Ole Miss Alumni Review - Spring 2017

OLE MISS ALUMNI REVIEW

SPRING 2017

ALUMNI REVIEW

SPRING 2017

Industry Innovators FNC, A $475 MILLION COMPANY BUILT BY UM PROFESSORS, BEGAN WITH A NAPKIN AND SOME ‘STREET CRED’ VOL. 66 NO. 2

UM Honors College dedicates expanded facility

Secret Service alumnus enjoys front-row seat to history

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Features ALUMNI REVIEW

22 Industry Innovators

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FNC, a $475 million company built by UM professors, began with a napkin and some ‘street cred’

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BY MICHAEL NEWSOM

30 Top Secret Service

Alumnus enjoys front-row seat to history

BY ANNIE RHOADES

36 20 Years and Growing UM Honors College dedicates expanded facility

BY EDWIN SMITH

Contents VOL. 66 NO. 2

Departments

2 Chancellor’s Letter

SPRING 2017

ON THE COVER

4 President’s Letter 6 From the Circle

18 Calendar

40 Ole Miss Sports

Tennis player confronts scoliosis head on 9 undrafted Ole Miss players join NFL

46 Just Published

48 Rebel Traveler 52 Alumni News

22 Former UM business professors Bob Dorsey (left), John Johnson, Dennis Tosh and Bill Rayburn transformed the real estate appraisals process for banks with their Oxford-based company, FNC. Cover photo courtesy of CoreLogic/FNC

O le M iss A lumni R ev iew Publisher Kirk Purdom (93) Editor Jim Urbanek II (97) jim@olemiss.edu Associate Editor and Advertising Director Annie Rhoades (07, 09) annie@olemiss.edu Contributing Editor Benita Whitehorn Art Director Amy Howell Contributors Kevin Bain (98), Rebecca Lauck Cleary (97), Stella Connell, Mitchell Diggs (82), Sydney Slotkin DuPriest, Jay Ferchaud, Thomas Graning, Robert Jordan (83), Kim Ling, Joshua McCoy, Michael Newsom (05), Annie Oeth, Edwin Smith (80, 93), Christina Steube (11), Cynthia Wall Officers of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association Dr. Hal Moore (76) president Bobby Bailess (73, 76) president-elect Augustus L. “Leon” Collins (73, 76) vice president Andy Kilpatrick (87) athletics committee member Deano Orr (93) athletics committee member Alumni Affairs Staff, Oxford Kirk Purdom (93), executive director Joseph Baumbaugh, systems analyst III Allie Bush, web developer Clay Cavett (86), associate director Anne Cofer (07, 08), accountant Martha Dollarhide, systems programmer II Sheila Dossett (75), senior associate director Sunny Eicholtz (09, 11), coordinator of student engagement Annette Kelly (79), accountant Steve Mullen (92), assistant director for marketing Annie Rhoades (07, 09), publications editor Anna Smith (05), assistant director Scott Thompson (97, 08), assistant director Jim Urbanek (97), assistant director for communications Torie Marion White (07), assistant director Rusty Woods (01), associate director for information services Warner Alford (60, 66), executive director emeritus The Ole Miss Alumni Review (USPS 561-870) is published quarterly by the University of Mississippi 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.

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ALUMNI REVIEW

C hancellor from the

Dear Alumni and Friends,

Spring is such an energizing time at Ole Miss. All our campuses are vibrant and buzzing with activity and achievements. If you’ve been on the Oxford campus recently, you fully understand our perennial ranking as the nation’s most beautiful.

Speaking of rankings, I am excited to share that we achieved our highest-ever standing in the 2017 U.S. News & World Report annual rankings of Best (Undergraduate) Colleges and Universities, where UM tied for No. 64 in the Top Public Universities category, up seven places from the previous year’s rankings. A number of our undergraduate and graduate programs were also ranked nationally. These rankings reinforce our flagship status and are a testament to the value of our degrees, the impact of our research, and the competitiveness of our students, staff and faculty.

Another great development I want to share is the recent passage of the Health Care Collaboration Act of 2017. This legislation allows our Medical Center to engage in “collaboratives” — or joint ventures — with private or public hospitals and clinics. It will facilitate UMMC building win-win partnerships to ensure long-term sustainable health care for Mississippians. The collaborative system will allow UMMC to partner with rural community hospitals to help strengthen local health care and is another step in the right direction of creating a healthier Mississippi.

I would like to recognize some of our students’ recent efforts of community engagement and service: The UM Feed the Hunger Pack-a-thon reached its goal of one million meals for impoverished children, the UM Big Event — the largest community service project in the state — had 2,000 student volunteers, and RebelTHON raised $172,000 for the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital. We have so many reasons to be inspired by our current generation of student Rebels!

We are celebrating several seminal events this year. Did you know 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of our prestigious and nationally recognized Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College? We just opened its newly expanded and renovated building. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, which has gained international recognition as a leader in the examination of the South. And be on the lookout for activities on campus in June in celebration of our state’s bicentennial — we are excited to participate in several events that will honor our state’s history, culture, people and places.

As we all know, Ole Miss and Oxford have an amazing town–gown relationship — best I’ve ever seen in my 37 years in higher education. I would like to thank Mayor Pat Patterson for his eight years of service to Oxford and to congratulate our incoming mayor, Robyn Tannehill — both Ole Miss alumni!

As chancellor, I am reminded daily that one of the reasons why Sharon and I were drawn to this extraordinary university is the Ole Miss family and its strong sense of community.

This concept was expressed eloquently by Chase Moore, a business administration senior from Horn Lake and 2017 Hall of Fame inductee: “I think of the University of Mississippi as the heartbeat — it keeps the body going, it keeps us going — but Ole Miss is the experience, Ole Miss is the spirit.” Thank you for all you do to support the Ole Miss experience and carry on the Ole Miss spirit!

Sincerely,

Jeffrey S. Vitter Chancellor P.S. I encourage you to reach out to me at chancellor@OleMiss.edu. And be sure to stay connected by following me on Twitter @UMchancellor and signing up for my communications at chancellor.olemiss.edu/chancellors-communications.

President from the

“The peripheral circulatory system is primarily responsible for controlling cardiac output … ” — Arthur C. Guyton, M.D., from the Textbook of Medical Physiology Dear Friends,

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One of the jewels of the University of Mississippi is its Medical Center in Jackson. With seven schools — Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Health Related Professions, Graduate Studies, Population Health and Pharmacy — UMMC has nearly 3,000 students and 10,000 employees.

The School of Medicine, founded in 1903, was initially housed in the Lyceum. Students attended for two years after which they continued their education at an out-ofstate institution. The early years were difficult, and in 1930, when the university lost its accreditation due to political interference by Gov. Theodore Bilbo, the School of Medicine also lost its academic standing, which was not restored until 1938.

After World War II, the need for a four-year, degree-granting school and the advantages of it being located in a metropolitan setting became obvious to most. Dr. David Pankratz, dean of the School of Medicine, led this effort.

In 1950, after five years of political maneuvering, the Mississippi Legislature — by a one-vote margin — enacted legislation to create a four-year medical school, and classes began on the Jackson campus in September 1955. The medical school again risked losing accreditation after Gov. Ross Barnett’s attempts to block the admission of James Meredith at the Oxford campus. However, under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Robert Marston, the Medical Center was desegregated, and the first African-American student enrolled in 1966.* UMMC nurtured the careers of two renowned individuals in modern medicine — Drs. Arthur Guyton and James Hardy. In 1956, Guyton published his Textbook of Medical Physiology with its revelations about human physiology. It remains the most widely used textbook in the field and the standard physiology text around the world.

In 1964, Hardy performed the world’s first heart transplant.

Since 2015, UMMC, a $1.6 billion enterprise, has been expertly led by Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine.

The Medical Center is collaborating with Tougaloo College and Jackson State University on the Jackson Heart Study, the world’s largest study of cardiovascular risk factors in African-Americans. Groundbreaking gene therapy for hemophilia was recently presented at an international conference in Copenhagen. Also, UMMC has a special partnership with the Mayo Clinic after the two entities formed an institutional bond in 2010, and, in 2014, committed to broadening and strengthening collaboration in clinical trials, medical research and education.

Although its early days were bleak, UMMC has become a world-class leader in medical education, research and service — an integral part of Ole Miss to be treasured.

Forward Rebels!

Hal Moore (MD 76) *More fascinating information about UMMC’s history can be found in Lucie Robertson Bridgforth’s Medical Education in Mississippi: A History of the School of Medicine (1984).

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

Engineering a Plan for Success SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING TEAMS WITH TECH FIRMS FOR STEM INITIATIVE

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he University of Mississippi School of Engineering and two technology companies are working together to create a program aimed at attracting more underrepresented youth into science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields.

The engineering school, in partnership with GroupNotions LLC and Group HI LLC, is launching Engineering and Innovation Initiative, or E2I, programs to increase the number of underrepresented students interested in pursuing STEM careers, ultimately increasing workforce diversity.

“We are very excited to work with GroupNotions and Group HI,” says Alex Cheng, dean of the UM School of Engineering. “Collaborating with these advanced technology companies to provide a new approach for students and educators is a potential game changer for our school and will enable us to learn how to inspire future generations best.”

E2I programs will include meeting and working with faculty, alumni and industry leaders to provide opportunities 6

ALUMNI REVIEW

for 10th-grade students and high school teachers to gain insights into the type of science, engineering, technology and manufacturing jobs and skill sets that will be in demand in coming years.

Initially, the programs will include students and educators in Mississippi, Hawaii, Alaska and California.

Based in Honolulu, GroupNotions teams with distinguished institutions and large corporations to develop and position advanced security and surveillance nanotechnologies. An Anchorage, Alaska-based firm, Group HI designs and shapes advanced nanotechnology solutions for the military, transportation and critical infrastructure industries.

An E2I advisory board, composed of government, institution, industry and community leaders, is being formed to address operational and financial support for the program.

Waheed Uddin, professor of civil engineering and director of UM’s Center for Advanced Infrastructure Technology, will represent Ole Miss on the board.

Photo by Robert Jordan

Civil engineering professor and CAIT director Waheed Uddin (center) is the UM point of contact for a developing partnership among the School of Engineering, GroupNotions LLC and Group HI LLC.

from the Circle

Best Practices

CHINESE FLAGSHIP PROGRAM ENVOYS PRESENT TEACHING SUCCESS IN SAN FRANCISCO

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Yang said one of the most successful practices she has implemented involving technology includes posting video resources and reading materials to the Blackboard discussion board, allowing students to report what they’ve learned and discuss the video and supplemented articles.

“Since students learn at different rates and have diverse learning styles, technologies play an important role in helping to enhance language learning and to differentiate instruction, as well as to increase learning motivation,” Yang says. “In this type of classroom setting, time is allotted less to directly teaching the material and more toward finessing the skills students have discovered on their own prior to class.”

Using this method, students have improved their overall reading, writing

and listening skills outside of class, allowing them to use the target language as much as possible to communicate in the classroom, Yang says.

Photo by Nathan Latil

epresentatives of the University of Mississippi’s Chinese Language Flagship Program traveled to San Francisco in March to participate in a workshop hosted by the Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center at the University of Hawaii.

Language programs from across the country worked together to identify best practices for technology integration and give priority to the effective use of blended learning, the feasibility of extending practice across languages and the likelihood of adoption by students and other instructors.

UM Chinese Language Flagship Program co-director Henrietta Yang, flagship instructor Rongrong Hao and flagship capstone-bound student Brendan Ryan were invited to present “A Flipped Course through Blackboard Discussion Board.”

Henrietta Yang, co-director of the UM Chinese Flagship Program, was among those who presented classroom technologies in San Francisco in March.

UM PROFESSOR RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS WHITING FELLOWSHIP recognition of her involvement with the Behind the Big House program, a slave Photo by Kevin Bain

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resh off winning this year’s Mississippi Humanities Council’s Scholar Award, University of Mississippi professor Jodi Skipper has received another accolade, this one a national honor.

Skipper, assistant professor of anthropology and Southern studies, has been awarded a prestigious Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship from the Whiting Foundation, a Brooklyn, New York-based organization that has a long history of support for the humanities and literature.

“I was ecstatic and grateful for this opportunity,” Skipper says. “I will use this fellowship period to organize and facilitate a series of workshops entitled ‘Beyond the Big House: Interpreting Slavery in Local Communities.’

“These workshops seek to connect a growing population of communities in Mississippi interested in addressing slavery through historic sites.”

Skipper was selected for the award in

Jodi Skipper

dwelling interpretation program started

by Jenifer Eggleston and Chelius Carter in Holly Springs.

“I have been privileged enough to help with their project, which interprets the lives of enslaved persons through the homes in which they once lived,” she says.

Behind the Big House, one of the few historic site tours developed with the explicit goal of interpreting the experiences of enslaved people, will serve as a model for Skipper’s project. She said her broader goal is to expand the Behind the Big House model from Holly Springs to other parts of the state.

The Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship, in its second year, is designed to celebrate and support faculty who embrace public engagement as part of the scholarly vocation. Seven others were selected for this year’s cohort.

Each fellow receives a semester of leave to pursue a public-facing project, as well as a $10,000 stipend toward project costs.

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from the Circle

Storytelling at Its Best

SOUTHERN STUDIES CENTER LAUNCHES M.F.A. IN DOCUMENTARY EXPRESSION

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new Master of Fine Arts in documentary expression begins this fall at the University of Mississippi. The new degree, housed at the university’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture, will be a two-year, 30-hour graduate program that combines three forms of training.

Some classes will emphasize documentary production, with advanced training in photography, film and audio production. Some classes will emphasize the study of particular subjects.

Also, students will spend about half their hours in the program completing a documentary project.

“We are excited to offer this opportunity, particularly because it grows out of the interest our students have increasingly expressed over the years,” says Katie McKee, the center’s graduate student adviser, McMullan Associate Professor of Southern Studies and associate professor of English. “They

have found photography, oral history and filmmaking invigorating ways to explore region and place, and this degree will formalize the centrality of documentary work to our curriculum.”

As the proposal for the new M.F.A. states, “The degree emphasizes the skills – observing, listening, storytelling and understanding context and multiple perspectives – that are central to the Southern studies program.

“The degree program does not simply teach technical skills to Southern studies students or teach interdisciplinary techniques to documentarians.

Rather, the degree program teaches the intersection of documentary skills and scholarly approaches so students who already have an advanced degree can conceptualize and complete documentary projects of exceptional quality.”

The new program allows students to learn documentary methods within the cultural studies framework that the

center has developed for decades, says Andy Harper, director of the Southern Documentary Project.

“It recognizes and combines a few of the things we do best and allows us to pass those skills on to a new generation of storytellers,” Harper says.

A unique feature of this program is that it includes interdisciplinary study of the American South while also requiring that students master some of the skills of documentary work.

Students will need to show an academic understanding of their subject as part of doing their films, photography and audio documentary work.

Students can enter the M.F.A. program only if they already have a Master of Arts in the humanities, social sciences or journalism. Students with master’s degrees in Southern studies likely will be among the students, but the program will accept students with graduate training in numerous disciplines.

Photo by David Wharton

The new M.F.A. program in documentary expression allows students to use their documentary skills, including photography, oral history and filmmaking.

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from the Circle

JUST MERCY SELECTED FOR UM’S 2017 COMMON READING EXPERIENCE

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ryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption will be the focus of campuswide discussion throughout 2017 after being selected for the University of Mississippi’s Common Reading Experience.

Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending the poor, the wrongly condemned and others. The book tells his story about the redemptive power of mercy and serves as Stevenson’s call to fix the justice system. He has agreed to be the keynote speaker Aug. 22 at the university’s Fall Convocation.

The Common Reading Experience began with the 2011-12 school year and continues in 2017-18 with the selection of Just Mercy. All incoming freshmen and transfer students will get copies of the book with instructions to read it before the fall semester begins.

Instructors from the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, FirstYear Experience, Department of Nursing and others then use the text in their classes. Faculty and staff are also encouraged to read it in an effort to enrich the sense of community here. The program aspires for an enriched sense of academic community through a

communal reading of the text.

This past fall, faculty, staff and students, as well as alumni and residents of the greater Oxford community, were invited to nominate a suggested title. Each committee member read each book on the short list.

Just Mercy was the committee’s overwhelming favorite, says Kirk A. Johnson, associate professor of sociology and African-American studies and cochair of the Common Reading Experience selection subcommittee.

“I think students will enjoy the structure of the book,” Johnson says. “On the one hand, it’s the true story of a lawyer who advocates passionately for atrisk clients. But the author intersperses his narratives with explanations of how the criminal justice system as a whole is criminally unjust.”

A New York Times best-seller, Just Mercy won the 2015 Carnegie Medal for Best Nonfiction, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the NAACP Image Award for Best Nonfiction. In 2014, it was named

by Time magazine as one of the Top 10 Nonfiction Books and by Esquire magazine as one of the Five Most Important Books.

Lifetime Achievement Award

SOUTHERN STUDIES PIONEER HONORED BY MISSISSIPPI ARTS COMMISSION Photo by Robert Jordan

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illiam R. Ferris, the preeminent scholar of Mississippi’s rich culture, music and folklore, has been documenting the lives of Mississippians for more than 50 years. The Mississippi Arts Commission honored him in February with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 Governor’s Arts Awards.

Ferris is a scholar, author, documentary filmmaker and founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. For him, the award is linked to the center, as well as to the Oxford community.

“It’s a tremendous honor, and I know it would never have happened without the work I was blessed to do at the University of Mississippi and at the center,” Ferris said at the ceremony. “It was a special period in my life that connected me to Mississippi in ways that were very special and very moving, and I know full well that the friendships I was able to share there are a big part of why I was selected for this honor.”

The award is an opportunity to look back and appreciate more deeply what one’s life’s work represents, since in the moment, totally engaged and working, it can be difficult to see where things will land, said Ferris, who was on the Ole Miss faculty from 1979 to 1998.

Bill Ferris (left) looks over a copy of Living Blues magazine with blues great B.B. King during a visit by King to the University of Mississippi in the 1980s, when Ferris was director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture.

Southern studies students are leading various areas in new and exciting ways, said Ferris, who keeps up with the program’s students and alumni.

“I look around the state, the region and the nation and know there are powerful voices that were shaped at the center and by the Southern studies program,” he said.

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from the Circle

ONLINE MBA PROGRAM RANKED IN U.S. NEWS’ TOP 25

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he University of Mississippi’s online Master of Business Administration program was named one of the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings, released in January, place Ole Miss at No. 22 nationally.

“We are excited for the recognition of the outstanding education received in the online MBA program,” says Ken Cyree, dean of the UM School of Business Administration. “We strive to provide similarities of the on-campus experience, but with the flexibility of the courses needed while working or living in another location.”

According to U.S. News & World Report’s briefing, “Master’s degree programs in

business administration have greater enrollment, by far, than any other type of graduate business degree program. The 2017 ‘Best Online MBA Programs’ rankings evaluate schools based on data related to their distance education MBA programs.”

U.S. News & World Report ranked online MBA programs using five criteria: student engagement, admissions selectivity, peer reputation, faculty credentials and training, and student services and technology.

“Our online program includes a 36-hour, challenging and comprehensive curriculum that allows professionals to further their education while maintaining

‘real-life’ responsibilities such as work and family,” says Ashley Jones, director of the university’s MBA program. “You can keep your job, stay where you are and earn a quality degree from Ole Miss.”

“Our faculty work very hard to provide an online experience that includes frequent, high-quality interaction between students and instructors,” says Walter Davis, faculty director of the online MBA program.

“We strive to provide opportunities for students to interact with one another, sharing their experiences from a variety of professional contexts. This is a vital part of the learning process and a strength of the program.”

Top Teacher

PHARMACY PROFESSOR WINS PRESTIGIOUS ELSIE M. HOOD TEACHING AWARD

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is a direct result of his leadership and innovative pharmaceutical research,” Oliver says. “His passion for medicinal Photo by Kevin Bain

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ohn Rimoldi, professor of medicinal chemistry in the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, is the winner of the 2017 Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award.

This award recognizes one Ole Miss professor each year who embodies teaching excellence and exceptional student engagement. Students and faculty submit letters of nomination, and honorees are usually nominated many times over before winning.

“I am deeply humbled to be in the company of past Elsie M. Hood award recipients, many of whom I know and consider to be teaching champions in their field,” says Rimoldi, who accepted the award April 7 at the university’s annual Honors Day Convocation.

Third-year pharmac y student Meredith Oliver, one of Rimoldi’s nominators, praised his “infectious” enthusiasm and his ability to connect lectures with real-world health issues.

“The entire biomolecular sciences department exudes a childlike spirit of discovery and innovation that I believe

John Rimoldi lectures to a group of UM pharmacy students.

chemistr y engenders respect and instills a fierce curiosity in his students.”

Rimoldi has taught in the pharmacy school since 1995. His previous teaching honors include the UM Faculty

Achievement Award for Outstanding Teaching and Scholarship, the UM Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring, three Pharmaceutical Sciences PY1 Teacher of the Year awards and two consecutive threeyear terms as a Distinguished Teaching Scholar in the School of Pharmacy.

“John is one of the very best educators that we have at the university and is highly deserving of this award,” says Kristie Willett, chair of the Department of BioMolecular Sciences, which houses the division of medicinal chemistry. “His commitment to student learning is really unparalleled.”

In presenting the award, Chancellor Jeff Vitter called Rimoldi a “standout among other professors.” “(He) is known as a professor who not only engages his students with the curriculum he teaches, but also leaves a lasting impact, which steers students towards lifelong learning,” Vitter said.

“He is the standard we all should aspire to for teaching excellence and student engagement.”

from the Circle

Moving on Up

UNIVERSITY INCLUDED IN RANKINGS OF NATION’S, WORLD’S BEST INSTITUTIONS

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fforts by faculty, staff and students to excel in their pursuit of knowledge have given the University of Mississippi, the state’s flagship university, new momentum in its mission to lead the way in learning, discovery and engagement for the state and nation.

UM has been ranked among the nation’s best public institutions in several third-party evaluations of academic and research performance, and the university has climbed in recent measures of those areas.

In 2016, the university was included for the first time among the elite group of R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, the definitive list of the nation’s top doctoral research universities. UM is among a distinguished group of 115 institutions, including Harvard, MIT and Johns Hopkins in the highest research category, which includes the top 2.5 percent of institutions of higher education.

The university also achieved its highest-ever standing in the 2017 U.S. News & World Report annual rankings of Best (Undergraduate) Colleges and Universities, where UM tied for No. 64 in the Top Public Universities category, up seven places from the previous year’s rankings. The rankings reflect 15 indicators of academic excellence, such as graduation and retention rates, undergraduate academic reputation, faculty resources, financial resources and alumni giving rates.

The business (including accounting) and engineering programs were also ranked nationally.

“These achievements and rankings reinforce our flagship status and are a testament to the value of our degrees, the impact of our research and the competitiveness of our students,

staff and faculty,” Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter says. “While they provide important benchmarks for our university, we remain committed to achieving even higher levels of excellence.”

The university ranked in the top 20 percent of U.S. institutions for total research and development expenditures in a report issued by the National Science Foundation based on 2015 expenditures.

Success in international education and research partnerships contributed to the university’s standing on U.S. News’ 2017 list of Best Global Universities. Among the top 1,000 research universities in 65 countries, UM ranked in the top third on this year’s list.

The Best Global Universities list ranks each institution’s international and regional research reputation, including a statistical analysis of peer-reviewed publications, citations and international collaborations. The university ranked in the top 10 percent in international collaborations, and the university’s research areas of physics and pharmacology/ toxicology were ranked in the top 20 percent.

“The reputation of the university in national and international research circles has been steadily growing over the past few decades,” says Josh Gladden, interim vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs. “We have seen this trend through an increasing number of national leadership positions in societies and consortia, an increase in the number of grant awards, as well as in statistical reports such as U.S. News & World Report.

“It is an exciting time for the research community at the university, and I look forward to increasingly higher impact of UM research.”

Photo by Robert Jordan S P R I N G 2 017

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from the Circle

A Capital Idea

ALUMNI FUND STUDENT-RUN STARTUP BUSINESSES

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ounded in fall 2014 to support student startup businesses with seed money grants, the Rebel Venture Capital Fund has found success as both a learning tool for students and in helping their ideas flourish with seed money.

Chartered as a 501(c)(3), RVCF is a separate entity from the university that receives its financial resources from Ole Miss alumni donations as well as other parties interested in the fund.

The RVCF investment committee meets twice a year and evaluates applications for grants from qualified student-led startup businesses. Grants awarded range from $500 to

We look forward to working with Gus Ezcurra (vice president of corporate sales for Equinix), continuing the tradition of helping Ole Miss student entrepreneurs become successful, real-world entrepreneurs.”

Ezcurra assumed the role of president of the board of directors of RVCF in April and says his involvement with the fund is one of the most fulfilling things he’s done in many years.

“It’s very rewarding to help these young people learn to start and run their own businesses.”

Ken Cyree, dean of the School of Business Administration, was instrumental in starting the RVCF, along with Fry and several other alumni.

Rebel Venture Capital Fund co-founder Bill Fry with Vault Entertainment founders Michael (middle) and Stephen Greer.

$5,000. Upon receiving a grant, an RVCF board member becomes an informal adviser to the company, with the company providing periodic reports to the fund.

Since its inception, 14 companies have received funding totaling $41,250. To date, $51,000 has been raised in seed money, according to alumnus Bill Fry (BPA 80), one of the founders and outgoing president of the board.

“The university has some very talented and innovative students,” says Fry, managing director at American Securities in New York. “The goal for us was to give students the opportunity and funding to get going.”

“The fund is a vital part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Ole Miss; it allows students to put their dreams into action,” says Clay Dibrell, executive director of UM’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “Bill Fry and the entire board have done a fantastic job of taking the RVCF from an idea to assisting students through seed grants and mentoring.

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“I am proud of what we have been able to do with the RVCF,” Cyree says. “It provides excellent experiential learning for our students to pitch their business ideas in a realworld environment. The students learn about the process, even if their ideas are not funded, and we hope that some of the businesses launch and flourish to add value to our graduates and the economy.”

Companies developed and sponsored by the RVCF are Chasing Ten Figures, a clothing line; Geeks n Gigs, a web portal that connects students with part-time work; Vault Entertainment, a student-run provider of entertainment; Impster, an anonymous social media polling app, where users can post and receive answers to various questions; Curtsy, an app for renting dresses on individual university campuses; and Okay2Eat, an app that allows individuals with dietary restrictions to receive custom menus from specific restaurants.

Photo by Robert Jordan

from the Circle

Debora Wenger (center) gives advice to journalism students Taylor Shelley (left) and Jason Bailey.

Great News

WENGER HONORED AMONG NATION’S 10 BEST JOURNALISM EDUCATORS

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he Januar y day Debora R ae Wenger received her doctorate from Kingston University was already meaningful, but it became even more memorable when the University of Mississippi professor learned that she is among 10 journalism educators being recognized by NewsPro magazine.

“Frankly, I was humbled when I got the news,” says Wenger, associate professor and head of journalism undergraduate studies in the Meek School of Journalism and New Media. “There are some truly outstanding educators on the NewsPro list, and I’m honored to have my name printed on the same page with them.”

To recognize some of the nation’s best journalism educators, NewsPro asked readers and other media professionals to nominate an outstanding academician. The list of honorees includes professors, department chairs

and directors of media centers from such universities as Fordham, Purdue, Missouri, Boston, Ball State, Columbia, Syracuse, Rhode Island and Florida.

Wenger’s achievement bodes well for both the university and its journalism school, UM administrators say.

“What an incredible honor and recognition for Dr. Wenger and her work here at the University of Mississippi,” Chancellor Jeff S. Vitter says.

“Her expertise and teaching excellence greatly contributes to the university’s academic success as well as the prominence of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media. We are so proud to have someone of her talent and caliber guiding our students to new heights.”

Journalism Dean Will Norton shares Vitter’s sentiment.

“The Meek School is fortunate to have her in its leadership team,” he says.

“Dr. Wenger was a traditional journalist

who keeps up with developments in new media and has a network of outstanding educators and journalism educators with whom she works closely.”

A 17-year broadcast news veteran, Wenger was cited for bringing her “well-rounded, real-world experience working in large market, networkaffiliated newsrooms” to the classroom.

Her passion for strong writing and creative storytelling was lauded as a newsworthy asset that “sets her apart from most college professors.”

“My goal is to have all students leave every class a little better informed than they were before they walked in the door,” Wenger says. “Whether it’s learning a new app, a new video editing technique, a new way of thinking about storytelling or simply discovering that there are other perspectives out there to consider, I want students to feel that time in my classes is well spent.”

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from the Circle

FORMER ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR TAKES LEAD AFTER 25 YEARS WITH NCNPR

I

khlas Khan became director of the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy on Jan. 1.

After receiving his doctorate in pharmacy from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology in Munich, Khan joined the School of Pharmacy in 1988 as a postdoctoral research fellow. He became NCNPR’s associate director in 2015.

Khan’s plans as the center’s director include steady improvement and a continuation of past successes.

“The vision is very simple and broad: We want to continue doing what has worked, but keep evolving,” Khan says.

“Change is the only one thing should be constant. We have done a wonderful job over the last 20 years. The timing is right, and the expertise is in the house to take on any natural products challenge.”

Founded in 1995, NCNPR is the nation’s only university-affiliated research

center devoted to improving human health and agricultural productivity through the discovery, development and

Ikhlas Khan

commercialization of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals derived from natural products. The center’s former director of 15

years, Larry Walker, retired Dec. 31, 2016.

Khan has been internationally recognized as a leader and innovator in the study of natural products. He has received honorary degrees and professorships from several international universities, including the University of Chinese Medicine in both Shaanxi and Hunan.

Khan also established and directs the Sino-U.S. Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Center and the Center for Research of Indian Systems of Medicine, both at Ole Miss.

“He has a very strong collaborative vision,” Walker said. “He’s very open to new ideas and good at evaluating them.

He knows how to take an opportunity and grow it to make it into an even bigger and more beneficial opportunity.”

“This is really an honor, and I am very grateful for this opportunity,” Khan says. “We have a state-of-the-art facility and wonderful colleagues with diverse expertise here.”

Polling Place Investigation UM PROFESSOR HOPES TO SHED LIGHT ON VOTER WAIT TIMES

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University of Mississippi political science professor and her students are collaborating with researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth University and 25 other universities to study wait times at polling places in the 2016 presidential election.

Julie Wronski, an assistant professor of political science, had the help of 40 students from her Political Science 251 class to collect data on how long people spent at the polls. The hun- Julie Wronski dreds of pages of information students collected from Lafayette, Yalobusha and DeSoto counties will be paired with data collected in urban and rural areas across the country.

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Researchers want to better document the variability of voter wait times across the country and understand the factors that lead to long lines.

