-changing work that Millsaps’ graduates are undertaking across the street and around the globe.

As you read these pages, I hope you will feel prompted to reflect on your memories of Millsaps and share them with us.

You can do so by emailing communications@millsaps.edu or by using #Millsaps125th on social media.

The Science of Business

The Business of Science

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On Campus Grants

Outstanding Educator Humanities Award

Mock Trial Accolades

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32 Major Sports Women’s Basketball

College Football Hall of Fame Women’s Volleyball Men’s Soccer

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Alumni

Inspiring Photographer Common Ground

Teaching America

Alumni Awards

Class Notes

In Memoriam Millsaps Magazine Spring 2015

EXECUTIVE STAFF Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, President

EXECUTIVE EDITOR John Sewell*

Dr. S. Keith Dunn, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College

C. Robbins*; E. B. Robinson Jr.; Toddy

J. Thomas Fowlkes*, Chair; The Rev.

Porter Sanders*; The Rev. Dr. J. Joseph

Jerry Bostick Beam*; The Rev. Zachary

Shelton IV*; Mike Sturdivant Jr.*; Bishop

C. Beasley; Paul T. Benton*; Ms. Carol A.

James E. Sawnson Sr.; J. Mack Varner*;

Biedenharn*; The Rev. Warren Black*;

William G. Yates III

William Bynum; James A. Coggin;

Dr. Robert Alexander, Vice President of Enrollment and Marketing

PUBLICATIONS MANAGER Nell Luter Floyd

Terri Hudson, Vice President for Institutional Planning and Assessment

Cristina P. Glick; William F. Goodman

Michael V. Hutchison, Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Rev. Heather K. Hensarling; Richard

WEB Lucy Molinaro* and Justin Schultz

Dr. R. Brit Katz, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Kenneth Townsend*, Special Assistant to the President

William R. Flatt*; Mark R. Freeman*; The Rev. Elisabeth Anne Garvin*; Dr. III*; Judge James E. Graves Jr.*; Maurice H. Hall Jr.*; Monica Sethi Harrigill*; The G. Hickson; William R. James; Peder R. Johnson*; The Rev. W. Geoffrey Joyner*; Charles R. Lathem*; R. Eason Leake*; John L. Lindsey; Mr. Paul F. McNeill*;

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Jean N. Medley*; Richard H. Mills*; Dr. Donna Ruth Else Roberts; Dr. Robert

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THE BUSINESS OF

THE SCIENCE OF

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*Denotes Millsaps Alumni

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LIFE TRUSTEES Gale L. Galloway; William T. Jeanes*; Robert N. Leggett Jr.*; Richard D. McRae; J. Con Maloney Jr.*; Nat S. Rogers*; Rowan H. Taylor; John C. Vaughey; Leila Clark Wynn

Vaughan W. McRae; Michael T. McRee;

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Ruth W. Watson*

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Robert H. Dunlap*; Robert W. Pittman*;

MILLSAPS

MILLSAPS ON STR

HONORARY TRUSTEES

Don Q. Mitchell*; P. Cooper Morrison*;

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Greg Campbell, Allie Jordan*, and Sophie McNeil Wolf

WILS

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

DESIGN Kelley Matthews

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lauren Abramson, Ruth Cummins, Nell Luter Floyd, Allie Jordan*, Nell Knox*, John Sewell*, Mandi Strickland*, John Webb, and Sophie McNeil Wolf

Founders Day

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SPRING 2015

SPRING 2015

SCIENCE

With this issue’s focus on “the science of business” and “the business of science,” we printed two covers, with distribution split evenly between the two. We hope you enjoy the issue.

Millsaps Magazine is published by Millsaps College, 1701 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39210, for distribution to alumni, parents of students, and friends of the College. For the online magazine, visit www.millsaps.edu/magazine.

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Meet Trevor King, a senior from Avondale, La, who is majoring in applied mathematics and economics. He chose to attend Millsaps College because he wanted to earn a liberal arts education, attend a small, well-respected college, and play football. After graduation in May, he plans to pursue a career in investment banking while attending graduate school.

A: What I like about Millsaps College was that I was able to build

Q: WHAT HAS BEEN MOST CHALLENGING ABOUT BEING A STUDENT AT MILLSAPS?

A: I have a plethora of favorite professors. There are too many to

A: The most challenging thing about being a student at Millsaps was getting used to being by myself, away from my parents, and

great relationships with my professors and students that were around me. This gave me the opportunity to meet great people and learn more about myself. I also like that Millsaps has small classes, which gives the professors the opportunity to know every student on a personal level. I feel as though I could call Millsaps my second home.

Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE PROFESSORS ON CAMPUS? name, which is a good thing.

Q: WHAT ACTIVITIES ARE YOU INVOLVED WITH AT MILLSAPS?

having to manage my time in an orderly way.

A: I have played football all four years. The highlights of my ca-

Q: WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND MOST TRANSFORMATIVE ABOUT BEING A STUDENT AT MILLSAPS?

and senior season, winning back-to-back conference champion-

A: I have found the small class sizes to be transformative. In par-

more and junior seasons, the comeback victory against Centre

ticular, I feel that way about Dr. Pat Taylor’s industrial organiza-

College to send our record to 9-0, and being able to play college

tion class. Overall, it opened a new way of thinking for me. I have

football with a great group of guys.

learned how industries such as the airline industry are so com-

reer were being selected as one of the team captains for my junior ships, getting selected to the all conference teams for my sopho-

I am a member of Pi Mu Epsilon math honorary, Omicron

petitive. The class showed me how to look at the overall structure

Delta Epsilon economics honorary, the Fellowship of Christian

of an industry and how to make decisions based on what I’ve

Athletes, and the Black Student Union.

learned. I find that interesting.

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Q: WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT MILLSAPS COLLEGE?

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Meet Stan Galicki, professor of geology, who finds geology appealing because it’s at the root of most everything humans are and do. It also helps that geological research takes place outdoors and in the most remarkable of places.

enjoy dendrochronology, the study of tree rings. I am currently completing a project in Montana that examines the growth effects of the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake on Douglas fir. I also study the urban environment. I have recently investigated the water quality of streams in the Jackson metropolitan area and the urban heat island effect.

Q: WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT TEACHING AT MILLSAPS?

Q: WHAT HOBBIES DO YOU HAVE?

A: During the last two decades, numerous undergraduate geology

A: From the time I was very young, two things have been my

programs across the country have disappeared. Millsaps, however,

driving force: physical activity and the desire to design and create

has an excellent reputation for producing quality geology majors.

things. I never thought I would have to slow down physically,

I enjoy sharing with students the benefit of years of experience in

but as I start to feel the effects of more than 50 years of athletic

the field of geology. Although trends in exploration and technol-

activity and have to force myself to taper off a bit, I have begun

ogy change almost daily, the basics of understanding the natural

to channel more of my energy into creation and design. I have an

world do not. I enjoy shaping students into professional geologists.

electric motorcycle that I designed and constructed from just an old Kawasaki frame. I am currently rebuilding a 1990 Mazda Mia-

Q: WHAT ARE YOUR AREAS OF RESEARCH?

ta for my wife, converting my 1989 Jeep Cherokee to a convertible

A: I enjoy interpreting ancient depositional environments. I have

for my son, and most importantly, designing and preparing to

worked in Albania and Turkey as a project geologist on archaeo-

build the cabin for our off-the-grid summer property in Montana.

logical excavations, providing information on what the local

Not many people want to live where there is no access to water or

environment was like during occupation. I am currently analyz-

power, but I love the challenge of designing for that environment.

ing data from Clark Lake in the Delta National Forest in an effort

I take great satisfaction in taking an idea and bringing it to frui-

to understand its formation and how management of the Mis-

tion. Not everything works out as planned, but I learn from every

sissippi River through the construction of its levee systems has

endeavor.

changed the geochemistry and sedimentation of the area. I also

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CAMPUS EVENTS

SCHOLARS, AUTHORS, AND MUSICIANS WERE AMONG VISITORS IN RECENT MONTHS.

Greg Iles

Will Kimbrough and Lauren Murphy

James Martin and Michael Boriskin

ARTS & LECTURE SERIES Writers and spouses Beth Ann Fennelly and Tom Franklin spoke in September 2014 about their collaboration on the joint novel, The

Tilted World, a tale of the Great Flood of 1927 era. Fennelly, a poet, is associate professor of English and director of the MFA program at the University of Mississippi. Franklin, also an associate professor of English at the university, has published three novels and a collection of stories.

Leslie H. Southwick, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, discussed in November 2014 what it is like to be a controversial nominee for federal court judgeship in the current political environment. Southwick, who was appointed to the federal court in 2007, described his experiences in his recent book, The Nominee.

Lauren Murphy, a Louisiana-born musician with Mississippi ties, and Will Kimbrough, an Alabama native who has been writing songs and playing guitar since he was 12 years old, performed and discussed their craft during the program “Southern Songwriters” in November 2014.

New York Times best-selling author Greg Iles spoke in January about writing Natchez Burning, the first part of a trilogy set in Natchez and featuring the main character Penn Cage. A graduate of the University of Mississippi and Millsaps honorary degree recipient, Iles has completed 14 novels, an e-book and an interactive e-book about his participation in a writer/musician band, the Rock Bottom Remainders. He’s had 13 books on the New York Times best-seller list. Greg, father of Millsaps student Madeline Iles (who is featured in this issue) also took the lead in scripting and narrating a more inclusive hitory of Mississippi that was featured in the new Historic Natchez Tableaux during the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage.

ELSE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT FORUMS Douglas Handler, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insights, and Darrin Webb, state economist, spoke in September 2014 about their outlook on the economy.

MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY Students from Millsaps College and Tougaloo College observed Martin Luther King Day together with a series of events that included “MLK Day Play-n-Serve” for children from the Midtown neighborhood in Jackson and children of faculty and staff from Millsaps and Tougaloo, a “Meeting of the Minds” with student government leaders from Millsaps and Tougaloo, and the MLK Day Service of Praise and Prayer, a joint service between Millsaps College and Tougaloo College. Bill Bynum, a Millsaps College trustee and chief executive officer at HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation/Hope Credit Union), was the keynote speaker.

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Glen Rogers

Dr. Charles Sallis

Herculaneum Graffiti Project

MILLSAPS CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC BENEFIT CONCERT Principal artists from the internationally-acclaimed Music from Copland House ensemble, award-winning baritone James Martin, adjunct professor of music, and noted pianist Michael Boriskin, presented a concert of music from the CD, “Wake Up Singin’” in December. The concert was a benefit for the Millsaps Conservatory of Music and the Daystar Performance Ensemble.

MILLSAPS FORUMS Glen Rogers, artist and author of Art & Sacred Sites: Connecting with Spirit of Place, gave a slide presentation last August of her art inspired by pilgrimages to sacred sites around the world. Originally from Louisville, Miss., she received her M.F.A. from San Jose State University and lived in the San Francisco Bay area for 25 years as a painter, printmaker, and public sculptor before relocating to Mazatlan, Mexico, in 2002.

Dr. Charles Sallis, professor emeritus of history at Millsaps College, and Dr. Jeanne Middleton-Hairston, B.A. 1971, a retired professor of education, reflected last September on their work on the Mississippi history text, Conflict and Change. The book was so controversial that only a six-year court battle ensured its approval. Sallis and Middleton-Hairston spoke about what it meant to rewrite history in a state resistant to change.

Millsaps faculty and students discussed in October their research with the Herculaneum Graffiti Project, an initiative to document and study the Latin graffiti preserved in ancient cities of the Bay of Naples during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. The talk featured innovative techniques of digital preservation as well as some of the notable graffiti from Herculaneum that brings the Romans to life.

The panel discussion, entitled “Mississippi Entrepreneurs,” and based upon the book Mississippi Entrepreneurs, edited by Millsaps alumna Polly Dement and published by the University Press of Mississippi, took place in October 2014. Tim Medley, Millsaps alumnus and one of the people who was instrumental in the book’s publication, moderated. The panel focused on entrepreneurship in nonprofit contexts and featured Millsaps trustee Bill Bynum, president and CEO of Hope Enterprise Corporation; alumna Betsy Bradley, executive director of the Mississippi Museum of Art; friend of Millsaps and honorary degree recipient Seetha Srinivasan, director emerita of the University Press of Mississippi; and David Culpepper, a Millsaps alumnus and professor of accounting and entrepreneurship and chair of the ELSEWorks Initiative at Millsaps.

Dr. Carolyn Dupont, an historian at Eastern Kentucky University, presented in November her work on Mississippi churches during the civil rights movement. Dupont published Mississippi Praying: Southern White Evangelicals and the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-

1975, a book that examines the various ways in which white churches throughout the state reacted to the grassroots campaigns that accompanied the movement in Mississippi.

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Joe Goodkin

Jesmyn Ward

World AIDS Day

REAL GREEK WEEK Joe Goodkin, a singer-songwriter and record producer, performed “Odyssey,” a cycle of 24 short songs inspired by Homer’s epic tale of the wandering hero, in September. Goodkin was a classics major in college.

VISITING WRITERS SERIES National Book Award Winner and Mississippian Jesmyn Ward read in September 2014 from her work. Ward, who has won five Hopwood Awards, been a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, and served as the Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi, is the Paul and Debra Gibbons Professor at Tulane University. All three of her books—two novels (Salvage the Bones and Where

the Line Bleeds) and a memoir (Men We Reaped)—are set on the Gulf Coast where she grew up.

Michael Farris Smith, recipient of the 2014 Mississippi Author Award for Fiction, in November 2014 read from his work. Smith’s debut novel Rivers was named to Best Books of the Year lists by BookRiot, Hudson Booksellers, The Capital Times, and several other regional and national outlets. His essays have appeared in numerous publications, and his 2011 Paris novella, The Hands of Strangers, was hailed by Publishers Weekly as “Fantastic...making more of an impact than most novels three times its size.” He teaches creative writing and literature at the Mississippi University for Women.

WORLD AIDS DAY The Office of the Chaplain joined with area congregations and agencies during the first week in December to observe World AIDS Day. Panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt were on display in the Olin Hall Atrium and the chapel throughout the week. There was also an Interfaith World AIDS Day Service with area clergy, a panel discussion, and a film screening.

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{ON CAMPUS} {ON CAMPUS}

Fresh faces on the board Millsaps College welcomes two new members of the Board of Trustees, Paul McNeill and Carol Biedenharn, both of whom are alumni of the College.

Paul F. McNeill, B.B.A. 1987, serves as resident director at Merrill Lynch’s Ridgeland office where he has been the last 24 years. He serves on the boards of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. He has served on the boards of Mississippi Children’s Home Services, the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson, and the Mississippi Food Network. McNeill has two daughters, Brenna and Emma, and attends the Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church in Madison.

Carol Albritton Biedenharn attended Millsaps from 1974-1976, graduated with a B.B.A. from Southern Methodist University, and continued her post-graduate education at William Carey University, Mississippi College, and Colorado State University. She is certified as a music therapist, and is an owner and co-owner of numerous companies and partnerships that include timber, speculative real estate, and mineral interests in Mississippi and Louisiana.

She is chair of the Board of Trustees at Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church and a member of the Mississippi Children’s Home Society Board of Trustees. Biedenharn is the mother of four children, Emily Biedenharn Fenske, Caroline Biedenharn, Richard Biedenharn, and Frances Biedenharn.

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Kenan grant builds bridges for Millsaps students and future Millsaps students across the street Millsaps College has been awarded a $265,000 grant by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust to provide scholarship support and research opportunities for students who graduate from Jackson Public Schools and go on to attend Millsaps.

support has begun.”

The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust has been a leader

Over the next four years, grant funds will provide two Millsaps students per year with a summer research stipend of $4,000 for a pre-college or between-term experience with Millsaps faculty. An annual scholarship of $7,000 will also be provided, for a total of $32,000 in support over four years.

Millsaps will recruit JPS students, including those in the Base

Pair program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The program provides high school students with the opportunity to participate in biomedical research and improve scientific literacy.

Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps College, said this grant will change the lives of students, who will be known

in educational support for 50 years, emphasizing high-quality education, innovation, and excellence of teaching. While the trust’s grant-making activity is focused primarily in New York, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Florida, its reach is nationwide, and it has helped create and support some of the most important institutions and programs in secondary and higher education as well as in the fields of arts, art education, and basic human needs.

Said Pearigen, “We are enormously pleased that Mr. Kenan’s belief in ‘a good education as the most cherished gift an individual can receive,’ will have added life here in Mississippi. Simply put, this is a great develop-

as Kenan-Millsaps Scholars, by providing educational and mentoring experiences unique to the Jackson community.

“This grant from the Kenan Charitable Trust presents not only tremendous opportunities for students in the Jackson Public School district, but an investment in our strategic plan, Across the

Street and Around the Globe: Partnerships and Influence at

“We are enormously pleased that Mr. Kenan’s belief in ‘a good education as the most cherished gift an individual can receive,’ will have added life here in Mississippi. Simply put, this is a great development for our College, our community, and our state.”

–DR. ROBERT W. PEARIGEN

ing our partnerships with JPS and UMMC, and helping a new generation of leaders in science and medicine emerge from our local community.

“We also look forward to undertaking our commitment to raise $500,000 to match, on a 2:1 basis, the Kenan Trust’s grant,” Pearigen added. “These matching funds will establish an endowment to make permanent that which the Kenan Trust’s generous

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munity, and our state.”

Dr. Cedrick Gray, superintendent of Jackson Public Schools, echoed Pearigen’s excitement about the opportunities provided by this partnership.

“We are truly grateful for our partnerships with Millsaps College and the University of Mississippi Medical Center,”

Millsaps College,” Pearigen said.

“We look forward to strengthen-

ment for our College, our com-

said Gray. “This support from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust is a wonderful opportunity for our students with an interest in science to prepare and pursue their career goals.”

Millsaps College offers a strong science and pre-medical curriculum, including the only neuroscience major in the state, and enjoys an existing partnership with UMMC that supports mentoring experiences and research opportunities.

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Support from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations help impact international students on the homefront Millsaps College has received a $200,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to establish the International Perspectives Program, a new model for incorporating global experiences and conversations on campus as well as in field programs.

Funds from the foundations will be used to launch the International Perspectives Seminars and an annual International Perspectives Conference, key components of the program.

The program will designate 12 Millsaps students as International Scholars starting in the fall of 2017. They will reside together in a living/learning community on campus, participate in weekly International Perspectives seminars during the fall semester, and work with a visiting scholar-inresidence to plan a spring campus-wide seminar.

A Millsaps International Faculty Fellow will plan the weekly International Perspectives seminars during the fall semester and assist the visiting scholarin-residence with the spring conference.

and dean of the College, said the International Perspectives Program will bring viewpoints from around the globe to bear on internationally important issues on campus.

“It will be an exciting way to bring the impact of our international studies program home to enrich the perspectives of all our students,” he said. “For example, a student from Egypt with experiences in a new democracy, a Greek student with perspectives on recent austerity measures, and a Guatemalan student researching Mayan history would share their experiences during the seminar experience.”

Dr. Robert W. Peari-

“It will be an exciting way to bring the impact of our international studies program home to enrich the perspectives of all our students ... For example, a student from Egypt with experiences in a new democracy, a Greek student with perspectives on recent austerity measures, and a Guatemalan student researching Mayan history would share their experiences during the seminar experience.”

Half of the International Scholars will be Millsaps

–DR. S. KEITH DUNN

while the other half will be Millsaps degree-seeking students from countries outside the U.S. The International Scholars will explore international topics such as emerging democracies, war, immigration, climate change, famine, development issues, water management, green market economics, and gender issues.

Dr. S. Keith Dunn, senior vice president for academic affairs

Perspectives Program builds upon the College’s track record of creating nationally recognized field learning laboratories across the globe, including its facilities in Yucatán, and connects to the College’s strategic plan,

Across the Street and Around the Globe: Partnerships and Influences at Millsaps College.

“The new program will allow Millsaps College to

sophomores and juniors from the United States with previous international experience,

gen said the International

expand and deepen international learning experiences for Millsaps students that are fully integrated into their liberal arts experience, provide a global literacy model for other institutions working to address international learning challenges, and build on the strength of our current signature curricular programs,” he said. “We are grateful to the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations for their partnership and support.”

