Ole Miss Alumni Review - Fall 2021

OLE MISS ALUMNI REVIEW

FALL 2021

ALUMNI REVIEW

FALL 2021

Coming Together UM CELEBRATES ‘MARTINDALE-COLE’ AS NEW NAME FOR STUDENT SERVICES CENTER VOL. 70 NO. 4

Young alumna finds rewarding position with Yeti

EPA grant helps UM researchers work toward improving sustainable agriculture

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Features ALUMNI REVIEW

24 Coming Together

UM celebrates ‘Martindale-Cole’ as new name for student services center

BY JB CLARK

30 Getting Social

30 30

Young alumna finds rewarding position with Yeti

BY ANNIE RHOADES

38 38

34 Helping Farms Be in Harmony with Nature

EPA grant helps UM researchers work toward improving sustainable agriculture

BY SHEA STEWART

Contents

38 Alumna Takes Helm of UM Student Affairs Experienced, respected leader appointed vice chancellor

BY EMILY HOWORTH

34 34

VOL. 70 NO. 4

Departments

FALL 2021

ON THE COVER

2 Chancellor’s Letter 4 President’s Letter 6 From the Circle 22 Calendar 40 Ole Miss Sports

Keidron Smith wears No. 38 Julia Johnson wins another golf title

46 Just Published

48 Rebel Traveler 52 Alumni News

24 24 Larry Martindale (left), Susan Martindale, Marcia Cole and Don Cole gather on campus to celebrate the renaming of the Martindale Student Services Center as the Martindale-Cole Student Services Center. Photo by Logan Kirkland

O le M iss A lumni R ev iew Publisher Kirk Purdom (BA 93) Executive Editor Jim Urbanek II (BA 97) jim@olemissalumni.com Associate Editor and Advertising Director Annie Rhoades (BBA 07, MBA 09) annie@olemissalumni.com Contributing Editor Benita Whitehorn Art Director Amy Howell Contributors Kevin Bain (BA 98), Tyler Biggs (BA 12, MA 17), JB Clark (BA 10), Mitchell Diggs (BSJ 82), Jay Ferchaud, Thomas Graning (BAJ 17), Emily Howorth, Austin Ivy, Christian Johnson (13), Logan Kirkland (BAJ 16), Joshua McCoy (13), Michael Newsom (BA 05), Larry Pace, Gary Pettus, Caroline Sanders-McCollum, Jon Scott (BA 82), Edwin B. Smith (BA 80, MA 93), Patrick Smith (BAJ 11), Shea Stewart (00), Lisa Stone (MA 97), Jason Taylor Officers of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association Dr. Bob Warner (BA 79, MD 83) president Bill Reed (BA 72, JD 77) president-elect Karen Moore (BS 82) vice president Johnny Maloney (BBA 78) athletics committee member Bruce Ware (BBA 99) athletics committee member Alumni Affairs Staff, Oxford Kirk Purdom (BA 93), executive director Joseph Baumbaugh, assistant director for information services Sunny Brown (BSFCS 09, MA 11), assistant director Clay Cavett (BBA 86), associate director, campaigns and special projects Junae Johnson (BBA 15), assistant director Brian Maxcy (BA 00), assistant director Steve Mullen (BA 92), assistant director for marketing Annie Rhoades (BBA 07, MBA 09), assistant director for communications Scott Thompson (BA 97, MA 08), associate director, engagement Jim Urbanek (BA 97), associate director, communications and marketing Rusty Woods (BBA 01), associate director for information services The Ole Miss Alumni Review (USPS 561-870) is published quarterly by the Ole Miss Alumni Association and the Office of Alumni Affairs.

Alumni Association offices are located at Triplett Alumni Center, 651 Grove Loop, University, MS 38677.

Telephone 662-915-7375.

55822

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ALUMNI REVIEW

C hancellor from the

Dear Alumni and Friends,

We are having a fantastic fall on campus! Campus life is in full swing as our students are making lasting friendships and experiencing the stellar academic and engagement opportunities that we’re proud to offer. We’re thrilled that so many friends, family and alumni have returned to campus for tailgating in the Grove, enjoying the beautiful setting recently deemed a Tree Campus by the Arbor Day Foundation. As we experience the familiar warmth and joy of coming together, we’re also celebrating some great news that reflects our university’s upward trajectory.

All Mississippi public universities will release official enrollment numbers later in November, but a preliminary review of 2021-22 data shows a 19% increase in our freshman class over last year. That is the largest increase in the number of incoming freshmen from one fall to the next in university history. Our number of transfer students grew by 8%, and our overall enrollment has also increased. In the wake of nearly two years of change and uncertainty prompted by COVID-19, we’re ecstatic about this growth. And we owe a big thanks to our engaged alumni and friends who continue to support how Ole Miss attracts, retains and graduates talented and dedicated students from across Mississippi, the country and the world.

In addition, I’m excited to share that Ole Miss is once again ranked as the best university in Mississippi according to U.S. News & World Report. We’ve placed among the top 10% of public universities nationally as one of the best colleges, jumping 10 spots from last year’s ranking to No. 67 among public universities. We were also recognized as best in Mississippi and among the top in the nation for Best Value, support of student military veterans, and business and nursing programs. In another recent ranking, Ole Miss grads were ranked as the state’s best at finding and keeping a job for the fifth year in a row. I’m so pleased to share these noteworthy indicators as they reflect the excellence we all know embodies the Ole Miss experience! If you know a young person approaching college age, please share this tremendous news. Prospective students can sign up to become an Ole Miss VIP at admissions.olemiss.edu/vip.

Finally, I’m so pleased to share that in September, we celebrated a historic occasion in the renaming of the Martindale-Cole Student Services Center. Dr. Donald Cole has been a respected and beloved leader in the Ole Miss community for more than five decades. The energy and excitement of the day was felt by the hundreds of guests who attended, including the building’s other namesake, Larry Martindale, who called for adding Dr. Cole’s name to reflect and honor the diversity evident across our campus. As an alumnus and chancellor, I was humbled and grateful to witness this milestone for our university.

As I close, I’d like to welcome Dr. Bob Warner as the new president of the Ole Miss Alumni Association and thank Lampkin Butts for his leadership over the past year. Thank you for keeping the Ole Miss family strong and always moving us forward.

Hotty Toddy!

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

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From our beginnings over 17 decades ago, Ole Miss has remained the cornerstone of higher education in Mississippi.

Our great American public university is committed to lead and excel through engaging minds, transforming lives and serving others. Our past leaders through their contributions and stewardship have left a distinguished foundation for us to build upon the legacy of our flagship university.

In preparing to serve as your president, I have come to know Chancellor and Mrs. Boyce and have high respect for their dedication, wisdom and leadership during the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19. I recently attended an “Ole Miss” night where our chancellor took the time to visit with each of the guests. He met with students individually and personally called them the next week. In that evening he assured the recruitment of several future Rebels. With strong conviction, experience and calm judgment, the Boyces are the right leaders at the right time for Ole Miss.

As we move past this pandemic, there is much to celebrate. Our freshman enrollment for 2021-22 has increased dramatically. Ole Miss is listed in the top 10% of public universities by U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges (11 consecutive years in the top 100 universities list). We continue to have award-winning, distinguished faculty throughout the academic ranks. This fall marks the construction of the new Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation, a $160 million, state-of-the-art STEM building that is the largest construction project in the history of the university.

Under the direction of Vice Chancellor Keith Carter, 2020-21 marks arguably the best athletic year in Ole Miss history with a historic No. 22 finish in the Directors’ Cup standings. The women’s golf team won the NCAA national championship. The rifle team placed third nationally. Many sports saw notable postseason successes, and our athletes remained strong academically.

The Ole Miss Alumni Association is strong and vibrant. With 25,000 members, our support and involvement is integral to all aspects of the university; 95% of all gifts are from our active alumni. Our past alumni leaders have set the bar high in leadership, service and participation that stands as an example for the future. I especially want to thank Lampkin Butts, our immediate past president, for his efforts.

His solid leadership helped us navigate a steady course in an unprecedented time. We also owe appreciation to Kirk Purdom and the staff of the Alumni Association and The Inn at Ole Miss for their work throughout the pandemic.

Exciting times are ahead of us. Watch for the launch of Now and Ever: The Campaign for Ole Miss, and be a part of it! This initiative will provide unprecedented support for academics, research, athletics and our professional programs. Alumni involvement will be the key to its success.

In closing, I ask that you become more involved in Ole Miss through your Alumni Association. Please continue your membership and encourage others to join us in service to Ole Miss. With your help, we can be 30,000 members or more. If you want to be more involved, please contact the Alumni Association at alumni@olemiss.edu.

Warmest Regards and Hotty Toddy,

Bob Warner (BA 79, MD 83) ALUMNI REVIEW

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THE L ATES T ON OLE MISS S TUDENTS, FACULT Y, S TAFF AND FRIENDS

UM Earns ‘Tree Campus’ Distinction HONOR RECOGNIZES UNIVERSITY’S EFFORTS TO NURTURE GREEN SPACES ON CAMPUS

T

he University of Mississippi was name d a 2 0 2 0 Tre e C ampus Higher Education institution by the Arbor Day Foundation.

The Tree Campus Higher Education program was launched in 2008 to honor colleges and universities nationwide that work to “create greener, healthier spaces on campus through their trees,” said Dan Lambe, president of the foundation, in a video message to university officials.

“The benefits of trees are immense, from keeping campuses cool and livable to creating spaces that improve the physical and mental health of the people who make up your campus community.”

The Tree Campus recognition reflects the university’s ongoing commitment to planting and maintaining trees for generations of students, alumni and employees to enjoy, says Jeff McManus, UM director of landscape services.

“ Tr e e s h e l p c l e a n t h e a i r w e breathe, filter the water we drink and provide habitat for all the wildlife we enjoy around us today,” he says. “Trees are a large part of the welcoming environment we all enjoy on campus.

“From the Grove to the entrances, the stately trees here at Ole Miss remind us of the importance of the commitment to planting and maintaining these treasures.”

To qualify for the Tree Campus distinction, the university met five core standards for effective campus forest management: Establish a tree advisory committee, establish and adhere to a campus tree care plan, dedicate annual expenditures for a campus tree program, host an Arbor Day observance and sponsor student service-learning projects.

The main campus has thousands of

trees, providing shade and beauty across some 1,000 acres. These include two state champion trees: a stately northern catalpa, near the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union; and an Osage orange, near the UM Museum. The Grove and Circle alone are home to at least 38 different species of trees.

The Department of Landscape Services has developed a Tree Trail, with a downloadable map, that takes visitors to 25 significant examples of campus trees.

Since 2008, campus landscapers have planted more than 9,200 trees.

The Ole Miss campus is frequently lauded as one of the nation’s most beautiful campuses, and the Professional Grounds Management Society has recognized it with two Grand awards, sometimes called the “national championship of landscaping,” in 2002 and 2013.

Photo by Kevin Bain

6

ALUMNI REVIEW

Photo by Logan Kirkland

from the Circle

Everly Taylor’s sister, Lorelai (left); father, Joe; and brother Hudson watch as she meets Walkaround Elmo from Sesame Street on the field at VaughtHemingway Stadium during a timeout of the Sept. 11 Ole Miss-Austin Peay football game.

Everly and Elmo Take the Field OLE MISS WISH SENDS TAYLORS TO ORLANDO FOR FAMILY FUN

W

hen Everly Taylor and her siblings stepped onto Jerry Hollingsworth Field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 11, they knew Everly was being honored as this year’s Ole Miss Wish kid, but they had no idea that the honor included meeting Walkaround Elmo from Sesame Street.

On the Jumbotron, Athletics Director Keith Carter (BBA 01, MBA 16), joined by Andrew Newby, assistant director of veteran and military services at the University of Mississippi, welcomed the Taylor family and introduced the furry, red monster after the first quarter of the football game. They also informed Everly and her siblings that they would be taking a trip in a private jet to visit Sesame Street Land and Sea World.

“As soon as she saw Elmo on the field, she was stoked,” says Melanie Taylor, Everly’s mom. “She kept touching him like she couldn’t tell if he was real.

“And when we went back to the suite to watch the game, it was like her walls came down. She felt like a superstar and was waving at everyone as they walked by.”

Taylor says her daughter was still walking around like she was famous at church the next day.

Everly was born with a brain tumor, but it wasn’t diagnosed until Melanie and her husband, Joe, a retired Air Force master sergeant, adopted her at age 4. Now 8, she has had two brain surgeries and is undergoing her second round of chemotherapy in hopes of stabilizing the tumor growth.

Ole Miss Wish is a program designed to give militaryconnected families fighting a child’s life-threatening and chronic illnesses a perfect Ole Miss experience.

Newby, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, says he is passionate about this program because the demands of being a militaryconnected family is already difficult enough without any added pressures.

“I started Ole Miss Wish in 2018 with the purpose of giving back to families,” he says. “Military life isn’t easy, and to have children with a life-threatening illness adds an entirely different layer to the struggle of life.

“This program is a way to give joy to kids, and I love being able to watch the experience affect the entire family.”

“Everly understands that she gets special attention because she has to be a strong little girl, and she has to deal with cancer,” Melanie Taylor says. “And my other kids kept telling her, ‘Evs, this is a special day for you.’ But it’s for them, too.”

Tripp, 12; Hudson, 11; and Lorelai, 9, all joined Everly on the sidelines, where they tossed balls with players and trainers and even took pictures with John Rhys Plumlee, who is one of their favorite baseball and football players. Tripp even got to shoot the cannon as the players took the field.

“Programs like Ole Miss Wish do so much for the bonding and strengthening of our family because it gives us an opportunity to enjoy each other on a different level, away from the stress of the constant tests and checkups and worries,” Taylor says.

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from the Circle Photo by Logan Kirkland

Long-term Success

UM NAMED TO U.S. NEWS’ ‘BEST COLLEGES’ FOR 11TH YEAR or the 11th straight year, the University of Mississippi has been named one of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” for 2022, ranking No. 67 among public universities.

UM was also recognized for its tuition value, its support of student military veterans, as well as business and nursing programs, in the rankings released on Sept. 13.

U.S. News ranked nearly 1,400 colleges and universities.

UM continues to be the highest ranked university in the state and improved upon its 2021 ranking by a full 10 spots. This year, the university is tied with fellow SEC institution University of Alabama among public schools on the list. It is the university’s second highest ranking ever.

“We are thrilled to celebrate our climb in the national rankings and appreciate the opportunity to be recognized for our outstanding atmosphere of academic excellence, achievement and access,” says Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96).

“These rankings reinforce our flagship university status, and we are committed to growing our reach and impact in Mississippi and across the country. I credit our incredible students, faculty and staff who work diligently every day to expand our excellence and nurture a positive, spirited, caring environment.”

The U.S. News ranking has been one of the most widely 8

ALUMNI REVIEW

referenced measurements of undergraduate programs since it first published 37 years ago. To calculate the top schools, U.S. News focuses on academic quality and puts an emphasis on measuring outcomes, including graduation rates, retention rates and social mobility.

The university’s efforts to support veterans were recognized for the first time in the rankings this year.

Ole Miss made U.S. News and World Report’s “Best for Vets,” coming in 64th among public universities, and landing in the top 75 schools across the country for its first appearance in this ranking. The ranking is also the highest in the state, and ties UM with Alabama in the SEC. Andrew Newby, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and director of UM’s Office of Veteran and Military Services, says the ranking is a tremendous honor and is reflective of the university’s dedication to serving our nation’s veterans when they return home and enroll.

“I’m so proud of the work we have done to achieve this major ranking,” Newby says. “Veteran and Military Services is constantly looking for ways to meet military-connected students where they are.”

The full rankings and methodology can be found on the U.S. News ranking website: usnews.com.

from the Circle

Exploring New Forms of Fuel RESEARCH COULD OPEN DOOR TO TRANSFORMING CO2 INTO ENERGY

A

Photo by Logan Kirkland

University of Mississippi chemistry professor is exploring novel materials that could unlock a future sunlightdriven energy infrastructure.

Using a recent National Science Foundation award, Jared Delcamp is researching how new types of metal catalysts, or materials that speed up chemical reactions to allow practical access to fuel, can be applied to turn the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into a usable fuel primarily using sunlight.

Delcamp, an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is principal investigator on the award that includes researchers from two other Southeastern Conference universities.

“Ideally, the exhaust from cars and electric production plants and such carbon dioxide generators could be used directly with a catalyst and sunlight to generate a fuel,” says Delcamp, who joined the UM faculty in 2013. “This is what nature is doing with plant life via photosynthesis to make more plants.

“We aim to use these catalysts as part of an artificial photosynthesis system to make fuels as a long-term goal.”

According to NASA, carbon dioxide is “an important

Christine Curiac, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Jared Delcamp, a UM associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, measure optical properties of new materials to understand how they will behave catalytically as part of a collaborative research project funded by the National Science Foundation.

heat-trapping (greenhouse) gas, which is released through human activities such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels, as well as natural processes such as respiration and volcanic eruptions.”

The researchers hope their exploration will lead to the production of solar fuels from a greenhouse gas in a carbonneutral fashion.

“Dr. Delcamp has assembled a formidable team with a powerful combination of complementary expertise,” says Greg Tschumper, UM professor and chair of chemistry and biochemistry. “It is very exciting to see NSF invest in this collaborative effort and their incredibly important research

that has the potential to turn a nonrenewable fossil fuel like gasoline into a sustainable solar fuel via a process that also consumes an unwanted greenhouse gas.”