“If w e d o f i n d t h at there are certain precincts or certain regions where there are consistently longer times to vote, we can identify these areas and the factors that could lead to longer wait times,” Wronski says. “These issues can be ways of disenfranchising voters and making them more apathetic to the process. The fewer barriers to vote, the better.”

The UM team was the only one from Mississippi to participate. Data were collected in New York, Boston and

other urban areas, as well as rural areas across the country.

The study offered a chance for students to see how states and localities conduct elections, Wronski says.

The work resulted in a thick stack of records that will be compiled along with information collected by other participating universities. The findings will be analyzed along with demographic information about each precinct.

The national team of political researchers will write up their findings for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The information may be ready this summer.

The team also plans to use the data to educate the general public and nonprofit groups who are passionate about voting issues on the causes, costs and remedies for long lines at polls.

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from the Circle

Case by Case

RESEARCHER’S GOAL: FIND THE BEST CHEMO FOR EACH PATIENT

A

cancer researcher’s most recent discovery ultimately may enable doctors to identify the drug or drug combination that works best against glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, before treatment begins.

Dr. Pier Paolo Claudio, who holds appointments at the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Cancer Institute and at the University of Mississippi, worked with a team to ascertain whether tumors taken from cancer patients and tested in the laboratory could predict responses.

Study results show the process they used to test bulk tumor cells and cancer stem cells in the lab correlates with progress patients showed or didn’t show with current recommended therapies. The next step will be testing the process in clinical trials.

Tumor cells treated with drugs that acted on both bulk tumor cells and cancer stem cells showed the best response.

Those treated with drugs that had little effect on one or the other saw an earlier recurrence of the cancer.

Patients who had more than 40 percent of their cancer stem cells killed by temozolomide in the assay had longer times before tumor recurrence than those who had fewer cells killed in the assay.

“We’ll need further clinical trials, but results of this study bring us closer to offering personalized therapy for this type

of brain cancer,” Claudio says.

“Across all of cancer chemotherapy we have been bedeviled by the development of resistance to therapy,” says Dr. John Ruckdeschel, Cancer Institute director. “While long thought to be related to clones of cancer cells within a tumor that were selected out because they could resist the therapy, more recent theories have suggested that self-replicating stem cells could be the culprits.

“Dr. Claudio and his colleagues have developed an exciting assay that allows study of both stem cells and nonstem cells (bulk) and shows that differential responses in these cell compartments can predict clinical benefit, or lack thereof,” Ruckdeschel says. “We are very excited to be working toward confirmatory clinical trials.”

Some results were especially exciting: When drugs worked against both the tumor’s cancer stem cells and bulk cells, the cancer recurred much later than when the cancer stem cells were unaffected by therapy.

Glioblastomas most commonly affect older men, representing about 15 percent of all primary brain tumors. Currently, there is no cure. The current standard of care consists of surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, followed by use of the chemotherapy drug temozolomide and radiation therapy.

Photo by Jay Ferchaud

Dr. Pier Paolo Claudio’s research has brought doctors closer to offering personalized therapy for glioblastoma.

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Calendar THROUGH DEC. 11

JUNE

T

hrough Dec. 11 Exhibit: Mississippi: 200 Years of Statehood. Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call 662-915-7408 or email archivesdept@ olemiss.edu.

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Ole Miss Club of New York Summer Social: The Harvard Club, 6-8 p.m. Call 662-915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com/events.

First Friday Free Sketch Day: Check out the University of Mississippi Museum’s gallery sketching stools generously provided by a grant from the Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow, and explore the galleries in this informal, free sketch session for all skill levels. UM Museum, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (drop in). Call 662-915-7073 or visit museum.olemiss.edu.

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Pharmacy Alumni and Friends Reception: The Ole Miss School of Pharmacy will host a reception for alumni and friends at the Magnolia

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State Pharmaceutical Society Annual Meeting. Whispering Woods Hotel & Conference Center, Olive Branch, 11:15 a.m. Call 662-915-1878.

ALUMNI REVIEW

Honors College Alumni Brunch: New York. The National, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Call 662915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com/ events.

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Atlanta’s Mississippi Picnic in the Park: Chastain Park, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Call 662-915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com/events.

-23 Youth Music Theatre Workshop: This popular, twoweek-long workshop focuses on the

development of performance skills in music theatre and includes exercises in singing, acting and movement.

Ages 7-18, $125. Gertrude C. Ford Center. Call 662-915-2787 or visit fordcenter.org.

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Buie Babies Museum Stroller Tour: Families with babies and toddlers, join the Museum Stroller Tour, a partnership with the LOU Excel by 5 Coalition. University of Mississippi Museum, 9-11:30 a.m. with 9 a.m. tour. Call 662-915-7073 or visit museum.olemiss.edu.

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Washington, D.C. Ole Miss Club Annual Reception: featuring Chancellor Jeff Vitter, hosted by the BGR Group. Homer Building, Washington, D.C. Call 662-915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com/events.

Photo by Thomas Graning

Exhibit: Mississippi: 200 Years of Statehood

Calendar

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time TBA. Call 662-915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com/events.

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7

Honors College Alumni Brunch: The Hamilton, Washington, D.C., 10:30 a.m.-noon. Call 662-915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com/events.

27th Annual Mississippi on the Mall: National Mall, Washington, D.C., 3-7 p.m. Call 662-915-7375 or visit olemissalumni.com/events.

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Mississippi Bicentennial Celebration North Governor’s Concert: A lineup of hit-making Americana troubadours and legendary songwriters — Marty Stuart, Mac McAnally, Steve Azar, Shannon McNally and the We Are Mississippi orchestra and chorus — will lead a celebration in song honoring their home state. Gertrude C. Ford Center. Call 662-915-2787 or visit fordcenter.org.

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First Friday Free Sketch Day: Check out the University of Mississippi Museum’s gallery sketching stools generously provided by a grant from the Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow, and explore the galleries in this informal, free sketch session for all skill levels. UM Museum, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (drop in). Call 662-915-7073 or visit museum.olemiss.edu.

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Law Luncheon: UM Law Alumni Luncheon at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Bar. Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, 12:15 p.m. Call 662-915-1878.

17

BancorpSouth Rebel Road Trip 2017: Memphis Ole Miss Club. Time and location TBA. Visit olemissalumni.com/events or call 662-915-7375.

BancorpSouth Rebel Road Trip 2017: Jackson Ole Miss Club. Time and location TBA. Visit olemissalumni.com/events or call 662-915-7375.

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Reception: Pharmacy Alumni and Friends Reception at the Mississippi Society of Health-System Pharmacists Annual Meeting, Oxford Conference Center, 5-6 p.m. Call 662915-1878.

AUGUST

10

Reunion: M-Club ’54-’63 All Sports Reunion. The Inn at Ole Miss. Visit olemissalumni.com/events or call 662-915-7375.

11

-12 M-Club Family Weekend: Various times and locations.

Call 662-915-7375.

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Fall classes begin.

Photo by Robert Jordan

-25 LOU Ole Miss Club Golf Tournament: Oxford University Bank two-person scramble benefiting the LOU Ole Miss Club Scholarship Endowment. Ole Miss Golf Course,

JULY

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First Friday Free Sketch Day

JUNE 2, JULY 7 S P R I N G 2 017

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Calendar Austin SEC Club Annual Kickoff Picnic: Charles Johnson American Legion House – Travis Post 76, Austin, Texas, noon-3 p.m. Visit olemissalumni.com/events or call 662-915-7375.

Fall classes begin AUG. 21

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Alumni Association Scholarship Recipient Social: Triplett Alumni Center, 4 p.m. Call 662-915-2322.

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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ALUMNI REVIEW

Industry Innovators

FNC, a $475 million company built by UM professors, began with a napkin and some ‘street cred’

By Michael Newsom

Bob Dorsey (left), John Johnson, Dennis Tosh and Bill Rayburn Uncredited photos courtesy of CoreLogic/FNC

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Bill Rayburn (second from left) attends a trade show in the early days of the company. The original FNC logo, in the background, was designed to reflect the neural network concept of FNC or Financial Neural Computing.

Bob Dorsey gives a presentation in Oxford.

O

ne day in 1995, a few men huddled around a table at McAlister’s in Oxford, fleshing out a plan on a napkin. The improvised stationery would have to do. The idea just couldn’t wait.

The schematic jotted down in the restaurant that day was the blueprint for a new company that would transform the real estate appraisals process for banks and become the industry leader in electronic appraisal management systems. Jokingly called “Four Nerds with Computers,” but later FNC, the company would sell for $475 million 20 years after that first meeting.

Four University of Mississippi School of Business Administration professors and one Ph.D. student drafted the plan for Financial Neural Computing. It prospered in part because the founders, Bill Rayburn, Dennis Tosh, John Johnson and Bob Dorsey, had a good idea, and they hired smart people to work for them.

Rayburn, who was the company’s CEO, says they also had a little something else that gave them an edge.

“On Wall Street it’s called ‘street cred,’” Rayburn says. “Man, our street cred was off the charts. If we told somebody we were going to do something, we did it. Clients appreciated that. I had three at our last client’s conference tell me that everyone who has touched FNC has seen their careers soar because we had a lot of credibility.”

“Street cred,” a term widely used in pop culture, predictably translates to credibility in the streets, or in this case, a reputation for excellence within a particular industry. That cred is often hard earned.

“It’s not always a bed of roses, but you’ve got to do the right thing,” Rayburn says. “Clients see that. They make their decision when you’re down in the fire. Anybody can perform 24

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when things are going well. My co-founders had a lot of integrity, and they just delivered.”

Rayburn and Tosh had built strong relationships with banks across the country. FNC was able to tap into that network and offer a solution. Dorsey and Johnson, who were economics and management information systems professors, respectively, had worked on the technical side of the idea with Duncan Chen (PhD 97), one of Johnson’s students, who went on to serve as FNC’s chief technology officer.

The idea took root in the wake of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and ’90s. The scandal of failing banks led to the federal government bailing out the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp., which insured many failed S&Ls. The cost to U.S. taxpayers was more than $124 billion. Following the boondoggle, cash-strapped banks were looking for as much savings as possible, and FNC delivered a solution to them.

“I just knew these big banks needed us,” Rayburn says.

“They had a big problem. With these big banks, once you perform, the word gets around. It’s a small club. We had one

John Johnson shows off a solution at another early trade show. FNC’s second generation logo is displayed on the left.

FNC employees pose for a photo during the 2001 annual meeting held at the Yerby Conference Center on the Ole Miss campus.

or two take a chance on us, and we performed like champs.”

The first client to use the system was Charter One Bank in January 1999. It worked well. From there, Washington Mutual and Bank of America saw the power of the technology and became clients. The company grew.

Johnson, who taught at Ole Miss from 1987 until leaving to work for FNC full time in 1999, says the idea was that the financial system could remove paper but also add efficiency to the process, resulting in great savings.

“Taking people and paper out of the process is what really changed things,” Johnson says. “When we first implemented the system, Washington Mutual had in excess of 400 people over four offices. Then there were probably 40 people in four offices. They were able to do so much more with so much less.”

Johnson remembers signing a bank loan for $50,000 to help with capital to start the company. The founders had to come up with $50 million in capital overall to start it. With his financial liabilities on the project, Johnson knew anything less than success could have major consequences.

“Our success came through a lot of perseverance,” Johnson says. “I think if we knew we had to raise $50 million to begin with, we would have thought twice. I just remember going into the bank thinking if this thing is going down, I’m going to lose my house.”

UM Chancellor Emeritus Robert Khayat (BAEd 61, JD 66) remembers hearing about the idea for the company in the late 1990s in a Sunday afternoon meeting at the Lyceum with

the founders. Backing the startup wasn’t a hard decision for the university’s leadership. Khayat knew the team was doing important work in an emerging field.

“All universities say our tripartite mission is education, research and service. We also qualified it when I was chancellor by saying ‘meaningful’ research,” Khayat says. “That seemed like meaningful research to me.”

The team’s dedication was memorable.

“I had no idea it was going to become a multimillion dollar business, but they were really committed to it, and they worked many, many hours in addition to handling their regular responsibilities,” Khayat says.

He acknowledges the university’s endorsement of the startup helped with selling it to investors and banks that would use the software, but he also credits Rayburn for being a tremendous salesman.

Khayat admits he was somewhat shocked to see the company grow like it did and was impressed with the fundraising the staff did to get the project off the ground. Drawing major clients such as Bank of America to use the FNC software while the company was still young certainly got the former chancellor’s attention.

As the number of employees and salaries grew at FNC, Khayat was more and more impressed.

“The FNC story is a testament to the power of university research,” Khayat says. “It’s a classic example of the potential that bright, aggressive and hardworking faculty can do to really convert meaningful research at Ole Miss or other S P R I N G 2 017

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Ribbon cutting at the opening of FNC’s office on Van Buren Avenue in Oxford

universities into something that is good for society and financially beneficial as well.”

In 1992, three years prior to that noteworthy day with the napkin, a new state law — the Mississippi University Research Authority — was created, giving universities the ability to facilitate and establish spin-off companies resulting from university research. The groundbreaking legislation provided a procedural and regulatory framework and served as a catalyst for researchers to extend their work into the private sector and benefit Mississippi’s economy.

“FNC is one of the very first examples of our faculty taking advantage of the innovative MURA legislation,” says Alice M. Clark (MS 76, PhD 78), interim vice chancellor for university relations, who served as vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs from 2001 to 2016.

“They are the living proof of how university research can directly translate into local community economic impact,” Clark says. “FNC is indeed a great success story, mostly for the forward-thinking founders and investors, and also for the university, the Oxford community and all the lives enhanced including those who came to Mississippi to be a part of this story and are now an integral part of our community.”

FNC was incubated on campus within the footprint of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, in space that is now Brevard Hall. The university and FNC negotiated an agreement to transfer the intellectual property to the company for commercialization, and the company 26

ALUMNI REVIEW

made plans to move off campus.

Tosh says those first steps of support from the university and the investors were critical to the company’s success.

“We were fortunate to have a university and a chancellor who understood the importance of incubating a startup business within the School of Business, some angel investors who stood with us during tough times, and a group of investors who believed in us when we were raising money,” he says.

“We greatly appreciate what each and every one of them did for FNC.” Dorsey, whom Rayburn calls the most intelligent person he has ever met, was an economist by trade. He remembers believing the system would work but also knowing a major obstacle to success existed besides the terrifying failure rate of new startups.

“We knew it would work, but the question was whether we could sell it,” Dorsey says. “The sales challenge was significant. We had Bill Rayburn, who is a born salesman. He was very convincing when he was selling it. We followed that with the ability to perform and make it work. Once we had the reputation, the banks all talk to each other, and they knew we could perform.”

Eventually, the company moved to a site just off campus on Van Buren Avenue and later to its permanent home on Office Park Drive. There, the company flourished, despite some challenges.

Mississippi wasn’t fertile ground for tech workers, including programmers, so the company had to find ways to attract

Photo by Robert Jordan

FNC Park

Photo by Amy Howell

Today’s CoreLogic/FNC building in Oxford

them and keep them. Some had offers to work for Google, which is one of the most sought-after tech jobs, as well as NASA and others, before coming to FNC. The recruitment strategy included touting the quality of life and amenities offered by living in Oxford, and offering those top-flight programmers very attractive salaries and benefits. The retention strategy included getting the new employees involved in the community. The company built FNC Park for local families and company workers to get to know one another at recreational facilities there as well as FNC community events that helped the employees assimilate into Oxford life.