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Else School dean named Outstanding Educator Dr. Kimberly G. Burke, dean of the Else School of Management at Millsaps College and professor of accounting, is the 2014 recipient of the Outstanding Educator Award presented by the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants.

The society annually recognizes a full-time accounting professor at a Mississippi college or university for excellence in teaching, motivating students, or educational innovation, and for making a contribution to the profession as demonstrated by involvement in professional organizations, research, and work educating the public about accounting issues. Burke will receive the award during the 2015 Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants convention in Sandestin, Fla. “This was a completely unexpected honor,” Burke said. “I was surprised and delighted.”

Burke was recognized for her more than 19 years of teaching experience, more than 20 peer-reviewed publications, numerous

Burke explains the connection between her teaching and research. “The ultimate challenge of teaching accounting is to create a learning environment that borrows situations from the real world where students can practice making good decisions under less than ideal circumstances,” she said. “It’s working with those ‘less than ideal’ circumstances that helps students find the fun and excitement in accounting.”

In 2008, she was recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education as the Mississippi Professor of the Year. She also plays a valuable role in

proceedings and research presentations. Burke is also the author of several continuing education courses offered through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

As dean of the Else School, Burke oversees Millsaps’ undergraduate business, accounting and economics

“Dr. Burke is a great example of the teacher/ scholar model so prevalant among Millsaps College faculty members.”

programs, an M.B.A. program, an Ex-

–DR. S. KEITH DUNN

ecutive M.B.A. program, and a Master

ter course that provides business education for professionals.

As an accounting professor, Burke has taught a variety of classes including undergraduate and graduate auditing, intermediate and advanced accounting, accounting information systems, principles of financial accounting, and introduction to liberal studies.

Her research interests include the labor market for academics, assurance services, expectations formation, and gender issues. Her research has been published in multiple publications

with leading accounting firms and established an executive shadowing program for accounting students.

Burke holds a B.B.A. and an M.S. in accounting from Texas Tech University and a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. She joined the Millsaps faculty in 1995.

Dr. S. Keith Dunn, senior vice

of Accountancy program. The Else School also offers the Business Advantage Program, a one-semes-

helping Millsaps graduates secure jobs

president of academic affairs and dean of the College, said Burke is deserving of the award because she has built her entire career around improving the student experience.

“Dr. Burke is a great example of the teacher/scholar model so prevalant among Millsaps College faculty members. She is a leader in her academic field, an outstanding teacher and mentor for our students, and an able administrator who consistently facilitates the success of her faculty colleagues. We couldn’t be more proud of her accomplishments.”

including Advances in Accounting, Southern Economic Journal,

Journal of Information Systems, Journal of Service Marketing, and Internal Auditing.

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Director of Communication Studies receives Humanities Teacher Award Each year, the Mississippi Humanities Council honors outstanding scholars who have made significant contributions to the humanities in Mississippi.

Dr. Curtis Coats, director of the communication studies major and co-director of the film studies minor, is the 2014 Millsaps College recipient of the Humanities Teacher Award.

Dr. S. Keith Dunn, senior vice president and dean of the College, describes Coats as “an inspirational teacher and mentor, a productive and respected scholar, and a model campus citizen.”

Coats came to Millsaps in 2009 to develop the communication studies program. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas, where he graduated with honors, Coats pursued a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he also earned his Ph.D. in communication. This is his first full-time teaching

about learning a certain skill in a context of the liberal arts.”

Coats has completed research in the fields of new age tourism

position, and yet his students in the communication studies

and gender and Christianity and media. His research focuses on

department consistently rave about his expertise and skill, as do

identity, and “how identity intersects with media and culture,”

his colleagues.

themes he helped students explore in his “Sun, Sand, and Cults

Dr. David C. Davis, associate dean of the humanities and as-

of Death” course in Yucatán. The course focused on identity and

sociate professor of history, said, “Dr. Coats is being honored for his leadership and vision in developing our communications studies major. We are fortunate to have someone who understands how the liberal arts can and should inform that discipline.”

Communication studies at Millsaps provides opportunities for students to explore an array of interests, research projects, and

tourism, and how tourists impact

“Dr. Coats is being honored for his leadership and vision in developing our communications studies major. We are fortunate to have someone who understands how the liberal arts can and should inform that discipline.”

–DR. DAVID C. DAVIS

internships under Coats’ guidance.

“Our program is more conceptual based than it is skills based,” Coats says. “We do have the media production sequence, such as journalism, but many of the classes are more about history, theory, and ethics. Even our production classes are more

the development and continuation of culture around them.

“New age tourism is probably my first love, I suppose, in scholarship,” Coats says. “I became interested in it after a trip to Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. I became interested in how indigenous cultures had to, in essence, sell their culture, their homes, in some ways their identities, in order to survive in mainstream culture. So, I’m interested in how

indigenous cultures and white tourists interact and engage one another and how media influence that interaction.”

—LAURA ABRAMSON, CLASS OF 2015 THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN THE PURPLE & WHITE , THE STUDENT-RUN ONLINE NEWS SOURCE AT MILLSAPS COLLEGE.

than just how to do this or that skill. They are thinking about aesthetics. They are also thinking about ethics. They are thinking about design and history. It’s not just about learning a skill. It’s

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JUSTICE PREVAILS

Harvey Fiser is an associate professor of business law who also advises pre-law students and coaches the Millsaps College Mock Trial team.

To improve the student experience, Fiser spent several weeks last summer helping his friend and Norwegian master carpenter Erik Solberg build a furnished courtroom in which the mock trial team now practices.

The courtroom is a historic addition to the Millsaps campus. The attorney tables, attorney chairs, and witness chairs were reclaimed after being abandoned as a result of federal budget cuts and the closure of the United States federal courthouse in Meridian. The judge’s bench and witness stand were custom built using the original tables from the jury deliberation room in the historic courthouse.

The Meridian courthouse served as the site of the trials of the 19 men charged with the murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman in 1964. The courthouse was also the location where the legal campaign to integrate the University of Mississippi got under way.

“To my knowledge, no other undergraduate program in Mississippi has any courtroom like this,” said Fiser, noting that the furnishings allow the students to more effectively practice and prepare for competition.

Established in 2011 with 10 students to participate in intercollegiate competitions sanctioned by the American Mock Trial Association, the Millsaps Mock Trial team has grown to include more than 25 members. Students develop critical thinking and public speaking skills, as well as knowledge of legal practices and procedures.

Last year, the Millsaps Mock Trial team made its presence known “as the little team that could” during its trip to the opening round national championship tournament in Memphis. The team finished 14th out of 24 teams and was repeatedly recognized for its character.

“We were the smallest school at the competition by more than 1,000 students and the youngest program at the competition, and yet we were ranked number 3 on the Spirit of AMTA award, which recognizes the team that exemplifies the ideals of honesty, civility, and fair play,” Fiser said.

Fiser, who earned a B.A. in communications from Mississippi State University and a J.D. with distinction from the Mississippi College School of Law, is particularly suited to serve as advisor to the team.

After graduation from law school, he practiced law and eventually became a partner at Adams and Reese, where he specialized in commercial litigation and employment practices.

Fiser is known for his enthusiasm about the learning process, the hours he spends with the team in practice, and the way he ensures team members can also incorporate other campus activities in their schedules, said Carpenter Stevens, a Millsaps senior who is in her third year on the mock trial team.

Fiser joined the Else School of Management faculty in 2003 and received the Outstanding Young Faculty Award in 2008. He has served on numerous Else School and College committees and is responsible for the Else School programs in Yucatán.

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ACCOLADES Millsaps faculty and staff members spend time in the classroom, but that's not all that they do. They find time for research and creative endeavors, and they participate in professional activities that expand their knowledge and enhance their teaching. Our staff members stay busy, too. Here are some of their recent professional activities.

Faculty SARAH LEA ANGLIN, professor of biology, had these two papers pub-

ANITA M. DEROUEN, director of writing and teaching, published “Creating the Reader-Viewer: Engaging Students with Scholarly Web Texts” in Web Writing: Why and How for Liberal

Arts Teaching and Learning and “Defying Blackness: The

lished in the journal Genetics: “The Set1/COMPASS Histone H3

E(race)ure of Mercedes Jones” in Queer in the Choir Room:

Methyltransferase Helps Regulate Mitosis With the CDK1 and

Essays on Gender and Sexuality in Glee.

NIMA Mitotic Kinases in Aspergillus nidulans” (August 2014) and “Restraint of the G2/M Transition by the SR/RRM Family mRNA

PETER FRIEDRICH, assistant professor of theatre, received a Meri-

Shuttling Binding Protein SNXAHRB1 in Aspergillus nidulans”

torious Achievement Award for excellence in directing from the

(October 2014). Millsaps students Travis Banta, Clifford Coile,

Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival for the

Zach Cuda, Ryan Day, Cheshil Dixit, Steven Eastlack, Anh Giang,

Millsaps Players’ 2014 production of As You Like It.

James Goode, Alexis Guice, Yulon Huff, Sara Humbert, Faustin Mwambutsa, and Casey Spell are authors of the latter paper.

ERIC GRIFFIN, chair of the English Department and director of

CRAIG BARNETT, visiting assistant professor of biology, has recently

speare, Marlowe, and the Stranger Crisis of the Early 1590s,” the

resigned from his position on the editorial board of the New Zea-

lead chapter of Shakespeare and Immigration (Aldershot, UK:

land Journal of Ecology after four years of service to join the edi-

Ashgate, 2014), the first study of its kind.

torial board of the evolution and ecology section of Animal Cells

After presenting new work on Thomas Middleton in April at

and Systems. He has authored a number of publications includ-

the annual meeting of the Shakespeare Society of America in St.

ing: “Determination of the sources of diurnal variation of caching

Louis, Griffin spent the summer at the Huntington Library in

behaviour of South Island robins (Petroica australis australis)”

San Marino, California, where he was awarded a highly competi-

published in Emu–Austral Ornithology; and “Better the devil you

tive Mayer Fellowship in order to research “Geopolitics and The

know: avian predators find variation in prey toxicity aversive”

Spanish Tragedy,” an essay commissioned by the Arden Early

published in Biology Letters, both of which were published in

Modern Drama series for a new scholarly companion to the

2014. Other publications Barnett has authored include: “How

Works of Thomas Kyd.

should I handle this? The costs and benefits of handling chemi-

16

Millsaps’ Latin American Studies Program, published “Shake-

In October, Griffin was honored for his influential work on

cally defended prey by generalist avian predators” to be published

Anglo-Hispanic literary and cultural relations with a keynote ad-

in American Naturalist and “Mass-based condition measures and

dress at a major international conference in Basel, Switzerland,

their relationship with fitness: in what condition is condition?”

sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Culture and a consortium

set to appear in Journal of Zoology in 2015. Barnett has written

of universities, devoted to the topic of “España ante sus críticos:

a book section for Seabirds to Songbirds: habitat preferences,

Claves de la Leyenda Negra/ Spain before her critics: Keys to the

conservation, and migratory behavior, to be published by Nova

Black Legend.” His presentation, “Dramatizing the Black Legend

Publications in early 2015.

in Post-Armada England,” will be published in a volume of con-

CONNIE CAMPBELL, professor of mathematics, has been invited to

A more extensive study of the topic, resulting from an earlier

speak at a special session of the Association for Women in Math-

invitation to present on the topic at the Clark Memorial Library

ematics Research Symposium in Maryland in April. She is also

at UCLA, “Copying ‘the Anti-Spaniard’: Post-Armada Hispano-

the program director for the 2015 workshop “Using Video Case

phobia and English Renaissance Drama,” is featured in Rivalry

ference proceedings forthcoming from Editorial Iberoamerica.

Studies to Develop Students’ Proof Writing Skills” that is sched-

and Rhetoric in the Early Modern Mediterranean. Ed. Barbara

uled to be offered online this summer.

Fuchs (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015).

JUDITH CABALLERO, assistant professor of modern languages,

BRENT E. HENDRIXSON, associate professor of biology, had two man-

published “The Siren Song and the Enchanted Victim: The Por-

uscripts accepted for publication (publication expected in 2015):

trayal of the Conquistadors and Tucapela in Palabras a los reyes

“Integrative species delimitation and conservation of tarantu-

y Gloria de los Pizarros” in Female Amerindians in Early Modern

las (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae) from a North

Spanish Theater by Bucknell University Press.

American biodiversity hotspot” (co-authored with Alexis Guice,

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2014 Millsaps graduate) in Insect Conservation and Diversity and “Miocene extensional tectonics explain ancient patterns of diversification among turret-building tarantulas (Aphonopelma

mojave group) in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts” in Journal of

Staff JOSH BROOKS, director of athletics, is featured in an article in the

Biogeography. Hendrixson also contributed two chapters for the

winter 2015 issue of Champion Magazine produced by the NCAA.

revised edition of Spiders of North America: An Identification

The story mentions how Brooks had two goals when he arrived

Manual (publication expected in 2015).

at Millsaps. One was to increase involvement from sponsors and raise money for the M Club. The other was to enhance the fan ex-

ROBERT McELVAINE, professor of history, presented the keynote

perience at Millsaps games, which he accomplished by upgrading

paper, “Prehistory Trumps Postmodernism: Reconstructing a Para-

concession items, placing inflatables around the athletics facili-

digm in the Wake of Deconstruction,” at the RIT Foundation inter-

ties to create a kids’ zone, and inviting local high school bands to

national conference, “Post-Modernity and Alternate Paradigms,” in

perform at games.

New Delhi, India, last September.

MONICA DANIELS, director of annual giving, is a member of the

JAMES MARTIN, adjunct instructor of music, performed at “The

executive board of the Mississippi Chapter of the Association of

Awakened Palate,” a benefit at New York’s Del Posto restaurant

Fundraising Professionals. She serves as secretary.

last October for Copland House, a nonprofit centered around the Westchester home where the composer Aaron Copland spent the

BRIT KATZ, vice president for student life and dean of students,

last 30 years of his life. The evening featured a musical multi-

received the Bobby E. Leach Award for Advancing Multicultural

course meal by celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich and composer

Excellence at a university during the 2014 conference for South-

Daniel Brewbaker, pairing Bastianich’s cuisine with the world

ern Association for College Student Affairs that included Region

premiere of Brewbaker’s culinary-inspired cantata.

III of NASPA, an association for the advancement, health, and sustainability of the student affairs profession.

JULIE RUST, assistant professor of education, contributed “Students’ Playful Tactics: Teaching at the Intersection of New

BRITTNEY RANEA PAXTON, coordinator of Campus Life, completed

Media and the Official Curriculum” which will be published in a

the University of West Florida Program Certification in Human

forthcoming issue of Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy;

Performance Technology in December 2014. She is a member of

co-wrote (with Beth Buchholz, Indiana University) the book

the National Association for Campus Activities Regional Confer-

chapter: “Not So Serious Business: LOL in the Technology Medi-

ence Planning Committee, the National Association for Campus

ated English Classroom” which will be published in Tettegah, S.

Activities Staff the Student Government West Institute, a gradu-

& McCreery, M. (Eds.) Emotions and Learning.

ate of the Association of Fraternity and Sorority Advisors First 90

She presented a poster session entitled “Re(storying) Inquiry in Teacher-Researcher Partnerships” at the National Council of Teachers of English annual convention in Washington D.C.

Days Program, and the Northwest Florida Alumnae Chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta.

Classroom Spaces” at NCTE Assembly for Research Conference

DONNA PRISOCK, assistant director of financial aid; ISABELLE HIGBEE, B.A. 1978, associate director of financial aid; and PATRICK JAMES, director of financial aid, have earned National Association

in New Orleans. Rust was awarded a $3,000 Blended Learning

of Student Financial Aid Administrators Professional Creden-

Grant from the Associated Colleges of the South.

tials in the following subject areas: Packaging and Notification

She presented a paper session entitled “‘It’s totally two different worlds’: Teachers’ Perceptions of Honors Versus Regular

STEVE SMITH, professor of philosophy and religious studies, published “Testing the Spirits: Cognitive Science of Religion in Partnership with the Study of Religious Appeals” in The Journal

of Religion (July 2014).

KENNETH TOWNSEND, B.A. 2004, special assistant to the president and assistant professor of political science, has established a Jackson chapter of Global Shapers, an initiative of the World Economic Forum that uses city-based hubs to engage young leaders who want to develop their leadership potential to serve society. He traveled to the World Economic Forum’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland in August 2014 for a gathering of 300 young leaders from 155 countries.

of Awards, Professional Judgment and Direct Loans. NASFAA Professional Credentials is a new program, providing a nationally-recognized standard in financial aid training and allowing for recognition for mastery of content. Prisock, Higbee, and James are three of fewer than 450 credentialed financial aid staff in the United States.

MARIBETH KITCHINGS, director of alumni and parent relations, attended the annual meeting of the Naples Group Jan. 25-26 at The University of the South. The Naples Group consists of directors of alumni from sister institutions such as Sewanee, BirminghamSouthern University, Rhodes College, Washington and Lee University, Converse College, Agnes Scott College, Furman University, Wofford College, and Gardner-Web University.

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A PERFECT MATCH Almost two years have passed since Millsaps College received a $300,000 grant from the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation to build the creative economy in the nearby Midtown neighborhood, and the ELSEWorks entrepreneurial initiative in partnership with Midtown Partners, Inc. began work with business owners and partners in the neighborhood.

The work under way provides experiential learning opportunities while giving students a way to actively and purposefully engage with and influence our local community through strategic partnerships.

“We believe by placing our students in a position to have meaningful input into high level decisions that have very real and potentially transformative consequences, they learn to embrace diversity, risk, and important challenges—thus, how to be a leader,” said Dr. David H. Culpepper, Millsaps professor of accounting and entrepreneurship and chair of ELSEWorks. “Meanwhile, the revitalization of the Midtown area improves the quality of life for those in Midtown and for our students.”

Andy Young, owner of Pearl River Glass Studio, credits ELSEWorks with providing the continuous push to improve the neighborhood.

“Midtown is going to be thriving,” he said. “ELSEWorks is playing an important role in that effort.”

Here are some of the successes so far: • A creative business development center and incubator composed of two buildings, The Hatch and The Hangar, provide support to start-up and mid-level businesses and entrepreneurs.

• ELSEWorks provides business training and assistance to residents and businesses.

• ELSEWorks assisted Pearl River Glass Studio owner Andy Young with business planning for a $1 million expansion.

• Lucky Town Brewing Company brewery located in Midtown.

• A house was renovated in Midtown to allow our 1 Campus 1 Community student interns to both live and work in Midtown.

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CS’s Restaurant

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The Hatch, 126 Keener Avenue Located in the heart of the Millsaps Arts District, The Hatch,

Midtown Partners Resource Center, 301 Adelle Street

with 11,000 square feet, provides support to start-up businesses

A key partner to the College, Midtown Partners, Inc. supports

and entrepreneurs. Both The Hatch and The Hangar are owned

various education, economic development, community and

by Midtown Partners Inc. (MPI) and managed in partnership

culture, and health and wellness initiatives in Midtown. Monica

with ELSEWorks, which has provided business planning assis-

Cannon, director of community outreach, and Whitney Grant,

tance to a majority of the tenants. The Hatch, still undergoing

creative economies director, participated in the Business Advan-

renovation, is also the site of the 1 Million Cups Jackson meeting

tage Program. Future site of Midtown Public Charter School,

each Wednesday morning. Mississippi Cold Drip Coffee and Tea

opening Fall 2015.