While using sunlight to create fuels as stored chemical energy available on demand is attractive relative to the world’s current fossil fuel-reliant infrastructure, to do so requires fast, durable and selective catalysts made from readily available and affordable metals, where feasible.

And while carbon dioxide can be turned into fuel without a catalyst, the loss in energy during the transformation is so great that it is impractical. The researchers are working toward designing more efficient, robust and selective catalysts that are practical.

“There are about four steps to get a catalyst into an artificial photosynthesis system, and it requires two different catalysts,” Delcamp says. “We are hoping to move very close to the final step for the catalyst we are studying, which would be about half the puzzle needed for a carbon dioxide-to-fuel system powered by sunlight.

“A catalyst changes the reaction pathway from carbon dioxide to fuel to avoid large energy penalties so fuels can be made faster. It’s like having an expressway to the product as opposed to a much longer dirt road.”

Working with Delcamp and serving as joint principal investigators on the award are Elizabeth Papish, a chemistry professor at the University of Alabama, and Charles Edwin Webster, a professor and associate department head in the Department of Chemistry at Mississippi State University.

The research collaboration grew out of a former NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research program that the trio worked on together. While involved with that grant, the researchers realized that combining forces could substantially speed up the work on their common interest of transforming carbon dioxide into fuel using sunlight.

Outreach into the large community is important as well, Delcamp says, as the public’s perception of science matters tremendously.

“The community is ultimately the folks that get to decide what is and isn’t important to keep pursuing with funding,” he says. “I think it is very important to let the community know about projects like this one where there is a clear target: Secure our energy future by designing carbon dioxide to fuel conversion catalysts.

“This creates a ‘carbon loop’ where we can still maintain our infrastructure with current fuels, only we would be able to recycle the waste generated into fuels as well. Driving this process with sunlight leads to a system that could run perpetually, and concerns about oil availability would diminish.

Things like this are a huge gain to society, and it is ultimately the public that drives the decisions to keep programs like this moving forward.”

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from the Circle

Solving Real-World Problems CME SENIORS GAIN PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE AT GULF COAST INDUSTRY

T

wenty University of Mississippi accountancy, business and engineering students got a rare opportunity to solve real-world problems when they participated recently in an experiential learning course on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The students spent almost a week at Keith Huber Corp., a manufacturer of industrial vacuum and pumper trucks in Gulfport, as part of Manufacturing 450: Practical Problem Solving. The students began the week with a lecture that ranged from fundamental problem-solving techniques to more complex methods that are used by companies such as Ford Motor Co., Caterpillar and Toyota. The classroom time finished up with techniques used by industries to avoid problems in product and process designs.

The students then were divided into three teams, with each team given a quality or operational problem to solve on the factory floor. The teams worked with Keith Huber team members, mentors and managers to solve the assigned problem, using an industry technique known as the 8-D Problem Solving Method.

The course finished with members of each team presenting their problem solutions to the industry’s executive team.

“The experiential learning class allows the students to practice humility by working with all levels of the operation’s employees and requires collaborative teamwork of the students,” says Eddie Carr, professor of practice in the university’s Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence. “Additionally, students have the opportunity to build presentation skills by presenting its team’s project to industry executives.”

Being nearly five hours from campus, this important area of Mississippi isn’t always associated with hosting an Ole Miss class, says Tyler Biggs (BA 12, MA 17), CME associate director of external operations.

“The course was a unique opportunity that, to our knowledge, is not afforded to students at other universities,” he says. “The interdisciplinary nature of our program allows students to step outside the traditional classroom and gain practical experience that will prepare them to be leaders in the modern economy.”

Students say they were grateful for the opportunity.

Hollie Arnsdorff, a chemical engineering and physics major from Knoxville, Tennessee, notes that in just three-anda-half days, the experience helped her become more confident in her abilities to work in a manufacturing environment.

“Perhaps one of the most rewarding parts of a career in engineering and manufacturing is implementing procedures with an emphasis on improving safety, quality and workplace conditions,” she says. “During our time at Keith Huber, my team and I were able to implement a new procedure achieving those things.

“I have gained valuable experience that will help me as I seek my first full-time career following graduation.”

Jamie Holder (BBA 85), chief operating officer at Keith Huber, praises the students’ creativity.

“The students from Ole Miss demonstrated exceptional cognitive thinking skills when presented with the problems our team came up with,” Holder says. “Their analysis followed by their solutions were superb. Everyone involved at Keith Huber was very impressed.”

Biggs says the benefits of experiential classes are twofold for students.

“First, these classes prepare our students to enter any aspect of the modern manufacturing industry and feel like they can contribute,” he says. “Second, it is also helpful because this is the type of experience companies are looking for when hiring.”

Photo by Tyler Biggs

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ALUMNI REVIEW

Submitted photo

from the Circle

The centerpiece of Dolly Parton’s philanthropy is her Imagination Library, which has provided more than 150 million books to children around the world. Parton is slated to appear at UM April 9-10, 2022, to accept the Legacy Award from the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy.

Spring Forward

OLE MISS WOMEN’S COUNCIL RESCHEDULES LEGACY AWARD FOR APRIL 10 egendary performer and philanthropist Dolly Parton is scheduled to visit the University of Mississippi and Oxford to accept the prestigious Legacy Award from the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy next spring.

Parton was previously scheduled to be honored locally this fall by the OMWC. The Women’s Council, founded more than two decades ago, has secured almost $17 million to endow 74 scholarships.

Described as one of the most innovative scholarship programs in America, the OMWC supports young men and women who exhibit ethical and caring behavior through a deep desire to help others.

The Legacy Award, established by the OMWC in 2010, recognizes those individuals who epitomize the council’s goals of philanthropy, leadership and mentorship.

“The Ole Miss Women’s Council is so grateful to Dolly for reserving the weekend of April 9-10, 2022, so she can join us here in Oxford to celebrate her work with the Imagination Library and attend the Legacy Award dinner,” says Mary Donnelly Haskell (BM 81), the event chair.

“As we announce the news about Dolly rescheduling her visit with us, we take to heart the optimistic words she has shared recently about finding hope as we all adapt to the ongoing

pandemic. We will have to continue looking forward to spending some quality time with Dolly for a few more months.”

One focus of the popular entertainer’s philanthropy is her Imagination Library, which gives free books to children around the world. Last year, this organization gifted its 150 millionth book.

During her visit to the Ole Miss campus, Parton will read to hundreds of local children. This free but ticketed story-time event will be held at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts on April 9. This presentation is sponsored by Regions Bank as part of the OMWC Rose Garden Literacy Project.

The annual Legacy Award dinner will follow on April 10.

The C Spire Foundation is the presenting sponsor of this event.

“All arrangements for sponsors already established will remain the same for these new dates,” says Jan Farrington (BAEd 65), sponsorship chair for the events.

“We so appreciate all those who are making generous investments in student programming for OMWC scholars through these signature events. We want our sponsors to know that their support means the world to our students and to us.”

For more information about the event or to support the OMWC program, contact Suzanne Helveston at shelveston@ olemiss.edu or 662-915-2956.

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from the Circle

The Band Plays On

GRAMMY WINNERS HIGHLIGHT 2021-22 FORD CENTER SEASON

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ALUMNI REVIEW

Photos courtesy of the Ford Center

rammy Award-winning classical and pop acts highlight the 2021-22 season of performances scheduled at the University of Mississippi’s Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

The fall 2021 schedule opened Sept.

14 with the world premiere of the multimedia experience “Voices of Mississippi.”

The program featured musical performances by notable Mississippi artists, archival film and images, and included personal narratives and accounts from William Ferris, founding director of the UM Center for the Study of Southern Culture and former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Upcoming scheduled performers include Grammy winners Bruce Hornsby, Nov. 7, and the Beach Boys, Dec. 11; jazz group Postmodern Jukebox, Dec. 4; classical pianist Andreas Klein with photographer Andreas Rentsch, Nov. 4; and the unique physical theater production “Stomp,” Nov. 29.

“How exciting to open our doors again after this long intermission,” says Julia Aubrey, Ford Center director. “We have stellar events, varied and diverse, that will appeal to a wide range of arts enthusiasts. Because the restart is a little slow for the touring groups, we are offering the fall season only at this point.

“In the spring, we are bringing back shows that were canceled with a Broadway series that includes ‘Beautiful – The Carole King Musical,’ ‘Waitress’ and ‘An American in Paris,’” Aubrey says. “Plus, we’re adding a great blues event with Edgar Meyer and a Saturday morning with ‘Dog Man.’” Tickets for these shows went on sale starting in October.

Aubrey says she is grateful for the Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, Friends of the Ford Center, sponsors and volunteers for their generous contributions supporting this season.

“Thanks to all of you for making sure the arts thrive in Oxford,” she says.

For ticket information and reservations, visit fordcenter.org.

The Beach Boys are set to play Dec. 11 at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

The Ford Center and the Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement teamed up to bring ‘The Fannie Lou Hamer Story’ to campus on Oct. 6.

from the Circle

UM RANKS TOP IN STATE FOR GETTING A JOB AFTER GRADUATION or the fifth consecutive year, University of Mississippi students have been named the state’s best at finding employment and keeping it, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education compiled in a new ranking from Zippia.com.

The ranking takes into account the most recent College Scorecard data released by the U.S. Department of Education. Zippia, a career expert website, ranked colleges in each state with the highest listed job placement 10 years after graduation.

The data showed an employment rate of 91.42% for Ole Miss graduates.

The Zippia report states, “Whether it comes from excellent career centers, strong academic offerings, stellar reputations or

networking opportunities, certain colleges just flat-out do a better job of helping students launch their careers than other colleges.”

UM not only has the best percentage of all Mississippi schools but is one of only two SEC schools recognized — the other being Auburn University.

“Being ranked No. 1 for the fifth year in a row is a wonderful testament to the quality of students that we attract to the University of Mississippi,” says Toni Avant (BA 86, MA 97), director of the UM Career Center. “Because of their curricular and co-curricular experiences, our graduates have developed the career-readiness competencies necessary to land great opportunities within global organizations and to lead within their respective fields.”

Awarding Service and Outreach PHARMACY GRADUATE STUDENTS WIN AAPS STUDENT CHAPTER AWARD

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The award is given to chapters that demonstrate exceptional commitment to service and outreach. Up to three chapters nationwide are selected for the award each year.

This is the first time the Ole Miss

Submitted photo

he University of Mississippi chapter of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists has been selected as a recipient of the 2021 Student Chapter Award by the national organization.

Members of the UM chapter of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists celebrate being honored with a 2021 Student Chapter Award by the national organization.

chapter has received the award. A plaque honoring the achievement will be presented to the group at the annual AAPS PharmSci 360 meeting in October. The chapter also will receive $1,000 to support future activities.

Abhishek Shettar (MS 19), treasurer of the chapter and a graduate student in the Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, says the award is a tremendous honor and a reflection of the successful work the chapter has done over the past year.

“It feels great to be part of this organization, which is also part of the profession,” Shettar says. “It feels special that the student chapter has won this award during our tenure as the executive committee.”

Michael Repka, chair and distinguished professor of pharmaceutics and drug delivery and director of the Pii Center for Pharmaceutical Technology, praises the work of the chapter in bringing home this award.

“Over the last several years, I have seen the energy that students in our department have injected into the AAPS student chapter,” Repka says. “It was exciting to see all students working as a team to add value to the organization.”

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from the Circle Photo by Logan Kirkland

Kate Forster, director of advocacy for UMatter, places canned soups and vegetables on the new Grove Grocery shelves installed by Center for Manufacturing Excellence volunteers. The campus pantry provides free meals and hygiene items for dozens of Ole Miss students and employees each week.

A Better Shopping Experience CME STUDENTS, VOLUNTEERS HELP UPGRADE GROVE GROCERY

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rove Grocery, the University of Mississippi’s food pantry, recently got an upgrade, thanks to students and staff in the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence.

Housed in Kinard Hall, Room 213, Grove Grocery provides free meals and hygiene items for Ole Miss students and employees. The revamp took place late last spring after Grove Grocery organizers approached CME staff to explore ways to enhance the pantry’s capacity to serve the campus community, achieve better productivity in the space and explore inventory control measures.

“I was asked to help improve the physical layout of the racks and goods at the Grove Grocery on campus,” says Eddie Carr, professor of practice in the CME. “I asked for student volunteers and had six students volunteer to help with the project.”

Carr divided the students into two teams. The first group was a supply chain team that reviewed the entire process of getting food-related goods from grocery stores and collection boxes, transporting those goods to the pantry and stocking them on the shelves. They also looked at the system in place for customers to order food from the pantry.

The second team was a design group that was charged with reorganizing the racks and paths to pick orders of food once they were received.

Carr worked with the Mississippi Surplus Asset Warehouse in Pearl to obtain new racks at a very low cost. Through

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another CME connection with Masterbilt in New Albany, a refrigerator was donated.

The teams worked with the pantry’s student and staff volunteers and reviewed their progress with Carr weekly.

“Both groups did outstanding work in optimizing both the supply chain system and the layout,” Carr says. “The students from the CME and the Grove Grocery worked one weekend to implement all of the proposed changes, which yielded a remarkable atmosphere.”

The new space allows for a much better customer experience, says Kate Forster, director of advocacy for UMatter: Student Support and Advocacy.

“Shelving is more accessible and easier to see and reach,” she says. “Space can accommodate increased inventory due to the changes.”

The pantry’s student-led fight against hunger and the stigma around food insecurity continues.

“Patrons feel that the space is thoughtful,” Forster says. “We hope this will decrease the stigma of accessing the pantry.”

Grove Grocery has a second location in the George Street House, near the J.D. Williams Library. Both locations of Grove Grocery are open 3-8 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Workers wear masks and follow all campus protocols while they serve students.

Anyone who wants to volunteer to staff one of the Grove Grocery locations or to donate can visit grovegrocery.olemiss.edu.

from the Circle

Call to Serve

UM SENIOR HONORED WITH STUDENT VETERAN LEADERSHIP AWARD

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amie King wants to do right by student veterans, and his work is getting noticed. The University of Mississippi senior was featured in the August issue of GI Jobs magazine for receiving the 2021 Student Veteran Leadership Award.

King, a geology major originally from the Delta town of Cleveland, joins 24 other student veterans across the country being awarded this year for their ongoing service to other student veterans.

After serving as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, King enrolled at Ole Miss as a nontraditional student. He faced a number of obstacles, most of which he initially internalized instead of reaching out for help.

Now, as president of UM’s Student Veterans Association, King helps other student veterans avoid the very hurdles that tripped him up.

“In the military, you do your job and rely on the person next to you (to) do theirs,” he says. “While that is inherently cooperative, the only part you can control is your role.”

But that mindset quickly put King behind in the classroom.

“My job was to read the text, participate in the exercises and then do well on the examinations,” he says. “I didn’t reach out for help when I was struggling. I didn’t connect with study groups.

I was really uncertain on how to interact with other students.

“That’s when veterans shut down, don’t ask questions and fall behind. It’s a combination of ego, pride and social norms, but it was tough to have to ask an 18-year-old student for help — it was a gut check. I still don’t love doing it.”

Remembering his first year as a student veteran is what kept King motivated to continue reaching out to student veterans last year, even though he had to do it virtually. He and his team kept an ever-updating list of active-military students and student veterans with whom they stayed in regular contact.

This year’s entire cohort of Student Veteran Leadership Award honorees shared King’s same drive to help others, says Dan Fazio, managing editor of GI Jobs magazine.

“Jamie King and the other Student Veteran Leadership Award winners were chosen for their passion for paying forward the support they’ve received during their post-military education,” he says. “They volunteer their time to help others despite crazy busy schedules. They mentor and advocate for their fellow student veterans.

“They help improve programs and services for veterans, and their efforts have a lasting impact on their schools and communities. We’re honored to shine a spotlight on these future leaders of America.”

Submitted photo

UM senior Jamie King participates in a recent mapping exercise in New Mexico. The geology major and 2021 Student Veteran Leadership Award honoree often compares his time as a paratrooper to fieldwork, saying he simply loves being outdoors and in the woods.

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from the Circle

Hotty Toddy!

ESPN NAMES OXFORD AS AMERICA’S BEST COLLEGE TOWN

Photo by Logan Kirkland

Photo by Logan Kirkland

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hough it should come as no surprise to the tens of thousands of University of Mississippi fans who pack the Grove for seven Saturdays each fall, ESPN listed the home of the Ole Miss Rebels as the country’s best college town ahead of the 2021 NCAA football season.

In a video segment released in August, ESPN tweeted, “The Grove is an unbelievable Game Day atmosphere. What is your favorite college town?” with a video and graphics proclaiming Oxford as its top college town. The home of UM edged out Athens, Georgia, another Southeastern Conference university town, as the nation’s best college town.

The Big 10 rounded out the rankings with Madison, Wisconsin, in third; Ann Arbor, Michigan, fourth; and State College, Pennsylvania, placing fifth.

A mural near the Oxford Square shows the city’s personality.

We are looking forward to the fall crowds as our community celebrates!”

In the ESPN segment, local restaurants are touted. The Grove and Oxford are celebrated for the welcome that gets rolled out to visitors, and the intensity of the fan base is also mentioned as a factor in the decision.

David Pollack, ESPN college football analyst and former Georgia Bulldog All American football player, chimes in on the ESPN video. Pollack, who was on the 2014 “College GameDay” broadcast from Ole Miss, also has the perspective of someone who has been to the Grove for some major college football showdowns.

Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) says the university is appreciative of the ranking, which confirms what the Ole Miss community has known for decades.