“We recruited top-rate people and wanted to keep them,” Rayburn says. “That’s why the community became important to us. We love the town, but we had a bigger motive. We wanted to get our people involved because the research indicates if you get your people involved in the community the chances of them leaving is much, much less.”

Jon Maynard, president and CEO for the Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation, shared that FNC is the type of economic development that is a perfect fit for Oxford.

“We are working on growing our community with businesses that embrace the culture and charm of our community,” Maynard says. “We encourage entrepreneurs who have ties to the university to grow their businesses in Oxford. They will benefit from the quality of the community and the resources available through Ole Miss.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. After they met the enormous challenge of raising the $50 million to get FNC off the ground, the company’s leaders discovered payroll taxes weren’t being paid. The company found the error and self-reported it. The IRS placed a lien on FNC until the taxes were paid.

“Everyone looks at what all we’ve done along the way, and they think it’s great,” Rayburn says. “They don’t look at the struggles. We were fortunate. We had some smart people, but we were very fortunate.”

In December 2015, it was announced that after 16 years as a major employer in Oxford, FNC would be sold to CoreLogic of Irvine, California. At the time of the sale, FNC was the leading provider of IT platforms for real estate collateral information and technology solutions, which automate appraisals and make sure the lender is complying with all applicable laws. Its platforms were used in workflow systems for 18 of the 20 largest banks in the United States at the time of the deal.

CoreLogic bought FNC for $475 million, and the new ownership has maintained local operations. The founders, investors, senior management and the university received generous financial rewards upon the sale of the company.

“These funds — a direct benefit of ‘spinning off ’ university research into a successful new business — along with private gifts, are necessary for UM to be competitive as a flagship university,” Clark says.

Along with a number of other UM alumni, Lawrence (BBA 58) and Jan (BAEd 65) Farrington, of Ridgeland, were S P R I N G 2 017

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Photo by Kevin Bain

Bob and Carol Dorsey (left), Bill Rayburn and Lois Lovelady, John and Heather Johnson, Dennis and Beth Tosh, and Chancellor Jeffrey and Sharon Vitter

among the company’s early supporters and investors. Jan Farrington served on the FNC board.

“It’s a great story,” Lawrence Farrington says. “The four professors took this from company zero to touchdown with

Jan and Lawrence Farrington with Dennis Tosh (center)

each one contributing their own expertise in this. If I still had 16 years ahead of me, I’d invest in it again.”

Though it was profitable for many, the sale wasn’t an easy call for the founders.

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“I didn’t want to sell,” Rayburn says. “But I knew I was the chairman and CEO of the company, and I represented the shareholders, and Bob and Dennis were both 70 years old. They wanted out.”

Money aside, the decision has deeply affected the men who started the company.

“I didn’t think the sale would be emotional for me, but it was,” Rayburn says. “I walked away the day it closed and haven’t been back. FNC has some exceptional people, and I wish all of them well. They are outstanding. CoreLogic got a company with a wonderful group of very talented people.”

Chancellor Jeff Vitter is a strong proponent of the role of higher education in building up individual lives and communities.

“It is remarkable to see how FNC transformed an entire industry sector,” Vitter says. “Their story is a testament to the power of innovation, collaboration and research that are born on university campuses. We are grateful to the four founders for leading the way.

“They not only showed how it could be done, but helped our university gain invaluable perspective and lessons on how to enable future success in translating research into innovative products and economic growth resulting in stronger communities.

“With our continued commitment to fostering an atmosphere of discovery and creativity — hallmarks of higher education — I am confident we will continue to see other great success stories emerging from our university.”

30,000 MEMBERS. TWO WAYS TO WIN. Join, renew or extend your membership, or become a Sustaining Life Member by Aug. 1, 2017, for a chance to win a 2- night stay at The Inn at Ole Miss during the LSU home football weekend on Oct. 21!

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Secret Service agent Patrick Davis guards Donald Trump as he attends a campaign rally in Warren, Michigan. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

caption

Alumnus enjoys front-row seat to history Uncredited photos courtesy of Patrick Davis S P R I N G 2 017

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hile millions across the world were tuned in to their televisions and smartphones to watch Inauguration Day festivities, alumnus Patrick Davis (BPA 97), inspector for the U.S. Secret Service, was driving the newly elected vice president and his family to various events in one of the famed armored limousines.

“I’ve been very fortunate in my career — I’ve had a lot of opportunities presented to me, and I’ve done my best to capitalize on those,” Davis says. “I think that’s helped me get to where I am. I do a lot of writing, working in the inspection division, and travel to all the Secret Service offices to conduct compliance inspections. If I’m not traveling and inspecting offices, I’m inspecting the protective divisions, but that’s not to say that I can’t be called at a moment’s notice to go provide protection somewhere.”

His career in public service started with an interest in the operation of government and U.S. history.

“It was more or less an accident, to be honest,” Davis says.

“When I graduated high school, I actually wanted to be a radiologist. But while I was in school [at Ole Miss], I decided to go for a bachelor’s degree in public administration because I was very interested in government.”

A 1992 graduate of Senatobia High School, Davis says tailgating in the Grove, games at Vaught-Hemingway, Red and Blue Weekend and watching B.B. King play on a flatbed trailer in the stadium parking lot are some of his fondest memories of Ole Miss.

He counts the late Chester Quarles (MA 70), UM criminal justice professor emeritus, as being influential throughout his time as a student.

“He was probably my most committed and passionate professor,” Davis says. “He was a mentor and trusted adviser during my time at Ole Miss.”

Davis’ curriculum required numerous electives, one of which he fulfilled by applying for an internship at the police department in Senatobia.

Patrick Davis

“When I went to apply for the internship, they asked me if I’d be interested in a full-time job,” Davis says. “I explained to the person recruiting me that I’d be interested in that, but I was enrolled in school and had every intention of finishing my degree. He said, ‘No problem. If you come work for us, we’ll send you to the police academy, and then when you come back, we’ll put you on a shift that will allow you to finish your degree.’”

And that’s exactly what he did.

Education was a priority instilled in him by his mother, Patricia Lowder, and grandfather R.T. Ward (MA 50), former teacher, principal, county school superintendent and chairman of the board of trustees at a community college.

“My mom always told me I could do anything I put my mind to, and to this point she’s been right,” Davis says. “My grandfather always told me to go after what I want and to not let anything hold me back. Most of all, he said nothing could replace a quality education and that, whatever I did in life, I

needed to make sure I get a college degree.”

In fall 1995, Davis took a semester off from school to attend the North Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Center in Tupelo. After graduating from the academy in November, he re-enrolled at Ole Miss the following January to complete his degree.

His internship soon turned into a full-time job. He served as a police officer in Senatobia until October 1997, then began working with the Southaven Police Department until he was hired by the Secret Service in September 2001.

Former supervisor Jim Hawkins (BSHPE 89), special agent in charge of the Memphis field office of the Secret Service, recalls Davis’ hard work and dedication.

“Patrick was hired in the Memphis office in 2001, so we were able to work together for a few years until he was transferred from Memphis to Washington in 2008,” Hawkins says.

“While I supervised him, he was an exemplary employee. We naturally have become best friends over the years, as both of us are Ole Miss fans and go to several football games together each year.”

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ALUMNI REVIEW

TASOS KATOPODIS/AFP/Getty Images

Davis began his career with the Secret Service as a special agent. He remained in that role until 2013, when he was promoted to assistant to the special agent in charge, also referred to as “shift leader,” on the vice presidential division.

He was then reassigned to the position of assistant inspector from 2014 to 2016 before being promoted to his current role as inspector.

“It’s been amazing to see how Patrick’s career has grown,” Hawkins says. “He is so well liked by those he comes into contact with, plus he is a very capable worker and leader, which has led to him shooting up the ranks of the Secret Service.”

While some refer to the inspection division as the internal affairs of the Secret Service, Davis says there’s a lot more to it than that.

“We oversee the internal affairs-related investigations, employee integrity investigations — criminal and administrative in nature — as well as any type of sensitive investigation.

“We also oversee the planning and coordination of compliance inspections for the Secret Service for all of our offices globally, which means we go in and make sure that the offices are running well and that they are compliant with Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security policies and procedures.”

A day in the life of an agent is never dull. Inspections and protective duties aside, Davis’ favorite part is essentially having a front-row seat to history.

“The protective mission that we do preserves Article

Two of the United States Constitution and is directly tied to national security — it’s a pretty big responsibility to shoulder to be an agent in the Secret Service,” Davis says. “I think the employees we have do it well and do it with humility.

“I spent seven years in the field, working criminal investigations, everything from counterfeit currency investigations to credit card fraud, bank fraud, computer hacking and things of that sort. Working protection for the vice presidential protective division and temporarily being assigned during the campaign to different candidates and nominees is very interesting. It’s all part of history.”

The serious nature of standing between potential harm and the individual he or she is assigned to protect is not lost on any member of the Secret Service.

“It varies in number and size, but it’s a collective effort,” Davis says. “It’s a group of individuals who prepare and train so that hopefully those days don’t happen.”

While the job is daunting, it also includes times of fun and laughter. Agents assigned to a permanent protective detail essentially become part of the extended family of the person they protect.

“When you’re on a permanent protective assignment, you are with these people day in and day out,” Davis says. “When they go on vacation, you’re on their vacation with them, except you’re not on vacation, you’re working. It’s always interesting to meet our protectees for the first time — all of us are human.

The first time you’re around people like that, it’s probably aweinspiring, especially for younger agents.”

Travel is not only a job requirement for Davis, it’s also a

Davis (top right) serves on protective detail as Donald Trump arrives at a rally at Synergy Flight Center in Bloomington, Illinois.

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Davis on protective detail with Vice President Joe Biden in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 2012

perk. He now counts visits to 37 different countries and almost every state as part of his work experience.

“You know coming into it that you are going to be required to travel,” Davis says. “But you get to experience some of the things

Davis with his wife, Maria, and son, Patrick Truett

you may not have otherwise been able to experience in life. I’ve been around foreign heads of state and foreign leaders when they come into our country, and that’s an experience like no other.

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ALUMNI REVIEW

“Take it from me, a kid growing up in Mississippi — I’ve been to places that I’ve never dreamed of. It’s a great organization to be a part of. I would highly encourage anybody who’s feeling the call to serve their country in any way, if they meet the qualifications, to consider joining the Secret Service. It’s just a fantastic organization.”

With a unique mission containing both an investigative and protective component, the Secret Service is unlike any other federal law enforcement agency. Davis says those interested in joining should focus on their education and obtain a college degree. Two to three years of life or work experience after college graduation and/or a military background are highly desirable.

“In my new agent training class, I had a newly graduated college student, schoolteachers, police officers and an Army ranger,” Davis says. “It’s quite an eclectic group when you start looking at the candidates that we put in our training classes.”

Davis’ next career goal is to become the special agent in charge of one of the service’s field offices or protective divisions. “[Being in the Secret Service] is a humbling experience, but it’s also an important job,” he says. “We train hard to do our job, and you can’t get caught up in the limelight of what goes on.

“If you happen to be on the president’s detail and you walk into an event, they’re not playing ‘Hail to the Chief ’ for you.

You have to remember that you’re there to do a job.”

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20 Years and Growing

By Edwin Smith

UM Honors College dedicates expanded facility

line of blustery, threatening weather moving through the area didn’t stop more than 100 University of Mississippi students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni from celebrating the successes of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College on March 30.

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ALUMNI REVIEW

Photo by Kevin Bain

The crowd squeezed into the Honors College’s great room university’s Honors Program in 1997. “In life, you always want to dedicate the expanded and renovated building, putting the the chance to do something significant and different. cap on a two-year project. The ceremony, which was relocated “This opportunity came along at the right time, the right from outdoors because of the weather, also marked the 20th place and with the right people. What a wonderful return upon anniversary of the Honors College and was followed by a our investment.” reception and open house.

“The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College is an incredible asset to our university,” Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter said at the dedication.

“It distinguishes us among peer institutions and allows Ole Miss to offer exceptional personalized opportunities to extremely talented students. I am very excited to be celebrating its expansion and renovation.”

Moving into the new space was “a 10-year dream come true,” Dean Douglass SullivanGonzález says.

“The new building represents a great blend of classroom and study space to go deep into conversation with peers on the tough questions Chancellor Vitter speaks to a large crowd at the dedication of the expanded and of the day,” he says. “We are grateful for the new renovated Honors College. and renovated space at the SMBHC.” The $6.9 million project added 15,000 new square feet to Honors College alumni Dr. Marc Walker and Christin the existing building, bringing the total to 32,290 square feet. Gates Calloway say their Honors College experiences have The renovated section includes seven new classrooms, a new proven invaluable to their careers. kitchen, study area, a great room, computer lab, three new “My professional path for the past 11 years has been built study rooms and new faculty offices. upon my Freshman Ventures at Weyerhaeuser Paper in Seattle “This is great, and I’m so proud of what has been accom- and my medical missions trips to Bolivia, all made possible plished here during the past 20 years,” says Jim Barksdale, through the Honors College,” says Walker, a 2006 alumnus who helped launch the Honors College when he and his late who earned his bachelor’s degree in biology with minors in wife, Sally McDonnell Barksdale, donated funds to expand the chemistry, religion and philosophy.

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The addition to SMBHC opened in March 2016, and renovations on the original building were completed in December.

from across the state and country. The average ACT score for incoming scholars last fall was 30.9, and their average high school GPA was 3.92.

For the last two years, more than 400 freshmen have joined the SMBHC each year. To accommodate the growing student body, the Honors College broke ground on its expansion in 2014, and the new addition opened in March 2016. The original building was then renovated, and work was completed in December.

“Our students enjoy deep conversations, and this is a welcoming space that encourages us to take time to engage 38

ALUMNI REVIEW

“The University of Mississippi and, indeed, all of the state’s citizens are indebted to the Barksdales for their continued and transformative support,” Vitter says. “For 20 years now, the impact of the Honors College has been far-reaching, helping create a vibrant legacy of attracting the best and brightest to Ole Miss.”

Photos by Robert Jordan

He earned degrees from both Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School and is set to become chief resident in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital next year.

“I’ve learned that surgery is a lot easier with the right tools and a committed team.

That’s exactly what the Honors College offers,” he said.

A Kosciusko native who earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2011, Calloway says the Honors College is where she “grappled with some of the toughest social, educational and political challenges of our time.”

“The Honors College is one of the most unique and enriching opportunities Honors College lunch with Jim and Donna Barksdale I’ve ever experienced,” says the doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Had I not in meaningful discussion,” Sullivan-González says. “This attended here, I wouldn’t have had the courage, determination provides the needed infrastructure to assure that this program and tenacity to continue my education at some of the nation’s will be the ‘tip of the spear’ to lead the university’s academic most prestigious institutions of higher learning.” charge for years to come.”

The Honors College has grown tremendously from its The Barksdales made the idea of an Honors College humble beginnings. Opening with an initial class of 121 stu- possible, enabling the purchase and renovation of the Alpha dents in 1997, its student body has grown to more than 1,400. Delta Pi sorority building to house the new program. That The program annually attracts high-performing students first gift also endowed 16 scholarships and provided funding for operating expenses.

O t h e r g e n e r o u s d o n at i o n s include endowments f rom the Parker estates to fund scholarships, and from Lynda and John Shea to support study abroad fellowships.

With the death of Sally McDonnell Barksdale in December 2003, the Honors College was renamed in her memory in spring 2004.

Keith Carter

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S P R I N G 2 017

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Sports OLE MISS

Staring Down a Different Opponent RICARDO JORGE CONFRONTS SCOLIOSIS HEAD ON

S

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ALUMNI REVIEW

his foundation and received an email back saying they should go to a clinic in Seville, Spain, which specializes in SpineCor brace treatment.