Co., founded in 2012 by Ray Horn, offers a coffee and tea concentrate. Recruited by ELSEWorks, Mississippi Cold Drip will be

Soul Wired Café, 111 Millsaps Avenue

the first tenant to move into The Hatch in spring of 2015 to begin

Soul Wired Cafe received various levels of business assistance

brewing operations.

from ELSEWorks. Jennifer Goebel, B.B.A. 2013, provided business planning assistance that supported the loan application. “It

The Hangar, 140 Wesley Avenue

challenged me in ways I could not have imagined to serve as a

The Hangar boasts 20,000 square feet of warehouse space and

consultant to a small business in Midtown—something unheard

3,000 square feet of office space. One of the first tenants in The

of for undergraduate students at many colleges and universities,”

Hangar was Millsaps art professor Sandra Murchinson and her

Goebel said.

business, Purple Word Center for Book & Paper Arts. ELSEWorks helped Murchison develop her business and funding plan and se-

Studio 2 Concrete/SwingLab, 140 McTyere Avenue

cure space in The Hangar for Purple Word. Other tenants in The

Known for his concrete art and SwingLab convertible swings,

Hangar include Repurposed Projects, Inspire Jackson, MidCity

Andy Hilton was one of the first Midtown artists to participate in

Print, Red Squared Productions, and Storied Salvage. Roderick

the BAP and was the first president of the Business Association

Redd of Red Squared Productions is a recent graduate of the

of Midtown.

Business Advantage Program (BAP) offered by the Else School.

Lucky Town Brewing Company, 1710 N. Mill Street OffBeat, 151 Wesley Avenue

ELSEWorks, in partnership with Midtown Partners, Inc., recruit-

Well known Jackson DJ and OffBeat owner Phillip “Young

ed Lucky Town Brewery to Midtown by providing assistance with

Venom” Rollins is a recent graduate of the Business Advantage

identification of the site location, zoning and funding assistance.

Program.

As Chip Jones, co-owner of Lucky Town said, “The entire team at ELSEWorks proved to be a very useful resource in developing a

TurnUp Studios, 155 Wesley Avenue

schedule and making connections with proper contacts to ensure

TurnUp Studios hosts space for artists Clay Hardwick, B.A. 2009,

the process was carried out efficiently. We consider the brewing

and daniel johnson (sic), B.A. 2011. Hardwick’s father is Phil

process a craft in and of itself, so the proposed use fits within

Hardwick, Millsaps M.B.A. 1984, an adjunct instructor in the

the existing fabric of the creative community.” The ELSEWorks

Else School as well as the Business Advantage Program. johnson

Entrepreneurial Investment Fund is an investor in Lucky Town.

(sic) completed the Business Advantage Program.

CS’s, 1359 ½ N. West Street Pearl River Glass Studio, 142 Millsaps Avenue

A long-time favorite of Millsaps students, CS’s hosts the Beer

ELSEWorks assisted Pearl River Glass Studio owner Andy Young

and Business meetings organized by ELSEWorks and sponsored

with a $1 million expansion of his business. Young said: “My craft

by the Business Association of Midtown. Owner Pat Boland has

is 1,000 years old, but when I needed to develop new methods to

participated in the Business Advantage Program.

address market challenges, I turned to ELSEWorks. We had to the time was not going to do that. We had to think strategically;

1 Campus 1 Community Fellows’ Residence, 323 Wesley Avenue

ELSEWorks was helpful in conversations about what direction

Home of Millsaps 1C1C fellows, whose work is focused in the

to go.”

Midtown community. The fellows support Brown Elementary

survive and we had to move forward. The business plan I had at

and Rowan Middle schools as well as many other community needs and sponsor the College’s annual Midtown Block Party.

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ELSEWORKS GIVES A GUIDING HAND TO LOCAL BUSINESSES When the Mississippi Cold Drip Coffee & Tea Co. pondered expanding product sales from local farmer’s markets into grocery stores across the Southeast, it was students at Millsaps College who provided the expertise for that retail growth.

“We’re working on the owner’s business plan, his packaging, his marketing plan, and his long-term distribution plan,” said Kelsey Worch of Ocean Springs, a 2013 Millsaps communications studies graduate now pursuing her master of business administration through the Else School of Management.

“We’ve been involved in helping him select a permanent location for production and a graphic design for his packaging, along with sorting out a system of financial recording and production policies and procedures,” Worch, 24, said of the Jackson-based company owned by Raymond Horn. “We’ve met with him regularly and have gotten to experience and help with a large amount of his company’s development.”

Worch and fellow graduate students in the Else School of Management’s ELSEWorks program are connecting local entrepreneurs to resources that will help them succeed and expand.

Each student carries the title “ELSEWorks analyst,” which describes what he or she does for an assigned client.

The program’s premier goal is to encourage and promote entrepreneurship that will effect positive change in the state, said Dr. David H. Culpepper, chair of ELSEWorks. The program focuses on four key components: academics, commercialization of research, traditional business development, and social entrepreneurship.

ELSEWorks is an acronym for Entrepreneurs: Leading, Stewarding, Excelling. ELSEWorks “provides students unparalleled opportunities, working with faculty, alumni, and industry experts, to gain high-level entrepreneurial business experience in a number of settings, and to engage the community,” Culpepper said.

The ELSEWorks program particularly strives to nurture

the creative economy in Midtown, a diverse and primarily low-income neighborhood located just north of downtown Jackson and adjacent to Millsaps.

The analysts are making a significant difference by coming to the aid of budding or established entrepreneurs who need a boost in taking their businesses to the next level. In addition to partnering with Mississippi Cold Drip Coffee & Tea Co., ELSEWorks analysts this year are working with Jackson’s first microbrewery, Lucky Town Brewing Co., The Hatch, Repurposed Projects, and Pearl River Glass Studio—all in Midtown.

Working side by side with owners and staff, the students immerse themselves in their assigned business and develop ideas to help them thrive.

They’re guided by Culpepper and an ELSEWorks faculty team that includes Dr. Blakely Fender, professor of economics and J. Armistead Brown Chair of Business Administration; Dr. Ray Grubbs, professor of management; Dr. Penelope Prenshaw, professor of marketing ; and Joe Donovan, the Else School’s director of entrepreneurial development.

“We were asked to analyze everything from his financial statements to his operational plan in order to come up with recommendations on how he could further develop and improve his business,” Blake Price, 22, an M.B.A. student from Pensacola, Fla., said of working with Pearl River Glass Studio and its owner, Andy Young. “I began this process by reviewing all of his business documents and interviewing the employees in order to achieve an in-depth understanding of how the business operates.”

With guidance from faculty advisors, Price and fellow ELSE-

Works analysts laid the groundwork for building Pearl River Glass Studio’s business. “After we had identified improvements that could be made, we collaborated with each other to make an operational plan that detailed how the business should run, from the time they take on a new project until they finish the work,” he said.

“Once we finished this plan, we got a chance to present our recommendations to the owner of the business and a group of his top employees.”

The opportunity for a relationship with ELSEWorks analysts and Millsaps has been good not just for his business, but for Midtown, Young said. “The students came in and looked at our processes, then came back and gave us a thorough analysis based on their take on it,” he said. “I’m slowly implementing some of those things.”

Young, whose business is celebrating its 40th anniversary,

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deeply appreciates Millsaps’ support of Midtown and its business

double-majored in business administration and communications

community. “Everybody is interested in their own self-interest,

studies as a Millsaps undergraduate.

and Millsaps has an interest in making sure Midtown is a success,”

Although ELSEWorks is a graduate-level opportunity,

he said. “We’ve opened our doors to the Else School. They make

Millsaps undergraduates can earn a concentration in entrepre-

such a contribution to Midtown. ELSEWorks is a perfect fit.”

neurship, according to Prenshaw, who has guided curriculum

Master of business administration student Portia Waite of

development for the concentration. “Numerous undergraduate

Huntsville, Ala., helped spur economic development in Midtown

students benefit from the experiential learning aspects of these

with her work as an analyst for The Hatch, an incubator that’s

same projects through the courses we offer in Innovation, Entre-

part of a creative business development center dubbed The Hub

preneurial Finance, Entrepreneurial Investments, and Capstone

Midtown. The Hub also includes a building called The Hangar;

Entrepreneurship.”

together, they provide support to start-up and mid-level businesses and entrepreneurs.

“The faculty involved in these efforts have been inspired by our students and their commitment and zeal, and also the suc-

“Recently, we opened gallery space with funding from En-

cesses we’ve seen, especially in Midtown,” Culpepper said. “The

tergy and a crowdsourcing campaign using the platform Indiego-

Business Advantage Program, under the leadership of Dr. Fender,

go, which another student and I set up in November 2013,” said

has been responsible for training and nurturing so many leaders

Waite, 23, who received her undergraduate business administra-

in Midtown and deserves much credit for the progress there.

tion degree from Millsaps. “The gallery space is frequently used for displaying art from The Hub’s current tenants.”

“Despite challenges, there have remained committed residents, businesses and partners who, working together, have made

She’s thrilled to be working with the first tenant to be located

great strides in the community’s revitalization to the point that

in The Hatch. Mississippi Cold Drip Coffee & Tea Co. is slated to move there in Spring of 2015.

“It’s extremely rewarding to be part of the effort to bring the Midtown neighborhood back to life,” Waite said. “I’m learning how to

new residents and business-

“THE FACULTY INVOLVED IN THESE EFFORTS HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY OUR STUDENTS AND THEIR COMMITMENT AND ZEAL, AND ALSO THE SUCCESSES WEíVE SEEN, ESPECIALLY IN MIDTOWN.”ñ

manage projects—complete with conflicts, miscom-

— DR. DAVID H. CULPEPPER

all with a momentum that seems palpable.”

Being a part of the ELSEWorks project, Young said, “has been good all the way around. For students, being able to get some practical knowledge of how a business works is invaluable. The classroom atmo-

munications, and frequent technology hiccups. Just as all businesses are different, each

sphere is fairly abstract, so getting faces on ideas and seeing them

entrepreneur and situation we work with is distinct.

implemented is so valuable for students.”

“I am learning how to break out of the textbook solution and develop a customized way to meet that particular entrepreneur’s needs.”

Houston, Texas, native Samantha Wursteisen, also an M.B.A.

ELSEWorks’ greatest lessons often aren’t found in a textbook or classroom lecture, the analysts say.

“I have learned that sometimes knowledge alone is not enough, and that in order to get businesses to accept your ideas

student at Millsaps, is working with Patty Patterson, founder of

you must have excellent interpersonal communication skills,”

Repurposed Projects, to revamp her production line, reach more

Price said. “By working with real people and real businesses, I

customers, and ultimately increase sales. Patterson, one of the

have learned that sometimes, you can accomplish much more

many artists working to revitalize Midtown, constructs unique

just by listening than you can by talking.”

furniture pieces from recycled wooden shipping pallets.

“I really enjoy working with real businesses and learning about what it takes to run a successful company, large or small,” Wursteisen said.

She’s helped a number of entrepreneurs, including Repur-

Worch said she now knows to be “patient and persistent when working with others, and that sometimes, I have to let go of what I think is best and really listen to the ideas of my peers.

“I’ve learned that not every business situation is going to process quickly and easily, or even efficiently, but that it’s incred-

posed Projects’ Patterson, develop business plans and restructure

ibly rewarding to reach the end of a project and feel as though

company operations so they can maximize profits and efficiency.

we’ve made a difference, and to see our work in their business

“One of the most exciting aspects about working with real companies is seeing the results and how my efforts as a business analyst have been positively influential,” said Wursteisen, 23, who

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es are now being attracted—

www.millsaps.edu

processes.”

—RUTH CUMMINS

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BUILDING COMMUNITIES ONE CUP AT A TIME

Jackson lawyer Matthew P. McLaughlin, B.A. 1999, is part of the team responsible for bring- ing the community event 1 Million Cups to Jackson.

The concept of 1 Million Cups is simple: Every Wednesday from 9–10 a.m., people in major cities across the

McLaughlin worked with three associates on the application to bring 1 Million Cups to Jackson. Within two hours of submitting the application, McLaughlin and the rest of his team were on the phone with the Kauffman Foundation team.

“It was important to us that the event be in Midtown,” McLaughlin said, citing economic and social growth in the neighborhood. “Midtown is experiencing a creative surge and is a wonderful example of effective community development and the use of innovative problem solving to address modern urban-based neighborhood issues,” he said.

McLaughlin is well acquainted with the Midtown neighborhood as he serves as counsel to Midtown Partners, Inc. and was recruited to represent Lucky Town Brewing Company.

country gather to hear local entrepreneurs give sixminute presentations on their latest endeavors.

A six-minute talk is followed by a 20-minute question-and-answer session, allowing attendees to engage with other entrepreneurs in the community.

The events are part of the efforts of the Kauffman Foundation to foster entrepreneurship and economic growth. The name “1 Million Cups” refers to the coffee that local partners provide.

In Jackson, the event takes place each week in The Hatch in Midtown. Cups Espres-

McLaughlin’s goal with 1 Million Cups is to

“MIDTOWN IS bring Jackson’s best and brightest entrepreneurs to speak. “We have two rules that we EXPERIENCING A CREATIVE have to abide by: the business has to be SURGE AND IS A WONDERFUL less than three years old and it has to be EXAMPLE OF EFFECTIVE scalable,” he said.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT The speakers and audience at these events are intentionally diverse, and AND THE USE OF INNOVATIVE McLaughlin is pleased with how many PROBLEM SOLVING TO ADDRESS people whose paths might not have MODERN URBAN-BASED crossed anywhere else meet each other at 1 Million Cups.

NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES.”

so Café provides coffee thanks to Whitney Grant

Millsaps professors from the Else School

– MATTHEW P. McLAUGHLIN, B.A. 1999

of Management such as Dr. David H. Culpepper,

of Midtown Partners, who secured the partnership with the Jackson business.

When McLaughlin saw how other cities were benefitting from the community outreach offered by 1 Million Cups, he knew he wanted to bring the event to Jackson.

“These events are an entry level place for entrepreneurs to have open feedback and discussion with the community,” said McLaughlin, an attorney with Baker Donelson in Jackson. “You can’t wait on others or the government to create opportunities

chair of the ELSEWorks Initiative, and Dr. Penny Prenshaw, professor of marketing, regularly attend 1 Million Cups at The Hatch.

“Their involvement of the Else School in this town is longstanding and well-documented,” McLaughlin said. “Penny and David and the whole gang are there pretty much every Wednesday.”

—NELL LINTON KNOX, B.A. 2012

like this.”

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Dr. Jesse D. Beeler, professor of accounting at Millsaps College, has visited London countless times.

He’s watched through the years as students enrolled in the Else School of Management European Business Program, which takes them to some of the world’s great centers of business, grew in confidence thanks to their experiences.

“By living and studying abroad for an extended period, students learn to understand the nature of culture and identify the dimensions of culture,” he said. “They learn to identify differences and similarities between cultures, and explore the questions of why differences exist. Through international travel, students are able to shift their culture perspective by making non-evaluative descriptions of events and connections between these events. This allows students to create a context to better understand others, and why they think and act as they do. Such an understanding is essential for anyone who will be responsible for managing a multi-cultural workforce.”

The European Business Program offers students an opportunity to travel, study, and live with professors from Millsaps in three European cities—London, Munich, and Florence—each with its own distinctive culture and business practices.

In London, students stay in Carr Saunders Hall, a

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dorm of the London School of Economics, and study in the John Maynard Keynes classroom building at Birkbeck College. Both facilities are located in the Bloomsbury area of London. The open-air cafes, street entertainers, stylish shops, and markets make this area one of the city’s liveliest districts.

Students spend mornings Monday through Thursday in the classroom learning about the international practice of business. The primary focus is on the implications of culture and history on the practice of international business. In the afternoons, students visit businesses such as Lloyd’s of London, Sotheby’s, and the Bank of England.

While in Munich, students stay at the Ibis Hotel, a business hotel located near the city center and within easy walking distance of the main train station and many of the major attractions of the city. Classes are scheduled during the mornings at the University of Munich, and in the afternoons there are visits to businesses such as BMW’s Research and Development Center, Siemens International Headquarters, and Audi Headquarters in Ingolstadt.

In Florence, students stay at the Hotel San Giorgio, within walking distance to most major attractions.

Students study at the Academia Italiana and hear guest speakers from the fashion industry. There’s also a field trip to a working vineyard and winery.

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ELSE SCHOOL TRAVELS

DEST I N A TI O N YUCATÁN Yucatán, Mexico captivates its visitors as the land of eternal summer, fresh citrus, ancient Mayan architecture, and rich culture. After six years of offering study abroad classes in Yucatán, the Millsaps College Else School of Management established itself in this vibrant place in 2005, when business professors Dr. Jesse Beeler, Dr. David Culpepper, and Dr. Penny Prenshaw saw an opportunity to buy a house in Yucatán’s historic center of Merida.

Harvey Fiser, associate professor of business law, soon took over the Else School Yucatán program and Casa Millsaps.

Since then, Casa Millsaps has evolved into an innovative center for immersion learning for students from Millsaps and other colleges and universities. After years of patient renovations, community engagement, and a keen sense of business education, Fiser has transformed not only the Yucatán facilities, but also the Else School program as a whole, into one that features Yucatán and Casa Millsaps as another part of the quintessential Millsaps experience.

In January 2015, a class of 16 students in the Executive Masters of Business Administration Program took up a week-long stay in the nine-bedroom, ten-bath facility. Casa Millsaps features traditional architecture, a state-of-the-art conference room, a pool, and a rooftop patio overlooking Merida’s busy, colorful streets. With its central open floor plan, the house fosters community conversations after a long day spent exploring Merida.

Ann Becker, director of communications at Entergy and a current EMBA student, immediately embraced the environment during the trip. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget the sense of community we all felt right from the start in Merida,” said Becker.

“Seeing families out enjoying the beautiful weather, visiting and riding bikes up and down the wide and beautiful Paseo de Montejo set the tone for our entire visit.”

Fiser creates syllabi that embed participation in local traditions within the larger goals of a graduate level class. EMBA

during the Executive MBA program and apply those to a real world, economic case for the college.” For this class, International Law and Strategy, Fiser challenged the students to review the business model of Kaxil Kiuic, Millsaps’ rurally located biocultural reserve and home to ancient Mayan ruins. Fiser’s students researched questions on nonprofit management, economic opportunities, the Mexican legal system, and issues of sustainability alongside Kiuic’s current business plan, with the ultimate goal of implementing changes, which can help Kiuic to maximize its resources.

Becker emphasized the active nature of Fiser-style learning “That feeling of being swept up continued throughout our exploration of mysterious and enchanting Kaxil Kiuic, our tour of the bustling port at Progreso and our boat ride through the brilliant flamingos and mangroves of Celestun. Our instant recognition of the value of Yucatán’s remarkable and varied assets played a big part in how we developed our case analysis.” The Yucatán portion of the class culminated in a formal presentation of student analysis to Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps, and Maurice Hall, former chair of the Millsaps Board of Trustees.

Fiser said the team of students absorbed the culture of Yucatán while performing business research for Kaxil Kiuic.

This holistic perspective reflects the multi-faceted Millsaps Yucatán experience that will continue throughout the semester in Mississippi.

“As it turns out, our work is continuing now that we’re back home since our analysis and report were well-received,” Becker said. “We’re expanding our case study, so for us, the Yucatán experience continues.”

And while the Millsaps students have returned to the states, Casa Millsaps will remain occupied thanks to Fiser’s commitment to collaboration with other U.S. universities. The start of 2015 will bring students from colleges in Ohio, Georgia, West Virginia, California, and Texas to Casa Millsaps, where they, too, might regale a Meridian experience on a par with that constructed by Fiser and the Else School.

— ALLIE JORDAN, B.A. 2013, MILLSAPS COLLEGE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS LIAISON AND MANDI STRICKLAND, B.A. 2012

student Joel Deer considered study abroad as an “opportunity to take the business processes we have learned in the classroom Millsaps Magazine | Spring 2015

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Business knowledge across platforms Dr. Brad Ingram took 18 months of botany classes in college, but not a single business class. After completing medical school and working as a pediatric neurologist and epilepsy specialist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, he quickly realized he lacked the business skills needed to help run a department.

Thanks to co-workers at UMMC, Ingram learned about the Business Advantage Program at Millsaps College. Created in 2008, the Business Advantage Program is a one-semester course through the Else School of Management that provides business education for professionals. Classes meet two

odist Church in Clinton and executive director of “The United Methodist Hour” TV program, said he needed practical direction not only to help make better decisions for his church, but also with fostering a start-up nonprofit.

“They do not teach business that much in seminary,” said Casteel, who has served as a Millsaps College trustee. “As a person in the nonprofit and faith-based world, I was challenged to understand the importance of the fundamental tenets of the business world. I will change the way I engage the budgeting process more competently. Evaluations and staffing will change.