“With this ranking, ESPN has confirmed what thousands upon thousands of Ole Miss students, alumni, fans and visitors have passionately believed for many years: Oxford, Mississippi, is America’s greatest college town,” Boyce says.

The experience visitors have on campus is due in part to the city’s strong partnership with the university, he says.

“We are truly fortunate to call Oxford our home, and we’re grateful the city is such a terrific partner,” Boyce says. “Along with its legacy as a wellspring for arts and culture, today’s Oxford is a thriving destination for dining, shopping, entertainment and much more. Like Ole Miss, Oxford is charming, beautiful and a whole lot of fun.”

Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill (BA 92) says the city is also happy about the recognition.

“We are thrilled that ESPN has recognized Oxford as the country’s best college town,” Tannehill says. “We certainly agree! Oxford and Ole Miss complement each other so well.

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Photo by Christian Johnson

Ole Miss students enjoy al fresco dining on the Oxford Square. ESPN has named Oxford as the country’s top college town.

Cheerleaders pump up the crowd from the Grove stage during pregame festivities before the Ole Miss Rebels’ 2019 matchup with Texas A&M.

Though Oxford beat out Athens, home of his alma mater, Pollack notes the splash Ole Miss made and gives props. “‘GameDay’ went there several years ago, and it’s hard to disagree (with the No. 1 ranking),” Pollack says over video of fans in the Grove. “Look at the people, the Hotty Toddys are out. It’s insane. The Grove is an unbelievable gameday atmosphere, but the town is full of football junkies.”

from the Circle

New Faces

NEW GENERAL COUNSEL, POLICE CHIEF JOIN OLE MISS

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he University of Mississippi recently filled two top vacancies with the hiring of David Whitcomb and Daniel Sanford.

David Whitcomb, an attorney with more than 25 years of experience across the corporate, governmental and higher education sectors, is the new chief legal officer and general counsel.

David Whitcomb

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Whitcomb comes to Ole Miss from the University of Tennessee System, where he served as deputy general counsel. In his new role, Whitcomb reports to Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) and provides advice and counsel on a wide array of matters including governance, research, athletics, student affairs and finance.

A member of the chancellor’s senior leadership team, Whitcomb also will coordinate with the University of Mississippi Medical Center on legal matters, working closely with its general counsel.

“I am honored and excited to join Ole Miss,” Whitcomb says. “I look forward to contributing to the work of this great university, which is such a valuable asset to the state of Mississippi.”

Whitcomb has a long and distinguished background in legal practice. He joined the University of Tennessee System in 2018, overseeing the university’s litigation across all campuses, as well as nonlitigation controversies involving students, faculty, employees and the general public. Previously, Whitcomb was a partner with BakerHostetler in Columbus, Ohio. There, he was a litigator and employment lawyer and advised clients on public-sector issues. He also worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and served as a law clerk for two U.S District Court judges.

Daniel Sanford, veteran law enforcement officer from the University of Alabama, is the new director of University Police and Campus Safety.

Sanford comes to Ole Miss from Alabama, where he served as assistant chief of police since 2019. He got his start as a reserve deputy for the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff ’s Office in 2002. He says he’s always enjoyed being in law enforcement in a college community.

“Ole Miss is an SEC school, so it’s certainly what I’m used to,” Sanford says. “As a parent of a college student, I appreciate that law officers on a college campus are there to help students understand that something has long-term consequences, but that they are also being taken care of, kept safe and everyone is being looked after.

“We let them know that even if they’re going through the student conduct process, it’s not a fatal mistake. There is just a different, more nurturing attitude on a college campus with college campus law enforcement officers.”

Sanford earned a bachelor’s degree in community studies from the University of Alabama in 2017, and a master’s degree in higher education administration from UA in 2019. He also holds a graduate certificate in criminal justice education from the University of Virginia.

Both Whitcomb and Sanford started with the university on Aug. 9.

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from the Circle

Made to Order

PSYCHIATRY CAN MATCH DRUGS TO DNA FOR MADE-TO-MEASURE TREATMENTS

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ALUMNI REVIEW

Adult Psychiatry, and director of outpatient psychiatry.

Your genome carries an estimated 30,000 genes, each of which makes certain proteins called enzymes that metabolize (put to good use) substances, including medicine.

“But that metabolism varies from person to person,” Ladner says. That’s where testing comes in.

The second reason for pharmacogenomics’ entrance into the UMMC practice of psychiatry is that people had been asking about it, especially parents of children who are outpatients, Rodgers says.

“That was another impetus, and we are getting the word out.”

So far, the word is spreading pretty well at the Center for Illustration courtesy of UMMC

he day is coming, it seems, when your prescription medicine may fit you as comfortably as a tailor-made suit, an alternative to a less-customized treatment right off the pharmaceutical rack.

At the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the technology in the field that makes this adaptation possible has been available for years in this field: medical genetics and precision medicine.

It has mobilized advances in patient care, helping physicians diagnose a patient early, before symptoms set in; helping them propose preventive measures for those who inherited certain gene mutations that can lead to disease; and more.

While it has been a welcome windfall in cancer therapy, now a particular feature of precision medicine is being harnessed for the practice of psychiatry: pharmacogenomics.

“It can save time; it can save resources,” says Dr. Scott Rodgers, chair of psychiatry and human behavior at UMMC. “It can help us avoid prescribing a treatment that might have severe side effects. That’s a wonderful benefit.”

Pharmacogenomics harmonizes a medication with a person’s genetic makeup, or genome — an individual’s complete set of DNA; it enables physicians to fashion, like a tailor with a client’s body measurements, individualized care for a patient with depression, addictions, mood disorders and more.

“In psychiatry, for many years, we have focused on the trial-and-error approach for pharmacotherapy [drug therapy],” Rodgers says. “One treatment may not work for a certain patient. It may have side effects for one patient but not for another. We don’t really know unless we do a trial, which can last months.

“Some patients respond right away to a medication; for other patients, you may need to try many treatments before you land on one.”

The immediate hope is that pharmacogenomics is leading to reduced risks for patients, including side effects.

There are at least a couple of reasons the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior decided to introduce pharmacogenomics — and to adults and young patients alike, Rodgers says.

First, is his department’s connection with the Mayo Clinic; the two have been working together for some time on a research project to find biomarkers, or biological signposts, for bipolar disorder. Through this relationship, Rodgers and his department, including Dr. Mark Ladner (BA 87, MD 92), learned more about pharmacogenomics, which the Mayo Clinic introduced to their clinical practice several years ago.

“Pharmacogenomics testing detects how your unique genes respond to a certain medication; this requires information about your genetic makeup,” says Ladner, professor of psychiatry and human behavior, director of the Division of

Precision medicine, an approach that uses targeted therapy to treat individual patients, includes a field called pharmacogenomics. Looking at a patient’s DNA to see how it affects the way the patient responds to drugs, pharmacogenomics is now also being used at UMMC in the treatment of psychiatric conditions.

Advancement of Youth, or CAY, whose executive director is Dr. David Elkin, professor of psychiatry and human behavior in the Division of Psychology.

“Some parents have already requested this for their children, and some reports have come back,” Elkin says. “Prescribers here are aware of those reports and are using them.”

Pharmacogenomics has been applied to the treatment of, among other conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Rodgers cautions that there are limitations for the practice of psychiatry.

“For psychiatry, for now, its usefulness is that it tells us which side effects can occur,” he says. “It lets us know how to adjust dosages. This is very important.”

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OUR OWNERS ARE BORN IN, EDUCATED IN AND INVESTED IN MISSISSIPPI

George Walker OLE MISS CLASS 1990

Wayne Pierce

OLE MISS CLASS OF 1985

Calendar NOVEMBER

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hrough Nov. 30 Exhibit: “Exploring the Final Frontier in the Archives.” J.D. Williams Library.

Exhibit open by appointment only.

Visit events.olemiss.edu.

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hrough Dec. 3 Ole Miss Alumni 40 Under 40: Nominations/applications open. Visit olemissalumni.com/ 40-under-40.

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Museum Milkshake Mash-ups: For middle schoolers and teens (grades 5-8). UM Museum, 4:15-5:15 p.m.

Visit museum.olemiss.edu.

11

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Belmont. The Pavilion, 7 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

11

-12 Volleyball: Ole Miss vs.

LSU. Gillom Center, 6 p.m. both nights. Visit olemisssports.com.

12

Pizza Bowl: Swayze Field. Details TBA. Visit olemissalumni.com/ events or call 662-915-7375.

12

20th Annual Banking and Finance Symposium: Oxford Conference Center, 102 Ed Perry Blvd., 8 a.m. Visit olemissalumni.com/events.

12

-13 Volleyball Alumni Weekend: Details TBA. Tailgate between Triplett Alumni Center and Yerby, three hours prior to kickoff. Visit olemissalumni.com/ events or call 662-915-7375.

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Pharmacy Alumni and Friends Tailgate: Three hours prior to kickoff. Faser Hall front lawn. Visit olemissalumni.com/events or call 662-915-7375.

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ALUMNI REVIEW

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Young Alumni Tailgate: Faser Hall front lawn. Time TBA. Visit olemissalumni.com/events or call 662-915-7375.

Football: Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Time TBA. Visit olemissfb.com.

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Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi Valley State. The Pavilion, 3 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

16

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Lamar. The Pavilion, 6 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

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Mini Masters: “Fantastical Creatures.” Parents and toddlers alike enjoy these drop-in art classes designed for the youngest budding artists. UM Museum, 3:45-4:30 p.m. $5 for each drop-in session. Visit museum.olemiss.edu.

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-19 Volleyball: Ole Miss vs.

Georgia. Gillom Center, 6 p.m. both nights. Visit olemisssports.com.

19

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Louisiana Tech. The Pavilion, 7 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

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, 21 Musical: “The Light in the Piazza.” Tony award-winning musical. Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Sunday. Ticket required. Call 662-915-7411 or visit olemissboxoffice.com.

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School of Applied Sciences Tailgate: Three hours prior to kickoff. Triplett Alumni Center front lawn. Visit olemissalumni.com/events or call 662-915-7375.

Football: Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Time TBA. Visit olemissfb.com.

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Jackson State. The Pavilion, 2 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

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Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Mississippi Valley State. The Pavilion, 3 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

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Performance: “Stomp.” The international percussion sensation has garnered an armful of awards and rave reviews and has appeared on numerous national television shows.

Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m.

Ticket required. Call 662-915-2787 or visit fordcenter.org.

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Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Rider. The Pavilion, 6:30 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

DECEMBER

1

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

New Orleans. The Pavilion, 11 a.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

1

25-Year Faculty and Staff Luncheon: Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom in The Inn at Ole Miss, noon. Call 662-915-7375.

1

Lecture: South Talks. Jessica Ingram will discuss her photo book Road through Midnight: A Civil Rights Memorial, which was shortlisted for the 2020 Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation First PhotoBook Award and named one of the New York Times Best Art Books of 2020. Tupelo Room of Barnard Observatory, noon. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

Calendar

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First Friday Free Sketch Day: Look for the UM Museum’s gallery sketching stools, generously provided by a grant from the Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow (LOFT), and explore the galleries in this informal, free sketch session for all skill levels. UM Museum, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (drop-in). Visit museum.olemiss.edu.

4

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Memphis. The Pavilion, 11 a.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

4

Performance: Postmodern Jukebox. From its Etta James-inspired rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep” to its New Orleans jazz interpretation of Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” Postmodern Jukebox has established a sound like no other, crafting hits as exquisitely sublime as they are humorously absurd. Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m. Ticket required. Call 662-915-2787 or visit fordcenter.org.

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Performance: The Beach Boys.

As The Beach Boys mark more than a half century of making music, the group continues to ride the crest of a wave unequaled in America’s musical history. Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m. Ticket required. Call 662-915-2787 or visit fordcenter.org.

12

Young Alumni Event: Ole Miss Day at the Titans Game. Titans vs. Jaguars. Nissan Stadium, noon.

Visit olemissalumni.com/events or call 662-915-7375.

15

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Middle Tennessee. The Pavilion, 6:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

17

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Samford. The Pavilion, 1 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

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Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Dayton. The Pavilion, 5:30 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Samford. The Pavilion, 3 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

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Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Florida. The Pavilion, 4 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

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Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Arkansas. The Pavilion, 6 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

JANUARY

8

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Mississippi State. The Pavilion, 7:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

9

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Tennessee. The Pavilion, noon.

Visit olemisssports.com.

13

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Alabama. The Pavilion, 6 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

15

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Auburn. The Pavilion, 7:30 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

15

-16 Reunion: Women’s Basketball Alumni Weekend. Various times and locations. Visit olemissalumni.com/ events.

16

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State. The Pavilion, 2 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

16

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs.

Alabama State. Galtney Indoor Tennis Center, doubleheader. Time TBA. Visit olemisssports.com.

18

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Missouri. The Pavilion, 6 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs.

Oklahoma State. Galtney Indoor Tennis Center. Time TBA. Visit olemisssports.com.

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Arkansas. The Pavilion, 6 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

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Performance: Bush/Marshall/ Meyer/Meyer Quartet. American music masters Sam Bush, Mike Marshall and Edgar Meyer join with George Meyer for a special collaboration usually only heard on the summer bluegrass festival circuit. Gertrude C. Ford Center, 7:30 p.m. Ticket required.

Call 662-915-2787 or visit fordcenter.org.

29

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs.

Oklahoma. Galtney Indoor Tennis Center. Time TBA. Visit olemisssports.com.

29

Men’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs.

Kansas State. The Pavilion, 6 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

30

Men’s Tennis: Ole Miss vs.

Illinois/N.C. State. Time TBA. Visit olemisssports.com.

30

Women’s Basketball: Ole Miss vs. Georgia. The Pavilion, 2 p.m.

Visit olemisssports.com.

* The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss has been shortened to The Pavilion in this calendar due to space limitations.

For a complete and latest listing of Ole Miss sports schedules, visit olemisssports.com.

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

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COMING

BY JB CLARK PHOTOS BY LOGAN KIRKLAND

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TOGETHER UM celebrates ‘Martindale-Cole’ as new name for student services center

Larry and Susan Martindale with Marcia and Don Cole

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Larry Martindale (center) and Don Cole (right) cut the ribbon at the newly renamed Martindale-Cole Student Services Center on Sept. 10 as Chancellor Glenn Boyce watches.

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wave of applause and celebration washed over a crowd of hundreds on the morning of Sept.

10 as Don Cole (PhD 85) and Larry Martindale (68) cut the ribbon in front of the newly named Martindale-Cole Student Services Center at the University of Mississippi.

Cole’s iconic laugh could be heard over the crowd as he and Martindale gripped each other’s hands and shared the moment.

Staff members clapped as they leaned out of the building’s second- and third-floor windows to join the chorus of cheers, shouts and whistles. Many raised their hands, some cried. A shout of “Come on, Cole,” punctuated Cole’s opening remarks.

“You can feel it in the air,” he said. “You can see it in your surroundings. You can sense it in your presence. Something historic is happening here today at the University of Mississippi.

“It’s almost divine, and I am so pleased so many of you all decided to be a part of this historic event.”

The lawn, sidewalks and flower beds between the Martindale-Cole Student Services Center and the J.D. Williams Library were packed with faculty, students, administrators, staff and longtime friends and colleagues of Cole, including James Meredith (BA 63) and Chancellor Emeritus Robert Khayat (BAEd 61, JD 66).

The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning board 26

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voted unanimously in October 2020 to rename the Martindale Student Services Center as the Martindale-Cole Student Services Center. The change was requested by Martindale, former Ole Miss basketball player and longtime university supporter.

The original building opened in 1929 and for many years was where the university’s basketball teams, including Martindale, competed.

Cole retired in January 2019 after a storied career as a student, professor and administrator known for being a tenacious advocate for diversity and working tirelessly to encourage students of all backgrounds to find and pursue their passions at the university.

The university’s resolution reads, “Believing that education is the ‘great equalizer’ and the central feature in the prevailing endurance of mankind, Dr. Cole is a stern advocate for education, particularly for minority students. He devotes his time and energy to projects and causes that promotes the schooling, teaching, training and guidance opportunities of our children — particularly toward advanced degrees. Dr. Cole dedicated his life to portraying UM as a 21st-century institution, and he is a stern advocate for the institution.”

A Lifetime of Student Advocacy As a student, Cole was one of the 89 Black students who were arrested and jailed for staging a protest during a 1970

James Meredith (center, with white cap), the first Black student at the university, smiles as Don Cole speaks on Sept. 10.

campus performance by Up with People. Most of the arrested students were taken to the local Lafayette County Jail, but Cole and several others were taken to the Mississippi State Penitentiary, commonly known as Parchman Farm.

After he and seven others were expelled from the university, Cole pursued his education elsewhere, earning master’s degrees in mathematics from the State University of New York and the University of Michigan before returning to UM to complete his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1985.

“I had not truly failed at anything, and I had come here to get a degree and I had failed to get a degree,” Cole said in an earlier interview. “I had left in disgrace, left with a jail certificate, and I had come here, not by myself, but come here representing so many others, and I suspect that I had feelings about letting so many other folks down, and maybe this gave me another shot at redeeming myself.”

Cole found a home in Oxford. He and his wife, Marcia (BA 98, MSS 00), have been married for more than 40 years, and have three children: Donald II, Mariah and William. He’s also a deacon and trustee of New Hope M.B. Church in Oxford.

Besides his roles as program director, grant writer, mentor and mathematics professor, Cole also served as a university administrator. Under Chancellor Emeritus Khayat, he was named assistant to the chancellor for multicultural affairs.