SpineCor treatment is much different from the conventional nonsurgical rigid braces that a lot of patients wear.

It’s used in 20 countries around the world, and over 10,000 patients have been successfully treated. SpineCor works to rebalance and strengthen the abnormal muscles and improve posture.

The doctor told Jorge he could wear this type of brace for Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

enior Ole Miss men’s tennis player Ricardo Jorge grew up playing tennis in Portugal and always envisioned playing professionally one day. He was a national champion twice already at the age of 14 when suddenly his life changed.

Ranked No. 1 in Portugal at the time, Jorge was training in Lisbon, nearly three hours away from his hometown of Tavira. He kept having nagging issues with his hip, hamstring, muscles and his back. Jorge experienced trouble rotating to his left. Never fully 100 percent on the court, he went to see an orthopedic doctor in Lisbon.

“The doctor told me to bend over and touch my toes,” Jorge says. “My right side was a little bit higher than the left side. Everyone thought it would be because I play tennis, and my right side was a little bit stronger than my left side anyways.”

Unfortunately, the doctor informed Jorge he had scoliosis. Scoliosis is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine with a curve greater than 10 degrees. It affects between 1 percent and 3 percent of the population.

At the time, Jorge’s curve was just 11 degrees, which is hardly noticeable by the average person; even his parents didn’t notice anything. Immediately, Jorge started getting treatment three times a week, mostly involving stretching.

By the time he reached 16, the curve had worsened to 45 degrees, and Jorge got the news no athlete ever wants to hear.

“I visited a doctor in Portugal who does all the scoliosis surgeries, and he told me to stop playing tennis,” Jorge says. “He basically said, ‘It’s your choice, but it’s going to get bad for you if you keep playing tennis.’”

Jorge stopped playing competitively for three months and feared his tennis career was over.

“When I initially heard that I couldn’t play tennis anymore, I was like what am I going to do Ricardo Jorge with my life now? I had spent eight years playing tennis, then to hear I can’t play anymore. I was living in Lisbon at the time, and that meant I had to go back to live with my parents. I was in shock and didn’t know what to do. It changed all my plans. Fortunately, I found a solution and I kept playing tennis.”

His parents did a lot of research and learned that former world No. 4 James Blake has scoliosis as well. They contacted

two years and continue playing tennis. It wouldn’t make it better, but it wouldn’t get worse. The only other option was surgery, which would have ended his tennis career for sure.

“I had to wear the [SpineCor] brace 20 out of 24 hours. It was really tough, especially during the summer when it’s over 100 degrees,” he says. “I had to wear a special shirt underneath the brace. The brace was uncomfortable. It went all around my

OLE MISS Sports waist. It was hard to play tennis in it.

“It was really hard for me to breathe during matches. I would play a long point and take the brace off to breathe and then put it back. It still bothers me sometimes when I hit the ball. With scoliosis, everything changes. Sometimes when I hit a few balls I feel like my ribs go into my stomach. I have some problems here and there but nothing really significant.”

Being uncomfortable for 20 hours a day is one thing, but teen years are some of the hardest when you are dealing with something that’s not normal.

“That was one of the toughest periods of my life,” Jorge says.

“Most people wouldn’t understand and would make a lot of bad jokes about it. The first six months were tough, and then I got used to it. I just embraced that this is something I have to wear to prevent surgery.”

Every four to six months during that two-year period, Jorge would travel to Seville to get X-rays to make sure his curve wasn’t getting worse.

After two years of wearing the brace, doctors told Jorge that since his growth spurt had stopped, he could discontinue wearing the brace. They also told him he could continue to play tennis, but that the curve would worsen one to two degrees every year.

At present, Jorge says his curve is 65 degrees, but it hasn’t stopped him from doing what he loves. Knowing that a

professional career was likely going to be more difficult, Jorge chose a different path.

“When I was 17, I went back to Tavira and worked really hard on my game,” he says. “I got really good again. I was a finalist in the national championship, and I won some ITF events. That’s when I decided going to college might be a good option for me. I could continue playing tennis at a high level and get an education.”

The Davis Cup coach for Portugal had a connection with someone familiar with Ole Miss and asked Jorge if he would be interested.

“I was like, sure, are they good?” Jorge recalls. “I heard a lot of good things about the school, not just tenniswise but about football, the business school, etc. I was looking at some other schools too, but then Coach (Billy) Chadwick (MBA 85) asked me to come on a visit. Ole Miss was very welcoming and said they would work with me regarding my scoliosis. They made me feel wanted, so I decided to come here. It’s been great.”

Jorge has helped the Rebels to consecutive NCAA appearances each of his four years. Off the court, he is an ITA Scholar-Athlete and a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, majoring in finance.

Surgery is in Jorge’s future, once he graduates from college.

He has one more semester after this spring, and then he will opt for surgery before deciding what’s next.

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OLE MISS Sports Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

Kessinger Named SEC Baseball Legend REBEL GREAT HONORED AT 2017 SEC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

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on Kessinger (BBA 65), a two-sport All-American at Ole Miss before becoming a six-time All-Star in Major League Baseball, was honored at the 2017 SEC Tournament as an SEC Baseball Legend May 23-28 at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Alabama. Kessinger is the second Rebel to earn the distinction of SEC Baseball Legend, joining 2014 honoree Jake Gibbs (BSHPE 61).

Alongside Kessinger, the 2017 class features LSU’s Ben McDonald, Missouri’s Dave Silvestri and South Carolina’s Earl Bass. This marks the sixth consecutive year that the SEC has recognized a class of baseball legends. Four legends are recognized each year.

“The Southeastern Conference has a rich tradition in the sport of baseball,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey says.

“Through our legends program, we are pleased to honor the individuals who have helped establish a foundation for the current and future success of our programs and the opportunities available to our student-athletes today.”

Kessinger excelled in both basketball and baseball for the Rebels from 1962 to 1964, earning All-SEC and All-America honors in both sports. In basketball, he averaged 22.2 points per game to rank fourth in Ole Miss history as well as 11th with 1,553 career points. On the diamond, Kessinger’s feats 42

ALUMNI REVIEW

were equally impressive. His .400 career batting average still remains No. 1 in the Ole Miss record book, an effort that is also sixth on the SEC career chart. Kessinger’s best year at the plate came in 1964, when he led the SEC by hitting .436, a performance that remains as the best single-season effort in Rebel baseball history. His nine career triples and 44 career steals place him 10th on each Ole Miss all-time list.

Following a successful collegiate career, Kessinger moved on to Major League Baseball where he put together an impressive 16-year career. He started with the Chicago Cubs in 1964 and played at Wrigley Field until 1975. During that time as the Cubs’ starting shortstop, Kessinger played in six All-Star Games, earned two Gold Glove awards and set a then-major league record for consecutive errorless games at shortstop with 54 in 1969. In 1979, his last season in MLB, Kessinger served as a player-manager for the White Sox. A member of the Chicago Cubs, Ole Miss Sports, Mississippi, Arkansas, Chicago and National High School Halls of Fame, Kessinger kept close to baseball following his MLB career. In 1991, he returned to his alma mater to become coach of the Ole Miss baseball team, taking over for the legendary Gibbs. Kessinger won 185 games over six seasons and even had the opportunity to coach his son Kevin (BSHEC 92).

OLE MISS Sports

NINE UNDRAFTED REBELS JOIN NFL CLUBS

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fter four Ole Miss players were selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, nine more Rebels have been given an opportunity to further their football careers in the professional ranks.

Seven Rebels signed with NFL clubs as undrafted free agents: Quincy Adeboyejo, WR, Baltimore Ravens; Tony Bridges, CB, Seattle Seahawks; Fadol Brown, DE, Oakland Raiders; Carlos Davis, CB/RS, Baltimore Ravens; Akeem Judd, RB, Tennessee Titans; Jeremy Liggins, OL, Seattle Seahawks; and Damore’ea Stringfellow, WR, Miami Dolphins.

Two more were invited to NFL rookie mini-camps: Tony Conner, DB, San Francisco 49ers, and Hunter Thurley, TE, New York Jets.

The group of 13 total Rebels — including draftees TE Evan Engram (first round, New York Giants), DT D.J. Jones (sixth round, San Francisco 49ers), CB Derrick Jones (sixth round, New York Jets) and QB Chad Kelly (seventh round, Denver Broncos) — look to bolster what is already a significant Ole Miss presence in the league.

Twenty-three former Rebels were members of NFL teams last year, including four who earned roster spots after going undrafted — DB Trae Elston (Buccaneers/Browns), DT Woodrow Hamilton (Patriots), CB Mike Hilton (Patriots/Steelers) and DE Channing Ward (Buccaneers).

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OLE MISS Sports

FORMER ALL AMERICAN NAMED BASKETBALL ASSISTANT COACH

O

Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

le Miss All-American Rahim Lockhart Rahim is coming home to join our staff,” (BA 03) returned to Oxford to join says head coach Andy Kennedy. “From being the Rebel basketball staff as an assis- an All-SEC player to establishing himself as an outstanding coach at tant coach. the high school and junior Lockhart, a standout on college levels, I have seen the hardwood for the Rebels Rahim develop into a coach from 1998 to 2001, returns that we feel can significantly to Ole Miss after a successful impact our program. We are high school and junior colexcited that he is rejoining lege coaching career. Most his Ole Miss family in our recently, Lockhart was the efforts to continue to move head coach at Jones County this program forward.”

Junior College, where he led A Mendenhall native, the Bobcats to a 64-15 record Rahim Lockhart Lockhart helped the Bobcats in three seasons and three straight National Junior College Athletic to a 17-8 record in the 2015-16 season and Association Region 23 Tournament appear- an appearance in the Mississippi Association ances. This past season, Lockhart guided of Community and Junior Colleges champiJones to a 29-2 overall mark and the NJCAA onship game. In his first season in 2014-15, Jones won its first 14 games and was ranked Tournament round of 16.

“We are pleased to announce that as high as No. 8 in the NJCAA Division I poll

en route to an 18-5 overall mark.

Lockhart came to JCJC after serving as head coach at Madison Central from 2011 to 2014, where he led the Jaguars to the 6A North State title in 2013 and 2014 and the 6A state finals in 2013.

One of the greatest players in Ole Miss basketball history, Lockhart earned third team All-America honors as a senior in 2001 after leading the Rebels to a 27-8 overall record and the school’s first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. He ranks 27th in Ole Miss history with 1,160 career points and earned All-SEC honors as a senior after averaging 13.0 points and 8.1 rebounds a game.

A member of the Ole Miss Team of the Century, Lockhart helped the Rebels to three NCAA Tournament appearances, two SEC Western division titles and three 20-win seasons in his four years in Oxford.

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Published JUST

Al Povall is a Mississippian who town of Louisville, Mississippi, saw A Time Remembered: Ole Miss: 1945-1970, An Oral History holds a B.A. and a J.D. f rom the white smoke billowing from the chimby Al Povall, 448 pages, $35.95 (Hardcover), Nautilus Publishing Co., ISBN: 9781936946839 It was August 1945. The war was over, and the veterans came home. While many returned to jobs and careers, others, with the help of the GI Bill, entered colleges and universities all over the United States. Ole Miss was no exception.

I n A Ti m e R e m e m be red , A l Pova l l (BA 63, JD 77) compiled in chronological order over 120 interviews with students who attended O l e M i s s du r i n g w h at has long been known as a golden era in the history of the university. That time period encompasses the tenure of Chancellor J.D.

University of Mississippi, as well as an LL.M. from Yale Law School. As a naval officer, he served two combat

ney — announcing Bill Strong had a daughter. This smoke — determined by gender — would come to define Connell’s life in ways none of them could have expected. As a child, fire robbed her of a precious piece of her life. Later, she faced a different kind of firestorm, as she became one of the first female lawyers practicing in Oxford. An Unforeseen Life is Connell’s account of the many joys and trials of her life — from attending Harvard Law School with classmate Barack Obama to serving as the president of a national association of university attorneys; from losing her husband to cancer to defending the wrongful termination suit of beloved Ole Miss football coach Billy Brewer.

Mary Ann Connell (BA 59, MA 71, MLS 73, JD 77) practices law with Mayo Mallette PLLC and teaches courses in higher education law, school law, legal research and writing, business law and employment law.

She received her LL.M. from Harvard Law School and is a past president of the Mississippi Council of School Board Attorneys as well as a fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation.

tours in Vietnam and with his wife, Janet, lives in Oxford. He is the author of The Time of Eddie Noel, which was a nominee for the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters best nonfiction award in 2011, as well as A Tapestry of Red and Blue, the companion to A Time Remembered, which was published in 2015.

Mississippi Governors by David G.

An Unforeseen Life b y Mary Ann

Williams and the years during which Coach John Howard Vaught headed the football program.

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ALUMNI REVIEW

Connell, 300 pages, $24.95 (Paperback), Nautilus Publishing Co., ISBN: 9781936946792 When Mar y Ann C onnell was born, her father told the town: “If it’s a boy, I’ll send up black smoke; if it’s a girl, I’ll send up white.” The entire

Sansing, 259 pages, $38 (Hardcover), Nautilus Publishing Co., ISBN: 9781936946815 During its 200-year history, Mississippi has been governed by 53 men who held the state’s highest office.

Noted historian David Sansing brings each governor to life in these candid, illustrated, never-before-published biographical sketches. The sketches vary in length according to the significance of each governor’s administration and to Sansing’s fascination with certain governors, such as Poindexter, Foote, Bilbo, Waller and Winter.

On these pages, you’ll find forwardthinking politicians who fought for

JUST Published

underdogs, education and civil rights.

You’ll also encounter governors who settled disputes by dueling (one had a penchant for shooting on “two”), scandalous tort settlements that made the front page of The New York Times, and one former first lady who held a press conference on the courtroom steps, post-divorce, announcing her intent to use the proceeds from her settlement to finance a campaign against her ex-husband for U.S. Senate. Mississippi Governors is a story of soldiers, statesmen, scholars and scoundrels and is a celebration of Mississippi’s heritage and history on the state’s 200th birthday.

D av i d S a n s i n g i s a prof e s s or emeritus of history at the University of Mississippi. He was born in 1933 in Greenville and earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Mississippi College and his Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi.

The Actress b y Michael Hicks Thompson, 267 pages, $26 (Hardcover), Shepherd King Publishing, ISBN: ​9780984528240 The most famous actress in America, Tallulah Ivey, is in the Mississippi Delta town of Solo to film a

controversial movie. A prominent Solo citizen is shot and killed outside her bedroom window, and a typewritten note is found clenched in his hand. A local widow, Martha McRae, investigates the who, what and w hy of t he sho ot ing .

It’s a twisty, suspenseful murder mystery about capital punishment.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Ole Miss and a master’s degree in mass communication from the University of South Carolina, Michael Hicks Thompson (BBA 71) started a one-man ad agency in Memphis, which grew to 87 employees in two cities. Thompson sold the firm in 2011 and turned his attention to full-time Christian fiction writing. He and his wife of 44 years live in Memphis and have three sons and four grandchildren.

The Actress is the second b o ok in a murder myster y series and is available in bookstores and on Amazon in print and Kindle.

Twas the Night Before the Egg Bowl by Kathryn Hood, 36 pages, $25

(Hardcover), Catawomper Press, ISBN: 9780578182025 Twas the Night Before the Egg Bowl is a story about a prank played on Ole Miss’ coach by Mississippi State fans on the eve of the Egg Bowl and how Ole Miss fans retaliate after the game is over.

The ending is a hilarious surprise for all.