Marketing and strategies will

nights a week plus three Saturdays during a semester, and a certificate is awarded upon completion.

“As a physician I rapidly found myself making decisions and having conversations requiring business sense,” said Ingram, who completed the program in the fall of 2014. “This course was a great way to enhance my knowledge of

“It’s a perfect program for someone who has trained deeply in an area outside of business and now finds that they are required to operationalize their passion in the business world.”

– DR. BLAKELY FOX FENDER

a wide range of topics, making me much more efficient in my career.”

That is exactly why the program was created, said Dr. Blakely Fox Fender, J. Armistead Brown Chair of Business Administration at Millsaps and professor of economics who manages BAP. “It’s a perfect program for someone who has trained deeply in an area outside of business and now finds that they are required to operationalize their passion in the business world,” she said.

Interest in the course has only increased since first being offered, with cohorts growing from 16 during the first year to 26 in 2014. Relationships with organizations such as UMMC and Midtown Partners have helped grow the program. In 2014, participants included artists, physicians, medical researchers, communication experts, an architect, directors of nonprofits, and small business owners.

For the first time in the fall of 2014, five professionals from the Mississippi United Methodist Conference participated in the program. The Rev. Steve Casteel, pastor of First United Meth-

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receive much more attention and resources.”

Ginger Grissom, executive director of Wesley House Community Center in Meridian and a 2014 participant, echoes Casteel’s needs from the course.

“I am an executive who loves the ministry aspect of my job, but did not feel as knowledgeable as I needed to be in the areas of creat-

ing a budget, building a productive board of directors, or handling marketing, finance, strategy, and economics,” she said. “It has been an honor and a privilege to have this opportunity.”

Dr. Ahmad Abdelkarim, assistant professor and chair in the Department of Orthodontics at the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry, said taking the course demystified business and made it more approachable. “The program has been instrumental and beneficial. Since I had no basic background in business, I was pleasantly surprised that I could understand the world of business and become a businessman if I wanted to,” he said.

The seventh BAP class is scheduled to begin the second week of August and end the first week of December. A limited number of partial and full scholarships are available through the support of the Robert M. Hearin Foundation. For more information, contact 601-974-1250.

—BY SOPHIE McNEIL WOLF

As seen in CEO Magazine

THE MILLSAPS COLLEGE MBA AND EXECUTIVE MBA

NEXT STOP, WHEREVER YOU WANT. Located in Jackson, Mississippi, The Else School of Management at Millsaps College offers two distinct MBA programs taught by nationally ranked faculty. Let us help you continue your journey.

www.mba.millsaps.edu

MILLSAPS MAGAZINE

THE BUSINESS OF SPRING 2015

SCIENCE

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ELEMENTS OF

SUCCESS

BY JOHN WEBB

PHOTOS BY JEFFREY CAMARATI

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ou might say these two personalities had good chemistry, for their meeting of minds not only led to the creation of a multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical company but also a major, lifesaving advance in medicine.

It was the late 1990s, and James W. Crow, B.S. 1965, had distinguished himself with a 35-year career at the pharmaceuticals behemoth Burroughs Wellcome, where drugs like AZT, used to treat HIV, and the antiretroviral acyclovir were discovered. While developing a drug to replace heparin, an anticoagulant for dialysis patients, Crow and his team of researchers discovered that the agent, called epoprostenol (also prostacyclin, or Flolan), could treat patients with pulmonary hypertension, a rare and often fatal condition. Flolan was approved in 1995.

Enter the formidable entrepreneur Martine Rothblatt, a space law attorney who founded Sirius Satellite Radio. Rothblatt had a daughter with pulmonary hypertension who was under the care of one of Crow's best friends, Dr. Robyn Barst, a lung specialist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Rothblatt was aware of Flolan’s potential use in pulmonary hypertension and wanted to know who had developed it.

It was Crow, Barst told her, and Rothblatt was determined to contact him. After several unsuccessful attempts, she finally made contact.

“My secretary said, ‘You have got to take this call,’ ” recalled Crow, who left Burroughs Wellcome after the British pharmaceutical Glaxo acquired the company in 1995.

“Martine told me who she was and that her daughter had pulmonary hypertension,” said Crow, who received his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Mississippi in 1971. “She asked if I could meet her at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C. In fact, she said she had already FedExed me the tickets.”

Her proposal was direct: “I've formed companies, and your history is developing drugs,” she said. “Let's team up and start a company.”

Thus was conceived United Therapeutics in 1997, and Crow went to work above his garage. His mission was to in-license and develop a chemical analog—that is, a slightly altered version—of epoprostenol, which was under Crow’s domain at Burroughs Wellcome but had been shelved for future development by Glaxo.

“Flolan is a difficult drug to administer because it has a half life of seconds and has to be protected from light and cooled during infusion,” Crow said, adding that it is delivered intravenously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year by a device much like an insulin pump.

But it is worth the trouble. “Not only does it significantly improve survival in seriously ill patients, but within days these nonambulatory patients become mobile, return to work, and are able to take care of their families again,” Crow said.

At United Therapeutics, Crow embarked on the complex process of the multinational development of the new compound, called Remodulin, as a nonintravenous treatment for patients with pulmonary hypertension, shepherding it through clinical development—including phase one, administering single doses to healthy volunteers or patients; and phases two and three, testing it first in limited numbers 70

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of pulmonary hypertension patients and then in larger numbers

Crow drove down from Chapel Hill to Jackson to visit his dear

to establish efficacy and safety to meet regulatory standards.

friend in intensive care. Rueff died two hours before Crow arrived.

Crow then led discussions with the FDA, resulting in approval for marketing the new treatment in 2011.

Such FDA approval can take up to a decade, but not for this

Millsaps in the 1960s was active in civil rights, instilling in Crow a social consciousness that he said was sometimes at odds with his own industry. “Some individuals in industry and

determined team. “Working 20-hour days, we ended up getting

financial institutions get incredibly wealthy, making obscene

the drug approved in four years,” Crow said. “Seven is considered

amounts,” Crow said, adding that he felt some of their financial

quick.”

gain should be reinvested in society and in support of much ne-

The work paid off. United Therapeutics is now a multibilliondollar company, and at its helm is Rothblatt, who has become,

glected social justice issues.

Crow retired a second time in 2001 for medical reasons and in

according to a profile last fall in New York magazine, the highest-

2011 founded a second company, ACRIS Pharmaceuticals, with

paid female executive in America.

a mission to return substantial amounts of its profits to society.

Rothblatt was born Martin, not Martine, and had undergone

His new company takes drugs through early phases of clinical

gender reassignment surgery at age 40 in 1994. Crow said he was

development, greatly reducing the risk of failure, and out-licenses

at first unsure how to greet Martine. “I thought, how is this going

them to larger companies for more expensive clinical trials and

to work?” he said. “Ultimately, we became very good friends.”

marketing. It is a formula that he said could result in hundreds of

Friendships of all kinds are important to Crow, and among the very good friends Crow made at Millsaps were fraternity

millions in net profits.

In turn, 20 percent to 30 percent of profits of ACRIS will be

brothers in Lambda Chi Alpha and faculty mentors in the math-

invested in a trust and foundation and donated to academic in-

ematics department.

stitutions for scholarships, to the arts and sciences, and to social

“A math background at Millsaps gave me the foundation for

justice causes like eliminating the death penalty and addressing

analyzing and solving complex problems, which is essential for

poverty and homelessness, Crow said. “I think you owe to society

successful pharmaceutical development,” Crow said, adding that

a return of what society has invested in and given us,” he said.

Dr. Sam Knox, chairman of the math department from 1964 to 1988, had a significant influence on his academic life.

So did the midlevel instructor Bud Cook, who Crow said

Crow’s Millsaps days are not over. He recently threw a party with a classmate from Millsaps, Ann Henley, B.A. 1965, and Mary Frances Angle Vogler, B.A. 1962, both of whom live in Chapel

struck fear in the hearts of most math students. “Bud Cook had

Hill. About 30 people from the Chapel Hill area associated with

a reputation for being incredibly difficult,” he said, “but my pro-

Millsaps and Mississippi attended.

gram dictated that I had to enroll in his classes.”

Crow’s first class with Cook, analytical geometry, was relatively large, with an enrollment of 40 students. “On the first exam I made a 32 out of 100, the lowest grade in the class,” Crow said.

“Bill Baskin, chairman of romance languages at Millsaps during those years also showed up, giving all of us a chance to relive some very interesting times,” Crow said.

As it turns out, one of Crow’s good Chapel Hill friends is

“Cook said, ‘This is the worst example of a class I have had in my

Thomas S. Kenan III, an executive in the Kenan family business-

life,’ and offered students the option to withdraw passing, regard-

es and the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, which awards

less of grade.”

grants to top-tier academic institutions. Crow invited Kenan to

“Drop it,” Cook said, but Crow steadfastly refused.

dinner with Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps, who

“In the next class I made an 86—one of the highest grades in

was in Chapel Hill on business in 2014.

the class,” Crow said. “We ended up becoming very good friends.

Cook worked with me for hours—as much as I needed. That’s the great thing about Millsaps—the faculty’s patience and nurturing relationships with their students.”

One of Crow’s closest friends on campus, Tommy Rueff, B.S.

“They immediately hit it off,” Crow said. “Rob explained Millsaps, its goals and unique qualities to Tom.” "Introducing me to Tom Kenan was an incredibly gracious and meaningful gesture on Jim's part,” Pearigen said. “Not only was it a delightful evening, but it placed Millsaps on the radar

1964, hoped Crow would follow his example and enroll in the pre-

screen of one of the most important philanthropic organizations

medical curriculum at Millsaps and attend medical school. Rueff

in the country.”

told Crow: “For God’s sake, quit math and go to medical school.

Why not do something useful?”

“I said, ‘It’s none of your damn business,’ said Crow. “We con-

As result of the dinner and the Kenan Trust's subsequent invitation to Millsaps to submit a proposal, Pearigen said the College received a $265,000 matching grant that will provide need-based

tinued to talk several times each day, ever since we left Millsaps.

scholarship assistance and research opportunities for Jackson

If ever I needed anything he would be there, and vice versa. He

Public Schools graduates who enroll at Millsaps as Kenan-Mill-

was truly one of my best friends.”

saps Scholars (see page 8).

A Jackson surgeon, Rueff passed away in November 2014.

And that’s good chemistry.

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SAVING LIVES BEHIND THE SCENES

BY JOHN WEBB

Daisy Richardson, B.S. 2003, says she arrived at Millsaps College intending to go on to medical school so she could impact people’s lives. But, as so many students find, Millsaps has a way of opening—and changing—minds, leading to new ways of seeing themselves, their world, and their futures.

For Richardson, the catalyst of change was Dr. Timothy J. Ward, associate dean of sciences. “Dr. Ward opened my eyes to the fact that there are many other pathways for women in science,” said Richardson, director of analytical development of biologics at Merck in Kenilworth, N.J. “He was a great mentor who showed me the many other ways I could impact people’s lives.”

For the 10,000 Americans who develop metastatic melanoma annually, that impact has been felt immeasurably. Richardson’s work in bioprocessing at Merck helped lead to FDA approval in September of the drug Keytruda, which has been called by Forbes a “triumph” for the pharmaceutical giant.

Richardson, who started at Merck in 2008 as an entry-level scientist, has been devoted to the development of Keytruda and a host of monoclonal antibody therapies that stimulate the body’s immune system, strengthening its arsenal against disease.

Now working as the director of a group of 17 scientists, Richardson credits Millsaps with teaching her how to approach the complex dynamics of leading a team. “One thing about Millsaps is that it encourages listening and engagement,” she said. “We were encouraged to be open to the opinions of other students, which gives you perspectives from other fields of study.”

Her talent for teamwork helped Merck obtain FDA approval of Keytruda in record time. “It was amazing— the collaboration Merck had from the FDA,” Richardson said. “There was constant communication. The FDA wanted to approve the drug to make it available to the public, and they were able to approve it quickly based on the package of analytical data we provided.”

The breakthrough medication was designed for those melanoma patients for whom the standard of care— that is, the most common treatment—does not work. “Of 173 participants in trials, tumors shrank in 24 percent of patients and the effect lasted from about one and a half to eight and a half months,” Richardson said.

Drugs like Keytruda are becoming more prevalent in medicine and have a higher success rate because they imitate the body’s natural processes, Richardson said. In other words, researchers find out which molecules in the body help fight cancer, and make more of them. “The exact mechanism of the drug is still under evaluation, and we’re getting a more thorough understanding of the way the body works,” Richardson said.

Richardson said her job at Merck was “behind the scenes,” designing tests to ensure that the quality of the drugs they produce is consistent and safe. “We're producing these complex drugs, so there has to be quality control from lot to lot and consistency so patients don’t have to worry about that.”

It was Ward who led Richardson to pursue a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry at the University of Cincinnati, where she focused on mass spectrometry. “He had a colleague there and endorsed the research U.C. was doing,” she said. “I didn’t want to leave Mississippi, but Dr. Ward convinced me that Cincinnati was a good place. My parents are from that area, as well.”

Said Ward: “I was delighted to hear of Daisy’s incredible success as a part of a team that helped discover a new class of cancer drugs that will ultimately help so many people. Her ability to work as part of a team and the values she developed and honed at Millsaps not only made her an excellent undergraduate researcher, but also equipped her to contribute to society in meaningful and tangible ways.

“She is another Millsaps grad making a significant difference in our world.”

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Finding new ways to examine issues and topics with current applications is nothing new to a Millsaps education, and Professor Harvey Fiser and Dr. Patrick Hopkins are making sure the tradition continues.

In 2014, Hopkins, professor of philosophy, and Fiser, associate professor of business law, were awarded a grant from the Associated Colleges of the South to develop the class “Neuroscience, Business, and Law.” Development of the class began with applying for and getting accepted into the competitive Neuroscience Boot Camp at the University of Pennsylvania, where Hopkins and Fiser were part of a class of 25 people from across the country representing academia, industry, and law. Participants included executives from DuPont Chemical, CitiGroup, a faculty member from the Whar-

ton School of Business, faculty from New York University, a director at the Franklin Institute, and a judge from the Superior Court of California.

“The nine intensive days of neuroscience at Penn not only helped us jump start both the development of the class, but was also a boost for our research in the intersection of these new fields in brain research to applications in the business world, and particularly employment law,” Fiser said.

After completion of the “boot camp,” Fiser and Hopkins began work on the development of a comprehensive paper on the intersection of neuroscience and employment law. The presentation of an initial draft of their paper at a conference on “Neuro-Interventions and the Law” was enthusiastic enough that the two submitted their final draft to one of the top business ethics journals in the country.

The official abstract of the paper provides some insight into the complexity of the issue:

Employers have long had programs that might improve employee attitude and performance, from something as simple as free coffee in the break room to things as extensive as gyms, counseling, massages,

team-building seminars, and skills training. But what about more direct means of altering employee performance?

Neurotechnology could allow for more powerful and precise methods of screening for desired traits and for modifying abilities. In this paper we will examine the legal and moral issues involved using neurotechnology in the employment context. We identify major types of technologies, the areas of employment where they might be used, and the laws affecting such. We lay out a comprehensive analytical framework for identifying issues, discuss how current law might deal with new technologies, and describe the major possible policies that could be implemented to deal with employment neurotechnology.

“Everyone on a college campus is familiar with students using nonprescription Adderall to boost their studying and grades,” Hopkins said. “Guess what? It’s used all over, and not just that one drug. Drugs are out there for improving memory, reducing the need for sleep, making you more aggressive, making you less anxious, even making you more loyal to your group.”

Hopkins continued, “And it’s not just drugs. There are magnetic stimulators, neural implants, electrical-current wearable technology that can do the same things. What happens when employers require or encourage you to use these? Or what happens when some job applicants use them to compete for work?”

During the “Neuroscience, Business and Law” class developed by Fiser and Hopkins, students explore everything from the intersection of criminal law and behavior to employment and business law applications, including neuroscience applications to marketing.

The graduate students have even drafted state and federal legislation to implement some of the ideas and issues identified in their research.

The next steps of research on this topic are still to be fully defined, but Fiser and Hopkins, along with their students, are bringing a new level of understanding to “the science of business.”

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Coffee samples are prepared appropriately, diluted, and injected into the Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) instrument.

Samples of Mississippi Cold Drip Coffee, which is sold only in liquid form, are collected.

The separated compounds are converted from a liquid into a gas form and introduced into the instrument’s detector where it is broken into fragments.

In the LC-MS instrument, the coffee mixture is separated into its various components.

After identifying the compound such as caffeine from its fragments, the instrument provides a report identifying each component and how much is present.

Relative Intensity

The detector analyzes the fragments broken off from the specific compound and reassembles the fragments’ data using a mathematical program, analogous to putting a puzzle back together to identify the compound.

m/z

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MILLSAPS’ KECK CENTER

SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND EDUCATES OUR UNDERGRADUATES When pottery from centuries ago is discovered at an archaeological site in Yucatán, Mexico or elsewhere, there’s more work to be done to uncover its history. After an oil spill occurs along a beach, a need arises to analyze oil and sand in the affected area. And as small businesses grow and develop new products, they, too, require testing but for the purpose of quality control.

Scientists at the W.M. Keck Center for Instrumental and Biochemical Comparative Archaeology, a laboratory facility housed at Millsaps College, have played a role in all of those scenarios.

Funded by generous grants from the W.M. Keck Foundation and the National Science Foundation, the center is designed to support interdisciplinary research and educate undergraduates in advanced archaeometric and biochemical research methods, said Dr. Timothy Ward, associate dean of sciences and professor of chemistry who directs the lab.

In 2013, chemists at the center worked with Millsaps College undergraduates to analyze chemical residues in prehistoric Native American ceramic vessels believed to offer the earliest known evidence for black drink consumption. Black drink, a caffeinated tea-like beverage brewed from holly leaves and stems, was once used during cleansing rituals and religious ceremonies.

More recently, the center analyzed another drink: coffee. ELSEWorks, the entrepreneurial arm of the Else School of Management at Millsaps, introduced Mississippi Cold Drip Coffee to the center, and it used the lab to test caffeine and acidity levels in its product.

The Keck Center’s work has included: • Chemical analyses of organic residues in fragments of pottery for black drink at Cahokia, a collaboration with the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M.; Illinois State Archaeological Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, IL, Technical Center, Hershey, Pa. • Analysis of glass samples, a collaboration with the Field Museum in Chicago • Chemical analysis of formative pottery from the Puuc region, Maya site of Xocnaceh, Yucatán, Mexico; Millsaps College / The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia • Characterization and safety monitoring of recycling polymer; Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, Else School of Management at Millsaps • Oil residue and dispersant analysis of sands from the Mississippi Gulf Coast after an oil spill, a collaboration with the Audubon Society, Vicksburg • Analysis of excavations from El Chichicaste and Dos Quebradas, Honduras, a collaboration with Auburn University • Chemical analysis of Greek soils from the Mycenaean site of Iklaina—University of Missouri, St. Louis • Chemical analysis of pottery for residual Cacao, collaboration with the Hershey Technical Center, Hershey, Pa. • Chemical analysis of Roman pottery from Durrës, Albania with the Albanian Institute of Archaeology, Tirana, Albania

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After going 12-2 in the conference regular season, the Millsaps Majors women’s basketball team hosted the 2015 Southern Athletic Association Women's basketball tournament Feb. 27 through March 1 in the Hangar Dome.

The Majors started the weekend with an 85-64 victory over Birmingham-Southern College on Friday afternoon, and a 59-41 victory over Hendrix College on Saturday sent the team into the conference final on Sunday. Despite a tremendous effort, the Majors fell short against Rhodes College in the title game, 62-46.

Chuck Winkelman, head women’s basketball coach at Millsaps, said the final game did not go as planned and expected, but he was inspired by the team because it did not give up until the bitter end and also by the spectators who cheered for the team until the final buzzer.

Between the semi-finals of the tournament, Millsaps senior guard Velvet Johnson was named the Southern Athletic Association Player of the Year for the 2014-15 season.