“No one would have blamed Don if he never returned to our campus again, but he had unfinished business,” says

Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96). “What followed was an amazing 25-year career at the university.

“While Don retired in January 2019, his legacy is seen, heard and felt all across this institution each and every day because of the care that he modeled and embodied to help each student reach their full potential during their time at Ole Miss.

So, how fitting is it that his name now adorns this very building where so many students go for support on our campus?

“I don’t think there could be a better place at the University of Mississippi to see Don Cole’s name than on a student services building.”

When Cole retired, James Reid, chair and professor of mathematics, uncovered an eye-popping stat that speaks to Cole’s dedication for helping students.

“It was noted in that June/July 2009 issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society that over one-third of the African Americans who received Ph.D.s nationally that year had graduated from this university in 2006,” Reid says.

“Dr. Cole was an essential contributor to this effort and recruited and mentored many of these students. He is a remarkable member of the Ole Miss family.”

A Desire for Representation Martindale, the building’s first namesake, spent his career in hospitality focusing on making his guests feel welcomed FA LL 2 0 21

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Don Cole reflects on the progress made at the university over the past 50 years during a ceremony to rename the Martindale-Cole Student Services Center in his honor.

and supported. It was his experience as a partner in the RitzCarlton hotel chain that led him to contribute to the reinvestment in campus beautification under then-Chancellor Khayat.

And the result of his and his wife Susan’s contributions, the student services building was named in his honor in 1995.

That same experience is what drove the Martindales to seek out another name to put on the building 25 years later.

Meredith, the first Black student to enroll at the university, sat in the front row during the renaming celebration. It was the statue of Meredith — less than 100 yards from the student services building — where Martindale decided to add the name of a Black student advocate to the building.

On one of his campus visits, Martindale was sitting inside the building reading the Daily Mississippian. He noticed a group of prospective students and their parents had gathered to go on a campus tour, and he decided to tag along.

“The student giving the tour did a fabulous job of talking about the campus and ended up spending about 10 minutes explaining the James Meredith statue,” Martindale says. “It just hit me that it would be nice if the building named for us could represent the diversity I saw in the students gathered for the tour.

“Susan and I had been talking about how to add even more meaning to the building. We talked to the administration, and that’s when Don Cole’s name started popping up. We got to know him and Marcia, and now this building represents who 28

ALUMNI REVIEW

Ole Miss is today, and tomorrow and for the future. This is about all of us coming together. The building should represent who we are today and that this university is moving forward.”

A Charge for the Future With the addition of Cole’s name to the building, Boyce says generations of students will be influenced by his example of leadership and advocacy.

“We’re so pleased that generations of current and future students will continue to have Dr. Cole’s example shaping their education,” he says. “This tribute ensures his journey will always be remembered, will always be on display and will always be celebrated by our university.”

To close the celebration, Cole issued a charge to the audience and, specifically, those working in the building to adopt the new Cole-Martindale Principle, which he says embraces inclusion, values diversity and demands equity.

“Larry Martindale, Don Cole, James Meredith, Robert Khayat and everybody else here charge the keeper of this center to apply that Cole-Martindale Principle to this building,” Cole says.

“We charge that the Cole-Martindale Principle will allow this center to give a collective voice to those many students who would otherwise have been silenced, not heard and not appreciated because of their stature.”

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ALUMNI REVIEW

30

g n i tt e G Social

By Annie Rhoades

A

Young alumna finds rewarding position with Yeti

s she sits down to check social media feeds and compile her social listening report, University of Mississippi alumna Eumetria Jones (BS 21), social media coordinator for Yeti, is still in awe that her employer allows her to do what she loves — and pays her for it.

“My family and my support system always pushed me in the right direction — even when I would not do the best or do things wrong,” she says. “I always had this big support system that helped me get to the next step. Whether it was my dad teaching me about traveling and my future career, my mom giving me great life lessons or my grandma coming with her wisdom — it always centered me.”

Jones credits her “small town/big city” upbringing for enabling her to fit in anywhere.

“My mom lived in Byhalia, and my dad lived in Memphis,” she says. “I think that helped me a lot to grow up in those two different environments. I’m able to adjust pretty much anywhere.”

A 2018 graduate of Byhalia High School and class salutatorian, Jones was eager to follow in the footsteps of her father and begin her college career in computer science.

“That [major] did not last long,” Jones laughs. “My dad and family members on his side are all tech people, so I thought that’s what I wanted to do. It’s a lucrative field, but I realized I couldn’t do it.

“I had to do something that fuels my passion and my spirit. I’m a very outgoing person. I love to talk and connect with people, and, at the time, I loved social media. The [School of Journalism and New Media] was able to provide all of that for me. Integrated marketing communications

was an amazing program, and I thought this is my home and I’m sticking to it.”

Stellar Student

A stellar student whose list of achievements is as long as her list of internships, Jones maintained a laser focus on academics. That focus ultimately led to her receiving her undergraduate degree in a mere three years.

“By the grace of God and through the help of people around me, I was able to get a full ride for school, and that was a big win for me and my family,” she says. “At first, I wanted to go somewhere that was farther away, but not having to pay for school was a big factor in my decision. I knew I was going to receive a great education, and it’s really what you make out of the experience, not necessarily where you are.”

A Provost Scholar and Talbert Fellows cohort member, Jones found time to serve as the business manager for the UM Gospel Choir, director of public relations for the Black Student Union and a mentor for the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation Bridge Program.

“I was involved in a lot,” Jones says. “Being involved in those campus groups really helped me connect with my peers and gave me an opportunity to be involved and feel FA LL 2 0 21

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integrated marketing communications and was enthusiastic about global experiences. Her drive, initiative, confidence and amiable personality are all wonderful traits that make her successful. Any employer would want someone like her.”

Jones’ experience with study abroad led her to interning with Ole Miss Athletics’ marketing and fan experience, as well as University Marketing & Communications.

“Social media doesn’t seem like a real career for a lot of people, but for me, I knew I could make something out of it,” Jones says. “I just tried to figure out the best way to do that. I made sure that I connected with people on campus.

“Dean [Jennifer] Simmons helped me a lot as well as professor [Chris] Sparks and others. I was always searching online, trying to find the best things to do that I could get a good learning experience from. It was amazing working with all of them. I learned so much in each opportunity.”

Saying Yes to Yeti

Before she completed her degree, Jones began interviewing with Yeti. Her first professional job was not easily won.

After being passed over for a position with Yeti that wasn’t quite an ideal fit, Jones set her sights on the newly created social media coordinator position. After enduring eight grueling hourlong interviews, Jones landed her dream job.

“I started working for Yeti before I graduated, which is crazy,” Jones says. “The first time I interviewed with Yeti, it was for a different position that wasn’t what I really wanted to do.

Investing in Internships

“I had a lot of internships,” she laughs. “I am extremely grateful for those opportunities. People always told me you must do internships; a degree matters, but that internship is what’s going to really get you a job. When I got to school, I immediately started looking into what I could get involved with. I started working in the Study Abroad Office my second semester, and from there so many other opportunities flourished.”

Blair McElroy, senior international officer and director of study abroad, says Jones impressed her so much that she hired her on the spot. “[She] showed up with her resumé in early 2019,” McElroy says. “She had taken the initiative to get a job on campus and was dropping by different offices on campus. She impressed all of us right away.

“We were in need of a social media coordinator and wanted to hire a student who could bring a fresh voice to our channels, and [she] was perfect for the job since she was studying 32

ALUMNI REVIEW

Photos by Austin Ivy of Digital Mentality

like I was making a difference on campus.”

But perhaps Jones’ most astute decision was to immerse herself in as many internship opportunities as she could get her hands on, beginning with the Study Abroad program in the Office of Global Engagement where she served as peer adviser and social media facilitator.

Photo by Caroline Sanders-McCollum of CPhotoport

requests that we get, I’m the first person to see them and report them to the team.

“I do a lot of social listening and try to find what trends are popping up and what people are saying about Yeti. I report those things to our marketing and public relations teams and then work with them on next steps. I found out that the reports I send go directly to our CEO — that’s so nerve-wracking that he knows who I am!”

Attending the 2021 GoPro Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado, fueled Jones’ fire to be creative and innovative in the work she does for Yeti.

“It was just such an amazing experience to actually meet our ambassadors who are world-renowned legends in what they do,” she says. “I couldn’t help but think little ol’ me from Byhalia, Mississippi … who would have thought I would be here? I was able to meet influencers, ESPN celebrities and athletes, and connect with people on the ground who want to buy Yeti products. That was very exciting for me.”

While traveling and amassing more Yeti swag than she can fit into her cabinets are a plus, for Jones it’s the community aspect of her job that she enjoys most.

“I love seeing people engage with our brand,” she says. “I really enjoy interacting with consumers and our audience because I love to know what other people are thinking and how something can always be better.”

Socially Savvy I knew I wanted to move to Austin, Texas, because my dad was moving there. I felt like this was my opportunity to leave. The process of me getting a job probably took three to four months.

“When the position opened for the social media coordinator, I reached out to the recruiter that I had worked with before, and she said, ‘Oh my gosh, you’ll be amazing for this!’ So, after eight interviews, sometimes with up to 16 people, I got the job.”

Rachel West (BA 01), adjunct professor of integrated marketing communications at UM, first met Jones in her writing class in fall 2020.

“I saw real potential and talent in her after just a few assignments were completed,” West recalls. “We stayed in touch, and she talked about possibly going to law school or taking more journalism courses.

“One day she called me out of the blue and said, ‘I’m going to work for Yeti as the social media coordinator. Do you think it’s a good idea?’

“I said, ‘Yes, I think it’s an excellent idea.’ She’s right where she needs to be. She found a position and experience that is both rewarding and fulfilling. She is extremely intelligent and a gifted learner. She can do anything she wants to do.”

In her current role, Jones serves as the eyes and ears for the brand on its social media platforms in addition to engaging in social listening.

“This is a new role with Yeti,” she says. “It’s not only social but also digital, as well as things that are going on in our community and happening on our different pages. Any inquiries or

Only a few months into her position, Jones received a promotion.

“I will now be owning [Yeti’s] Twitter account. We’re coming up with a new plan and rebranding it. I’m so excited. This is literally what I wanted to do all my life.”

While Jones plans to stay with Yeti for a long time, she also hopes to one day build her own social media consulting firm and share her expertise with various brands and help them develop their businesses.

“I love this company and how they treat their employees,” she says. “They make sure that we’re good, not just in terms of work but on a personal level. I’m so grateful for my team that I work with directly as well as my supervisors and co-workers. I hope I can now use the things that I’ve learned from Ole Miss and Yeti to start building my own portfolio and hopefully, before I know it, I’ll have a business of my own.”

Jones credits her time at Ole Miss and the network of personal connections she built with helping her succeed both professionally and personally.

“My advice to students would be to use the people around you to grow,” she says. “You don’t know what another person knows and how they can help get you to that next step. Make sure you’re out there connecting with people and creating genuine relationships.

“I kept my eye on the prize, which was to be where I am today. I’m so grateful for this opportunity, and I’ve had an amazing experience so far. If someone wants me to leave Yeti, they’re going to have to drag me out by my hair. I’m not going without a fight!”

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Helping Farms EPA grant helps UM researchers work toward improving sustainable agriculture

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ALUMNI REVIEW

Be in Harmony

with Nature

A

University of Mississippi professor is using an Environmental Protection Agency grant to explore the potential benefits of holding runoff water on agricultural landscapes after crops are harvested.

The move could reduce the pollution of downstream waterways, improve soil health and crop yields, provide crucial food and habitat for migratory birds, reduce pumping of groundwater, and retain soil in agricultural fields, among other benefits.

The nearly $1 million grant from the EPA through its Farmer to Farmer grant funding program is based on four different farms in the Sunflower River watershed of the Mississippi Delta.

“Some of the key potential outcomes to this research project are to establish whether the benefits of temporary wetlands are consistent among farms and to reveal the mechanisms of how temporary wetlands influence the function of agricultural systems,” UM biology professor Jason Hoeksema says.

“Other potential outcomes are to promote more widespread adoption of these flooding practices in the region, if they prove to be consistently beneficial, and to improve the sustainability of agriculture in our region.”

Hoeksema, who joined the Ole Miss faculty in 2007, is principal investigator on the grant that includes a team of lead scientists and graduate students from the UM departments of Biology and Civil Engineering, Mississippi State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Sedimentation Laboratory, which is in Oxford.

“We were thrilled that the EPA saw the potential value of our proposed research,” Hoeksema says. “We felt that our preliminary results were very compelling, so it was gratifying to receive the award. This project represents an exciting

By Shea Stewart

opportunity to benefit wildlife, our environment and the sustainability of agriculture.”

Running through spring 2024, the project will include three cycles of crops on the four farms.

“This EPA project is a wonderful example of communityengaged research at the University of Mississippi in which our researchers work with communities to design projects that lead to outcomes that can be readily implemented,” says Josh Gladden, UM vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs. “Agriculture is such a critical community, not only for our state but our nation.

“We are eager to see how the results of this work can benefit both our farmers and the ecosystems of our watersheds and the Gulf of Mexico.”

The researchers and farmers will set up five field treatment groups on each farm after crops are harvested each fall. The treatment groups will allow the researchers to experiment with a range of water conditions, from passive flood treatment, in which water control structures are used to stop rainfall runoff, to different seasonal flood treatments, in which surface water is added and held on fields.

“Different team members will sample various aspects of how the agricultural ecosystem responds to those treatments,” Hoeksema says.

The researchers will study the composition and diversity of birds, invertebrate animals and soil microbes; the health of the soil; nutrient cycling; sediment and chemicals in runoff water; and crop yield.

“Some sampling will take place every week or two, some after rainfall events and some only once or twice per year,” Hoeksema says. “Data will be analyzed to compare those system responses among the five treatments.”

Left photo: Biologist Pablo Bacon and Rachel Anderson, a graduate of the UM Department of Biology, collect macroinvertebrate samples from a field in the Mississippi Delta. A new UM research project at sites such as this is exploring holding runoff water on agricultural landscapes after crops are harvested, which could reduce the pollution of downstream waterways, improve soil health and crop yields, and provide crucial food and habitat for migratory birds. Photo courtesy Larry Pace Above photo: A least sandpiper stops during its migration at a flooded cornfield in Indianola. Photo courtesy Larry Pace FA LL 2 0 21

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A new research project at sites in the Mississippi Delta, such as this field near Indianola, is exploring holding runoff water on agricultural landscapes after crops are harvested. Photo courtesy Jason Taylor/National Sedimentation Laboratory

Impact on the World The Mississippi Delta is part of the Gulf of Mexico watershed, a region where farmers provide food and fuel for the world.

A challenge facing this landscape is minimizing pollution, specifically the excess nitrogen and phosphorus that can enter water bodies through runoff or soil erosion. These excess nutrients enter the Gulf of Mexico, harming the productive body of water that has great ecological, economic and social value.

The farmers who work the land have developed skills and innovative practices to reduce this pollution, and they share their knowledge with other stakeholders, including state governments, farm organizations, conservation groups, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and community groups.

The Farmer to Farmer grants support the leadership of farmers in improving water quality, habitat, resilience and peer-to-peer information exchange to benefit communities and ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico watershed, according to the EPA. “EPA is proud to support the leadership of farmers and their innovative approaches to improve water quality while working to fuel and feed the world,” says Michael S. Regan, EPA administrator. “EPA is committed to meaningful partnerships with farmers to advance sustainable agriculture practices while creating healthy, clean and safe environments for all.”

Titled “Restoring Temporary Wetland Function to Agricultural Watersheds with Innovative Farmer-Driven Offseason Water Management Practices,” UM’s $999,957 grant is one of 12 projects selected by the EPA in 2021 for its Farmer to Farmer program.

The project is a partnership between university and government researchers and farmers, with the goal, if the project is successful, of replicating it elsewhere.

“Ultimately, if flooding agricultural fields to create temporary wetlands during fallow seasons is proven beneficial, it will only result in consequential impacts if this practice is widely adopted by farmers,” Hoeksema says.

“Moreover, only farmers can ensure that these practices are implemented in ways that make sense in the context of a working farm. As such, it is essential to involve farmers from the 36

ALUMNI REVIEW

very beginning, and to facilitate conversations among them to promote exchanges of ideas, opinions and experience.”

Hoeksema’s original goal of the project was to work with farmers to sustainably create habitat for migratory shorebirds on working farmlands in the Mississippi Delta. These birds come through the region in large numbers in spring and fall, and they need high-quality mudflats and shallow water habitat for stopover and feeding during their arduous journeys.

Exciting and Satisfying Work “Working agricultural landscapes present a great opportunity for creating this habitat, and we were exploring how to do this without pumping groundwater by partnering with farmers who were recycling and saving the runoff water from their crop fields, pumping it back onto the fields after crop harvest,” Hoeksema says.

Jason Taylor, a research ecologist with the National Sedimentation Laboratory and Hoeksema’s collaborator, had the idea to measure numerous other potential ecosystem benefits, including soil sediment retention and reduction of downstream nutrient pollution by microbial activity.

Taylor’s preliminary data on those additional benefits were compelling and provided the impetus for the proposal to the EPA, with the project potentially offering several beneficial outcomes.

The research continues Hoeksema’s interest in how species, including soil microbes, can influence ecosystem processes.

He also explores the ecological and evolutionary consequences of species interactions and co-invasions, with a focus on interactions between plants and fungi.

“My original interest in biology, when I was a young student, was in bird biology and conservation,” Hoeksema says.