Written in the familiar rhyme scheme of “Twas the night before Christmas …,” young Rebels are sure to love this book.

The book is sold in children’s shops, bookstores and gift shops throughout Mississippi and the Memphis area, as well as on OleMissChildrensBooks.com.

Kat h r y n Ho o d ( BA 6 8 ) h a s a master’s degree in counseling from the College of William and Mary. She is a licensed professional counselor and a registered play therapist. After retiring in Oxford, Hood began writing children’s books about Ole Miss.

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 2017 REBEL

Jokulsarlon Lake, Iceland

T

he Ole Miss Alumni Association is offering a number of spectacular trips for 2017.

Alumni and friends obtain group rates and discounts. All prices are per person, based on double occupancy and subject to change until booking.

Airfare is not included unless noted.

For a brochure or more information, contact the Alumni office at 662915-7375. You also can find the most current and complete listing of trips and prices on the Ole Miss Alumni Association’s website at olemissalumni. com/travel.

BARCELONA, MADRID AND SEVILLE JULY 20-29, 2017

Dis cover just how var ie d and wonderful Spain can be in this 10-day journey. You will spend three nights in Barcelona, three nights in Madrid and two nights in Seville traveling by private deluxe motor coach and high-speed train transfers. Within the borders of one country, uncover 48

ALUMNI REVIEW

three distinct destinations. Barcelona, Madrid and Seville display intriguing distinctions, from Andalusian architecture to Catalan castells. Explore B arc e l on a’s G ot h i c Q u ar te r an d modernist landmarks, wander past Madrid’s imperial palaces, and cap off your trip in Seville, where Moorish architecture shines. You will also be able to create a more personal journey by adding optional excursions that speak to your interests. — From $3,874

ice-blue tidewater glaciers and soaring granite cliffs. Watch more glorious scener y unfold at Sitka, home to Sitka National Historical Park. Before returning to Seattle, explore British Columbia’s delightful maritime port, Prince Rupert, known as a gateway to Canada’s only grizzly bear sanctuary.

Take in the majesty of ancient glaciers, towering mountains and picturesque coasts on this remarkable Alaskan voyage. — From $1,999

ALASKAN CHARMS JULY 21-28, 2017

CIRCUMNAVIGATION ICELAND AUG. 1-9, 2017

Let the rugged charms of Alaska — America’s last frontier — captivate you as you sail aboard Oceania Cruises’ intimate Regatta, a state-of-the-art haven of elegance. Depart from Seattle and cruise through the Inside Passage en route to one of Alaska’s oldest towns, Wrangell, renowned for its unique Petroglyph B each and intriguing gold rush history. Continue cruising through Tracy Arm, a breathtaking fjord whose pristine waters reflect its

Join us for this once-in-a-lifetime exploration of a land of incredible natural wonder, where glittering glaciers cap simmering volcanoes, ancient Viking ruins exist alongside the latest in geothermal technology and prolonged daylight melds into the lingering twilight. This is Iceland — a spectacular and ever-changing landscape that serves as a testament to the powerful natural forces that shape our planet.

During our specially designed

2017 REBEL Traveler seven-night circumnavigation of this extraordinary Nordic island nation, experience unimaginable scenery that exists nowhere else on the earth, and encounter Iceland’s wondrous sights at close range. Cruise aboard the exclusively chartered, five-star small ship M.S. Le Soléal, featuring only 110 suites and staterooms, with the ability to cruise into small ports inaccessible to larger vessels and to alter course and launch its Zodiac excursion vessels as a kaleidoscope of wild ethereal landscapes and mystery unfold before you. — From $5,995

LONDON IMMERSION AUG. 9-17, 2017

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life,” Samuel Johnson once posited, and his words still ring true today. Discover this for yourself as you experience London for eight nights of apartment-style living in elegant South Kensington in the city’s West End. Get up and go with an included Visitor Oyster Card transit pass for the Tube. Join engaging local guides on unique neighborhood walks in Kensington, Westminster, the City of London and the Inns of Court. Visit the London suburbs of Richmond and Hampton Court, both of which are rich in Tudor history. Enjoy a balance of planned sightseeing and free time to explore on your own. Informative talks by local experts provide historical background and context. Join us on this well-rounded travel experience with a small group of fellow travelers. Enjoy an extensive meal plan plus wine with dinner. Your apartment-hotel includes complimentary Wi-Fi and an equipped kitchenette. — From $2,995

homes and spire-crowned churches.

Take advantage of three days to encounter the best of St. Petersburg, a glittering metropolis crisscrossed by canals and dotted with onion-domed cathedrals, artistic riches and fabled palaces.

Admire more architectural gems in the Finnish capital of Helsinki, a celebrated international design mecca. Then explore Riga, the “Paris of the East,” and stroll past quaint timber-framed buildings in Klaipeda’s Old Town. Continue on to Germany’s delightful port of Warnemünde, a gateway to the world-class museums and powerful memorials of Berlin, before concluding your voyage in Copenhagen. — From $3,699

THE MAJESTIC GREAT LAKES AUG. 21-30, 2017

Picture yourself surrounded by pristine islands draped in verdant wilderness and rocky shores caressed by sparkling blue waters. From Chicago to Montreal, cruise all five Great Lakes and the scenic St. Lawrence River aboard the 210-guest M.S. Saint Laurent. Treat yourself to elegant amenities and stunning vistas as this beautifully appointed ship takes you to charming islands and lakeside towns steeped in intriguing maritime history.

Discover the Victorian atmosphere on idyllic Mackinac Island, and witness the legendary Soo Locks at Sault Ste.

Marie. Sail the shimmering waters of Georgian Bay, a striking setting with lush, pine-dotted islands. Explore the jewel of Lake Huron, Manitoulin Island, rich with ancient native tradition, and encounter the voluminous grandeur of Niagara Falls from the thrilling perspective of a Hornblower vessel. — From $4,699

CAPITALS AND COASTLINES OF CANADA AND NEW ENGLAND SEPT. 30-OCT. 10, 2017

From regal mansions perched on craggy coasts to historic lighthouses set against the season’s rich medley of gold, amber and crimson foliage, experience beautiful sights in Canada and New England on this luxury cruise aboard Oceania Cruises’ Insignia.

Depart Montreal and sail to Quebec City, where cobbled streets twist past mansard-roofed houses and magnificent churches. Watch postcard-worthy scenery unfold at Saguenay, home to museums and artisan workshops.

Browse St. Patrick’s Church Museum in Sydney, stroll the lively waterfront at Halifax, and admire St. John’s Reversing Falls. Delight in Bar Harbor’s stunning backdrop of sparkling blue waters and towering granite cliffs, or perhaps explore Acadia National Park. Before your odyssey concludes in New York, visit mansion-studded Newport, a

BALTIC AND SCANDINAVIAN TREASURES AUG. 17-28, 2017

Baltic and Scandinavian treasures abound on this voyage to some of northern Europe’s most iconic ports aboard Oceania Cruises’ intimate Nautica. Depart Stockholm for Tallinn, a beautifully preserved city that radiates old-world charm with red-roofed

London, England S P R I N G 2 017

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2017 REBEL Traveler ADRIATIC RHAPSODY OCT. 27-NOV. 7, 2017

Venice, Italy

charming resort city, and delve into the colonial history and architectural splendors of Boston. — From $3,999

VILLAGE LIFE IN DORDOGNE OCT. 5-13, 2017

Experience the heart of Dordogne, a hidden treasure where all of France’s provincial delights have been distilled into one of Europe’s most beautiful and intact medieval villages, Sarlatla-Canéda. Our carefully designed itinerary and expert-guided excursions explore five impressive UNESCO World Heritage sites: the dramatic cliffside monastic village of Rocamadour, the important archaeological sites of L’Abri du Cap-Blanc, Rouffignac Cave and Les-Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil and the Lascaux IV to appreciate one of humankind’s earliest art creations in the form of cave paintings.

Your “home” in the village will be the family-owned Plaza Madeleine Hôtel, a restored 19th-century townhouse ideally located in medieval Sarlat-laCanéda. Featuring a provincial ambiance with modern accommodations 50

ALUMNI REVIEW

and amenities, it’s known for its staff ’s warm hospitality. In addition to the included meals in the hotel, dine on regional specialties while enjoying traditional three-course dinners in specially selected French bistros nestled in the quaint village of Sarlat. — From $3,695

PEARLS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA OCT. 18-28, 2017

This exclusive nine-night cruise from Hong Kong, “Crossroads of the East,” to vibrant Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), aboard the five-star small ship M.S. L’Austral, showcases the fascinating treasures of Vietnam and three UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Tour dynamic Hanoi, cruise majestic Ha Long Bay, visit the Forbidden Purple City in Hue, and admire beautiful architecture in Hoi An. Round-trip, economy-class air from Los Angeles is included. Complimentary alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages are served throughout the cruise.

Hong Kong pre-cruise and Angkor Wat post-cruise options are available. — From $7,195

From graceful canals to captivating ruins and medieval towns, discover awe-inspiring sights on this Adriatic odyssey aboard Oceania Cruises’ Marina. Depart Athens for Santorini, a photographer’s paradise with bluedomed churches and black-pebble beaches. Stroll the seaside promenade in Katakolon, a jumping-off point for adventures in ancient Olympia. Watch incredible scenery unfold on the fairytale island of Corfu, featuring a stunning backdrop of olive trees, turquoise waters and sandy beaches. Admire Kotor’s mist-shrouded mountains, marvel at Diocletian’s Palace in Split, and take in the historic piazzas, serene canals and arched bridges of Venice. Then cruise to Sicily to explore Taormina’s Greek theater and modern boutiques. Before concluding your voyage in Rome, visit Naples, a classic Italian city of culinary delights and artistic masterpieces, or encounter the legendary ruins of Pompeii. — From $2,999

HOLIDAY MARKETS NOV. 27-DEC. 8, 2017

The holiday season provides a wonderful opportunity to get away and relax on an unhurried cruise through Germany that showcases delightful holiday traditions. Enjoy the start of the festive season as towns along the Rhine and Main rivers prepare for the holidays and open their charming Christkindlmarkts. Explore Cologne and Koblenz, and sail through the scenic Rhine Gorge. Visit the picturesque towns of Miltenberg, Würzburg and Rothenburg adorned in their holiday best. Make a stop in colorful Bamberg, known for its medieval and baroque buildings, and journey to Nuremberg to visit its historic sites. This program features fascinating excursions, firstclass ship accommodations, and an extensive meal plan including wine with lunch and dinner. For solo travelers, there is no single supplement.

Escape the hurried pace of the holidays, and experience the season of Advent in Europe. — From $2,795

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News ALUMNI

Leading the Way

T

2017 NEW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD MEMBERS

he new members of the Alumni Association board of directors are involved in a wide range of careers and community organizations. One-third of the board is appointed each year by the Ole Miss Alumni Association president and serves a three-year term.

CHARLES CASCIO (BBA 08) recently relocated to Dallas, Texas, from Washington, D.C., where he was associate director of legislative affairs for the American College of Cardiology. While in D.C., he founded the Southern Universities LGBTQ Alumni Group and served as social chairman of the Mississippi Society of Washington, D.C. While at Ole Miss, he was a member of the 2008 Hall of Fame class. He was elected Colonel Rebel, president of the 2008 senior class, president of the Student Alumni Council and vice president and rush chairman of Sigma Nu Fraternity.

SHAWN COBB (BBA 90, MBA 92) is a senior SAP FICO analyst at Buckman International in Memphis. While at Ole Miss, Cobb was a three-year starter and team captain while playing inside linebacker for the football team. He is a member of Memphis Gridiron Ministries and has coached youth football in the community for three years. He is a board member of Brinkley Heights Urban Academy. He is married to Tammy Cobb and has three daughters. They reside in Collierville, Tennessee.

RETIRED MAJ. GEN. JAMES E. DONALD (BA 70) is former deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Pacific. Donald earned the Bronze Star for his leadership as a task force commander during Gulf War I. He was appointed commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2003. In 2009, he was appointed to a seven-year term on the board of Pardons and Paroles and was elected to serve two consecutive terms as chairman. Donald is from Jackson and resides on St. George Island, Florida.

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ALUMNI REVIEW

SUZY TRIPLETT FULLER (BBA 88, MBA 89)

is a family manager and community volunteer. While at Ole Miss, she was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and served as treasurer. Fuller has served as treasurer of the board of Jackson Preparatory School, chairman of Art for Heart for the American Heart Association, co-chairman of the Junior League of Jackson’s Mistletoe Marketplace and as a board member of the Collegiate Recovery Community at Ole Miss. She and her husband, Jim (JD 88, MD 95), reside in Greenwood, South Carolina. They have four children.

CAROLE B HANEY (BSC 72, MEd 76)

served as executive director of North Mississippi Regional Center for 26 years and was an adjunct professor at the University of Mississippi and Itawamba Community College. She serves as a trustee for the Baddour Center and on the boards of Communicare Mental Center, Oxford University Transit, 21 United and NMRC Human Rights. She serves as the constitution and elections chairman for Delta Gamma Fraternity and is a past president of the Delta Gamma House Corp. board. She and her husband have two children.

ANDY KILPATRICK (BEd 74) is a partner in the law firm of Gore, Kilpatrick & Dambrino PLLC. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Mississippi College School of Law. He served as general counsel for the Mississippi Bar from 1982 until 1986 before returning to private practice. While at Ole Miss, Kilpatrick served as an athletic trainer for multiple sports. He is a past president of the Alumni Association and served on the Athletics Committee. He is a recipient of the M-Club George W. Lotterhos Service Award.

ALUMNI News COOPER MANNING (BA 96) is a graduate of

Isidore Newman School in New Orleans and the University of Mississippi. For 16 years, he owned Howard Weil, a boutique investment banking firm. He then joined Chicago-based real estate firm AJ Capital Partners. He has a television show on “Fox NFL Kickoff ” called “The Cooper Manning Hour.” He coaches many of his children’s athletic teams and enjoys playing golf and traveling with his family. Manning lives in New Orleans with his wife, Ellen, and three children.

SUSAN MCCORMICK (MM 80) of Pascagoula

received her bachelor’s degree from Mississippi University for Women in 1977.

She completed a 27-year career teaching music in public schools and is part of the Ole Miss Women’s Council, serves on the University of Mississippi Foundation board and is active in Eastlawn United Methodist Church. Her children include Sarah Kathryn Hickman (BBA 03, MBA 05) and Caroline McCormick (BAccy 11, MAccy 12).

FLOYD MELTON III (BAccy 93, MTax 97, JD

97) is an attorney with Melton Law Firm in Greenwood. He is a district committee member of the Boy Scouts and past president of the Law Alumni Chapter of the University of Mississippi, Greenwood Rotary Club and Main Street Greenwood. While at Ole Miss, he was treasurer of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and a member of Beta Alpha Psi. He and his wife, Lisa (BA 94, MS 96), have two children.

GUY W. MOORE JR. (BAccy 72), retired

partner of Deloitte LLP, had a 40-year career in public accounting and auditing. He is on the Patterson School of Accountancy Advisory Council and in the accountancy school’s Hall of Fame.

While at Ole Miss, Moore was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa and an officer in the Epsilon Xi chapter of Sigma Nu Fraternity. He and his wife reside in Pascagoula and are members of First Presbyterian Church. They have two sons.