Johnson enjoyed her finest season, scoring 439 points this season (16 points per game), which helped her set Millsaps history as the highest scorer, with 1,449 career points.

Johnson also dished out 80 assists, 90 rebounds for the season, and led the SAA with over 37 minutes played per game. In the regular season finale, Johnson broke Erin Clark's 25-year school scoring record and became the only person in Millsaps' history to top 1,400 career points.

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NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME GETS IT RIGHT Sports columnist Rick Cleveland put it like this earlier this year: “The so-called football factories contributed by far the most to the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2015. No surprise there. You’ve got superstars such as Ricky Williams of Texas, Brian Bosworth of Oklahoma, Trev Alberts of Nebraska and Wes Chandler of Florida…

“And right there, right in the middle of them, you’ve got: Sean Brewer, Millsaps College.

“He may be a surprise, but he belongs.

“Congratulations to Brewer, but also congrats to the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame for getting it right and for recognizing that excellence sometimes comes in smaller packages, from smaller places.”

In the 1990s, Brewer rewrote the Division III record books during his career at Millsaps. Brewer is the lone defensive lineman and one of five players in Division III history to be a threetime All-American. Brewer accomplished the three-peat his sophomore through senior years (1990-1992). Brewer was also a two-time Champion USA All-America First Team honoree (1991 and 1992), as well as the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

“My four years at Millsaps will always be remembered as one of the best experiences of my life,” Brewer said.

Brewer is the Majors’ all-time leader in solo tackles with 332, quarterback sacks (52), and is second in total tackles with 435. He also holds the single-season record in solo tackles (99) and sacks (15).

In 2013, the USA Football Network awarded Brewer, B.S. 1992 and Millsaps Sports Hall of Fame member (Class of 2004), one of the highest honors in Division III football. The Division III Defensive Lineman of the Year Award is now known as the Sean Brewer Award, recognizing the Major for his stellar four-year career.

Brewer will be inducted along with the rest of the 2015 College Football Hall of Fame Class at the 58th National Football Foundation annual awards dinner on Dec. 8 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The inductees will also be honored at the National Hall of Fame Salute at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2016. Their accomplishments will be forever immortalized in the new College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Brewer will be recognized during the Millsaps Athletics Hall of Fame banquet on May 15 at the Capital Club in Jackson and during a Millsaps home football game in the fall.

Defensive Player of the Year those same two seasons.

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SMALL STATURE IN A

GIANT’S

WORLD Caroline McKey is small in stature, but she plays volleyball like a giant—so much so that she was named the Southern Athletic Association’s Player of the Year for the 2014 season.

The win marks the second time in three years that a Millsaps Major earned the honor. Kasey Laird, B.S. 2013, a middle blocker, was the 2012 Southern Athletic Association Player of the Year.

Standing 5-feet, 5-inches tall, McKey said her height just made her practice and play even harder. “I came into Millsaps thinking that I would only play defense, but Coach Fisher believed in me and saw the potential for me to be an all around player. My competitive nature made up for my height deficit. I focused on increasing my vertical during the off seasons, and I consistently worked hard to be in shape,” she said.

Millsaps volleyball head coach Jamie Fisher said McKey is one of the hardest working, most competitive players she has coached. “Her growth as a player and leader over the last four years has been incredible to be a part of. She is a true all-around player and one of the main reasons for our team’s success,” she said.

McKey, named to the All-Region Team, became the eleventh Major to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Millsaps players Lexus Andrews and Taylor Ziegler were named to the second team of the SAA All-Conference team.

McKey helped lead the Majors to win their first 11 matches and an incredible 25 sets in a row. The team finished in second-place in conference play.

A senior psychology major from Baton Rouge, La., McKey credits volleyball with bringing her to Millsaps. “I knew that I wanted to go to a small college similar to my high school. I loved the closeness of my teachers and their genuine interest in my life. Millsaps offered that to me and a chance to play a sport that I truly loved,” she said.

McKey already has her plans after graduation mapped out, and it involves the game of tennis, which she played until she was about 13.

“My sister and I have bought a tennis franchise that started in London called Teddy Tennis. It is for two-and-a-half year olds to sixyear-olds and helps them learn the basics of tennis and to love the sport before true competition, something that I am very passionate about. I will be running the franchise in Baton Rouge while my older sister runs the franchise in Houston, Texas,” she said.

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Lukas Elmhammar

Lukas Elmhammar grew up playing soccer in Sweden, and Nico Roth did the same in Germany.

For the last two years, the two Millsaps students have played together as Majors, most recently earning first- and third-team All-Region Awards from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and first-team All-Southern Athletic Association nods.

“I am very proud of the guys and their efforts this season,” said Steve Voltz, head men’s soccer coach at Millsaps. “They worked extremely hard and deserve this honor, but this would not have happened without a strong team effort all season as well. It helps set high expectations for next year.”

Elmhammar, a native of Stockholm who is completing his junior year, led the Majors with 16 goals, eight assists, and 40

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points in 2014, and earned first-team All-Region honors. Both his goals and points totals are second in Millsaps’ history for a single season. Elmhammar shattered a Majors’ record with eight of his 16 goals proving to be the game-winner. He received Academic All-American status, receiving a spot on the national third team.

Roth, who is completing his junior year, ended the 2014 season with nine goals and 24 points, winning third-team All-Region honors. The forward had a trio of two-goal games and has helped the Majors to a pair of SAA regular season titles during his two years in Jackson.

While soccer drew both Elmhammar and Roth to Millsaps, so did their desire to attend a small college with strong academics.

Roth met Voltz through an agency that connects coaches and German athletes and found Millsaps offered what he desired.

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Nico Roth

“I did research about Millsaps and especially the Else School

Germany is still not decided. There is a slight chance that I might

of Management—with its excellent reputation as well as AACSB

try to play soccer on a professional level in the U.S. after I earn

accreditation—since I was interested in majoring in either ac-

my master’s degree, but that is not a likely scenario,” he said.

counting or business administration,” he said. “After that I was

Elmhammar moved to moved to Louisiana at age 18 as a

in contact with several people from different departments at

foreign exchange student and liked it so much he wanted to stay

Millsaps such as soccer players already on the team, Molly West

in the U.S. to attend college. “I wanted to go somewhere close

in the enrollment office, Dr. Patrick Taylor and Dr. Jesse Beeler at

to where I went to high school to stay in touch with my friends.

the Else School, and Dean Brit Katz, each of whom expressed an

Millsaps was the best option for me since it has a men’s soccer

interest in having me at Millsaps,” Roth said.

program as well as a good business school,” he said.

“I noticed a mindset which is, in my opinion, unique among U.S. colleges. Whether it is faculty, staff, or even fellow students, all try to assist you in a way that helps you to succeed in your field

He plans to attend graduate school after he earns his degree in accounting.

Playing soccer at Millsaps has been fun, Elmhammar said.

of interest. This had a crucial impact on me and probably made

“One thing I like about playing here is that you get really close

the difference in me choosing Millsaps over another college.”

to your teammates. In Sweden where I played for a club team, I

Roth plans to receive his bachelor’s degree in accounting in May 2016 and then pursue a master of accountancy, preferably in

never saw my teammates outside of soccer. Here, I see my teammates all the time, especially since Millsaps is a small school.”

the U.S. “Whether I will start working in the U.S. or move back to

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VIEWING THE WORLD THROUGH MY CAMERA LENS With a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Millsaps College and a master’s degree in studio art with an emphasis in photography from the University of New Mexico, Kathleen Robbins found herself searching for her future.

It was the first time I’d ever lived for any length of time outside of Mississippi,” said Robbins, who grew up in Greenwood.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do when I finished graduate school. I felt compelled to return home.”

It was just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Her brother had

This spring, she’ll have a book coming out, Into the Flatland, a collection of her riveting photography of the Mississippi Delta and what it’s like to live there. Already, the 43-photo collection has traveled as an exhibit to universities and museums nationwide, including the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston, S.C., and the Baum Gallery at the University of Central Arkansas. She also has presented a show at the University of Mississippi’s University Museum.

One of her photographs, “Asher at the Big House,” shows her small son, Asher, peering through a condensation-stained window, the house’s white pillars visible in the background. Another,

completed his graduate degree in entomology in 1998 and recently

“Blackbirds,” is a vision of thousands of blackbirds flying en

started a family. The two decided to relocate to the family’s farm—

masse across a twilight Delta sky.

her grandparents’ farm—near Minter City in Leflore County.

And then there’s “Little Steele Christmas Day,” a small boy in

She felt a call, deep in her soul, to return to the Delta, its

camouflage pants grasping with both hands a set of deer antlers,

sounds, its sights, even its smells.

“My grandmother used to say she felt as much possessed by the place as she possessed it,” Robbins, 38, said of the land culti-

standing in an expanse of cropland, a white dog and a black dog killing time yards behind him.

Since 2011, Robbins has been working on a photography

vated by her family for six generations. “I knew what she meant. I

project “that’s an offshoot of the Flatland project, about cotton

felt I was going to be swallowed up by the landscape.”

farmers in the Delta,” she said. “I haven’t exhibited the new work

“It’s muddy and moist in the winter in the Delta. We thought it would be easy to go back, but it turned out to be a lot more complicated than we anticipated. There were houses there that were uninhabited and hadn’t been lived in for decades.”

from In Cotton, but it’s pretty widespread on the Internet and has gotten some nice exposure from NPR and CNN.” “The reason I do this is primarily because of where I grew up and how I grew up,” Robbins said. “I have always had a significant

During that couple of years on the family’s farm, Rob-

connection to this place that is my family farm, and to my grand-

bins found the inspiration—and the opportunity —to hone her

mother, the matriarch of that farm. I make photographs as a way

photography skills and nurture her ability to teach. “I contacted

of understanding my relationship to that place, and to my family.”

Delta State University, the nearest school to the farm and about a

An important part of her journey, Robbins said, was her deci-

40-minute drive. I said I’d love to be in touch if you need someone

sion to attend Millsaps after visiting campus as a high school se-

to teach photography.”

nior. “I loved Millsaps. I loved the community,” she remembered.

It happened that a professor was going on sabbatical. Her

During the visit, a childhood friend who attended the same

experience at Delta State positioned her to apply for the job she

summer camp took her to class. “I remember being overwhelm-

began in 2003 at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

ingly smitten with the whole experience. I knew I was comfort-

Today, she is a professor of art and photography and directs the

able there from the get-go,” Robbins said.

photography program in the School of Visual Art and Design.

She arrived in fall 1994, and like many freshmen, had not a

Robbins also is on the affiliate faculty of the university’s Institute

clue about what to major in. “What I loved about Millsaps was that

for Southern Studies.

I was able to take a vast array of courses in the humanities, and I

But just as importantly, her reconnection to the family farm and her Delta roots has inspired much of her life’s work and the way she connects to her students.

was interested in all of them across disciplines,” Robbins said.

Inspired by her grandmother’s skills as a painter, Robbins enrolled in a studio art class. “ I never truly had the ability to be a

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BLACKBIRDS, 2007, ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT, 30” X 30”

ASHER ON BELLE CHASE, 2010, 30” X 30”

painter,” she said. “But when I took my first photography course,

of. It’s technically sound, but also profound and meaningful and

it stuck in a way that the others didn’t. I knew then I could major

thoughtful.”

After marrying husband Ben in 2006 and starting a family,

in art.”

“She had such a curious eye,” said one of Robbins’ best-loved

Robbins said, “It became clear to me that I would not be return-

professors, Dr. Elise Smith, professor of art history and the Sand-

ing to the farm. We go back for a visit in the summer for two or

erson Chair in the Arts and Sciences.

three weeks, and a couple of weeks at Christmas.

“When we are there together, I have a profound sense of sad-

Robbins “had the intelligence behind that to look widely, and to see what image carried a lot of weight,” Smith said. “She has

ness. I’ve realized that no one will ever live on the farm again. It

the ability to capture what’s distinctive about what she’s looking

can be a difficult, remote place to live.”

Those emotions led Robbins to begin Into the Flatland. “I

at. She’s very smart, but to be a great artist, you have to be more than smart.”

As Robbins approached graduation from Millsaps in 1998,

made photographs on the farm and returned to Columbia to process the film. When I viewed the transparencies, I realized it was

she took a seminar under Roland Freeman, a Washington, D.C.-

my way of coming to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t live there

based photographer and documenter of Southern folk culture.

again. Into the Flatland is about family obligation and what it’s

The Eudora Welty Visiting Professor of Southern Studies encour-

like to leave a very rural place.”

aged her to apply to the master’s program at the University of New Mexico.

“That semester with Roland Freeman was really important

Melissa Meacham, Millsaps’ director of graduate admissions, remembers her childhood friend’s love of art as the two grew up in the Delta.

for me. It changed everything about the path I took there on out,” she said of the master’s program she completed in 2001.

It was equally significant that Robbins made the decision to return to Mississippi, Smith said.

“She came back to the Delta and repositioned herself there,” Smith said. “In her case, personal reasons brought her back, and she used that reconnection to make it that much more meaningful.”

Robbins teaches classes ranging from introductory to gradu-

her grandmother and her heritage. When she came to Millsaps, she was introduced to photography and was able to go back to the Delta and capture her memories, and has now turned them into art.

“Millsaps gave her the tools to share some of her deepest memories and to show the world the beauty of the Mississippi Delta,” Meacham said. “Her love and desire to teach has made

ate level, including a course entitled “Photography in the Rural

her successful. Millsaps and her family gave her the foundation

South” through the Institute for Southern Studies.

to be a talented artist.”

“Most of what I teach— and Millsaps prepared me well for

“I’m really proud of what she’s accomplished,” Smith said of

this—is about teaching students the language of photography,

her former art history student. “It’s really intriguing that she’s

and how to have an in-depth conversation about their work and

from Mississippi, then went way out West to a completely differ-

to find their voice as an artist,” Robbins said. “By the end of their

ent landscape—and then came back.”

program of study, they’re doing work that I’m incredibly proud

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—RUTH CUMMINS

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Celebrating the classes of 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR MAJOR MEMORIES?

YOU CAN STILL ORDER YOUR BOBASHELA. GET A SENIOR AD FREE WITH PAID PURCHASE. MILLSAPS.EDU/YEARBOOK

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Radically inclusive. That is how Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco describes itself.

Those words might also describe Glide Associate Pastor Theon Johnson III, B.A. 2006, who while attending Millsaps deliberately set out to find common ground with every element of the College’s rich mosaic of students. He befriended those from every cultural, racial, and social demographic, every fraternity and sorority, every academic club or cafeteria klatsch, from football players to the Singers, from popular students in the spotlight to those waiting in the wings.

“I moved in every circle because I was fascinated with diversity and wanted relationships with many different kinds of people,” said Johnson, the first African-American student government president at the College and a member of the Millsaps Hall of Fame. “I walked with and worked alongside people who reflected all parts of campus life. I sat at different tables in the Caf ’ and befriended people in all departments—not only faculty and staff, but also dining and maintenance workers, many of whom I knew by name.”

When he arrived at Millsaps, Johnson planned to pursue the sciences, but theology and government ultimately proved more compelling. “As I took classes in religious studies and politics, I found I had love for religion and diversity of thought,” Johnson said. “And I had a sensitivity to walking alongside those seen as outsiders.”

It follows that Dr. Darby Ray, the former director of the College’s Faith & Work Initiative who took the Millsaps community beyond the College gates to diverse urban Jackson, would have an enormous impact on Johnson’s life.

Ray, who left Millsaps in 2012 to become director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at Bates College in Maine, wove together academia and theology in a way that Johnson would not forget. “Darby Ray brought the church and the academy together,” Johnson said, “and she invited me to look more closely at what it would mean to bring my voice to the ministry.”

Johnson said he had been considering an academic career when he received a seminal email: “What about the church, Theon?” Ray asked. “Is there no summons for you there?”

ally found his way to Glide, a nationally prominent, progressive church on the border of San Francisco’s Union Square and Tenderloin districts—an intersection where the city’s moneyed and impoverished populations overlap in stark relief. “You can go out one side of the church and find the San Francisco Hilton and another side and buy drugs on the street,” Johnson said.

“In the 1930s, the congregation looked very different from that of today”—when doctors and lawyers, prostitutes, and heroin addicts might be seated in the same pew. “It was predominantly upper middle class, women in mink coats, and turned a blind eye to injustices across the city.”

But since the 1960s Glide has been championing social causes and is, according to its literature, devoted to creating “a just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization.” As such, the Glide community was active in passing California’s Proposition 47, which redefined nonviolent offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. “Someone who steals a dress is not the same as an axe murderer, and this proposition will help alleviate the disproportionate incarceration of people of color,” Johnson said.

Given its nationally progressive status, Glide has hosted such luminaries as the late Maya Angelou, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Nancy Pelosi, and recently the prominent civil rights activist Van Jones, of CNN’s “Crossfire.”

Of course, Johnson finds himself in the thick of it. “One day I might be serving a meal to our hungry—who number from 600 to 1,800 a day; giving a sermon in afternoon; taking up a bullhorn to participate in a rally at City Hall that night; and shaking hands with a member of Congress the next morning,” he said.

“The love that I have for my community invites me down from the pulpit to the streets. You might find me walking with a homeless member of our community, sitting on a park bench with someone at the end of his rope—diagnosed with a disease, maybe, or a drug addict. I get to walk with folks in a way that is much more authentic than is possible in many other religious communities.”

Living differently in a world divided by class, race, sexual orientation, education, and social status is what Johnson is all about. “At Glide, our community has developed a theology that matters,” he said. “And one that is relevant to our times.”

—JOHN WEBB

It turns out he felt a powerful calling, and Johnson eventu-

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE ACROSS AMERICA It was 2005, and Brian Wallace was a Millsaps College senior, poised to graduate in May with a degree in anthropology and still figuring out what to do with it.

He was the first in his family to go to college. A master’s degree made sense as the next step. It didn’t work out that way.

“I’d been really considering going to graduate school for anthropology,” said Wallace, who was born in Memphis and grew up in Olive Branch. “But as my senior year played out, I thought

As the year progressed, Wallace built relationships with students and families. “I had a vision that every single kid in this country deserves a quality education, and the key to our country living up to its promise starts with great public schools.”

He found that he loved his job. Wallace signed up for a second year, then was recruited into the regional office.

“A lot of the things I learned at Millsaps have been hugely helpful tools,” Wallace said. “I learned to observe interactions between people. I use that a whole lot in coaching teachers.”

Wallace, who received a master’s in special education in 2007

I was in a space where I wanted to do something different. I’d

from Pace University, is an example of someone who uses skills

heard of Teach for America. I didn’t know any more than I’d been

such as logic, planning, and management to figure out the best

able to find out online, but I applied.”

way to achieve his goals, said Dr. Patrick Hopkins, a professor in

Teach for America seeks to eliminate educational inequity and injustice by finding, training, and supporting people who

the Department of Philosophy who taught Wallace at Millsaps.

“A lot of students will have noble ideas, but very little under-

share that vision and placing them in high-need classrooms

standing of how to make the changes in the world they’d like

across the country. Wallace landed an interview with Teach for

to make,” Hopkins said. “I’m always happy when I come across

America in Memphis.

students who are really trying to do some good out in the world,

“I remember leaving the interview and thinking there’s no way I got it,” Wallace said. “I had no previous teaching experi-

and always proud of students who are doing it effectively.”

Anthropology “is about a willingness to sit down and listen

ence. But, I was willing to learn, and I had a growth-oriented

to other people, and to respect their experiences,” said another

mindset. I wanted to be a teacher in a low-income community.”

of Wallace’s teachers, Dr. George Bey, professor of anthropology

Just weeks after graduation, he found himself in New York City

and the Chisholm Foundation Chair in Arts and Sciences. “We

as a Teach for America corps member assigned to teach fourth-

teach our students to go out and be open to other cultures, and

grade special education students for the 2005-06 school year.

that’s helped Brian to find a place for himself in the Bronx.”

Most Teach for America recruits work in the nation’s poorest

Wallace’s success can be seen in the numbers. “In the Bronx

urban districts. A good number only stay the expected two years.

in the past two years, 71 percent of the Teach for America corps

Wallace chose to stay the course.

chose to stay, at least for a third year,” Wallace said.