“Since then, although my university research program has not involved birds or agricultural systems, I’ve been involved in bird conservation projects on working lands through my outreach activities and the nonprofit that I co-founded in 2013, Delta Wind Birds.

“This EPA-funded project brings all of those interests and activities together into my university research program for the first time, which is very exciting and satisfying for me.”

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ALUMNA TAKES HELM

of UM Student Affairs

Experienced, respected leader appointed vice chancellor

BY EMILY HOWORTH

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ALUMNI REVIEW

fter nearly two years of leadership and service in an interim role, Charlotte Fant Pegues (BA 92, MEd 94, PhD 01) was named the University of Mississippi’s vice chancellor for student affairs. The board of trustees of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning approved the appointment at its August meeting.

Pegues has served the university in a variety of roles for 28 years, with more than 10 of those in the Division of Student Affairs. During that time, she has been assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, assistant provost, director of admissions and registrar.

As vice chancellor, Pegues leads a division responsible for providing student services and creating an environment where students can embrace opportunities.

“I’m honored and excited about the opportunity to work closely with students from all backgrounds and to see them grow, excel and succeed,” Pegues says. “The University of Mississippi is a place where students are given opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise get, including leadership opportunities and opportunities to develop true relationships with faculty and staff.

“Our students are entrusted with a lot of responsibility and a chance to lead and collaborate with others — now more than ever.”

Pegues looks forward to serving Ole Miss with a mindset of progress and with support for the university’s commitment to an inviting, welcoming environment. She hopes to engage motivated students, staff and faculty in a way that will help the administration connect fully with students and advance its student-serving programs.

“The landscape of the student experience and student expectation is always evolving, and I want to provide excellent services and support of students so that they can be successful outside of the classroom,” Pegues says. “It’s about being creative and innovative in seeing how we, as administrators, can improve upon what we already do.”

Fourteen departments and two programs make up the Division of Student Affairs, including many mission-critical units such as university police and campus safety, health services, student disability services and the counseling center.

Pegues will continue to oversee a variety of issues related to academic progress and student opportunities while working closely with other university departments to resolve student concerns.

“I’m so excited that Dr. Pegues has been chosen to serve as the vice chancellor of student affairs,” says Morgan Atkins, president of the university’s Associated Student Body. “She has already been so helpful in pursuing important ASB initiatives, and she has offered countless insightful perspectives on student service in a leadership role.”

The Division of Student Affairs reports to the Office of the Provost.

“I am ver y pleased that the IHL board of trustees approved the university’s request to appoint Dr. Charlotte Pegues as vice chancellor for student affairs,” Provost Noel Wilkin says. “Dr. Pegues has demonstrated extraordinary care for students, excelled in this role and received enthusiastic support from the members of the division.

“She has provided stability during these unprecedented

times and has demonstrated her ability to navigate difficult situations with a positive, forward-looking approach. I am thankful for her willingness to continue serving in this capacity and for the wealth of experience and talent she brings to this responsibility.”

Having committed her career to the university, Pegues is passionate about the community and has experienced its supportive and nurturing environment firsthand. Pegues earned several degrees from the university, including a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s in education and a doctorate in leadership and counselor education.

She holds an academic appointment in the School of Education as an assistant professor of leadership and counselor education. Pegues also attended Spelman College in Atlanta.

She and her husband, Tee, enjoy living in Oxford and being part of the Ole Miss family.

“What I love so much about the university is the people of the university,” Pegues says. “I have met colleagues who are my lifelong friends. I met my mentors here. This is a community that wants to help. We care.”

Pegues reflects those values in the way she approaches her role, says Provost Emeritus Morris Stocks, a longtime colleague.

“I am excited that Dr. Pegues has been named to this important senior leadership role,” Stocks says. “She is a person of character, wisdom and patience, and has broad and deep experience at our university.

“I worked with Dr. Pegues for many years, and I learned a great deal from her. I have great confidence in Dr. Pegues and am certain that she will place the welfare of our students, faculty and staff at the forefront of all planning and decision making.”

Besides her service in senior leadership, Pegues serves on the Council of Academic Administrators, the Strategic Planning Council and the following committees and task forces: Incident Response Team; Future Planning; Services and Support; Athletics Compliance; Completion and Student Success; Keep Learning; Recreational Facilities; Recruit, Admission, Orientation and Advising; Sensitivity and Respect; Student Affairs; and the Student Affairs Incident Response Team.

Additionally, she serves as the university’s representative to the Women in Higher Education Mississippi Network and the institutional representative to the SEC Council on Racial Equity and Social Justice.

“We are grateful to Dr. Pegues for her enthusiastic commitment to the University of Mississippi and thrilled to have her on board as the official vice chancellor for student affairs,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) says.

“The breadth of her experience, her encouraging demeanor and selfless dedication are invaluable gifts to our students, and I’m excited to see where her continued leadership will take the Division of Student Affairs in the coming years.”

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Sports OLE MISS

The Honor of 38

KEIDRON SMITH RECEIVES CHUCKY MULLINS COURAGE AWARD

O

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ALUMNI REVIEW

embrace any role necessary to help the team is remarkable, and we are excited to recognize him with this distinguished honor.”

A change from recent seasons, Smith will wear a 38 patch on his No. 20 jersey rather than switch numbers. A patch was also worn by the award winner from 2006 through 2010.

to wear either the number or the patch.”

Smith has appeared in every game for the Rebels since arriving on campus in 2018, including 22 starts. The twoyear starter is the Rebels’ top returning tackler from last season with 64 total tackles. He finished second on the team in 2020 in pass breakups.

Former Chucky Mullins Courage

“In discussing the award with potential candidates, it was clear that many of them have personal connections with their own jersey number,” Kiffin says.

“While we have the highest respect for Chucky’s No. 38, we also understand what these players’ numbers can mean to them and their families, and we didn’t want a deserving candidate to sacrifice that in order to receive this great honor.

“After discussions with former players close to Chucky and the award, we decided to give the winner the option

Award recipients are Chris Mitchell, Jeff Carter, Trea Southerland, Johnny Dixon, Alundis Brice, Michael Lowery, Derek Jones, Nate Wayne, Gary Thigpen, Ronnie Heard, Anthony Magee, Kevin Thomas, Lanier Goethie, Jamil Northcutt, Eric Oliver, Kelvin Robinson, Patrick Willis, Jeremy Garrett, Jamarca Sanford, Marcus Tillman, Kentrell Lockett, Deterrian Shackelford (twice), Jason Jones, Mike Marry, Mike Hilton, John Youngblood, Marquis Haynes, C.J. Moore, Austrian Robinson and Jaylon Jones.

Photo illustration courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

le Miss senior defensive back Keidron Smith was named the winner of the 2021 Chucky Mullins Courage Award at a special team meeting on Sept. 4.

The award, sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, honors the late Chucky Mullins (91), who had his Ole Miss career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after making a tackle. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins died on May 6, 1991.

A native of West Palm B e a c h , F l or i d a , S m it h becomes the 31st recipient in the 32-year history of the award, which is presented annually to an Ole Miss upperclassman defensive player who embodies the spirit of Mullins — courage, leadership, perseverance and determination.

“This is a huge honor to win this award,” Smith says. “It’s just a blessing to know that my coaches and teammates thought I was the right guy for this. To be able to be linked with the Chucky Mullins Award for the rest of my life is truly special. I’m going to go out there and do my best to keep up his legacy.”

On a defense loaded with veterans, Rebel head coach Lane Kiffin says his staff identified several worthy candidates but agreed Smith would be a great representative of Mullins’ legacy and the award.

“Keidron has provided tremendous leadership and dedication for our program,” Kiffin says. “His willingness to

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OLE MISS Sports

Top Score

JOHNSON WINS 2021 ANNIKA INTERCOLLEGIATE Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

le Miss women’s golf senior Julia Johnson started her 2021 fall campaign with a bang, winning the individual title of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, on Sept. 15.

The Rebels concluded the tournament in ninth place, posting their best round of 286 (-2) as a team on the final day (290-295-286–871). Ole Miss tallied a total of 51 birdies over the course of the tournament, which ranked as the second highest in the field behind only the team champions, South Carolina (59).

The senior from St. Gabriel, Louisiana, finished 2-under on the day and 12-under on the tournament to earn the individual title. With the win, Johnson now sits tied with former Rebel Sarah Britt (BBA 93) for the most career individual titles in school history with

Julia Johnson

four. She now has either tied for or solely claimed first in every possible individual school record for Ole Miss women’s golf.

“It feels really great to get this win,” Johnson says. “I was so close so many times last semester, and to finally close one out is really exciting. It’s even more rewarding because it’s Annika’s tournament, and I have always looked up to her. This is the best field in golf, and to come out with a win is special.”

Johnson overcame the adversity of a double bogey on her first hole Wednesday and finished the week as the highest par-5 scorer in the tournament (-8), while also being the only Rebel to eagle a hole in the tournament.

“The double calmed me down,” Johnson says. “After the double, I walked up to the next tee and knew 100 percent that I was going to birdie that hole to bounce back. The next birdie after that was icing on top to get me back to even.”

DAVIS ADDS LONGTIME COACH BOBBY LUTZ TO BASKETBALL STAFF

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le Miss men’s basketball head coach Kermit Davis announced the addition of Bobby Lutz to the program’s support staff. Bringing 21 years of head coaching experience that resulted in nearly 400 wins, Lutz joins the Rebels as associate athletics director for men’s basketball and a special assistant to Davis, directing strategic planning and analytics.

“I have known Bobby for about 30 to 35 years, and we are very excited to have him join Ole Miss Basketball,” Davis says.

“Bobby has had tremendous success as a head coach, taking teams to multiple NCAA tournaments. I think Bobby is going to bring great value to our players, our staff, and I look forward to being with him day to day.”

Lutz (pronounced LOOTS) comes to Oxford after spending the past two seasons as special assistant to head coach Fred Hoiberg at Nebraska. While he also spent time in the professional ranks as an assistant in the NBA G League, Lutz is known for his career in college basketball. In 21 seasons as a head coach, he 42

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made 14 postseason appearances. Twelve of those seasons were at his alma mater, Charlotte.

“I am thrilled to join Coach Davis and his staff at Ole Miss,” Lutz says. “I have admired his successful teams for years and look forward to being a small part of this outstanding program. There is no doubt that Oxford is a special place, and the best is yet to come.”

Before joining him in Nebraska, Lutz worked with Bobby Lutz Hoiberg in the Chicago Bulls organization. He served as an assistant with the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League during the team’s inaugural season.

As head coach of Charlotte (1999-2010), Lutz became the winningest coach in school history with a 218-158 record. During his tenure, he led the 49ers to eight postseason appearances (five NCAA tournaments, three

NITs). Lutz also guided Charlotte to three Conference USA titles (1999, 2001, 2004), while coaching 10 first team all-conference players.

He is the only coach i n p ro g ra m h i s t o r y t o make consecutive NCAA tournaments twice over his career, building four top-20 recruiting classes to get the team to the big dance.

T h e D e n v e r, N o r t h Carolina, native was named Conference USA Coach of the Year by ESPN.com and CollegeInsider.com in 2005, the same year he became a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award. In his first season in Charlotte, the Birmingham News tabbed Lutz as the 1999 C-USA Coach of the Year.

Lutz and his wife, Janet, have two adult daughters, Natalie and Christine. The couple also has one grandson, Wesley.

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OLE MISS Sports

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NABS 10 NATIONALLY TELEVISED GAMES

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le Miss women’s basketball will be featured on national TV during 10 regular-season contests throughout the 2021-22 campaign — one in nonconference play and nine in the conference slate — as announced by the SEC on Sept. 29 with the release of its full television schedule.

All 10 national TV games will be broadcast on SEC Network, with the possibility of three of those games during conference season to flex to ESPN2. The first of these 10 games will come during the nonconference season when Ole Miss will welcome Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 14 at 3 p.m. CT (SEC Network).

The Rebels’ first TV matchup of conference

play will be a big one at South Carolina on Jan. 2, with tipoff slated for noon CT on either SEC Network or ESPN2. Ole Miss then gets two at home on Jan. 9 vs. Tennessee (noon CT, SEC Network) and another flex option on Jan. 16 vs. Mississippi State (2 p.m. CT, SEC Network/ESPN2).

The Rebels will next be featured on two road games at Kentucky on Jan. 23 (11 a.m.

CT, SEC Network) and at Missouri on Feb. 3 (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network) before coming home for a Monday night prime-time tilt against LSU on Feb. 7 (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network).

The close of the national TV slate for Ole Miss features a road journey to rival Mississippi

State on Feb. 13 (3 p.m. CT, SEC Network) and two home games vs. Texas A&M on Feb. 17 (8 p.m. CT, SEC Network) and vs. South Carolina to close out the season on Feb. 27.

That regular season finale against the Gamecocks will serve as one of two net flex games in the conference that day, airing on either SEC Network or ESPN2 at 1 p.m. CT. All three net flex games (Jan. 2, Jan. 16, Feb. 27) will be determined 7-10 days ahead of time.

Overall, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will produce a combined 12 regular-season conference contests around the league. SEC Network will televise 54 conference games as well as 19 nonconference contests.

Square Jam Returns

POPULAR EVENT RETURNS AFTER A ONE-YEAR HIATUS

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Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

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he Ole Miss men’s and women’s basketball teams partnered with the City of Oxford to host the seventh Square Jam, presented by Oxford Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine on Friday, Oct. 22 on the historic Oxford Square.

Normally an annual celebration to get fans ready for the upcoming basketball season, Square Jam returned after a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19 protocols. Pavilion Madness served as the teams’ tipoff event last year.

The Rebels showcased their skills on a basketball court with lights set up on the east side of the Square in the parking lot in front of City Hall. Fans got to see the teams participate in player introductions, a 3-point contest and a men’s dunk contest. In addition, both teams signed autographs after the event.

For the third year, members of the Rebel Kids Club who are age 6 or younger signed up for a chance to showcase their dunking skills in the Kids Dunk Contest.

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team will begin its 2021-22 season with an exhibition against Trevecca on Friday,

Nov. 5 before opening up the regular season versus New Orleans on Nov. 9.

The women will tip off Thursday, Nov. 11

against Belmont. All three contests will take place inside the Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss.

OLE MISS Sports

’Tis ‘The Season’

ESPNU TELEVISES ‘THE SEASON: OLE MISS FOOTBALL’ FOR FOURTH YEAR or the fourth straight year, ESPNU will televise Ole Miss’ Emmy award-winning series “The Season: Ole Miss Football,” in addition to the series being available on the ESPN app upon airing.

Throughout the football season, the school-produced weekly program premieres each Friday at various times on ESPNU. Episode reruns will also air on the channel throughout the year. In 2018, “The Season: Ole Miss Football” marked the first time in the network’s history it had carried a school-produced weekly show in its entirety.

The program is also televised on several regional channels throughout the Southeast, while debuting each Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT at TheSeasonOleMiss. com.

In its 11 seasons on the air, “The Season: Ole Miss Football” has provided fans an in-depth view into the Rebel program with highlights of the previous

week’s game in addition to going inside the locker room, training room, practice fields and classrooms from the viewpoint of the student-athletes and coaches.

The Ole Miss Sports Productions staff also delivers personal features that

include visits to the players’ houses, hangouts and hometowns for a truly intimate experience.

The show has picked up numerous awards since its creation in 2011, including Southeast Regional Emmy awards in 2014 and 2015 for best daily or weekly sports program and a Gold AVA Award in 2012 for outstanding achievement by creative professionals involved in the concept, direction, design and production of media.

Ole Miss produces “The Season” episodes for each of its sports teams, as well as numerous other video pieces such as student-athlete features, event promos, highlight packages, commercials and in-venue pieces in addition to live videoboard shows for home sporting events.

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Published JUST

All-SEC baseball player and a tackle, guard and kicker for the football team. He played in the National Football League as a kicker with the Washington Redskins for three seasons and was selected for the Pro Bowl in 1960. While still playing in the NFL, he enrolled in law school at Ole Miss and earned a juris doctorate in 1966.

He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the NFL and the Distinguished American Award from the National Football Foundation. His first book, The Education of a Lifetime, was a New York Times bestselling education book.

Lying and Making a Living: Fiction with Footnotes by William

60: A Year of Sports, Race & Politics by Robert Khayat (BAEd 61, JD 66),

356 pages, $24.95 (paperback), Nautilus Publishing, ISBN: 978-1949455281 In 1960, 22-year-old Robert Khayat experienced a year in which his own life, the nation and the state of Mississippi were forever changed. The same spring that four college students in North Carolina refused to move from a segregated lunch counter, Khayat’s SEC champion Ole Miss baseball team was denied the right to play in the NCAA tournament because it might encounter a Black opponent. At the same time that young John F. Kennedy became a household name, Khayat’s dark-skinned father was making an unlikely ascent to become one of the most politically powerful men in Mississippi. And two high-profile segregationists — Redskins owner George Preston Marshall and Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett — would affect Khayat’s life in ways he could never have imagined.

60: A Year of Sports, Race & Politics is the story of the year that changed everything for a nation, its culture and a promising young man from Mississippi.

Robert Khayat is chancellor emeritus at the University of Mississippi. As a student at Ole Miss, he was a two-time 46

ALUMNI REVIEW

Dunlap (MFA 69), 192 pages, $19.95 (paperback), independently published, ISBN: 978-8714195297 Ly ing and Making a Living, the title from a Barry Hannah quote, picks up where Shor t Mean Fiction leaves off.