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ALUMNI News VICKIE WILLS SHAW (BSHPE 82) serves as assistant principal at St. Louis Catholic School in Memphis. While at Ole Miss, Shaw was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi Fraternity and the Lady Rebel softball team. She served as Associated Student Body secretary and was elected Miss Ole Miss. She has served on the alumni board of the School of Applied Sciences and is a member of St. Louis Catholic Church in Memphis. She and her husband, Robert (BAccy 81, MAccy 82), have three daughters.

geon at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center Surgical Clinic. He is board certified and a fellow of the American College of Surgery. While at Ole Miss, he was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, active in student government and in St. Anthony Hall. He served as Delta Psi Fraternity alumni adviser for 15 years.

He has served as charter president of the Northeast Arkansas Ole Miss Club and is active in Rotary International. He and his wife reside in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

BETSY SMITH (BA 01) along with her hus-

CLARENCE WEBSTER III (BA 02) is counsel

band, Andrew, own and operate six McDonald’s restaurants in north Mississippi. They share a passion for being strong community partners, winning the McDonald’s Street Fighter Award. She serves on the board of the Ronald McDonald House of Memphis, the Oxford Chamber of Commerce, Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow, Oxford School District Foundation, Good Food for Oxford Schools and the Kappa Delta Chapter advisory board. The Smiths have three children: Sutherland, Anna Prescott and Collier.

BOB WARNER JR. (BA 79, MD 83) is a sur-

with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. He has served on the executive committee for the Mississippi Bar Litigation Section, as director for the Young Lawyers’ Division of the Mississippi Bar, as membership chair for the Magnolia Bar and as director for Jackson Young Lawyers. Webster was an adjunct professor at Mississippi College School of Law. He is recognized as a Mid-South Super Lawyer and as the 2016 Mississippi Bar Outstanding Young Lawyer. He and his family live in Jackson.

Class Notes

’50s

MARY ANN CONNELL (BA 59,

MA 71, MLS 73, JD 77) of Oxford released her memoir, An Unforeseen Life.

’60s

JOHNNY HENSON (BBA 69, JD 73), an attorney in Greenwood, was elected to serve on the board of commissioners of the Mississippi Bar.

AL POVALL (BA 63, JD 77) of Oxford published his third book, A Time Remembered (Nautilus Publishing Co.), which is an oral history of Ole Miss from 1945 to 1970. His 2010 book, The Time of Eddie Noel (Comfort Publishing Co.), was nominated for the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters best nonfiction award in 2011.

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ALUMNI REVIEW

BEN STONE (LLB 61), a partner with the

Balch and Bingham law firm in Gulfport, was named to the 2016 Mississippi Top 50, an annual list of the people judged to be the most influential leaders in the state.

STEVE VASSALLO (BBA 69) received the Chancellor’s Circle of Friends Honor Coin from the chancellor of Arkansas State University-Mountain Home. He is the first recipient of the coin, which recognizes individuals for outstanding service or support provided to Arkansas State University-Mountain Home.

W. SCOTT WELCH III (LLB 64) retired from

the Jackson office of Baker Donelson and has opened W. Scott Welch, Lawyer and Mediator PLLC, in Ridgeland.

’70s

JIMMY HEIDELBERG (JD 77),

managing partner at Heidelberg, Steinberger, Colmer and Burrow PA in Pascagoula, was named one of the Top 40 Leaders in Law by the Mississippi Business Journal.

DELBERT HOSEMANN (JD 72), Mississippi

secretary of state, was named to the 2016 Mississippi Top 50, an annual list of the people judged to be the most influential leaders in the state.

LARRY HOUCHINS (BBA 75) of Jackson is

retiring from his position as executive director of the Mississippi Bar after 37 years.

ALUMNI News RICHARD HOWORTH (BA 72), for mer

lobbying firm Capitol Resources, was named to the 2016 Mississippi Top 50, an annual list of the people judged to be the most influential leaders in the state.

MICKEY J. PERRY (BBA 71) of Southaven retired from Christ the King Lutheran Church and School as general manager of operations.

RYAN E. BYRNE (BBA 89, JD 94), founding partner of Byrne & Associates PLLC, has opened a third office in Memphis. The fullservice firm practices in the areas of residential and commercial real estate, corporate and business law, and private and estate planning.

Oxford mayor and Square Books owner, was elected chair of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

HENRY P. SULLIVANT (BA 74, MCS 79, MD

79) was named vice president and chief medical officer for Baptist Memorial Health Care System in Memphis. He will oversee the medical staff for the 17-hospital system and the quality programs for BMHCC.

IKE S. TROTTER (BA 74), owner of Ike Trotter Agency LLC in Greenville, earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) designation from the American College of Financial Services.

ROGER WICKER (BA 73 JD 75), head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was named to the 2016 Mississippi Top 50, an annual list of the people judged to be the most influential leaders in the state.

’80s

HENRY BARBOUR (BBA 85),

a partner of the multistate

CARL J. CHANEY (BBA 83, JD 86) was appointed chief executive officer of First NBC Bank Holding Co. in New Orleans by its board of directors.

RETIRED MAJ. GEN. AUGUSTUS LEON COLLINS (BBA 82) is CEO of MINACT

Inc., a Mississippi-based contractor that supports the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps program in several states throughout the country. He served in the U.S. Army and Mississippi National Guard for over 35 years.

MAYO FLYNT (BBA 87), president of AT&T

Mississippi, was named to the 2016 Mississippi Top 50, an annual list of the people judged to be the most influential leaders in the state.

PHILIP GUNN (JD 89), speaker of the Mississippi House, was named to the 2016 Mississippi Top 50, an annual list of the people judged to be the most influential leaders in the state.

COL. STAN B. HARRIS (JD 85) retired at a ceremony in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., following 24 years of service. He has been on orders at the Pentagon for the past two years and will return to his position as assistant U.S. attorney for the southern district in Gulfport.

KENNETH JOHNSTON (BBA 88, JD 91), a

financial services attorney at Kane Russell, started his own crawfish farm in Dallas as well as the Lone Star Wetland Conservation Co., which works to restore habitats and ecosystems in northeastern Texas.

HU MEENA (BSHPE 80), CEO of C Spire,

was named to the 2016 Mississippi Top 50, an annual list of the people judged to be the most influential leaders in the state.

BOBBY MOAK (BPA 80), chairman of the

Mississippi Democratic Party, was named to the 2016 Mississippi Top 50, an annual list of the people judged to be the most influential leaders in the state.

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ALUMNI News CHERYN NETZ (BA 88) is assistant general counsel for the Texas State Securities Board in Austin. She was named by the Mississippi Business Journal to the Leadership in Law for 2016 as one of Mississippi’s Leading Attorneys.

LT. COL. STEVE SMITH (BE 85), navigator

with the 93rd Bomb Squadron, made Air Force history by becoming the only serving airman to reach 10,000 flying hours in a B-52 bomber.

’90s

TOM ANDERSON (JD 93) was

named a fellow of the Health Ethics Trust in Washington, D.C. In 2016, Anderson was named an Ultimate Attorney by the Jacksonville Business Journal.

JASON W. BAILEY (BAccy 99, MTax 00, JD

07) is an associate in the Birmingham, Alabama, office of Maynard Cooper & Gale PC.

DAVID BARIA (JD 90), House minority leader, was named to the 2016 Mississippi Top 50, an annual list of the people judged to be the most influential leaders in the state.

’00s

REBECCA BERTRAND ADLER

(BA 06, MA 08) accepted the position of regional manager of admissions – Texas with the University of Mississippi and will work remotely from Houston.

MEREDITH EDWARDS COLLINS ( JD 09) rejoined the Nashville office of Bass, Berry & Sims as an associate in the health care practice. She will work with companies, private equity groups and venture funds relative to mergers, acquisitions, investments and divestitures within the health care industry.

BRITANY SHULL FOLEY (BAccy 07) was

announced as an associate attorney in the Oxford office of Harris Shelton Hanover Walsh PLLC.

hired as a senior manager in the Memphis office of HHM Certified Public Accountants.

JAMES D. “J.D.” JOHNSON (JD 06) joined

the Omaha, Nebraska, law firm of McGill, Gotsdiner, Workman & Lepp PC, LLO.

JUSTIN BRASELL (BBA 99), a campaign operative at Triumph Campaigns, was named to the 2016 Mississippi Top 50, an annual list of the people judged to be the most influential leaders in the state.

WESLEY MOCKBEE (BAccy 07, JD 10), an associate with Mockbee Hall & Drake PA in Jackson, was elected to serve as a director of the Mississippi Bar’s Young Lawyers Division.

RICHARD CHISOLM (BSCvE 95) was named assistant chief engineer of field operations for the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

MAJ. JENNIFER DELL MULLINS (JD 05) is serving as chief of adverse actions, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate Headquarters, 8th Air Force, in Barksdale, Louisiana.

DAVID DIXON (BA 94) is the only mortgage

NICHOLAS J. PIEROTTI (BA 06) was named

DEANNE MOSLEY (BPA 91, JD 94) was selected as the new executive director of the Mississippi Bar.

W. ASHTON RANDALL III (JD 00) was featured in the February issue of Londonbased magazine Acquisition International in its Advisors of the Year section. Randall

ALUMNI REVIEW

SLATES C. VEAZEY (JD 07) was named partner in the Jackson office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. Veazey represents clients in all types of litigation, with an emphasis in construction and insurance coverage disputes.

C L A R E N C E W E B ST E R I I I ( BA 0 2 ) w a s selected as the Mississippi Bar Young Lawyers Division’s 2015-16 Outstanding Young Lawyer.

winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

56

BETSY TURLEY (BFA 08) joined the law firm of Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young LLP in its New York City office, where her practice is focused on products liability and toxic tort litigation.

MATTHEW S. EASTERLING (JD 09) was named a partner in the firm that will now be called Robertson and Easterling. The Ridgelandbased firm handles all aspects of cases relative to family law and divorce.

DEBBIE BLACKWELL (JD 90), assistant district attorney in Natchez, was elected to serve on the board of commissioners of the Mississippi Bar.

loan originator in Oxford at the new Community Bank Mortgage office.

is one of two founding members of Randall Greer PLLC in Dallas, Texas.

ELI MANNING (BBA 03) was named the co-

a partner of the Pierotti Law Firm in Memphis.

BENJAMIN WEST (BBA 06, JD 09) was

MIKE WHITE (BBA 00), basketball coach for the Florida Gators, was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Gators to 24 wins, including 14 wins against SEC opponents.

’10s

NEAL ANN CHAMBLEE (BAJ 11) joined the Crone Law Firm in Memphis as marketing and client relations coordinator.

JESSICA TAYLOR GRADOLF (BA 13) earned a Master of Science in Library and Information Science with a certificate in Special Collections from the University of IllinoisUrbana Champaign.

JENNIFER ANN URBAN (BA 11, MBA 13, JD 15) joined Cozen O’Connor as an associate focusing on trade and transportation in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.

ALUMNI News WEDDINGS

Frank Weston Bowen Sr. (BA 48, MedCert 50) of Carthage, Dec. 31, 2016

Rebecca Noel Bertrand (BA 06, MA 08) and William Scott Adler, Feb. 17, 2017.

Rachael Tyler Faust and McKinley Devon Hamilton, Jan. 1, 2017.

Mary Anna Howard and Leslie Jackson Walker Jr. (01), April 30, 2016.

Charles Hilmon Castle (MedCert 49, BS 49) of Albuquerque, N.M., Dec. 26, 2016 David Otis Chesnut Jr. (41) of Brunswick, Ga., Feb. 4, 2017

William Watson Dreher (MedCert 45) of Gulfport, Dec. 25, 2016

Paul Wesley Graham (MA 47, EdD 53) of Campbellsville, Ky., Jan. 2, 2017

Elizabeth D. Lancaster and Andrew Brock McIntyre (BFA 11), Jan. 7, 2017.

Howard Ray Gray (BA 49, MedCert 50) of Westfield, Ind., Feb. 18, 2017

Ellen Bramlett McLaurin (BAccy 14, MTax 15) and Austen Eric Myers (MAccy 15), Dec. 10, 2016.

Byron Kisner (BAEd 46, MA 50) of Olive Branch, Feb. 27, 2017

Virginia Plauché and Mitchell Dial Monsour Jr. (BBA 03), Oct. 15, 2016.

Clare Sekul Hornsby (LLB 45) of Biloxi, Jan. 24, 2017

John Hawkins Napier III (BA 49) of Ramer, Ala., Dec. 27, 2016 Margaret Vance O’Keefe (BAEd 47) of Batesville, Jan. 12, 2017

Moran McLelland Pope Jr. (LLB 48) of Hattiesburg, March 2, 2017

BIRTHS

Opal Read Price (BA 49, MA 50) of Louin, Feb. 26, 2017

Anna Bailey, daughter of Mary Shellie Carr (BS 09) and Patrick Louis Carr (BA 08), Jan. 20, 2017.

Cameron Jauma, son of Sheila Jauma Krause and Robert Edward Krause (BA 04, PhD 11), Feb. 27, 2017.

Thomas James, son of Jennifer M. Magielnicki and Peter J. Magielnicki (BBA 99), Dec. 20, 2016.

Josephine Nosser Thompson (BSHPE 48) of Canton, Feb. 22, 2017

Nancy Harton Washburn (BAEd 47) of Tullahoma, Tenn., Feb. 7, 2017 William Earl White (BBA 49, MBA 50) of Senatobia, Jan. 10, 2017

Joseph Van Dorn Wilson Jr. (LLB 48, JD 68) of Covington, La., March 3, 2017 Wilma Bradley Woodbridge (BAEd 43) of New Orleans, La., Feb. 1, 2017

1950s

Rosemary Irby Albriton (50) of Flowood, March 2, 2017

IN MEMORIAM

James Benford Allen (BAEd 54, MEd 55) of Ridgeland, Feb. 5, 2017 Joyce Williams Anderson (MA 59) of Tupelo, March 10, 2017

1930s

Frances Roane Mann (BAEd 36) of Oxford, Feb. 23, 2017

Betty Orr Atkinson (BA 54) of Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 23, 2016

1940s

Miles Andrew Causey Jr. (MS 59) of Jackson, Jan. 30, 2017

Lucy Owen Barnett (BAEd 48) of Clinton, Feb. 13, 2017

Arthur Stanley Dearman (BA 59) of Gulf Breeze, Fla., Feb. 25, 2017

William Pierce Bailey Jr. (BA 53) of Huntingdon, Tenn., Jan. 12, 2017

John Rice Baker Sr. (BBA 49) of Natchez, July 11, 2016

Richard Arlen Darling (BSChE 58) of Lake Charles, La., March 6, 2017

Allyn Drew Barrett (BBA 48) of Tallahassee, Fla., Feb. 6, 2017

James Franklin Dodds (BBA 57) of Aberdeen, Dec. 28, 2016

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57

ALUMNI News

A Clear Winner

LIMITED EDITION DECAL ANOTHER WAY TO STICK WITH THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

T

he Ole Miss Alumni Association is giving Rebels a new look by offering a limited edition decal featuring a unique red and navy blue design.

The decal features the Alumni Association’s iconic navy blue “M” logo with a red Ole Miss crest and a clear background. “ T h e A l u m n i A s s o c i at i o n i s campaigning to reach 30,000 active members by the 165th anniversary of our founding on July 15,” says OMAA Executive Director Kirk Purdom (BA 93). “We thought we would share another exciting reason to stick with us, pun intended.”

A letter announcing the decal was sent in April to a select group of alumni and friends, along with an invitation to order the new design. The traditional decal is still an option for all members.

Alumni and friends who would like a limited edition decal can join or renew their membership online at olemissalumni.com/join and select “limited edition” as the decal type.

With fewer than 1,000 available, get

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ALUMNI REVIEW

yours now while supplies last.