Today, the 32-year-old is in his eighth year at Teach for Amer-

“There’s no way I could have predicted it, but his path to

ica’s New York regional office. He manages the Bronx program,

Teach for America makes perfect sense,” said Dr. Julian Murchi-

leading a team of Teach for America coaches who guide and sup-

son, associate professor of anthropology and chair of the Depart-

port the 304 teachers in the Bronx’s public schools.

ment of Sociology and Anthropology.

He’s come a long way from that first year, a period that

“He’s very intelligent, and that was obvious from the get-go,”

opened his eyes to the overwhelming need for kids to have access

Murchison said. “But, he also stood out because even as a first-

to a quality education without regard to family finances. And, it

year student, he seemed mature beyond his years in terms of his

brought to mind lessons he learned as an anthropology major.

world view, and things he wanted to act on in the world.”

“Millsaps was one of the first places I came to reconcile my

Wallace and his wife, a physician from New York City, make

own identity as a Southern white male committed to racial equal-

their home in Manhattan. His focus hasn’t changed since his

ity, and what it means to be an ally in that fight, and how I should

first year in Teach for America: fighting for every child’s right to a

stand up and have a voice—and when I should not be in the spot-

quality education.

light, but instead play a supporting role,” Wallace said.

His first few months were “a combination of feeling unpre-

“Now, we have specific goals,” he said of his Bronx program.

“We need to be a stabilizing force in the public schools, rather

pared—this was not what I expected —and being really enraged

than a destabilizing force. We encourage our corps members from

at the conditions created around my students,” Wallace said.

day one that our intention for them is to stay much longer than

“They had internalized the idea that they weren’t smart, and that

the two-year commitment.”

was harming motivation. And, I was angry at myself: Who in the

—RUTH CUMMINS

world am I, not from this community, to come in and think I had something to contribute?”

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Andy Mullins, B.A. 1970

The Rev. Ricky James, B.A. 2004

Alumni celebrated for all they do 2014 Alumnus of the Year: Dr. Andy Mullins

major in education, and also the Mississippi Principal Corps,

Dr. Andy Mullins has served as special assistant and advisor to two Mississippi governors, three state superintendents of education and three University of Mississippi chancellors. He chairs the Millsaps College Board of Visitors, which builds upon years of work by alumni and the Millsaps College Office of Institutional Advancement.

tute of Interfaith Dialogue for his service in education.

A 1966 graduate of Noxubee County High School in Macon, Mullins earned a B.A. in history from Millsaps College in 1970.

He went on to earn a M.Ed. in history from Mississippi College

awards, including the 2011 Public Service Award from The Insti-

2014 Outstanding Young Alumnus: The Rev. Ricky James The Rev. Ricky James has served as senior pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Jackson since 2010, providing pastoral and administrative leadership to a growing parish of more than 300 members and a 12-member staff.

He earned a B.A. in philosophy and religious studies from

in 1976 and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the

Millsaps College in 2004, a Master of Divinity from Duke Univer-

University of Mississippi in 1992.

sity in 2007, and expects to receive a Doctor of Ministry degree

With a career dedicated to improving K-12 and higher educa-

from Emory University, Candler School of Theology, in May 2017.

tion, Mullins was a longtime counselor to many of Mississippi’s

He is a graduate of the Business Advantage Program offered by

education leaders. He spent nearly two decades at the University

the Else School of Management at Millsaps College.

of Mississippi and most recently served as chief of staff to the

He served as associate pastor at Christ United Methodist

University of Mississippi chancellor. Mullins has changed the

Church in Jackson from 2007-2010 and was a chaplain intern at

education landscape by creating the Mississippi Teacher Corps,

the University of North Carolina Hospitals in 2006.

an alternate-route licensing program for students who did not

46 58

which provides training for principals. He has received numerous

www.millsaps.edu www.millsaps.edu

{ALUMNI}

Gene Ainsworth, B.S. 1964

James serves on the board of directors for the Center for Min-

Chat Lenhart, B.B.A. 2003

His civic activities include Centenary United Methodist

istry at Millsaps College and as chair of the Higher Education

Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Forsyth Country

and Campus Ministries Committee of the Mississippi Annual

Club in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Treyburn Country

Conference. He served as a delegate to the General and Jurisdic-

Club in Durham, North Carolina.

tional Conferences of the United Methodist Church in 2000 and 2012, and is currently a member of the Committee on Coordination and Accountability for the Southeast Jurisdiction.

He is a member of the Stewpot Community Services Board of Directors and the Trustee Nominating Committee at Millsaps College. James is married to Megan James, B.A. 2004, assistant dean of students at Millsaps College.

2014 Livesay Service Award Recipients: Gene Ainsworth and Chat Lenhart Gene Ainsworth worked as an administrative assistant to U.S. Rep. G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery, special assistant to President Gerald Ford and later in the private sector. He is a former member of the Millsaps College Board of Trustees.

Ainsworth is one of four chairs of the Building Towards Excellence initiative, a campaign to grow and support the College’s

Chat Lenhart is a commercial development associate at Buckeye Partners, which owns and operates one of the nation’s largest independent petroleum products common carrier pipeline networks.

He earned a B.B.A. in 2003 from Millsaps College and is expected to receive an M.B.A. from the University of Houston with a global energy focus in May 2015.

Lenhart has worked as a senior energy trader/asset manager at GDF Suez Energy North America in Houston, Texas and as an energy trader at British Petroleum in Houston. He has worked at Reliant Resources in Houston, as an energy trader/asset management specialist and as a power scheduler.

He has served as director of baseball alumni events for the Lamar High School Alumni Association in Houston, a volunteer coach for the West University Little League and also the Post Oak Little League, a Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure volunteer, and as a Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue volunteer.

Annual Fund and to ensure the pursuit of excellence continues.

He earned a B.S. from Millsaps College in 1964 and a J.D. from Mississippi College in 1967.

Millsaps Millsaps Magazine Magazine | Spring Spring 2015 2015

59 47

{ALUMNI}

Millsaps student speaks at Founders Day about how her education inspired her to change her community Madeline Iles, a Millsaps junior from Natchez, reflected during her speech at the 2015 Founders Day Dinner on a pivotal moment in her education. Below is an edited excerpt from her speech. Read her entire speech online at millsaps.edu/iles During my sophomore year, I took a Mississippi history class.

We discussed some of the most pressing and controversial issues facing our state and engaged with our community and other regions in the state to experience firsthand what we were discussing

Evers murder case, which led to the trial and conviction of Klansman Byron De La Beckwith. I enjoyed learning from someone who uses knowledge of history to help others better understand the present and even bring criminals to justice.

My most recent internship was a job at Mississippi Public Broadcasting, where I worked closely with television producers and gained firsthand experience in all aspects of production. I assisted the executive producer of Southern Remedy, a show that highlights pressing healthcare issues in our state.

Living through these internships brought me to a transformative moment. Because of the Garden Club work of my mother and grandmother, I had been asked to be queen of the Natchez Pilgrimage. Created in the 1930s, it is one of the most politically incorrect spectacles to survive into the 21st century—an unapologetic celebration of the white antebellum South. My cumulative experiences at Millsaps triggered a sort of revelation. Could I possibly persuade the Garden Club to fundamentally change this dated presentation of history, to include the black experience in Natchez—the former cotton capital

in class. But the most important thing I gained from that class was I was forced to ask myself, “What can I do to help? What is my role in all this?”

This was the moment when my academic, personal, and career interests all began to connect. As a second semester sophomore, I

“I hope I can serve as an example of how donations such as the history department endowment provide opportunities for students at a small school like Millsaps to accomplish big things.”

decided to start taking advantage of whatever interesting opportuni-

–MADELINE ILES

ties came my way. Most of these opportunities were internships—internships funded largely by the generous donation to our history department. During the last year, I have worked with civil rights activists, a nationallyrenowned investigative journalist, and television producers.

The Rev. Ed King is a United Methodist minister and Millsaps graduate who was deeply involved in the Movement in Jackson. My main task during my internship with Rev. King was to help digitize and preserve his writings, which included accounts of his experiences growing up in Mississippi, his activism in the 1960s, and his reflections on that time.

My second internship gave me the chance to conduct research for investigative journalist Jerry Mitchell at The Clarion-Ledger.

I was working for the man responsible for reopening the Medgar

60 44

www.millsaps.edu www.millsaps.edu

of the world?

With the help of my father (author Greg Iles), I persuaded the leaders of both competing garden clubs to take, for them, what would be an unprecedented step. They would allow my father to rewrite half of the Pageant to graphically portray slavery and the destruction of the Old South during the Civil War. This presented a challenge

on so many levels—social, racial, political—that I realized the process needed to be documented, whether it succeeded or failed.

Thankfully, the Millsaps Honors Committee agreed and allowed me to structure an honors project in the form of a documentary film that would record this opportunity.

I hope I can serve as an example of how donations such as the history department endowment provide opportunities for students at a small school like Millsaps to accomplish big things.

Our outstanding faculty sets students up for success, but without the resources, they can only do so much. Whatever my future holds, I know that Millsaps is providing me with the broad understanding and specific tools I need to find my place in it.

{ALUMNI}

Millsaps College President Robert W. Pearigen; Dr. Raymond Martin, B.S. 1942; Margery Martin; and Dr. Raymond Martin III

Millsaps juniors Madeline Iles, Lauren Durbin, and Karmen Smith.

More than 200 alumni, faculty, students, and friends gathered to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Millsaps’ founding at the Founders Day Dinner on Feb. 19.

This annual event not only celebrates the founding of Millsaps College in 1890, but also recognizes and honors the contributions of Founders and Heritage Society members, and those who have had an integral part in establishing endowed funds at Millsaps to support scholarships, programs, and faculty. In recognizing their generosity, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Mike Hutchison said, “In addition to celebrating the past and remembering the successes of our founders, we must also take time to honor those who have aided in Millsaps’ continued strength through their generous philanthropy. Contributions of alumni and friends are critical as we work to foster a culture that emphasizes and promotes the continuous pursuit of excellence in all that we do.”

April Mitchell, B.S. 2001; Jenna Johnson, Millsaps senior; Alice Mitchell, B.A 1971; and Lem Mitchell, B.A. 1971

Alexis Franklin, Millsaps junior; Sandra and Matt Holleman, Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation

Millsaps Magazine | Spring 2015

45

Lamar Weems, B.S. 1953; Walton Lipscomb, B.S. 1956; Betty Jo Lipscomb; Nanette Weems, B.A. 1954

{CLASS NOTES}

Class Notes Check out Class Notes to find out who has celebrated a major milestone.

READ MORE ABOUT IT We would like to encourage all alumni to send in their news items, large or small, personal or professional, to Nell Luter Floyd, Office of Communications, Millsaps College, 1701 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39210-0001. Fax : 601-974-1456. Phone: 601-974-1033 or 1-86-MILLSAPS (1-866 - 455-7277). Email: communications@ millsaps.edu. Please include your name, address, phone numbers, email address, graduation year and degree, and any news you want to share. Appropriate items include births, weddings, advanced degrees, awards, job promotions, etc.

Photographs are also welcome. Photographs should be no less than 300 dpi. We reserve the right to not include a photo that doesn’t meet our standards. If you are aware of alumni who are not receiving the magazine, please send us their names and addresses.

1952

Weems returned to UMMC in 2001, as act-

Dr. Edward M. Collins Jr., B.A. 1952, president of Millsaps College from 1970-1978, and his wife Peggy Collins, B.A. 1954, of Gautier, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Dec. 19, 2014. The couple met at Millsaps in 1950, began dating in 1952, and married in 1954.

1953

He retired again, in 2005, and now runs timber

the Nancy Billups Nursing Endowment that

operations in Scott, Madison, and Pontotoc

awards scholarships to nursing students in

Counties. Weems was president of the Ameri-

coastal Mississipi.

can Association of Clinical Urologists, Southeastern Section of the American Urological Association, Mississippi State Medical Association, Central Mississippi Medical Society, Kidney Foundation. He served on the Board of

1953, of Jackson, was recognized in the University of Mississippi Medical Center Medical Alumni Chapter Hall of Fame at the Dr. Lamar Weems, B.S. 1953

in Gulfport. During her tenure, she established

Mississippi Urological Society, and Mississippi

Dr. Lamar Weems, B.S.

Medical Alumni Chapter awards

dinner held Aug. 16, 2014, in Jackson.

Weems, now retired, became the first fulltime urologist in the Department of Surgery at UMMC in 1965. He became director of the Divi-

Directors of the American Urological Association.

Fay Lomax Cook , B.A. 1965, of Evanston, Ill., a professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern, is now assistant director of the National Science Foun-

1958 The Rev. Ed King , B.A. 1958, of Jackson,

Northwestern.

is author of the book, Ed King’s Mississippi:

Economic Sciences Directorate. This is a fouryear appointment after which she will return to Cook will be a key member of the National

Behind the Scenes of Freedom Summer. King,

Science Foundation’s senior management

a retired United Methodist minister and civil

and policy team, while leading the director-

rights activist, received an honorary degree

ate and its staff of 119 and managing a budget

from Millsaps College in 2013 and was the

of approximately $250 million. The NSF is an

Millsaps College Alumnus of the Year in 2011.

independent agency of the U.S. government

The Reverend Ed King Leader of Values and

that seeks, among other goals, to support

Ethics Award is given in his honor each year to

research to establish the nation as a leader in

a Millsaps College student.

transformational science, to build the nation’s

pacity until 1990, when he retired and became a partner in private practice in the Mississippi

Nancy Blackmon Billups, B.A. 1963, of

Urology Clinic.

Gulfport, recently completed 15 years as a trust-

42 www.millsaps.edu www.millsaps.edu 62

1965

dation and head of the Social, Behavioral, and

1963

sion of Urology in 1969, and served in that ca-

ee of the Memorial Hospital Foundation Board

ing director of urology to revive the program.

research capacity, and to cultivate a science and engineering workforce and scientifically literate citizenry.

In addition to bringing her social policy leadership and know-how to the position, Cook

{CLASS NOTES}

will also bring her expertise as a leading social

career focus is on the education of residents

of patients is unlike any other in the sense that

science researcher. Her research focuses on the

in internal medicine and fellows in geriatric

they are the most educated, driven, self sustain-

interrelationships between public opinion and

medicine. He has been recognized as one of

ing group of patients. No matter what their

social policy, the politics of public policy, public

Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors as a

hardships are, they pull themselves through,

deliberation, energy policy, and the dynamics

specialist highly recommended by his peers and

and that gives us all incentive to keep on plug-

of public and elite support for programs for

other health-care professionals. He is a member

ging as doctors.”

older Americans, particularly Social Security.

of the Division of Geriatric Medicine, where he maintains a clinical practice.

John R. Hailman, B.A. 1965, of Oxford, is author of the book, The Search for Good Wine:

Joe F. Sanderson Jr., B.A. 1969, of Laurel,

From the Founding Fathers to the Modern

chief executive officer of Sanderson Farms, was

Table. Hailman also wrote about wine in an

named the Mississippi Business Journal Person

earlier book, Thomas Jefferson on Wine.

of the Year for 2014. Sanderson Farms is Mississippi’s largest public company, and Sanderson

1967

is the third generation of the Sandersons to run the 11,500-employeee poultry company that was

James L. Roberts Jr., B.A. 1967, of Pontotoc, is the recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Jurist Award presented by the Mississippi State University Pre-Law Society. Roberts has served the First Judicial District as a circuit judge

started as a seed and grain store in Brookhaven in 1947.

1979

since December 2007. His judicial accomplish-

Dr. Bobby Robbins, B.S. 1979, of Hous-

ments also include service as a municipal judge,

ton, Texas, has been appointed to the Federal

chancery judge, and Mississippi Supreme Court

Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Houston Branch board

justice. Roberts also served as director of the

of directors by the Federal Reserve Board of

Mississippi Public Safety Commission during

Governors in Washington, D.C. As a board

the Gov. Bill Allain administration.

member, he will provide input on regional economic conditions as part of the Federal Re-

1969

serve’s monetary policy functions. He will serve a three-year term ending Dec. 31, 2017.

Robbins, a Millsaps College trustee, is

Dr. Mac Andrew Greganti, B.S.

president and CEO of Texas Medical Center

1969, of Chapel

and chairman of the Department of Cardiotho-

Hill, N.C., was

racic Surgery at Stanford University School of

recognized in the

Medicine. He served as director of the Stanford

University of Mis-

Cardiovascular Institute, Heart-Lung and Lung

sissippi Medical

Transplantation Programs and Cardiothoracic

Center Medical

Transplantation Laboratory.

Alumni Chapter Dr. Mac Andrew Greganti, B.S. 1969

1982

Hall of Fame at the Medical Alumni Chapter

awards dinner held Aug. 16, 2014, in Jackson.

He is the John Randolph and Helen Barnes Chambliss Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill.

He is the vice chair of the Department of Medicine and is a member of the UNC Health Care System Board of Directors. Greganti’s

in Houston. He previously served as professor

1980 Dr. Ruth Fredericks, B.S.1980, of Jackson, was honored by the Alabama-Mississippi chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society with the Hope Award during its 2014 MS Dinner of Champions in Jackson.

“The biggest honor really is to take care of

Sherribeth Wright Farmer, Grady “Chip” Bailey III, B.M. 1986, and Jayson Garrett, B.S. 1984

Sherribeth Wright Farmer, 1982; Grady “Chip” Bailey III, B.M. 1986; and Jayson Garrett, B.S. 1984, celebrated Chip’s 50th birthday at the home of the Rev. Grady Bailey Jr., B.A. 1960, in Brandon in October 2014.

1984 Ben Wynne, B.B.A. 1984, of Gainesville, Ga., is the author of In Tune: Charley Patton, Jim-

mie Rodgers, and the Roots of American Music.

Wynne is an associate professor of history at the University of North Georgia, and his areas of expertise as a historian include antebellum American history, southern history, and the Civil War.

1988 Suzanne McDonough, B.B.A. 1988, of Clinton, was promoted to associate professor with tenure at Mississippi College in the School of Education’s Kinesiology Department. She earned an M.S. and M.Ed. from Mississippi State University in 1997 and a Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi in 2008.

the patients,” said Fredericks when interviewed

by WLBT about the honor. “This population

Millsaps Magazine Magazine || Spring Spring 2015 2015 Millsaps

63 43

{CLASS NOTES}

1989 James Cummins, B.S.1989, of Frederick, Md., a scientist in the Preclinical Microbicide and Prevention Research Branch of the National Institutes of Health, received an individual leadership award from Anthony Fauci, M.D., director of NIAID at the National Institutes of Health. Cummins was also recognized with his research team for collaboration on the developShelley Ritter, B.A. 1988

Shelley Ritter, B.A. 1988, of Clarksdale, director of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, and five students from the Delta Blues Museum Band accepted the 2014 National Arts & Humanities Youth Program Award on behalf of the Delta Blues Museum. First Lady Michelle Obama and members of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities presented the award during a ceremony at the White House.

First presented in 1998, the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award is the signature program of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. The awards are presented annually in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the

ment of microbicides.

1990 Steven Fesmire, B.A. 1990, of Poultney, Vt.,

Award presented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation at the organization’s 2014 Corporate Citizens Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C. The event honors businesses for their significant positive impacts in communities around the world. Entergy Corporation’s Super Tax Day initiative signature program has helped put approximately 58,000 low income individuals on the path to economic self-sufficiency by helping them file for and receive $100 million in Earned Income Tax Refunds since 2009.

1993

is professor of philosophy and environmental studies at Green Mountain College in Vermont.

He is the author of John Dewey and Moral

Imagination (Indiana University Press, 2003), winner of a 2005 Choice “Outstanding Academic Title” Award, and most recently Dewey (Routledge, 2015) in the Routledge Philosophers series. Millsaps College and Michael Mitias, professor emeritus of philosophy at Millsaps, are named in the acknowledgments.