It contains more of the irreverent, hard-hitting, exhilarating, ironic and emblematic prose we’ve come to expect from the writer and painter William Dunlap. His stories, some as short as a single page, leave the reader gasping for breath and wanting more.

Whereas Short Mean Fiction, his first gathering of stories, promised words and pictures, Lying and Making a Living delivers fiction with footnotes in all their subtle explanation and incongruity.

Language is something of a birthright for this Southerner whose characters we know by what they do. Dunlap identifies with William Faulkner who said he invented his people and then “ran along behind them writing

down what they have to say.” As with Dunlap’s paintings, he feels little pride in authorship and makes no literary claims for Lying and Making a Living. But he admits that for what it’s worth, for better or worse, and to his utter surprise, there are many more where these came from.

William Dunlap is an American artist, writer and arts commentator. With a career that has spanned more than four decades, his large-scale narrative paintings and constructions concern themselves with history, allegory and the art-making process.

The Big Door Prize b y M.O. Walsh (MFA 06), 384 pages, $27 (hardcover), G.P. Putnam’s Sons, ISBN: 978-0735218482 What would you do if you knew your life’s potential? That’s the question facing the residents of Deerfield, Louisiana, when the DNAMIX machine appears in their local grocery store.

It’s nothing to look at, really — it resembles a plain photo booth. But its promise is amazing: With just a quick swab of your cheek and $2, the device claims to use the science of DNA to tell you your life’s potential.

With enough credibility to make the townspeople curious, soon the teachers, nurses and shopkeepers of Deerfield are abruptly changing course to pursue their destinies as magicians, cowboys and athletes — including the novel’s main characters, Douglas Hubbard and his wife, Cherilyn, who both believed they were perfectly happy until they realized they could dream for more.

Written with linguistic grace and a sense of wonder, The Big Door Prize

JUST Published sparkles with keen observations about what it might mean to stay true to oneself while honoring the bonds of marriage, friendship and community, and how the glimmer of possibility can pull these bonds apart, bring them back together and make second chances possible, even under the strangest of circumstances.

M.O. Walsh’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Oxford American, The Southern Review and Best New American Voices, among others. His novel My Sunshine Away was a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize.

He directs the Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans.

adulthood, from a 20-something dealing with the disappointments of an entrylevel job to middle-aged characters working out relationships with other family members to a retiree bonding with his daughter during the building of an enormous folly.

Matthew Duffus is author of the novel Swapping Purples for Yellows and the poetry chapbook Problems of the Soul and Otherwise. He lives in North Carolina and can be found online at matthewduffus.com and on twitter @DuffusMatthew.

The Whited Air: Mary Paul in Winter b y Susie Paul (MA 76),

Dunbar’s Folly and Other Stories b y Matthew Duffus (MA 01), 240 pages, $16 (paperback), Unsolicited Press, ISBN: 978-1950730544 Dunbar’s Folly and Other Stories paints the stories of Americans from sisters vacationing in Southern California to the kudzu-covered fields of Mississippi.

Each story, built on luxurious landscapes, hones in on the turmoil of living in 21stcentury America. Readers come face-toface with the struggles of living off-grid and fighting for artistic credibility in a society that refuses to let freedom ring.

Whether set in rural Mississippi or upscale Southern California, the stories showcase characters at all stages of

$14.99 (paperback), Finishing Line Press, ISBN: 978-1646626366 Katherine D. Perry, author of Long Alabama Summer, says, “Susie P a u l ’s T h e W h i t e d Air sings with the historically imagined and heartbreaking life of Mary Paul, a young 19th century textile mill worker who wants more. She longs for a life all her own, for green in white New England winters. This is Mary Paul’s story, as well as the story for women in America since European colonization.

“Susie Paul gives us achingly beautiful poems of both imagistic and narrative power and invites us to see the snow and fabric lint storms that attempt to cover over the lives of women facing the hard winters of their geographies, their place in history, and their options for working and living as women. The poems reckon with Mary Paul’s and fellow worker Brigid’s struggle for independence and self-reliance in a world holding women in positions of service to men.”

Susie Paul is a longtime resident of Montgomery, Alabama, having taught American literature and writing at Auburn University at Montgomery for over 20 years. Now retired, she is a

member of the boards of the Alabama Writers’ Forum and Nora’s Playhouse South. Her work has appeared in The Georgia Review, Kalliope, Negative Capability, Earth’s Daughters, The Village Rambler, Alimentum, and other journals and magazines. The Whited Air: Mary Paul in Winter was 10 years in the making.

Uncorked & Off the Chain: Offbeat Ramblings of a Zany Comic b y Jameson Gregg

(BBA 78), 224 pages, $14.99 (paperback), Mountain Arbor Press, ISBN: 978-1631839306 Uncorked & Off the Chain delivers chops and attitude with zany, cutting-edge opinion, observational humor and tales from the wild side.

No topic is off limits, from sports, gambling and edgy tales, to marriage, dogs and mass consumption of cocktails. Short-andsnappy, free-standing essays for those readers looking for a quick belly laugh.

Born in Jackson, Gregg earned a business degree from the University of Mississippi and a law degree from Mississippi College School of Law. He practiced business and real estate law for 20 years in the Brunswick/St. Simons Island, Georgia, area and achieved the highest national rating of the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory before committing to his passion for writing full time.

Information presented in this section is compiled from material provided by the publisher and/or author and does not necessarily represent the view of the Alumni Review or the Ole Miss Alumni Association. To present a recently published book or CD for consideration, please mail a copy with any descriptions and publishing information to: Ole Miss Alumni Review, Ole Miss Alumni Association, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677.

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Traveler 2022 REBEL

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he alumni travel program is a service the Ole Miss Alumni Association offers as part of its mission to unite its alumni and keep them connected to Ole Miss and one another. OMAA has partnered with several tour operators that specialize in alumni travel to offer a broad selection of educational tours. Alumni and friends obtain group rates and discounts. Listed prices are per person, based on double occupancy, and pricing and dates are subject to change until booking. Airfare is not included unless noted. Visit olemissalumni.com/travel for a complete listing and the most upto-date information.

Due to the continued effects and uncertainty on travel as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, these offerings and itineraries are subject to change or cancellation. OMAA strongly recommends purchasing travel insurance. For a brochure or more information on a trip, contact Allie Little in the Alumni office at 662-915-7375 or email alliel@ olemissalumni.com.

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ANTARCTICA JAN. 11-24, 2022

Tour Operator: Gohagan

Join us for this spectacular, 14-day journey featuring a nine-night exclusively chartered cruise to Antarctica, Earth’s last frontier. Cruise aboard the intimate L’Austral, one of the finest vessels in Antarctic waters, combining innovative design with personalized service and featuring private balconies in 95% of the 110 deluxe, ocean-view suites and staterooms. Retrace the sea lanes navigated by storied explorers Shackleton, Amundsen and Scott, and be among the fortunate few to set foot on the continent of Antarctica. Led by our onboard expedition team of naturalists, enjoy guided excursions aboard sturdy Zodiac craft amid floating ice sculptures, intricate ecosystems and abundant wildlife, including humpback whales, leopard seals and Adélie penguins that exhibit little or no fear of humans. A series of enriching lectures on this pristine wilderness completes your optimal Antarctic expedition.

Spend two nights in the five-star InterContinental Buenos Aires Hotel, including a tour of Argentina’s vibrant capital city. Extend your journey with the exclusive three-night Iguazú Falls post-program option. — From approximately $9,995

PASSAGE THROUGH THE PANAMA CANAL JAN. 30-FEB. 7, 2022 Tour Operator: Gohagan

Join us for this incomparable, nine-day journey from the Costa Rican rainforest through the mighty locks of the Panama Canal — an experience unmatched for sheer drama and engineering prowess.

Spend one night in a deluxe hotel in San José, Costa Rica, then cruise for seven nights from Puerto Caldera to Colón, Panama, aboard the exclusively chartered, five-star Le Champlain, featuring just 92 suites and staterooms and the world’s first multisensory, underwater Observation Lounge. Experience a daylight passage through the awe-inspiring Panama Canal, and explore the wonders

2022 REBEL Traveler of Costa Rica’s Manuel Antonio National Park and Curú National Wildlife Refuge.

Enjoy a walking tour of the spectacular botanic gardens of Casa Orquídeas. Call at seldom-visited Cébaco Island, and discover the rich marine life in its vivid rock reefs. Tour Panama City, including its Casco Antiguo (Old Quarter), a UNESCO World Heritage site. Enjoy lectures by exclusive onboard study leaders throughout the itinerary. Extend your stay with the Landscapes of Costa pre-program and Panama’s Renaissance post-program options. — From approximately $4,995

THE GREAT TRAINS AND GRAND CANYONS MARCH 13-18, 2022

Tour Operator: Premier World Discovery

When he first laid eyes on one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt said, “the Grand Canyon is the one great sight which every American should see.” This travel experience features a combination of American West highlights with the scenery of Grand Canyon National Park and the red rocks of Sedona, the Native American history at the Montezuma Castle National Monument, the Old West nostalgia of Two Train Rides and five nights at a picturesque property in Sedona, Arizona. Just north of Phoenix, Sedona is known for its jeep rides, artist galleries and breathtaking red rock scenery and is the perfect “home base” for this six-day/five-night adventure.

Ever y traveler should explore the beautiful American West, and that is exactly what you will do on this exciting travel program. Please review the itinerary details and count the extras.

With roundtrip airfare included, we hope you can join us and agree this is an amazing trip. — From $3,345 per person, including airfare

VERONA AND COMO, ITALY MARCH 16-26, 2022 Ole Miss Travelers Only

Tour Operator: Anywhere Adventures

Ole Miss alumni and friends will be visiting Verona and Como, Italy, on our

Caldera de Taburiente, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain

traditional Ole Miss winter vacation in Europe. Our longtime guide and friend Angelika will again be a part of making this a wonderful experience for us all.

Famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Verona is a city of a thousand shades, a mix of styles and cultures that can charm and seduce any visitor. We will spend the first four nights at the five-star Due Torri Hotel. This property offers luxury and elegance in the heart of Verona, next to the Church of St. Anastasia and a five-minute walk from Juliet’s balcony. Then relax at Lake Como, an upscale resort area known for its dramatic scenery, set against the foothills of the Alps. And enjoy the mountain air and views in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Located on the Italian-Swiss border, the city of Como overlooks the southwest end of its lake and is surrounded by green ridge hills, resulting in unparalleled, natural scenery. We will spend five nights at the four-star Palace Hotel, located in landscaped gardens on the shore of Lake Como, a five-minute walk from Como Cathedral. — From approximately $3,698

CHARMS OF THE SOUTH: NEW ORLEANS TO MEMPHIS APRIL 3-11, 2022 Tour Operator: Go Next

Cruise up the Mississippi and experience Southern charm aboard the American Queen on this eight-night trip with American Queen Steamboat Co. Begin

your journey with an included onenight stay in New Orleans. Immerse yourself in the culture of this cosmopolitan city — take a stroll through the historic French Quarter or grab a bowl of gumbo. Then sail on to Nottoway, home to the largest historic mansion in the South.

In St. Francisville, find the perfect Southern trinket at historic Old Market Hall, where local craftsmen and artists hustle and bustle. Walk through the history of the mighty Mississippi in Vicksburg, and, before you end your cruise in Memphis, stop in Greenville, where Civil War history lives on. — From approximately $2,399

CRUISING THE CANARY ISLANDS AND MOROCCO APRIL 18-26, 2022 Tour Operator: Gohagan

Journey with us on this extraordinary, nine-day itinerary that combines the stunning natural beauty of the Canary Islands and the Moorish treasures of the rose-pink cities of Morocco. Cruise from Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain, to Casablanca, Morocco, for seven nights aboard the exclusively chartered, five-star Le Dumont-d’Urville — featuring only 92 suites and staterooms, each with a private balcony. Visit La Palma’s scenic Mirador de la Concepción for spectacular views of Caldera de Taburiente and “the beautiful island.” Explore the shrine of “La Virgen de las Nieves” (Madonna of the Snow), named for the FA LL 2 0 21

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2022 REBEL Traveler patron saint of the island of La Palma at Las Nieves. Discover iconic Casablanca, featuring the Hassan II Mosque and Place des Nations Unies. Enjoy fullday excursions to the captivating island of Tenerife and Teide National Park, the 1,000-year-old city of Marrakesh and the ancient city of Fez on this oneof-a-kind program that also features four UNESCO World Heritage sites, scenic coastlines and idyllic ports rarely visited by larger vessels. Two-night Las Palmas pre-program and two-night Casablanca post-program options are available. — From approximately $4,995

DUTCH WATERWAYS AND FLORIADE EXPO APRIL 25-MAY 3, 2022 Tour Operator: Gohagan

Celebrate the beauty of Holland and Flanders when vibrant spring tulip fields are in full bloom. Join this comprehensive, nine-day journey and cruise for seven nights along the enchanting Dutch Waterways aboard the exclusively chartered, deluxe small ship Amadeus Queen. Meet local residents during the exclusive River Life Forum, and discover the true essence of river life in the Low Countries.

Experience the Floriade World Horticulture Expo, held only once every decade. Expert-led excursions include visits to the medieval Flemish jewels of Bruges and Ghent, the prestigious Kröller-Müller Museum, the incomparable Keukenhof Gardens and the charming town of Delft. Enjoy a private cruise along Amsterdam’s UNESCOdesignated canals. See Kinderdijk’s UNESCO-inscribed windmill network, and enjoy masterpieces by Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp. Tour the largest of the Delta Works projects, a marvel of modern engineering. This itinerary is an exceptional value that includes all accommodations, excursions and meals. Our travelers continually praise this travel program as the quintessential Dutch and Flemish experience. Golden Age of Amsterdam pre-program and The Hague and Gouda post-program options are offered. — From approximately $2,795 50

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Edinburgh, Scotland

CELTIC LANDS MAY 11-20, 2022

D-DAY: THE INVASION OF NORMANDY AND Tour Operator: Gohagan THE LIBERATION OF FRANCE Commemorate the historic D-Day MAY 19-25, 2022 landings during this eight-night Celtic Lands journey. By exclusive ar rangement, v isit t he ha l lowe d beaches in Normandy, France, with Dwight David Eisenhower II, noted historian and grandson of general and former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower, and meet Allen Packwood, director of the Churchill Archives Centre at the University of Cambridge.

Cruise aboard the exclusively chartered, five-star small ship Le Dumontd’Urville from Honfleur, France, to England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, with guided excursions in each port of call. View relics of the rich Celtic literary heritage at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, including the Book of Kells; visit UNESCO World Heritagedesignated Caernarfon Castle near Holyhead, Wales; walk in the footsteps of medieval and present-day princes in North Wales; and admire the austere beauty of the Inner Hebridean Isles of Iona and Mull and the storied treasure of Iona Abbey. Paris and Giverny preprogram and Edinburgh and Glasgow post-program options are available.

— From $6,995

Tour Operator: National WWII Museum

The National WWII Museum’s most popular tour provides an in-depth itinerary exploring America’s most famous World War II battle. Offering a full week of touring in Normandy at an incredible price, this unforgettable journey offers great value and features top guides, superior accommodations in prime locations, comprehensive dining and exclusive access to sites unseen on other programs. With stops at the Musée Airborne, Mémorial de Caen, the American Cemetery at Collevillesur-Mer and more, this tour is for both the advanced and amateur historian in search of the most authentic experience of Normandy as it was. — From approximately $4,695

ROMANCE OF THE DOURO RIVER MAY 20-31, 2022 Tour Operator: AHI

Delight your senses on this handcrafted, 10-night program, featuring a three-night stay in world-class Lisbon and a seven-night cruise through the Douro River Valley, the world’s oldest demarcated winemaking region. Begin

2022 REBEL Traveler in Portugal’s humming capital, enjoying its diverse neighborhoods, the Jerónimos Monastery and monuments. Travel north to visit romantic Óbidos and Coimbra, home to Portugal’s revered university. After boarding your firstclass ship in Porto, spend time exploring this enigmatic harbor town known for its storied Ribeira district and Bohemian culture. Then cruise the fabled Douro River, carving a path through sculpted hills and bucolic lands steeped in winemaking traditions. Daily excursions feature visits to wine estates and charming townships with wonderfully preserved architecture, including Vila Real, Lamego and Salamanca, Spain.

Along the way, impress your tastebuds with regional dishes, local pastries and authentic port wines. Plus, enjoy an authentic Portuguese folk show. This journey features a choice of included excursions to personalize your journey and an extensive meal plan. No single supplement for solo travelers. — From approximately $4,295

Glasgow, Scotland, to Reykjavík, Iceland. Visit a Scottish malt whisky distillery on the island of Isle. Cruise past the over 500-foot Stac Lee and marvel at its large gannet colony. Explore UNESCO World Heritage-designated St. Kilda and the 5,000-year-old Neolithic ruins of the Standing Stones of Callanish on the Isle of Lewis. Visit breathtaking Tvøroyri and Tórshavn on the archipelago of the Faroe Islands. In Iceland, call at Djúpivogur, and enjoy an excursion to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, home to playful seals swimming among calving glaciers and passing ice floes. Tour Heimaey Island, which records the largest sea catches in Iceland since the days of its first settlers. Visit the new Eldheimar Museum to learn about the “Pompeii of the North,” Eldfell volcano. Cruise along Iceland’s UNESCO-inscribed Surtsey, one of Earth’s youngest islands.