“We cannot reach our goal of 30,000 members without the help of all our alumni and friends,” Purdom says.

“We have the best alumni participation in the SEC. Join today to keep us on top, and make us the envy of the nation.”

ALUMNI News Carolyn Buffaloe Dorr (BA 55) of Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 7, 2017

William Dennis Wright (BBA 59) of Pascagoula, Jan. 7, 2017

Linda Battle Faulconer (BAEd 51) of Danville, Ky., Dec. 22, 2016

John Herman Ziegler (BSME 59) of Wooster, Ohio, Jan. 11, 2017

Frank Chesley Fant Jr. (BAEd 50) of Senoia, Ga., Jan. 1, 2017 Dudley Dyer Fedric (BBA 50) of Clarksdale, Feb. 12, 2017

Douglas A. Young Jr. (58) of Overland Park, Kan., March 5, 2017

Mary McLean Henderson (BAEd 50) of Hot Springs National Park, Ark., Dec. 27, 2016

1960s

Ralph Turbiville Holmes Jr. (BBA 55) of Asheville, N.C., Jan. 3, 2017

Peggy Weed Appel (BAEd 68) of St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 22, 2017

Dorsey Eugene Johnson (MBA 57) of Cleveland, Dec. 19, 2016 Gus Andrew Johnson (BBA 59) of Greenville, Jan. 1, 2017 Louis J. Korff Jr. (BAEd 52) of Salem, Ind., Dec. 28, 2016

Dennis Elton Magee (MD 58) of Moss Point, Jan. 18, 2017

Robert E. McCormick (BSHPE 50, JD 67) of Wiggins, Dec. 29, 2016 Sylvia Sanford McDavid (LLB 56) of Jackson, March 4, 2017

George Meyer Neville Jr. (MedCert 52) of Meridian, Jan. 19, 2017 Leslie Newcomb (BA 53) of Long Beach, Nov. 5, 2016

Glenn Everette Norwood (MEd 55) of Oxford, Dec. 27, 2016 John Vail Ott (52) of Osyka, Dec. 25, 2016

Donald Earl Phillips (MBA 59) of Brandon, Feb. 2, 2017

Mary Bramlett Retchless (BSN 59) of Clifton Springs, N.Y., Jan. 7, 2017 Bernard L. Riley (BBA 55) of Doylestown, Pa., Dec. 24, 2016 Sylvia Wooten Ross (BS 58) of Tupelo, Jan. 24, 2017

Bobby Lee Sanders Sr. (MEd 54) of Oxford, Jan. 18, 2017

Willene Mansell Sherer (BAEd 58) of Sumter, S.C., March 1, 2017

Melvin Milton Sinquefield (BSHPE 53, MEd 64) of Baton Rouge, La., Feb. 25, 2017 Betty Bryant Stewart (58) of Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 1, 2017

John Mack Sullivan (BBA 58) of Houston, Texas, Dec. 31, 2016

Mary Elizabeth Ray Tolar (BA 51) of Memphis, Tenn., March 4, 2017 Jimmy Vernon Walters (BBA 51) of Dallas, Texas, Dec. 28, 2016

Franklin Delano Abraham (BA 60) of Clarksdale, Feb. 25, 2017 Frank Raymond Banks (MD 61) of Oxford, Feb. 11, 2017

Grover Maddon Barham (MCS 62) of Severna Park, Md., Dec. 26, 2016 Arthur Dale Barnes (BA 64) of Baton Rouge, La., Feb. 19, 2017

Lawrence Dean Berdon Sr. (BBA 62) of Baton Rouge, La., Jan. 16, 2017 Bettie Peoples Bullock (BS 67) of Florence, Jan. 21, 2017

Elsie Epes Burton (MCS 69) of Timbo, Ark., Jan. 16, 2017 Alan Lamar Bush (69) of Pearl, Feb. 8, 2017

William Lloyd Cox Sr. (BBA 60) of Madison, March 9, 2017

Robert Henry Davis (MEd 67) of Rockford, Tenn., Jan. 12, 2017 Irwin R. Feldman (60) of St. Augustine, Fla., Feb. 11, 2017

George Joseph Ferry Sr. (BBA 63) of Waveland, Jan. 29, 2017 Eugene Webster Fitts (BBA 61) of Corinth, March 4, 2017

Virginia Porter Graves (BAEd 62, MEd 82) of Como, Dec. 23, 2016 Betty Mays Harbison (BAEd 60) of Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 22, 2016

George Alois Hertl (BAEd 69, MEd 71) of Hernando, Dec. 25, 2016 Sylvia Jessee Jones (BAEd 67) of Huntsville, Texas, Jan. 16, 2017 Dorothy Firestone Jordan (BA 68) of Kosciusko, Dec. 20, 2016 Henry Hunter Jordan Jr. (63) of Kosciusko, Dec. 20, 2016

Patricia Robinson Lanter (BAEd 63) of Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 9, 2017 Dolly Sue Bailey Metcalfe (BAEd 68) of Brandon, Jan. 24, 2017

Myron Albert Methvin (BA 60, LLB 61) of Celeste, Texas, Feb. 6, 2017 Lunelle Young Miller (MCS 66, PhD 85) of Fulton, Jan. 19, 2017

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59

ALUMNI News John Derwood Morvant (BA 62) of New Orleans, La., Feb. 20, 2017

Michael Edward Turberville (BBA 72) of Jackson, Feb. 6, 2017

Charles David Orr (BBA 60) of Charleston, Feb. 16, 2017

Janet Katharine Ward (BAEd 73, JD 77) of Water Valley, Feb. 9, 2017

Robert Eugene Nored (BBA 66) of Greenwood, Feb. 22, 2017 Charles K. Partridge (BSHPE 67) of Picayune, Feb. 5, 2017

Rufus Dawson Peay III (BBA 60) of Clarksdale, Feb. 13, 2017 Larry Joe Pratt Sr. (BBA 61) of Batesville, Dec. 24, 2016

Graves Lee Renfro (BA 63) of Burnside, Ky., Jan. 8, 2017

Patrick Hugh Scanlon Sr. (LLB 60) of Jackson, Feb. 25, 2017

Glenda Lynn Wadsworth (JD 76) of Madison, Dec. 31, 2016

Marion Oleta Whittington (Cert 78, BS 78) of Jackson, Dec. 26, 2016 Frances Faye Womble (BAEd 74) of Water Valley, Jan. 7, 2017

Elizabeth Hagan Wood (BAEd 73) of Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 29, 2016 Robert Norville Yerkes Jr. (BA 75) of Oxford, Pa., Jan. 20, 2017

Robert Elmer Scudamore Jr. (BBA 69) of Natchez, Jan. 13, 2017

1980s

Dale Joseph Stevens (BSHPE 69) of Schaumburg, Ill., Dec. 27, 2016

Steve Floyd Chester (PhD 80) of Statesboro, Ga., Feb. 15, 2017

Amy Kelley Smith (BAEd 63) of Sylva, N.C., Dec. 23, 2016

Charles Mitchell Bolen Jr. (BAEd 83) of Clarksdale, Dec. 16, 2016

John Merritt Tipton (BA 62, JD 65) of Natchez, Jan. 30, 2017

Randy Allen Dunnam (BAR 85) of New Albany, Jan. 30, 2017

Thurston Euzema Wilkes II (MS 69, MD 71) of Oxford, Jan. 13, 2017

Janice Cheryl Hill Felder (BSN 88, MSN 93, PhD 07) of Ridgeland, Jan. 16, 2017

1970s

Richard Edwin Fellows (PhD 84) of New Boston, N.H., Feb. 20, 2017

Rondal Edward Bell (PhD 71) of Edmond, Okla., March 5, 2017

Kevin McKay Hunter (BBA 86) of Oxford, Feb. 23, 2017

Edward Aylette Buckner III (BBA 73) of Vicksburg, Jan. 29, 2017

Terry Glen Klepzig (BSPh 86) of Abbeville, Jan. 18, 2017

Julia Marie Burke (MEd 74) of Biloxi, Dec. 20, 2016

Mary Candace Porter (JD 81) of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Feb. 25, 2017

Ann Camm Wynne Beers (JD 73) of Martinsburg, W.Va., Jan. 24, 2017

James Frederick Gordon Jr. (PhD 82) of Clinton, Jan. 13, 2017

Clyde Vester Bennett III (BBA 74) of Grays Knob, Ky., Dec. 18, 2016

Robert Emerson Keyes (BA 80) of Raymond, Feb. 6, 2017

Hiram Lee Roberts Burke (JD 77) of Shelby, Jan. 22, 2017

Cecil Lee Lott Jr. (BBA 80) of Indianapolis, Ind., Dec. 17, 2016

Alpha Whiting Cox (MEd 71) of Jackson, Feb. 4, 2017

Nancy Ann Turpin (BA 83) of Taylor, Jan. 5, 2017

Dana Palmieri Drago (BBA 79) of Dallas, Texas, Feb. 8, 2017

1990s

John Henry Crouch (JD 75) of Long Beach, Feb. 28, 2017

Larry Randolph Edwards (EdD 78) of Germantown, Tenn., Feb. 26, 2017 Kenneth R. Evans (73) of Springfield, Mass., Dec. 22, 2016

Martha Norsworthy Farish (BSW 77) of Biloxi, Feb. 11, 2017

Barry Miller Farr (BA 75) of Charlottesville, Va., Feb. 15, 2017 Walter Henry Gibbes Jr. (BA 70) of Raymond, Dec. 21, 2016

Jesse Brewer Hammond Jr. (BA 76) of Vancleave, Feb. 28, 2017 Mary Jean Watson Harper (MEd 74) of Belden, Jan. 22, 2017 Peter LeMaster Harper (BAEd 70) of Batesville, Feb. 8, 2017

Flora Judon Holden (MEd 78) of Potts Camp, Dec. 21, 2016

Brenda Jemerson Jones (BSN 73) of Greenwood, Dec. 20, 2016

Judy Whitehead Kirk (BAEd 72, MEd 78) of New Albany, March 9, 2017 Charles Barnett Lampkin III (MEd 79) of Oxford, Jan. 4, 2017 Francis John Larkin Jr. (BA 73) of Saltillo, Dec. 17, 2016

James Brooks Lynch Sr. (BBA 75) of Carthage, Dec. 31, 2016 Gus O’Neal Jr. (BBA 75) of Eupora, Dec. 24, 2016

John Rhett Presley (BA 75) of Madison, Feb. 5, 2017

Frank Allison Russell (JD 70) of Tupelo, March 4, 2017

Albert Hallock Souder (BBA 77) of Charlottesville, Va., Dec. 28, 2016 Garry Lee Stanford (BBA 75) of Corinth, March 3, 2017 Sallie Bingham Terry (75) of Brandon, Dec. 20, 2016

Kenneth George Trahan (BSPh 78) of Saucier, Feb. 14, 2017 Eugene Trammell (MEd 74) of Sardis, Jan. 30, 2017 60

ALUMNI REVIEW

Michael Teryl Airsman (99) of Jacksonville, Ill., Feb. 11, 2017

Stacey Miller Fewell (BA 90) of Houston, Texas, Feb. 2, 2017

Kenneth Hansen Furnas (BA 93) of Collierville, Tenn., March 1, 2017 Roger Kevin Sullivan (BS 91) of Clinton, Dec. 20, 2016

Jimmy Ralph Wing (BSPh 95) of Oxford, Feb. 25, 2017

Linda King Witherspoon (MEd 92) of Rochester, Minn., Jan. 29, 2017

2000s

John Stephen Barnett Jr. (BA 08) of Iuka, Feb. 19, 2017

Israel Anderson Denham (BA 05, JD 09) of Ocean Springs, Jan. 16, 2017 Jordan Thomasson Durke (BBA 01) of Allen, Texas, Feb. 28, 2017

Alison Lindsay McCain (BAEd 00, MEd 02) of Greenwood, Dec. 21, 2016 Bobbie Brantley Nichols (07) of Philadelphia, Jan. 16, 2017

Sarah Allison Reynolds (BA 04) of Cleveland, Tenn., Jan. 19, 2017 Justin David Sawyer (BAEd 04) of Summit, Feb. 18, 2017

Teri Hamilton Shaw (BAccy 05, MAccy 06) of Winona, Dec. 22, 2016 Adam Tyler Tindall (09) of Senatobia, Feb. 11, 2017

James Wilson Lloyd Weaver (BA 06) of Savannah, Ga., Dec. 29, 2016 Phillip Craig Wright (07) of Drew, Dec. 9, 2016

2010s

Samuel Brooks Cooper (BS 14) of Jonesboro, Ark., Feb. 9, 2017 Michael Reid Lary (12) of Oxford, Dec. 19, 2016

ALUMNI News

TOP LAW ALUMNI

F

ive outstanding alumni were inducted into the University of Mississippi School of Law Hall of Fame during Law Alumni Weekend in March. This year’s inductees, pictured left to right, included Bob Weems (JD 66), Joe Meadows (LLB 62), David Houston (JD 69) and Raymond Brown (LLB 62). Allen Pepper (JD 68) was inducted posthumously. Pepper’s widow, Ginger (BAEd 67), and son, Will (BBA 01, MBA 03, PhD 14), accepted the award on his behalf.

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S P R I N G 2 017

61

ALUMNI News Robert Abide Malouf Jr. (BA 16) of Ridgeland, Jan. 3, 2017

John Everett Montgomery (16) of Mount Sterling, Ky., Feb. 22, 2017

Faculty and Friends

Edith Louise Roberts Bethay of Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 10, 2017 Carolyn Shoemaker Brown of Gautier, Jan. 23, 2017 Jean Davidson Crawford of Oxford, March 8, 2017 Karen L. Cummins of Oakland, Jan. 23, 2017

Emily Johnson Dickens of Jackson, July 27, 2016 Billy Mack Ennis of Jackson, Tenn., Feb. 9, 2017

Jerry Wayne Garrett of Grant, Ala., March 5, 2017

Jessie Dean Selby Gordon of Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 10, 2017 Carolyn Sullivan Green of Decatur, Ala., Dec. 26, 2016 Wallace Louis Guess of Oxford, Jan. 30, 2017 Leona Hill of Oxford, Jan. 25, 2017

Earl Parmer Holland of Fort Myers, Fla., May 31, 2016 Patricia Eades Jones of Abbeville, Jan. 13, 2017 Rick Lin of Brandon, Jan. 10, 2017

Myrtle James Majure of Jackson, March 8, 2017

Hugh White McLarty of New Albany, Dec. 26, 2016 William Sidney Millican of Madison, Jan. 18, 2017

Phil Deloy Mock of Senatobia, Feb. 11, 2017

James Dawson Phillips of Oxford, Feb. 22, 2017 Ollie Cox Posey of Southaven, Feb. 28, 2017 Edith Kerr Pritchard of Oxford, Feb. 1, 2017 Jack Spencer of Tupelo, Dec. 28, 2016

Virgile Dick Stanley of Gulfport, Jan. 22, 2017

Janice Thompson Tadlock of Forest, Dec. 20, 2016 Sarah Gaddis Thompson of Ripley, Dec. 19, 2016 Robert Donald Trigg of Madison, Feb. 17, 2017

Joseph Roger Walsh Jr. of Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 28, 2016

James Patton Whitaker of Germantown, Tenn., Feb. 15, 2017 Charles Douglas Winters of Germantown, Tenn., Jan. 7, 2017

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.

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This particular tag is available to Mississippi drivers only. Some other states, however, offer an Ole Miss affinity license plate. Check with your local tax collector for availability.

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ALUMNI News Photo by Port Kaigler

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