1991

National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The award recognizes the country’s best cre-

The Rev. Karen Koons Hayden, B.A. 1993

ative youth development programs for using engagement in the arts and the humanities to

The Rev. Karen Koons Hayden, B.A.

increase academic achievement, graduation

1993, and Dave Hayden, of Columbia, Ohio, an-

rates, and college enrollment. The awardees,

nounce the birth of their son, Daniel, on Nov. 1,

chosen from a pool of more than 350 nomina-

2013. The Haydens also celebrated the adoption

tions and 50 finalists, are also recognized for

of three daughters, April, Sanaa, and Olivia in

improving literacy and language abilities,

2014. Karen is director of pastoral excellence in

communication and performance skills, and cultural awareness.

In addition to the national recognition bestowed by receipt of the prestigious award, the Delta Blues Museum received $10,000 to support its programming and engage more young people from the community.

This makes the second trip to the White House for the Delta Blues Museum, which was honored last year with a National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor for museums and libraries.

6440 www.millsaps.edu www.millsaps.edu

From left: Mark DeCourcey, executive director of the U.S. Chamber of

the Missouri Conference of the United Method-

Commerce Corporate Citizenship Center; Liz Martin Brister (Millsaps

ist Church.

MBA 1991, Entergy Corporation manager of the Low Income Customer Assistance Initiative; Patty Riddlebarger, Entergy Corporation director of corporate social responsibility; and Michael Jacobson, chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Advisory Board.

Photo by Ian Wagreich / © U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Liz Martin Brister, M.B.A. 1991, of Jackson, Entergy Corporation manager of the Low Income Customer Assistance Initiative, received the Best Economic Empowerment

1994 Colby B. Jubenville, B.A.1994, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., was appointed as special assistant to the dean for student success and strategic partnership in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences at Middle Tennessee State University. Jubenville will serve as a success

{CLASS NOTES}

15 years in journalism, including stints as editor

Townsend and his wife won a gold medal in

and publisher of several publications in Missis-

the 2014 MarCom Awards and a gold medal in

sippi and Alabama.

the 2014 Davey Awards for their collaborative work. Townsend launched The Red Paddle

Sterling Thomas, B.A. 1998, has joined

Group, a creative team that helps businesses

LBMC, Tennessee’s largest regional account-

and organizations tell their stories, and his first

ing and business consulting firm, in its security

book, Paddling Texas: A Guide to the State’s

and risk services practice in the Brentwood,

Best Paddling Routes, was released by Falcon-

Tenn. Office. Thomas previously worked at

Guides.

nGuard Inc., an information security company where he was a security engineer. His industry experience includes healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing for international corporations to sole proprietorships.

1999 Sirena Cantrell, B.A. 1999, of Caledonia,

Colby B. Jubenville, B.A. 1994

is dean of students at Mississippi University

coach, helping students find their voice, define success, and create a bigger future for themselves and the university. He will also serve as a point of contact, creating new opportunities for students and the college through strategic partnerships.

for Women. She leads the offices of dean of

2002 Dr. Rachel N. Spear, B.A. 2002, of Florence, S.C., joined the faculty at Francis Marion University for the 2014-15 academic year an assistant professor of English. She earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature, an Ed.S. in curriculum and instruction and an M.A. in comparative literature from Louisiana State University.

ing and residence life, campus recreation, and

2004

student conduct. Cantrell is also coordinator of

Dr. Raymond D. Heatherly, B.S. 2004 and

the university’s Behavioral Intervention Team.

M.B.A. 2005, and Delilah Whittington Heath-

students, international student services, hous-

Cantrell is expected to complete her doctorate of philosophy in counselor education with

erly, of Nashville, Tenn., welcomed a daughter named Amara Ray Heatherly on July 5, 2014.

an emphasis in student affairs, which she is

1995

earning from Mississippi State University, in August. She also holds a master of science in

Thomas R. Temple Jr., B.B.A. 1995, of St. Francisville, La., a partner in the Baton Rouge, La. office

counselor education from MSU.

2000

of Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson, has been named Thomas R. Temple Jr., B.A.A. 1995

to the 2015 Edition of Best

Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review

publication in the legal profession.

1998 Sam R. Hall, B.S. 1998, of Flowood, is now executive editor

Shane Townsend, B.A. 2000

at The Clarion-Ledger.

Hall, who joined The

Clarion-Ledger in Sam R. Hall, B.S. 1998

2012, has spent nearly

Shane Townsend, B.A. 2000, and his wife Abby, of Austin, Texas, welcomed their first child, Ruth Riley Townsend, on Nov. 9, 2014.

Martha McNeese Rosado, B.S. 2004

Martha McNeese Rosado, B.S. 2004, and Dale Rosado, of Clinton, welcomed Katherine “Kate” Elaine Rosado on Oct. 15, 2014. She was welcomed by big sister Addison.

Millsaps MillsapsMagazine Magazine||Spring Spring2015 2015

6541

{CLASS NOTES}

2005

Angela Denise Ward, B.A. 2005, of Madison, is pursuing a juris doctorate from Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson. She was awarded both a merit scholarship and an honors scholarship.

2006 Nick Fowler, B.S. 2006, and Cari Taylor

Ryan Skertich, B.S. 2005, and Grace Hammond Skertich, B.A. 2006

Grace Hammond Skertich, B.A. 2006, and Ryan Skertich, B.S. 2005 and M.B.A. 2006, of Memphis, announce the birth of Hammond Wade Skertich on May 13, 2013 and Hays Nick Fowler, B.S. 2006, and Cari Taylor Fowler, B.S. 2007 Elizabeth Madjlesi, B.A. 2005

Fowler, B.S. 2007, of Jackson, welcomed Greyson Louise and William Cohen, who were born

Elizabeth Madjlesi, B.A. 2005, married

on June 25, 2014.

Jeff Hunt of Suwanee, Ga. on March 1, 2014

Whitney Skertich on June 28, 2014.

2008 Dan Sief ker, B.A. 2008, and Geralyn Bordelon Siefker were married on Oct. 4, 2013 in Baton Rouge, La. Their daughter Eleanor Clare

in Nashville. Elizabeth’s wedding attendants

was born on July 7, 2014.

included Ace Madjlesi, B.A. 2008; Rebecca

Sledge, B.A. 2005; Whitney Pool, B.A. 2007; and Louise Chandler Biedenharn,

Steven A. Whatley, B.A. 2008 and M.Acc. 2009, of Millington, Tenn., was recently pro-

B.A. 2005. Elizabeth and Jeff reside in Charlot-

moted to lieutenant in the United States Navy.

tesville, Va. where Elizabeth is a placement

Previously stationed at Norfolk, Va. on the USS

counselor at the Southern Teachers Agency,

Porter and at San Diego, Calif. with Coastal

and Jeff is pursuing a master of public policy

Riverine Squadron 3, he is currently assigned to

degree from the University of Virginia.

Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Millington.

Dr. Frank Serio, M.B.A. 2005, Greenville, N.C., is the recipient of the 2015 American Dental Association Humanitarian of the Year Award.

He will be honored for his more than three decades of service during ADA 2015—America’s Dental Meeting, Nov. 5-8 in Washington, D.C. In 1982, Serio made a one-man mission trip to provide dental care in a remote region of the Dominican Republic. Serio’s work has grown

Emily Hildebrand, B.A. 2006, and James Bridgforth, B.A. 2009

Emily Hildebrand, B.A. 2006, married James Bridgforth, B.A. 2009, on Oct. 11,

into a dental charity that has provided care

2014 at Quiet Shades Plantation in Vaughan.

to thousands of residents in poor rural areas

They live in Athens, Georgia, where both are

of that country and beyond. The Dominican

in graduate school at the University of Georgia.

Dental Mission Project is just one example of

James is studying historic preservation, and

how Serio has touched and improved the lives

Emily is studying education.

of countless people through volunteerism and education.

38 66

www.millsaps.edu www.millsaps.edu

Ace F. Madjlesi, B.A. 2008

Ace F. Madjlesi, B.A. 2008, of Memphis, is the associate director of the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center in Memphis. She also serves on the Community Advisory Council of the Boling Center for Development Disabilities and is a world-ranked pinball player.

{CLASS NOTES}

2009

2010

2012. Jordan and Katherine live in Slidell, La. where he is a CNC programmer and she is a physician assistant in internal medicine at Ochsner Medical Center.

Nell Linton Knox , B.A. 2010, of Jackson, is author of the book Studio Jackson: Creative

Culture in the Mississippi Capital, published by History Press. Justin Schultz, who is a member of the Millsaps Communications and Marketing team, is among the artists featured.

Jaclyn Bethany, 2009

2011

Jaclyn Bethany, 2009, 0f New York, directed and starred during the summer of 2014 in her

Beth Fossen, B.B.A. 2010

first Off Broadway show, Drama in the After-

noon; she played Alma in Summer and Smoke

by Tennessee Williams opposite James Mc-

Beth Fossen, B.B.A. 2010, and Max Woodliff

Cune (“Shameless” “Homeland,” and “Walking

were married on June 21, 2014 at St. Andrew’s

Dead”). Anne-Marie Mueschke, B.A. 2010,

Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson with a recep-

and Lloyd Bourne, B.S. 2010, were also a

tion at the Old Capitol Inn.

nominee Tate Taylor’s film Get on Up. She

The wedding party included Catherine Scott, B.A. 2010; Katie Tebo, B.A. 2010; and James Bridgforth, B.A. 2011. Beth and

founded a theatre/production company and is

Max live in Atlanta where she is working on a

working on developing Chekhov’s Three Sisters

doctorate in marketing at Emory University,

for stage and screen. Bethany’s version will be

and Max is a first-grade teacher at Woodland

set in Mississippi and performed Off-Broadway

Elementary School in the Fulton County

and in a site specific production in Jackson,

School District.

part of the production.

Bethany appeared in a small role in Oscar

and developed as a film.

Kate Garand, B.S. 2011, and George Holmes, B.A. 2011

Kate Garand, B.S. 2011, and George Holmes, B.A. 2011, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were married on June 14, 2014 at St. James Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge.

Members of the wedding party included

Laura Cost, B.A. 2011; Lizzie Cosse, B.A. 2011; Griffin Collums, B.S. 2011; and Evan

Clay Hardwick , B.A. 2009, of Jackson, was

Bauer, 2011. George’s family includes these

selected by the Crossroads Film Society to cre-

Millsaps alumni: George Nobles (1903), his

ate its 2015 Ruma Award for Most Promising

great-grandfather; Mildred Nobles Sum-

Mississippi Filmmaker. The award is presented

ner (1930), his grandmother; Ann Sumner Holmes, B.A.1973, his mother; Wendell H. Holmes, B.A.1974, his father; and Sumner Holmes, B.A. 2007, his brother.

each year to a Mississippi filmmaker competing in the annual film festival. The award is named in memory of former Crossroads vice-president, Ruma Haque, B.A. 1983, who died in 2002.

Hardwick, a freelance artist and filmmaker, has won the Ruma Award twice, once in 2005 and again in 2009. Each year the Ruma Award is an original piece of art created by a Mississippi artist and is one of 15 juried awards given at the annual event to exceptional filmmakers from Mississippi and around the world.

Jordan Gunther, B.B.A. 2010, and Katherine Negrotto, B.S. 2010

Jordan Gunther, B.B.A. 2010, and Katherine Negrotto, B.S. 2010, were married on Oct. 25, 2014 at The Henry Smith House in Picayune. The wedding party included Khylee Miller, B.S. 2012, and Oliver Galicki, B.S.

Magazine | Spring 2015 Millsaps Magazine

67 39

{IN MEMORIAM}

{IN MEMORIAM}

Catherine Davis May, B.S. 1938, of Alexan-

30-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force and one

Her husband, George, served on the faculty

dria, La., died Nov. 8, 2014. She taught school

of the first pilots assigned to fly the C-5a. After

at Millsaps until he joined the faculty at Duke

in Vicksburg, Brookhaven, Memphis, and at

retiring, he enjoyed camping with the Big River

University.

Copiah-Lincoln Junior College.

Bells group. He was a long-time member of

After Pearl Harbor, she planned to join her

Walnut Baptist Church in Vance.

The Rev. John L. Ash III, B.A. 1949, of Columbus, Ga., died on Dec. 7, 2013. He was

brothers in military service, but both brothers objected. Instead she joined the American

Dewey Cobb Hickman, B.A. 1947, of Ox-

a retired minister from the Mississippi United

Red Cross and received training at American

ford, died Jan. 11, 2015. She earned an M.B.A.

Methodist conference and had served churches

University in Washington D.C. to work with

from the University of Mississippi. She was

throughout Mississippi including Yazoo City,

recreation for wounded hospitalized soldiers.

named Woman of the Year in 1954 by the Busi-

Rolling Fork, Long Beach, Jackson, Pascagoula,

After the war she was transferred to Barksdale

ness and Professional Women’s Club of Oxford.

Vicksburg, and Laurel. He served his country as

Air Force Base where she met and married her

She served as chairman of the Easter Seal

a member of the Army-Air Corp during World

Red Cross director, Freeman E. May.

Campaign, secretary of the Lafayette County

War II.

Library Board, a member of the V.F.W. Auxil-

Elizabeth Wilson Woodman Oatman,

iary and the Oxford Army Advisory Committee,

William Raymond Crout, B.A. 1949,

B.A. 1939, of Waco, Texas, died Feb. 20, 2014.

and president of the Cosmopolitan Club. She

of Cambridge, Mass., died Feb. 11, 2015. He

She studied on a scholarship with Rudolph

was a member of First Presbyterian Church in

attended Boston University School of Theol-

Ganz at Chicago Musical College. Music was al-

Oxford for more 60 years, a Girl Scout leader,

ogy and later the Chaloff School of Music

ways a focal part for her life and she graciously

and a member of Oxford Garden Club and the

in Boston. While a college student he repre-

shared it with others. Oatman taught piano in

Oxford Book Lover’s Club.

sented the state of Mississippi in the Associated Concert Bureau of New Yorks National

Mississippi and also in Atlanta, Houston, Miss., and Waco, Texas. Most of her life she sang in

Jesse Print Matthews Jr., 1947, died

Piano Finals, performing at Carnegie Hall. He

church choirs and played for Sunday schools.

Jan. 24, 2015. After graduating from Central

also appeared as a soloist in Symphony Hall,

High School in Jackson, he joined the Army

Boston. From 1951-1955, he served in the Navy

Ernestine R. “Doll” Parman, 1940, of

Air Corps. As he was being deployed to the

in Fighter Squadron 22 as a chaplain’s assis-

Jackson, died Aug. 9, 2014. She worked for the

South Pacific, as a tail gunner in a B-29, the war

tant and personnelman, traveling the world

Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi for five years

ended, and he returned to Jackson and enrolled

aboard an aircraft carrier. Crout then returned

and is remembered for her calm and com-

at Millsaps. He transferred to the University of

to the United States to enroll in the graduate

forting presence. She and her husband were

Mississippi, where he graduated in 1949.

program at Harvard Divinity School, beginning

original communicants of St. James Episcopal

He passed the C.P.A. exam the first time he

a lifelong association with the University. He

took it and started his successful 45-year career

became a devoted pupil, editorial assistant, and

as a C.P.A. He retired as a partner of Matthews,

translator to the celebrated German theolo-

Dannie Rebecca Rice Davis, 1941, of

Hearon, Cutrer & Lindsay in 1994 and served

gian and Harvard University professor, Paul

Goleta, Calif., died Sept. 5, 2014. She completed

on various state and national committees

Tillich, whose religious philosophy became a

her liberal arts studies at Scarritt College in

related to his profession.

great directive force in Crout’s life, and whose

Church in Jackson.

teachings he would undertake to keep alive and

Nashville, where she met and married a fellow student. Davis spent a decade teaching disabled

Jerry A. Fortenberry, B.S.1948, of Co-

relevant in the present world. In addition to his

children at Devereux school in Goleta. When

lumbia, died Feb. 12, 2014. He was a retired

scholarly work regarding Tillich, he also taught

California began closing its mental health in-

physician, a member of First United Methodist

in the humanities and philosophy departments

stitutions in the 1970s, Davis and her husband

Church, and served as a flight surgeon in the

at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

opened a residential home for developmentally

U.S. Navy.

earning the Everett Moore Baker Award for Outstanding Teaching in 1970. In 1990, under

challenged women.

Evelyn Godbold Maddox , B.A. 1948, of

the sponsorship of the University Marshals of-

Ann Asenith Rhymes Navarro, 1942, of

Durham, N.C., died Oct. 5, 2014. She became

fice, Crout founded the Tillich Lecture series at

Jackson, died Sept. 17, 2014. She attended Whit-

an accomplished pianist and organist, enjoyed

Harvard University.

worth Girls School in Brookhaven and then

music throughout her life, and passed that

Millsaps. She married Louis J. Navarro in 1943

love on to her children. She worked and held

number of roles at Harvard and at the univer-

and they had one child, Thomas M. Navarro.

leadership positions in the George Watts PTA,

sity’s Memorial Church, from directing the

Over six decades, Crout would fill a diverse

the Duke Medical Auxiliary and Pink Smock

Church School to serving as assistant to the

Lt. Col. James Travis Simpson, 1945,

at Duke University Hospital, and the Duke

minister, to teaching appointments in general

of Marion, Ark., died Aug.15, 2014. He was a

Medical Faculty Wives/Nearly New Shoppe.

education and in the medical school. For many

68 36

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{IN MEMORIAM}

years, under the auspices of the University Mar-

with the smile of a southern lady and the gentle

Sidney “Sid” Alexander Head III, B.A.

shal’s office, Crout was responsible for the care

discipline that her children all knew at home.

1954, of Charlotte, N.C., died July 13, 2014. He

and special needs of the honorary degree can-

was a retired United Methodist minister and

didates at Harvard’s annual commencement

Preston H. Gough Sr., B.A. 1951, of Madi-

marriage and family therapist. He earned a

exercises. Crout had a long-standing passion for

son, died Feb. 11, 2015. He served in World War

master of divinity degree from Duke Divinity

and knowledge of Asian art. He convened and

II, and enrolled and graduated from Millsaps

School in 1957 and a master’s of education at

led the Cambridge Writers Group, a circle of

upon his discharge. He worked his entire career

the University of North Carolina Charlotte. He

writers and poets that met monthly to discuss,

for Farm Bureau Insurance Companies, serving

was the first chaplain at Wesley Medical Center

review, and edit their work.

twice in the Florida operation and twice in the

in Wichita, Kansas. Head established the

Mississippi operation. He retired in 1990 as

Methodist Counseling Center in Charlotte and

James Howard Jenkins Jr., B.A. 1949, of

executive vice president and state manager for

served as director for nine years and later went

Madison, died Dec. 9, 2014. After graduation

Mississippi.

into private practice as a therapist.

from high school, he joined the U.S. Army and served in World War II and the Korean Conflict.

The Rev. Eddie Frank Roberts, B.A.

John Burke Campbell, B.S. 1956, of

After returning from the service, he enrolled

1951, of Greenwood, died Sept. 16, 2014. He was

DeKalb, died on Jan. 18, 2015. He was a former

in Millsaps College on the GI Bill. At this time,

a graduate of Candler School of Theology at

school teacher, accomplished puppeteer, and

he began attending Capitol Street Methodist

Emory University. He served as pastor of sev-

flew reconnaissance missions as a naval officer

Church, which is where he met his wife, Mari-

eral United Methodist Churches in north Mis-

during the Cuban missile crisis. He retired as a

anne Chunn. They married in 1949. In 1954,

sissippi. He was the minister of pastoral care at

manager from the Valero Company.

he began his career with State Farm Insurance,

First United Methodist Church and later was

which lasted 35 years.

named pastor emeritus. He served in the U.S.