Edinburgh and Glasgow pre-program and Reykjavík and the Golden Circle post-program options are available. — From approximately $5,995

and Baddeck, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Delight in coastal beacons and quiet coves along Nova Scotia’s Lighthouse Route; tour Old Town Lunenburg, a well-preserved British colonial town; and sample wines in lush Annapolis Valley. Spot whales breaching on a Bay of Fundy cruise, and marvel at rocks sculpted by the bay’s mighty tides. On Prince Edward Island, take in the enchanting settings of the Anne of Green Gables books. You’ll also savor sensational ocean vistas on one of Canada’s most scenic drives, the winding Cabot Trail that hugs Cape Breton Island! As part of your generous meal plan, enjoy a traditional lobster boil and wine with all dinners. This small-group experience includes a travel director and expert insights from guides and lecturers. — From approximately $4,295

IN THE WAKE OF THE VIKINGS AND GAELS MAY 28-JUNE 6, 2022

CANADIAN MARITIMES JUNE 11-20, 2022

Immerse yourself in the unending splendors of the Amalfi Coast, from ancient ruins to sun-swept coastline and enchanting towns. On our incredible, seven-night journey, you’ll be seduced by this alluring slice of Italy where honored history and rich culture are revealed. Stay in charming Vietri sul Mare, venturing out to explore Ravello, Amalfi, Positano and Sorrento, endearing villages perched majestically above the coast. Soak up unspoiled vistas while cruising azure seas, and delve into fascinating legends at Herculaneum and Pompeii, frozen in time by the mudflows of Mount Vesuvius.

Unravel history amid Paestum’s Greek temples, and tuck into the region’s sensational cuisine, including olive oil and cheese tastings during a rural farm experience. Whether visiting the renowned National Archaeological Museum or discovering Old Naples, your Italian daydreams will come to life. This handcrafted, small-group journey features first-class accommodations and an extensive meal plan.

— From approximately $3,595

Tour Operator: Gohagan

Discover the lands of the Vikings and Gaels on this exclusive 10-day itinerary combining the legendary treasures of Scotland and Iceland. Experience eight nights aboard the exclusively chartered, five-star Le Bellot from

Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

Tour Operator: AHI

Canada’s stunning Maritime provinces dazzle with craggy coastlines, pictureperfect fishing villages, thick forests and fertile farmland. Explore their picturesque beauty and enduring bond with the sea on this nine-night journey featuring first-class stays in Halifax

THE CHARM OF THE AMALFI COAST JUNE 22-30, 2022 Tour Operator: AHI

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News ALUMNI

Class Notes ’70s

Submitted photo

COLLETT CROSS ( M E d 7 8 , PhD 98) of New Albany was named president of Pilot International, an international service club organization.

She was honored in July at a reception at the Union County Heritage Museum.

JAMES H. NEELD IV (BBA 82, JD 84) of

Ridgeland stepped down as president at the Ridgeland office of Young Wells Williams PA after serving in that position since 2010. He will continue to serve as chair of the firm’s business law office.

ERIC EILERTSEN (BBA 79) of Memphis was

appointed president of Sharpe Group, a leading provider of major and planned gift fundraising consulting services, training and donor communications for nonprofit organizations and institutions.

JOHNNY MCCALEB (BBA 76) of Little Rock, Arkansas, executive vice president and chief audit officer at Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff, was awarded the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award in Accounting by Arkansas Business.

MIKE MILLS (BA 78, JD 80) of Oxford, U.S.

District Court judge for the Northern District of Mississippi, was presented the 2021 Judicial Excellence Award at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Bar.

JESSE QUILLEN (BBA 81) of Jackson, Ala-

MA RK E. BYRNE (BA 81) of Lacey,

Washington, and BEAT Masters Cycling Team, was a silver medalist in the 2021 Northwest Time Trial Series Final, 60+ age group. The NW Time Trial Series is a series of six time trials ranging from 20K to 40K at different venues in the state of Washington. BEAT Cycling is headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

G. DEWEY HEMBREE III (BBA 83, JD 86) of THOMAS W. TARDY III (JD 73) of Madison

was selected for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Tardy is an attorney in the Ridgeland office of Maron Marvel Bradley Anderson & Tardy.

’80s

CLAY P. DOCKERY (BBA 83)

of Suffolk, Virginia, was recently elected chairman of the Private Label Manufacturers Association.

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ALUMNI REVIEW

GLEN MURPHY (BA 84) of Charleston, West Virginia, was nominated by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for 2021 in the area of litigation-insurance.

Madison was recognized in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Hembree specializes in commercial litigation in the Jackson office of McGlinchey Stafford.

KENNETH C. JOHNSON (BBA 88, JD 91) of Dallas, Texas, announced that his firm, Johnson Pratt, has rebranded as Johnston Clem Gifford. The firm remains at its Dallas headquarters.

bama, was named executive director of Wiregrass Economic Development Corp.

WEDC is the economic engine for Coffee and Geneva counties — and the municipalities therein — and the city of Daleville.

’90s

CHRIS “CEE” BELL (BPA 91) of

Covington, Louisiana, was promoted to resident agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Gulfport Resident Office.

DORIS H. CAUSEY (BA 93) of Glen Allen, Virginia, was named to the Virginia Court of Appeals.

WES DAUGHDRILL (BBA 90, JD 93) of Prentiss was elected president of Young Wells Williams in July. He serves as board attorney for both the Jefferson Davis County Board of Supervisors and the town of Prentiss.

ALUMNI News was selected for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in commercial litigation and construction law.

RICHARD “RICKY” WOOD (BBA 09) accepted

Submitted photo

JEFF SMITH (BBA 90, JD 93) of Memphis

the role of hotel manager at Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast in Bay St. Louis.

BEN WYNNE (PhD 00) of Gainesville, Geor-

gia, recently had his latest book, Something in the Water: A History of Music in Macon, Georgia, 1823-1980, published by Mercer University Press.

AMANDA SUMMERS (BSPh 93) of Mantachie

recently completed certification with the Specialty Pharmacy Certification Board, which is the certifying board for the Certified Specialty Pharmacist credential.

’10s

AMANDA JONES TOLLISON (JD 96), attor-

ney at Butler Snow in Oxford, was presented with the 2020 Law Alumna of the Year Award by the Law Alumni Chapter at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Bar.

’00s

JULIANNE BAILEY (BA 07, JD

10) of Cleveland assumed the duties of president of the Mississippi Bar’s Young Lawyers Division. Bailey is a senior attorney with the Mississippi Department of Human Services.

KIMBERLY L. CAMPBELL (JD 01) of Madi-

son was elected as the newest member of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History board of trustees. She will finish a six-year term started by former state Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson and serve through 2022.

RAVONDA L. GRIFFIN (BAccy 01, MEd 05, JD

12) of Olive Branch was recently sworn in as the town of Crenshaw’s municipal court judge. She is a founding partner at Perry Griffin PC, a personal injury law firm in Southaven.

AMY HOLMES MCDOWELL (BAEd 03, MEd 04) was crowned Pure International Ms. USA 2021. McDowell supports NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

ZACHARY ATWOOD (JD 13) of Birmingham, Alabama, an attorney with Stewart Title Guaranty Co., was appointed area counsel for Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi after having served as the company’s Mississippi state counsel.

ALISON GUIDER GETER (BA 15, JD 18) has joined the Balch & Bingham law firm’s litigation practice in its Gulfport office.

ELEANOR VALENTINE HARTZOG (BA 12) of

RYAN UPSHAW (BA 06, MA 08) of Jackson

was elected to the board of trustees for the Omicron Delta Kappa Society and Education Foundation Inc. Upshaw is chief diversity officer at Jackson Preparatory School.

BRANDON WALTERS (BA 08) of Greenville,

South Carolina, was elected to the board of directors of the American Institute of Parliamentarians. AIP is one of the largest organizations devoted to effective business meetings in the U.S. JULIE WARD (BA 08) was hired as pub-

lic relations and social media strategist for New Orleans-based tech startup Levelset. The company was recently acquired

by Procore Technologies for $500 million.

Ocean Springs was recently appointed principal of St. Alphonsus Catholic School.

She previously served as lead teacher and has been in elementary work for nine years.

’20s

H A R R I S O N P. M C K I N N I S

(BSChE 21) of Madison was named one of the top eight scorers for the 2021 Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship program.

He will pursue his graduate studies at Cornell University to earn a Master of Engineering degree in chemical engineering with a specialization in energy economics and engineering.

ERIN (BFA 07) and BEN (BA 07) NAPIER

of Laurel were named Stars of Hope and will be honored at the 22nd annual Crystal Ball, hosted by the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi in January.

COLLEEN S. WELCH (JD 02) of Brandon was selected for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Welch is an attorney in the Ridgeland office of Maron Marvel Bradley Anderson & Tardy.

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ALUMNI News

King of the Sea

ALUMNUS NAMED 2021 ‘SEAFOOD KING’ IN COMPETITION

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ALUMNI REVIEW

Submitted photo

A

lumnus Austin Sumrall (BS 10) recently won the 2021 Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans, representing the state of Mississippi in competition against respected chefs from 14 other states.

Sumrall, a 2020 James Beard Award nominee, completed his first culinary competition while enrolled in the UM hospitality management program. The program hosted a culinary “throwdown,” which Sumrall won. He credits this competition for increasing his confidence, also thanking his professors for always believing in him, especially Jim Taylor, an associate professor of nutrition and hospitality management.

“Austin was a work-hard, play-hard student who always seemed to impress his professors and peers with his passion for the industry and life in general,” Taylor says.

A native of McComb, Sumrall started his professional career in Oxford, working at Bouré restaurant while attending college. He graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, with the dream of opening his own restaurant.

“Immersing myself in the industry both from a school and work standpoint made me feel like I was working toward my goal each and every day,” Sumrall says.

He says he was speechless when he won the Great American Seafood Cook-Off, noting that having his family there made winning more special. His parents and son were in the audience and his wife, Tresse, was his sous-chef for the day.

For t h e c omp e t it i on , Su m r a l l prepared his signature progressive snapper dinner, which highlights the fish’s versatility by using it in a variety of ways.

After graduating from Ole Miss, Sumrall studied at the Culinary Institute of America, earning his Associate of Culinary Arts. He also gained valuable experience working at restaurants such

UM alumnus Austin Sumrall wins out over chefs from 14 other states at the 2021 Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans. The McComb native owns White Pillars restaurant in Biloxi with his wife, Tresse.

as Cochon in New Orleans and the Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama.

In 2015, the Sumralls moved back to Mississippi to pursue dreams of opening their own restaurant. In December 2017, they opened White Pillars in Biloxi.

Owning his own restaurant has helped

give Sumrall an important creative outlet, he says.

“Every dish and concept we put out there is like putting a little piece of myself on a plate,” he explains. “Being able to pack out the dining rooms with people that are here to eat my food is a feeling unlike any other.”

ALUMNI News BIRTHS Rowan Marie, daughter of Taylor Mills Young and Brett Charles Young (00), July 21, 2021.

WEDDINGS

Joe Street Covington (BA 48, BS 49, MedCert 50) of Meridian, Dec. 17, 2020 Mildred Hairston Reed Gordon (BAEd 49) of Falls Church, Va., May 13, 2021 Karl Barton Horn (MedCert 48) of Moss Point, Aug. 19, 2021 Johnny Braxton McDaniel (49) of Hattiesburg, Aug. 16, 2021

Lucile Scott Easterbrook (BAccy 19, MAccy 20) and Christian Gonzales Sanchez (BSCJ 18), Sept. 5, 2020.

Martha Jeanne Mathis McDaniel (BBA 49) of Little Rock, Ark., Sept. 22, 2021

Emily Jane Harmer (BS 16) and Samuel Miles Childers (BGS 16), Sept. 17, 2021.

Elise Varner Winter (BA 48) of Jackson, July 17, 2021

Robin Celeste Roper (BA 91) and Jon Verret, Jan. 16, 2021.

1950s

IN MEMORIAM 1940s

Frank Baird Jr. (49) of Greenville, Sept. 20, 2021

Kenneth Merrill Allbritton (BAEd 59, MEd 60) of Hamburg, Ark., Aug. 11, 2021 Bobbie Wolfe Anderson (BAEd 50, MEd 51) of Bull Valley, Ill., June 29, 2021

James Clarence Brown (47) of Jackson, Jan. 1, 2021

Benjamin Franklin Banahan Jr. (MedCert 55) of Rocksprings, Texas, Oct. 19, 2020

Edward Greenfield Cortright Jr. (BA 49) of Madison, Aug. 11, 2021

Marie Alford Barron (53) of Lexington, S.C., Jan. 28, 2021

WHERE HE GIVES YOU A TREAT FOR A CHANGE R E C R E AT I O N A L L A N D FINANCING

PROUDLY SERVING NORTH MISSISSIPPI I MSLAN DBAN K.COM I

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ALUMNI News Submitted photo

O

HOTTY TODDY FROM HYANNISPORT

le Miss alumni and friends toured Cape Cod and the Islands in September through the OMAA travel program. For more information on upcoming educational tours, visit page 48 in this issue or olemissalumni.com/travelwithus.

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ALUMNI News Martha Jean Smith Bartles (BM 53) of Brentwood, Tenn., March 12, 2021 Dorothy Wayne Blackwell (MEd 58) of Tupelo, Sept. 20, 2021

Jane Todd Gurry (BA 53) of Raleigh, N.C., Sept. 14, 2021 Alfred Yarborough Harper Jr. (BA 56) of Grapevine, Texas, July 12, 2021

Vernon Malone Calhoun (BSPh 59) of Madison, Tenn., May 19, 2021

Wanda Alice McKee Henderson (BAEd 55) of McKinney, Texas, Sept. 15, 2021

Irvin David Califf (BBA 53) of Memphis, Tenn., Sept. 30, 2021

Billy Frank Hodges (ME 56) of Madison, Ala., Sept. 26, 2021

Anne Naomi Carsley (MA 59) of Madison, Sept. 8, 2021

Joan Green James (BAEd 51) of Petal, Sept. 10, 2021

Mary Lynn Catledge (BS 53) of Victoria, Texas, Aug. 16, 2021

Patricia Louise Stout Johnson (BAEd 55) of Guntown, Aug. 27, 2021

Katie Jean Schilling Chapple (50) of Derry, N.H., Feb. 10, 2021

Michael Frederick Kernan (BBA 58) of Fenton, Mich., Sept. 8, 2021

David Mitchell Comfort (MedCert 50) of Springville, Ala., Aug. 29, 2021

Maury Stafford Knowlton Jr. (59) of Memphis, Tenn., July 9, 2021

Lawrence Hale Conwill (BBA 50, MBEd 55) of Florence, Ala., Feb. 23, 2021 Kenneth Earl Corban (BSPh 56) of Dallas, Texas, July 7, 2021 Joseph Michael Corrigan Jr. (BBA 58, LLB 60) of Temple, Texas, Aug. 20, 2021 Etheldra Frances Cox (BA 53) of Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 13, 2021 Virginia Sledge Cox (BS 59) of Senatobia, July 31, 2021 Dean Russell Daigneault (BSPh 57) of Houma, La., Sept. 10, 2021 Minnie Anne Allen Darsey (50) of Tupelo, Aug. 13, 2021 Gene Lee Davidson (BA 57, MD 61) of Tallahassee, Fla., Aug. 18, 2021 Andrew Criddle Fox (BM 57) of Oxford, Aug. 12, 2021 John Joseph Franco Jr. (BA 59, LLB 60, JD 68) of San Antonio, Texas, Aug. 27, 2021 Norman L. Gillespie (BA 56, LLB 61) of Oxford, Aug. 29, 2021

Cook

Harry David Lane Jr. (BSPh 58) of Ocean Springs, June 5, 2021 Sudie McCool Manning (BAEd 51) of Flowood, July 19, 2021 Lawrence Brunson Morris (BA 56, BS 57, MD 60) of Macon, Sept. 26, 2021 Mary Pattillo Haven Oyaas (BSC 55) of Hickory, N.C., Aug. 22, 2021 Mary Ann Parker (BA 53) of Tucson, Ariz., Aug. 31, 2021 Genie Smith Pounds (BM 52) of Booneville, Aug. 2, 2021 Walter Stewart Redden Jr. (BAEd 56) of Ridgeland, Aug. 11, 2021 Alice O’Ferrall Reilly (BA 54) of Ridgeland, Aug. 2, 2021 Patrick Richardson (BM 52) of Abbeville, Aug. 4, 2021 Beverly Carnes Stephenson (BAEd 51) of Flora, Aug. 13, 2021 Mildred Reynolds Taub (BA 51) of Birmingham, Ala., May 15, 2021 Walter Cliftin Thompson (BSChE 56, MS 57) of Greensboro, N.C., Sept. 2, 2021

AT THE VI KI NG COOKI NG SCHOOL

325 Howa rd St reet • G reenwood, M S • Tues-Sat: 10 am - 5:3 0 pm 866. 4 51.675 0 o r 662 . 4 51.675 0 • t heal luvian.com/vcs