Eugenia Ann Lauchly Johnson, B.A. 1956,

Navy during World War II in the South Pacific.

of Hedwig Village, Texas, died Dec. 2, 2014. She

Jessie Daniel Puckett Jr., B.A. 1949, of

He was a member of the Civil Air Patrol, the

was an elementary school teacher throughout

Puckett, died Sept. 27, 2014. After high school

Lions Club, and American Legion Post #29.

her working career. She was a volunteer for the

he served three years in the navy and was

Ronald McDonald House in Houston, Texas

honorably discharged as a quartermaster sec-

Mary Roane Hill Govich, B.A.1952, of

ond class. After graduation from Millsaps, he

Ocean Springs, died Jan. 14, 2015. She earned

worked for two years at the Mississippi Game

a master’s degree from the University of

Dr. William “Bill” Frederick Lynch Jr.,

and Fish Commission and then earned a law

Alabama. She was a retired teacher, teaching

1957, of Madison, died Feb. 1, 2015. Lynch at-

degree at the University of Mississippi. Puckett

learning disabled children in Santa Fe, N.M.

tended medical school where he was a member

was employed with Humble Oil and Refining

After retirement, she did consulting in the field

of the first four-year graduating class of the Uni-

Company, which later became known as Exxon.

of learning disabilities. She was a noted dog

versity of Jackson, which is now the University

He worked for Exxon for 25 years and then for

breeder who saw many of her show animals

of Mississippi Medical Center. After medical

Forest Oil Company.

become AKC champions. She showed under the

school, Lynch joined the Navy and served for

name Roane Hill Collies & Schipperkes.

10 years. Upon retiring from the Navy, Lynch

Walter Berryhill, B.A. 1950, of Austin,

and serveral other organizations.

and his family moved back to Jackson, where

Texas, died March 27, 2011. He received a mas-

The Rev. James Dudley Brown, B.S. 1953,

he worked for 35 years at Central Mississippi

ter’s degree in geological sciences at Louisiana

of Atlanta, died April 4, 2012. He was a member

Medical Center. He then retired and served as

State University where he met his future bride,

of the Mississippi Conference of the United

an associate professor with the UMMC Neuro-

Billie Ruth Thaggard. He took a break from

Methodist Church and served churches for 27

Radiology Department.

his studies to serve as a corpsman in the U.S.

years. He opened Ye Olde Tyme Clock Shoppe

Army during the Korean War. After graduation,

in Lawrenceville, Ga., after he retired and oper-

James Keith “Jim” Smith, B.S. 1956, of

he was hired as an exploration geologist for

ated it for 19 years.

Meridian, died Jan. 19, 2015. He earned a mas-

Chevron Oil Company, where he worked until

ter’s degree in geology from the University of Al-

Jack Jordan Mann Sr., 1953, of Carthage,

abama and worked in the petroleum industries

died June 22, 2014. He went on to attend what

in Mississippi and Louisiana until he became a

Patricia Nell Ross Bevill, B.A.1951, of

is now the University of Southern Mississippi

minister. He received a master of divinity and

Jackson, died Dec. 31, 2014. She was a mother,

on a football scholarship and was employed for

a doctorate from the New Orleans Theological

sister, grandmother, great grandmother, wife,

more than 30 years with the State of Mississippi.

Seminary. He served Baptist churches in Mis-

he retired.

aunt, and friend. As a teacher, until she retired

sissippi located in Gautier, Toomsuba, Philadel-

at 75, she delivered her own style of learning

phia, Shubuta, and Enterprise.

MillsapsMagazine Magazine| Spring | Spring2015 2015 Millsaps

69 37

{IN MEMORIAM}

Dr. George Wells “Fella” Armstrong III,

and developing a positive treatment plan for

Mississippi and at Mississippi State University,

B.S. 1957, of Coffeeville, died Oct. 20, 2014.

the child and family unit.

where he earned a doctorate in 1974. He taught high school for three years in Belzoni, occasion-

He earned a degree in pharmacy from the University of Mississippi, then earned a medical

Dorothy N. Welch, B.S. 1958, of Madison,

al summer courses at Southwest Mississippi

degree from the University of Tennessee. He

died Dec. 27, 2014. As a medical technologist,

Community College, and courses in education

practiced medicine in Denver for more than 25

her working career was spent primarily at the

and psychology at Mississippi University for

years before moving back to Coffeeville in 1993

Veterans Hospital in Jackson. Her specialty was

Women from 1967 until 1993. After his retire-

to open a medical clinic. Armstrong was a mem-

nuclear medicine. She was an active member of

ment from MUW, he worked with his wife in

ber of the Coffeeville United Methodist Church,

Mensa and had many Mensa friends.

their business, One of a Kind Screenprinting/ Graphic Design.

a Mason, and a U.S. Air Force Reserves Veteran.

James Harlan Durrett, 1959, of Brandon, Rosemary Flint Grantham, B.A. 1958,

died Feb. 5, 2015. He was employed with Pee

Dr. Walter Thomas “Tommy” Rueff,

of Ridgeland, died Aug. 13, 2014. She sup-

Gee Paint Company (Devoe Paint) for 41 years.

B.S. 1964, of Jackson, died Nov. 19, 2014. He

ported her husband, Steve, in his business

He was a member of Crossgates United Meth-

attended the University of Mississippi Medical

ventures and dedicated herself to her two sons,

odist Church where he helped start the Hearts

Center where he trained under James D. Hardy,

Steve Wiley Grantham, Jr. and Robert Vernon

& Hands Ministry.

specializing in general, thoracic, and cardiovascular surgery. After medical school, he founded

Grantham. She ministered to others through her membership at Christ United Method-

Charles Michael Rueff Jr., B.A. 1961, of

Central Surgical Associates with Dr. Karl

ist Church in Jackson, where she served on

Columbus, died Nov. 14, 2014. He did post-

Stauss, where he practiced surgery for more

the Committee for Altar Flowers, the Funeral

graduate studies at the University of Southern

than 25 years.

Committee, and was also a member of the New Yorker’s Sunday School Class. She played competitive tennis for many years, was involved in numerous civic organizations, and was passionate about flowers.

Ray Hilman Montgomery, 1954, of Canton, died Dec. 14, 2014. He furthered his education by earning a law degree from Jackson School of Law. He was elected tax assessor of Madison County and served for eight years. He was a practicing attorney in Canton, elected to the Mississippi State Senate for two terms, and was elected and served as county judge. He was elected and served as chancery judge until his retirement. In retirement, he was appointed by the Supreme Court of Mississippi as a special chancellor.

Gerald Edward Russell, B.S. 1958, of Leesville, La., died July 1, 2011. After a career with the Army, Gerald retired as chief of social work services in 1982. He earned a master’s degree in social work from Tulane University and completed a two-year social work fellowship in child psychiatry at Walter Reed General Hospital. He received numerous awards, commendations, citations, and medals over the years, including the Legion of Merit and the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Louisiana Association of Social Workers. His specialty was assessing children experiencing life difficulties 70 34

www.millsaps.edu www.millsaps.edu

Ellen Burns Treadway, B.A. 1962.

The family of a 1962 Millsaps College graduate known for her devotion to her family, friends, and alma mater has established a $100,000 scholarship in her memory for students with financial need who are interested in education or teaching. Marcus A. Treadway Jr., a 1963 Millsaps graduate, and his son Marcus A. Treadway III and daughter Ellen Treadway, a 1995 Millsaps graduate, have established the Ellen Burns Treadway Endowed Scholarship Fund in memory of their family matriarch, Ellen Burns Treadway, who died on March 6, 2014. “This generous gift from the Treadway family will support students who, like Ellen, want to support and nurture the value of education for future generations,” said Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps College. “We are extremely grateful for this generous gift, and the manner in which it honors Ellen’s life.”

Ellen Burns Treadway was a lifelong resident of the Belhaven neighborhood in Jackson and attended Power Elementary, Bailey Junior High, Murrah High School, and Millsaps College.

At Millsaps she was a member of Chi Omega Fraternity, sang in the choir, and was active in other campus affairs. She graduated from Millsaps in 1962 with a degree in education, and taught first grade for a year in Greenville. She returned to Jackson and taught several years at Spann Elementary School. In 1967 she married her college sweetheart Marcus Treadway from Hollandale, Mississippi. They celebrated their 46th anniversary in November 2013.

A lifelong Methodist, she was a member of Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson, where she served on church committees and participated in the “Caring Friends” United Methodist Women circle. She enjoyed keeping up with her many local friends through membership in several luncheon clubs, including Les Coeurs, Potpourri, Southern Luncheon Club, and Murrah Luncheon Club. She was active in the Rebecca Cravat chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She volunteered countless hours for her Millsaps College, helping to organize class reunions. Ellen Burns Treadway was a good cook and a gracious hostess, welcoming friends and neighbors to her table and front porch on many occasions. She served as president (“Queen”) of the Belhaven House and Garden Club and was a member and volunteer with the Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Foundation.

{IN MEMORIAM}

Barbara Champion Bush, 1972, of Little

Juan Anthony Joseph, B.A. 2009 and

University in 1951 and remained there for his

Rock, Ark., died Aug. 20, 2014. She graduated

M.B.A. 2011, of Gonzales, La., died Nov. 16,

seminary education at Perkins School of Theol-

from the University of Mississippi with a degree

2014. Joseph had a distinguished football

ogy. He earned a master’s degree and doctorate

in education and received a master’s degree

career at Millsaps, was named the Southern

from Yale University.

in reading. Barbara was an elementary school

College Athletic Conference Player of the Year

He began teaching at Millsaps in 1960 and

teacher in Mississippi and Arkansas. Later in

for three consecutive years, and won the Con-

except for one year spent the rest of his career

her life, she received a master’s degree in library

erly Trophy, presented to the most outstanding

at Millsaps. He chaired the Department of Reli-

science and information technology from the

collegiate football player in Mississippi. In his

gion from 1965 until his retirement in 1992. He

University of Oklahoma and worked as a school

senior season, he led the Majors to an 11-1 re-

received the College’s Distinguished Professor

librarian.

cord and No. 3 national ranking. After graduat-

Award in 1989.

ing from Millsaps, Joseph played football in the

Reiff was ordained an elder in the Central

Elbert E. “Pete” Haley Jr., 1973, of Bran-

Canadian Football League and the Southern

Kansas Conference of the Methodist Church in

don, died Jan. 29, 2015. He was also a graduate

Indoor Football League. He returned home to

1956 and transferred his conference member-

of the University of Mississippi and Mississippi

St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana where

ship to Mississippi in 1966. He understood his

College School of Law, formerly the Jackson

he worked as a paralegal at Tatum and White

callings to the ordained ministry and college

School of Law. He was a member of the Rankin

and served as quarterbacks coach at his alma

teaching as integrally related, and in 1994 the

County Bar Association and the Mississippi Bar

mater, West St. John High School.

Mississippi Conference gave him the Francis

Association. He was a writer and member of Poets Anonymous. He served in the U. S. Navy.

Peter Yates Whitehead, B.S. 1983, of Eads, Tenn., died Jan. 13, 2015. He received his M.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and served his residency at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. He began his pediatric medical career with Physicians to Children in Roanoke, VA, before moving to Memphis in 2004 and joining Memphis Children’s Clinic. Peter had a servant’s heart and his compassion for others took him on mission trips to India with Grandin Court Baptist Church in Roanoke and to Haiti through Project Starfish Haiti, a non-profit medical mission organization.

Donald Brooks Jr., 1986, of Edinburg, Texas, died Feb. 6, 2015. He was employed for more than 20 years by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, where he was the superintendent of the Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg.

Richard V. Sheren, M.B.A. 1991, of Pearl, died Dec. 14, 2014.

Keith John Weaver, M.B.A. 1994, of Madison, died Feb. 8, 2013. He was a graduate of Mississippi College in Clinton, a member of Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Madison, and employed as a financial advisor for Allstate Insurance Company in Madison.

Asbury Award for his contributions to United

Faculty Julia Aust Lewis, 1954, special services librarian at Millsaps College from 1984 until 1995, of Jackson, died Feb. 6, 2015. It was at Millsaps that she met and married T. W. Lewis III. She received her B.A. degree from Southern Methodist University while her husband was a student at Perkins School of Theology, and she taught in the public schools of Dallas, Texas 1954-56. She and her husband lived in Macon, Mississippi from 1956 to 1959 where they served four churches of the Macon Methodist Circuit.

In 1959 when they moved to Jackson she taught second grade at Barr Elementary School. She received her master’s degree in library science from the University of Mississippi in 1977 while serving in the Belhaven College Library. From 1984 until her retirement in 1995, she was a member of the Millsaps faculty as special services librarian.

She was a supporter of the public schools, a member of Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church, and its Christian Fellowship Class.

She was a supporter of Operation Shoestring, the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson, and the Women’s Foundation of Mississippi .

Lee H. Reiff, emeritus professor of religion, of Bristol, Va., died Sept. 6, 2014. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Southern Methodist

Methodist higher education.

The work of Reiff and T.W. Lewis III, colleague and friend, is commemorated at Millsaps by the Reiff-Lewis Endowment Fund, which provides for leadership training and response groups to supplement the annual Summers Lecture (bringing nationally-known theologians and social activists to campus for the continuing education of clergy and laypersons). In addition, each year the Lewis and Reiff Awards go to seniors who have demonstrated a commitment to the life of the mind and the life of the spirit by their contributions to college, church, and community.

From 1967 to 1971, Reiff served on the board of directors of Child Development Group of Mississippi (Head Start), and from 1968 to 1971 he was on the board of directors of the Mississippi Council on Human Relations. He represented Mississippi at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago as a member of the interracial Loyalist delegation. From 1971 to 1977 he belonged to Jacksonians for Public Education and served as its president for two years.

From 1969 to 1980 he served on the board of directors for Communications Improvement Inc., a nonprofit group that held the interim license for WLBT-TV in Jackson. Reiff served for eight years on the Mississippi Conference Commission on the Status and Role of Women.

Before he retired from Millsaps, Reiff chose to return to the other career option he had considered seriously in college and began studies at

MillsapsMagazine Magazine| Spring | Spring2015 2015 Millsaps

71 35

{IN MEMORIAM}

Mississippi College School of Law. He finished

Community Health Care for the Poor, and the

his J.D. degree in 1993.

Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center.

grades from 1941 to 1942 in Washington, Miss.

In partnership with the Milton S. Eisenhower

where she met Sim Callon, whom she would

Foundation, he established a clinic at Lanier

later marry, at Christmas in 1941. She later

High School in Jackson that became a national

taught in Tylertown and in Natchez.

The Rev. Harmon Eric Tillman Jr., B.A. 1951, of Winona, died Jan. 1, 2015. He earned his master’s degree from Vanderbilt University and from 1954-1957 was an instructor in the speech department at Millsaps and coach of the Millsaps Debate Team, which won a number of championships during his tenure.

In 1956, he helped organize and became the first minister at Briarwood United Methodist Church in Jackson. He served United Methodist churches in Star, Meridian, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Moss Point, and Yazoo City.

Adjunct Faculty Dorothy Sample Shawhan, a former Millsaps adjunct faculty member, of Tupelo, died Dec. 21, 2014. She taught Heritage/Core classes at Millsaps from Sept 1, 2007 to May 31, 2008. She majored in English at Mississippi State College for Women, earned a master’s in English from Louisiana State University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University in 1991. In 1981 she joined the faculty at Delta State University as an English instructor. She went on to become chair of the Department of Languages and Literature, serving in that position for 14 years.

Friend Dr. Aaron Shirley died Nov. 26, 2014. He was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Public Service in May 2013. A physician and civil rights activist, Shirley served as chairman of the Board for Jackson Medical Mall Foundation, director of Community Medical Services, and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine.

Shirley is best known for his pioneering work in providing affordable and accessible health care for the poor and underserved populations of Mississippi. During the 1970s, he was active in the development and organization of numerous agencies and projects to effect such changes, including Mississippi Action for Progress, the Mississippi Association of

72 32

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model for health and counseling services for

Her first job was teaching second and third

Callon served on the boards of the Natchez

teens. Between 1995 and 2001, Shirley worked

Children’s Home and the Natchez City Cem-

to redevelop the Jackson Mall, then a declining

etery Association, and was active in many other

retail venture, into a state-of-the-art ambulatory

organizations including the Pilgrimage Garden

health care facility known as the Jackson Medi-

Club. She attended Jefferson Street Methodist

cal Mall Thad Cochran Center.

Church and First Presbyterian Church.

Shirley’s project, the Community Health House Network, was based on models and

John David Wofford, B.S. 1950, of Jackson,

techniques of a health-delivery system in use

died Feb. 4, 2014. He served as a Millsaps Col-

in Iran, and was featured in The New York

lege trustee from 1973 to 1974. He received the

Times Magazine. The Jackson Medical Mall

Jim Livesay Award for service to the College in

Foundation, in partnership with the Oxford,

2005.

Mississippi-based Oxford International Devel-

Wofford earned his medical degree from

opment Group, and Jackson State University

Jefferson Medical College, completed an intern-

(and with the approval of the National Insti-

ship at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis

tutes of Health and the U.S. Departments of

as well as a residency in internal medicine at

State and the Treasury), engaged in collabora-

John Gaston Hospital in Memphis and the

tion with physicians and health professionals

University of Mississippi Medical Center.

from the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

He practiced medicine in Jackson and Green-

in Iran to adapt the “health house” concept to

wood and served as medical consultant at

Mississippi communities. Currently in the pilot

Methodist Rehabilitation Center where he was

demonstration phase with 15 proposed sites in

instrumental in the creation of the stroke and

the Mississippi Delta, the network consists of

head injury service as well as the cardiac reha-

primary care facilities staffed by local medical

bilitation service.

experts who go door-to-door in their communi-

He was a lifelong Methodist and a mem-

ties, developing on-going relationships with

ber of Galloway Memorial United Methodist

patients, and monitoring neighborhood health

Church for 37 years.

patterns with an eye toward preventative as well as curative medical programs.

Any submissions for In Memoriam received af-

Trustee Vera D. Callon, B.A. 1941, of Natchez, died Dec. 3, 2014. She served as a Millsaps College trustee from 1972 until 1978. As a Methodist minister’s daughter she moved often as she was growing up and attended schools in Biloxi, Long Beach, Edwards, McComb, and finished high school at Copiah-Lincoln High School.

She then attended Copiah-Lincoln Junior College in Wesson for two years where she served as homecoming queen. She completed her junior and senior years at Millsaps College, graduating in 1941 with a degree in psychology and elementary education.

ter Feb. 29, 2015, will appear in the next issue of Millsaps Magazine.

{IN MEMORIAM}

A 2004 alumnus has made a generous gift of $30,000 to the Millsaps College 2014-15 Annual Fund. Now, he is challenging all young alumni from the classes of 2004 through 2014 to raise an additional $30,000 by June 30, 2015. By rising to this challenge, young alumni can help the College reach its highest Annual Fund goal of $1.7 million and its participation goal of 2,500 alumni donors. Make your gift today! www.mbench.org/annualfund

The Business of Science...

This is where we want to flip the magazine upside down.

Millsaps Magazine | Spring 2015

33

Flat Reuben Instructions: Pop out Flat Reuben, include him in your travels (think Flat Stanley) and take a photo.

Take Flat Reuben’s photo “across the street and around the globe” —wherever life takes you.

Whether your photos are sentimental, thought provoking, or just plain silly, please share them with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Flickr using the hashtag #millsaps125th or email them to alumni@millsaps.edu.

In the spring of 1890, Major Reuben Webster Millsaps founded a college of liberal arts in the capitol city of Mississippi, dedicated to providing the best education available in the Methodist tradition, opening minds, hearts, and doors.

Since then, Millsaps College has become a major influence in the state and region.

In celebration of the

125th anniversary

of Major Millsaps’ vision, we invite you to take Flat Reuben with you on your life’s adventures!

Everyone in the Millsaps community—students, alumni, parents, friends, faculty, and staff —can be a major influence in the lives of our students and the continued success of the Major’s vision for Millsaps College. Here’s how you can help: • Fly the Flag. Promote the College by putting a bumper sticker on your car, wearing Millsaps clothes, and flying the Millsaps College flag in your neighborhood.

• Recruit students. Talk to families and friends with middle and high school students.

Refer students by completing the referral form at millsaps.edu/refer.

• Give. Millsaps needs and appreciates your support. Your gifts are essential to providing the extraordinary experience that characterizes a Millsaps education. This year, we are working to secure $1.7 million, the highest amount ever in the Annual Fund. To make your gift today, go to millsaps.edu/give.

• Reconnect. There are Millsaps chapters in Jackson, New Orleans, Memphis, Gulf Coast, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and the Golden Triangle. Attend events on campus, such as lectures, performances or reunions.

Homecoming 2015 October 30-November 1