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ALUMNI News 1960s

William Denton Swain Jr. (JD 68) of Eads, Tenn., Sept. 16, 2021

John Jasper Adams (BSPh 65) of Vardaman, Sept. 20, 2021

Warren Allen Todd Jr. (BS 62, MD 65) of Birmingham, Ala., July 20, 2021

William Whitten Ballard (BA 65, JD 68) of Hernando, Dec. 9, 2020 William Thomas Brantley (MS 60) of Pensacola, Fla., Feb. 15, 2021 Edmund Lawrence Brunini Jr. (JD 69) of Madison, Aug. 31, 2021 Mary Bibb Cook Collier (BSPh 67) of Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 24, 2021 Donald Brett Cook (BS 61) of Hazel Green, Ala., Sept. 2, 2021 Kenneth Earl Cooksey Jr. (BBA 69) of Monticello, Fla., July 23, 2021 Elzie Dee Martin Cox (BSC 62) of New Albany, Aug. 5, 2021 Betty Jean Hardin Edwards (BAEd 61) of Bruce, Aug. 15, 2021 Carl Dexter Ford (BBA 60, JD 66) of Laurel, Aug. 3, 2021 Tony Gaines (BBA 63) of Oxford, Aug. 17, 2021 Charles Lewis Graeber Jr. (BBA 64) of Yazoo City, Sept. 9, 2021 William Bibb Gurley (BBA 61) of Oxford, Aug. 14, 2021 Sandra Delores James Hinson (MCS 69) of Tuscumbia, Ala., July 19, 2021 Wayne Warren Hoffmann (MA 69) of Coronado, Calif., Aug. 17, 2021 Dorothy Petkovsek Jeff (BBA 65) of Clinton, Sept. 25, 2021 John Dee Johnson III (BSChE 64) of The Woodlands, Texas, May 31, 2021 Claud Leake Keirn III (BA 67) of Mountain Home, Ark., Aug. 10, 2021 Joseph Berry Kelly (BBA 68) of Mobile, Ala., Sept. 1, 2021 Luther Augustus Knight Jr. (MCS 61, PhD 69) of Oxford, Aug. 23, 2021 Jimmy Victor MacNaughton (BSCvE 62) of Bridgewater, Va., Aug. 7, 2021 Margaret Anne Riley Montgomery (BA 66) of Canton, Sept. 15, 2021 Emory Lee Mullins (MA 67) of Kingsport, Tenn., Sept. 8, 2021 Thomas Joseph O’Beirne (BA 63, JD 65) of Natchez, July 25, 2021 Glenn Ray Olsen (BS 61) of Columbia, S.C., Aug. 27, 2021 Phillip Ernest Roberts (BBA 64) of Amory, July 17, 2021 John Warren Robinson (BA 61, MD 65) of Meridian, July 19, 2021 Howard Leon Schoggen (BSChE 62) of Southaven, July 31, 2021 Margaret Elaine Hoffman Scott (MA 62) of Little Rock, Ark., July 29, 2021

James Richard Walker (PhD 67) of Silver City, N.M., Aug. 24, 2021 Robert Homer Walker (BS 69, JD 73) of Jackson, Feb. 23, 2021 Sarah Sims Washburn (MA 65, MSS 88) of Blue Mountain, July 27, 2021 Jay Neal Welch (MCS 62) of Georgetown, Texas, July 23, 2021 James Thomas White (BBA 61) of Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 2, 2021 Charles Herndon Wilkins (BBA 65) of Monroe, La., July 21, 2021 Rudy DeWayne Williams (MA 69) of Cary, N.C., Sept. 30, 2020 Claude Gordon Willoughby (BSChE 62) of Summit, Sept. 7, 2021 Thomas Lynn Windham (MD 69) of Oxford, July 27, 2021 Edwin Leroy Wooten (MCS 63) of Davenport, Iowa, Aug. 18, 2021 Melanie Scott Yelton (BAEd 60, MEd 63) of Batesville, Aug. 20, 2021

1970s Michael Maxwell Anderson (BBA 79) of Madison, Aug. 7, 2021 Richard Larry Bennett (MCS 70) of Dresden, Tenn., July 17, 2021 Johnny Bernard Bills (MD 77) of Fayette, Sept. 14, 2021 Lilliane Seales Bobbitt (MLS 71) of Cleveland, Sept. 6, 2021 Samuel Lucien Box (72) of Fairhope, Ala., Aug. 14, 2021 Stephen Allen Bramlitt (BA 76, BSPh 79) of New Albany, Aug. 4, 2021 Gloria Wright Bresnahan (73) of Meridian, July 19, 2021 Roger Donald Brown (MA 72) of Chestertown, Md., Sept. 11, 2021 James Holt Cade Jr. (BBA 76) of Oxford, July 28, 2021 Daniel Eugene Craig (BSHPE 72) of Alexandria, La., July 31, 2021 Tommy Fife (75) of Myrtle Beach, S.C., July 25, 2021 Marguerite Carol Puryear Ford (BAEd 71) of Ridgeland, Sept. 23, 2021 Stephen Wayne Gong (BBA 72) of Jackson, Sept. 25, 2021 Donald Cameron Guild (MD 71) of Jackson, Aug. 14, 2021 James Earl Harris (BBA 76) of Flowood, Feb. 25, 2021 David Paul Hawkins (BM 73) of Taylor, Sept. 28, 2021

Charles Thomas Smyth (BBA 69) of Louisville, July 16, 2021

David Sullivan Jennings (71) of Ripley, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2021

Jo Ann Smith Stephans (BAEd 61) of Boulder City, Nev., Sept. 7, 2021

William Hooper Jones Jr. (BBA 71) of Collierville, Tenn., Sept. 25, 2021

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ALUMNI REVIEW

Photo by Thomas Graning

ALUMNI News

HOMECOMING HIGHLIGHT 2020-21 Ole Miss Alumni Association President Lampkin Butts with 2021 Homecoming Queen Bradford Stewart and King Kenzee Blount

JOIN THE REBEL MUG CLUB $500 per member. Membership includes a commemorative beer mug for your home, 20-ounce draft beer for the price of a pint in McCormick’s and a tax-deductible donation to the University of Mississippi. The first 200 charter members will have their names placed on a plaque at McCormick’s.

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ALUMNI News Photo by Jim Urbanek

The 2021-22 officers of the Ole Miss Alumni Association are (from left) Johnny Maloney, Bill Reed, Dr. Bob Warner, Karen Moore, Bruce Ware and Kirk Purdom.

OMAA Welcomes 2021-22 Officers SURGEON BOB WARNER BEGINS TERM AS PRESIDENT

T

he Ole Miss Alumni Association announced elected officers for 2021-22 at its annual meeting on Oct. 9 as part of Homecoming activities at the University of Mississippi. This year’s meeting was held outside in front of Triplett Alumni Center.

Dr. Bob Warner (BA 79, MD 83), of Jonesboro, Arkansas, was named president, a one-year term that changes each Homecoming.

Warner is a partner at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center Surgical Clinic, where he is chief of surgery and vice chief of staff, and an assistant professor of 60

ALUMNI REVIEW

surgery at New York Institute of Technology Medical School in Jonesboro. He was the charter president of the Northeast Arkansas Ole Miss Alumni Club and is active in Rotary International at the local, national and international levels.

“I am appreciative and humbled to serve in this capacity,” Warner said. “I especially want to thank our immediate past president, Lampkin Butts, for his efforts. His solid leadership helped us navigate a steady course in an unprecedented time.”

Bill Reed (BA 72, JD 77), of Jackson, a shareholder in the law firm Baker

Donelson, was named president-elect.

Karen Moore (BS 82), of Nashville, president of nonprofit Project Redesign, was elected vice president.

Athletics Committee members include Johnny Maloney (BBA 78), of Madison, and Bruce Ware (BBA 99), of Dallas.

Maloney is executive vice president for Cowboy Maloney’s Home Store, which has 13 locations in Mississippi. Ware serves as a corporate vice president with DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500 health care company.

Ole Miss Alumni Association CEO Kirk Purdom (BA 93) serves as treasurer.

ALUMNI News Frank Foster Kennedy Jr. (BBA 70) of West Point, Aug. 9, 2021

1980s

Linda Jones Kitzmiller (BSN 70, MN 74) of Minster, Ohio, Nov. 1, 2021

Roderick Boardman Adams Jr. (BBA 85) of Columbus, Sept. 9, 2021

Carol Phillips Kornegay (BAEd 71) of Murphy, N.C., Sept. 14, 2021

Joe Neal Cagle (LLM 80) of Vale, N.C., Aug. 26, 2021

William Norman Krucks Esq. (JD 76) of Winnetka, Ill., July 23, 2021

Gwendolyn Canon (BAEd 85) of Canton, Aug. 31, 2021

Andy Paul Lawhon (BBA 73) of Tupelo, Sept. 22, 2021

Joseph B. Eaton (83) of Baldwyn, Aug. 22, 2021

Frederick John Lusk Jr. (JD 73) of Biloxi, Aug. 26, 2021

Brian Neil Grogan (BA 80) of Batesville, Sept. 5, 2021

George Maida (MEd 70) of Galveston, Texas, May 17, 2021

Jack Lansford Hammond (MD 80) of Jackson, July 14, 2021

Robert Andrew Mitchell Jr. (BBA 75) of Houston, Texas, June 16, 2021 Hal Chase Moss Jr. (BSEE 70) of Terry, Aug. 12, 2021 Robert Sherwood Nance (BA 71) of Bloomington, Ill., July 11, 2020 Mark Anthony Nixon (MURP 77) of Tallahassee, Fla., Aug. 6, 2021 Mary Elizabeth Partin (BBA 79) of Memphis, Tenn., Sept. 20, 2021 James Gordon Perkins (BSChE 72) of Ridgeland, Sept. 18, 2021

William Thomas Hartley (BS 82) of Lucedale, June 28, 2021 Timothy Keith Huff (BSHPE 81) of Marshall, Texas, Sept. 20, 2021 Janet Little King (BAEd 83, MS 86) of Pearl, Sept. 19, 2021 David Verlon Mills (BBA 80) of Mantachie, July 19, 2021 John Adams Nicholas II (BBA 80) of Robeline, La., Sept. 14, 2021

Stewart Thomas Peters (BBA 77) of Germantown, Tenn., Sept. 5, 2021

Thomas Basil Panagon III (BBA 81) of Germantown, Tenn., Sept. 29, 2021

Paul Williamson Pierce III (MD 72) of Vicksburg, Aug. 23, 2021

David Ambrose Roberts (BA 85, JD 88) of Pascagoula, Aug. 28, 2021

Jimmy Lee Roberson (BSHPE 73) of Myrtle, Sept. 29, 2021

Laura Peddle Sale (BAEd 80, MEd 88) of Oxford, Aug. 13, 2021

Gustavus Alston Rush III (BA 74, MD 78) of Meridian, Aug. 20, 2021

Paul Craig Sanford (BBA 89, MBA 90) of Tampa, Fla., Aug. 9, 2021

Roy Thomas Sappington (BBA 77) of New Albany, Aug. 7, 2021

Norma Allison Craig Scanlan (BA 81, BA 81) of Sarasota, Fla., Aug. 29, 2021

Linda Joyce Simmons (MSS 71) of Fairfax, Va., Aug. 20, 2021 Frankie Walton White (JD 75) of Jackson, Aug. 11, 2021 Margaret Hegman Williams (JD 78) of Jackson, Aug. 8, 2021 Judith Ann Colson Witt (MEd 75) of New Albany, Aug. 16, 2021

Teresa Walker (BAccy 85) of Lithonia, Ga., Sept. 18, 2021 James Luther Warren III (JD 87) of Jackson, Aug. 9, 2021 Everett Glenvar Willard Jr. (JD 82) of Westminster, Colo., Aug. 29, 2021

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ALUMNI News Steven Natalie Williams (BAEd 80, MSP 83) of Madison, Oct. 18, 2020 Joe Wade Willingham (BPA 89) of Memphis, Tenn., Jan. 13, 2021

1990s

Marianne Morris Sweitzer (BSES 97, MS 99) of Huntersville, N.C., Sept.

18, 2021 Ellen Camille Gillespie Warlick (BBA 93) of Cleveland, Aug. 11, 2021

2000s

Jason Hal Ainsworth (BSES 98) of Jackson, Aug. 26, 2021

James Benjamin Gatewood (MD 05) of Ocean Springs, Aug. 9, 2021

Melinda Kaye Self Bell (MEd 94) of Becker, Sept. 29, 2021 Sadie Hollowell Charlton (SpecEd 93) of Millington, Tenn., Sept. 14, 2021

Clayton Bradley Payne (BA 06) of Southaven, Aug. 15, 2021 Niambi Wambui Payne (07) of Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 26, 2021

Darrin Michael Green (MD 98) of Texarkana, Ark., July 22, 2021

Dorothy Mazei Prestwich (SpecEd 04, EdD 08) of Fulton, Aug. 7, 2021

Joe Beck Hairston (MA 95) of Grapevine, Texas, Aug. 30, 2020

Thomas McCarver Rayburn (BA 02) of Meridian, Aug. 13, 2021

Robert Earnest Helmer (94) of Highlands, N.C., July 13, 2021

Michelle Anne Roby (BAEd 04) of Blue Mountain, Aug. 13, 2021

Stacy Rena Hudson-Rich (BSES 94) of Rex, Ga., July 25, 2021

Reed Daulton Stacy (BBA 03) of Oxford, July 26, 2021

David Andrew Lence (BBA 91) of Walnut, Sept. 23, 2021 Robert Breckenridge Moffett (BBA 98) of Cumming, Ga., Aug. 12, 2021

2010s

John Michael Rauscher (BBA 98) of Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 31, 2021

Serena Stauber Ellison (BSW 17) of Water Valley, Aug. 31, 2021

Christopher Evans Reichle (BA 96) of Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 17, 2021

Wanda Barton Fancher (BUS 18) of Kosciusko, Sept. 1, 2021

Patsy Lynn Falls Stone (MEd 94) of Tremont, Sept. 17, 2021

Riley John Gula (BSGE 17) of Lemoyne, Pa., Aug. 9, 2021

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ALUMNI REVIEW

ALUMNI News Christopher Dillard Kidd (MEd 10) of Oxford, July 30, 2021

James Harold Bethay of Booneville, Sept. 14, 2021

Abraham Joseph Levy (BS 19) of St. Louis, Mo., Aug. 6, 2021

Quincy Blackmon of Oxford, Sept. 12, 2021

Matthew Spence Parrish (BA 10) of Olive Branch, July 26, 2021

Douglas Weir Byrd of Fulton, Sept. 15, 2021

Shameaka Sharae Patton (BSW 12) of Tupelo, July 29, 2021

Rosa McCoy Canon of Batesville, Sept. 16, 2021

Leland Scott Pettigo (BBA 15) of Savannah, Tenn., July 12, 2021

Clarissa Chanta Corothers of Oxford, Aug. 8, 2021 Nancy Cook Cramer of Water Valley, Aug. 1, 2021

2020s

Shirley Faye Atwood Cumbest of Pascagoula, Sept. 4, 2021

John Arnil Adams II (BSME 21) of Oxford, Aug. 22, 2021

Charles Edward Franklin of Oxford, Sept. 5, 2021 Wesley Byron Hughes of Waterford, Aug. 8, 2021

STUDENTS

Anita Sue Oldham Imbler of Tupelo, Sept. 15, 2021

Henry Huntley Melvin (21) of Charlotte, N.C., Aug. 1, 2021

Thomas Lafayette Kilgore Jr. of Ridgeland, Aug. 27, 2021

Russell Edward Miller (21) of Sumrall, Sept. 27, 2021

Milton Kramer of New York, N.Y., May 19, 2021 James Nello Martin Jr. of Winston Salem, N.C., Sept. 10, 2021

FACULTY AND FRIENDS

Josephine Martin of Decatur, Ga., Aug. 19, 2021

Ralph Vincent Bailey of Austin, Texas, July 23, 2021

Dennis Frierson McEwen of Oxford, July 12, 2021

Carlie Sue Walker Bethay of Booneville, Aug. 30, 2021

Ronald Curtis McLarty of Abbeville, Sept. 7, 2021

ARE YOU READY

...to place your brand in front of the most educated, affluent and dedicated Ole Miss alumni?

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63

ALUMNI News Melody Bruce Musgrove of Madison, Sept. 27, 2021 Paul Steven Ogren of Oxford, July 30, 2021 Amy Mize Pearson of Oxford, Aug. 12, 2021 Lillie Duncan Pennington of Ripley, July 17, 2021 James Altus Pittman of Laurel, July 16, 2021 Spiva Gene Richardson of Louisville, July 16, 2021 Mary Carol Curtis Ryan of Hattiesburg, July 12, 2021

Due to space limitations, class notes are only published in the Alumni Review from active, dues-paying members of the Ole Miss Alumni Association. To submit a class note, send it to records@olemiss.edu or Alumni Records Dept., Ole Miss Alumni Association, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 386771848. Class notes also may be submitted through the Association’s website at olemissalumni.com. The Association relies on numerous sources for class notes and is unable to verify all notes with individual alumni.

Laura Elizabeth Hewes Scott of Jackson, Aug. 12, 2021 George P. Smith of Wiggins, Aug. 22, 2021 Tommy Thompson of Oklahoma City, Okla., Sept. 18, 2021 Allie Lee Boatright Tidwell of Saltillo, Aug. 3, 2021 John Philip Troy of Oxford, Sept. 5, 2021 Atlas Earl Tutor of Water Valley, Dec. 19, 2021 Janis Mitchell Weems of Oxford, July 25, 2021

SHOW YOUR PRIDE! If you live in Mississippi, get your Ole Miss affinity plate today!

Affinity plates are $51 a year, $32.50 of which comes to the university to support student scholarships and keep the Grove and Circle vibrant.

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

64

ALUMNI REVIEW

T

he only thing we overlook...

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Active members of the Alumni Association receive 10 percent off hotel rooms.

120120 Alumni Drive Alumni Drive • University, MS 38677 • Reservations: 662-234-2331 or TheInnAtOleMiss.com University, MS 38655

Ole Miss Alumni Association P.O. Box 1848 University, MS 38677-1848 (662) 915-7375 olemissalumni.com

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