Ole Miss Alumni Review - Summer 2024

OLE MIS S ALUMNI RE VIE W

A L U M N I

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SUMMER 2024

Presidential Path ALUMNUS LEADS LE BONHEUR CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

New graduates highlighted in special series

SUMME R 2024

Alumna catches her stride in career with Justin Brands

VOL . 73 NO. 3

Contents

VOL. 73 NO. 3 | SUMMER 2024 A L U M N I

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Departments 2 | Chancellor’s Letter 4 | President’s Letter 6 | From the Circle 20 | Calendar 36 | Ole Miss Sports

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T hree graduates headed to Olympics omen‘s Track & Field W wins three national titles le Miss Football O announces TV schedule

42 | Just Published 44 | Rebel Traveler 48 | Alumni News

Features

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22 | Inspiring Determination New graduates highlighted in special series

Regeana Peeler profile by Clara Turnage Ya Xin Huang profile by Hannah Hoang Jhalen Wells profile by MacKenzie Ross

28 | K icking Up Her Boots Alumna catches her stride in career with Justin Brands

By Annie Rhoades

32 | P residential Path Alumnus leads Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

By Brian Hudgins

ON THE COVER

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Dr. James ‘Trey’ Eubanks (BSPh 90, MD 94), recently named president of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, pictured with a surgical patient, Elizabeth Lasley, has served the hospital for more than 20 years. | Photo courtesy of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Lisa Buser Photography

Ole Miss Alumni Review PUBLISHER Kirk Purdom (BA 93) EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jim Urbanek II (BA 97) jim@olemissalumni.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR AND ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Annie Rhoades (BBA 07, MBA 09) annie@olemissalumni.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Benita Whitehorn EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Kayden Breedlove ART DIRECTOR Amy Howell CONTRIBUTORS Kevin Bain (BA 98), Christian Boudreaux, Srijita Chattopadhyay, Bill Dabney (BA 89), Jay Ferchaud, Erin Garrett (BAJ 11, MS 20), Thomas Graning (BAJ 17), Tina H. Hahn, Marvis Herring, Hannah Hoang, Jian Huang, Brian Hudgins, Lisa Buser Photography, Joshua McCoy, Steve Mullen, Annie Oeth, Elizabeth Parker, MacKenzie Ross (13), Clara Turnage (BAJ 17) OFFICERS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Karen Moore (BS 82) president Jeff Hubbard (BBA 80, JD 83) president-elect Charles White (BBA 82) vice president Todd Sandroni (BSPh 92, PhMD 97) athletics committee member Bruce Ware (BBA 99) athletics committee member ALUMNI AFFAIRS DIRECTORS Kirk Purdom (BA 93), chief executive officer Joseph Baumbaugh, assistant director for information services Sunny Brown (BSFCS 09, MA 11), assistant director Clay Cavett (BBA 86), associate director, campaigns and special projects Michelle Coughlin (BAccy 93, MAccy 94), chief financial officer Savannah Dye (BS 21, MS 23), assistant director Jessica Lynch (BSES 05), assistant director Steve Mullen (BA 92), assistant director for marketing Annie Rhoades (BBA 07, MBA 09), assistant director for communications Mary Kate Skelton (BS 18), alumni fundraising director Scott Thompson (BA 97, MA 08), associate director, engagement

from the Chancellor Dear Alumni and Friends, Ole Miss is soaring, propelled by your unwavering support.

Thanks to your generosity, we shattered the $1.5 billion goal for Now & Ever: The Campaign for Ole Miss a year ahead of schedule. This remarkable achievement speaks volumes about the strength and spirit of our community.

The success of Now & Ever is unprecedented. As the largest fundraising effort in Mississippi history, Now & Ever received over 471,000 contributions from nearly 80,000 donors. The impact is transformative — creating 374 new scholarships, supporting 57 endowed faculty positions, and empowering future students to build their legacies at Ole Miss guided by world-class faculty.

Additionally, the campaign funds cutting-edge facilities such as the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation, enabling our state’s continued economic prosperity by educating tomorrow’s STEM leaders. We continue to seek support for projects that include a new home for the top-ranked Patterson School of Accountancy and the Institute for the Arts. The campaign continues through June 30, 2025.

Our growth extends beyond fundraising milestones. This fall, we anticipate welcoming our largest freshman class ever for the third consecutive year. Students are drawn to what our alumni have always known: Ole Miss offers a supportive community, academic excellence and an unparalleled student experience.

Our students continue to shine on the global stage. In the 2023-24 academic year, we celebrated two record-breaking achievements: 17 seniors in our Language Flagship programs were accepted into competitive Chinese and Arabic capstone year programs, and 10 Ole Miss students earned Boren scholarships to continue their studies in languages critical to national security. We applaud these students and the faculty who mentored them.

Our faculty continues to drive creative achievement and research that tackles issues crucial to our state, such as investigating the disappearance of oysters off the Mississippi Gulf Coast that affects economic vitality and ocean ecosystems. We’re also excited about progress in developing the Greenfield Farm Writers Residency that will nurture 50-60 talented writers annually on a 20-acre farm once owned by Nobel laureate William Faulkner.

In health care, we’re responding to pressing challenges in Mississippi and beyond. The UMMC School of Nursing in Oxford welcomed its inaugural class of the new traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in May, addressing a critical need for health care professionals in Mississippi. Additionally, UMMC became the state’s first hospital to offer chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, T-cell therapy for certain persistent cancers by altering a patient’s T cells to better combat cancerous cells.

As you watch the 2024 Summer Olympics, give a “Hotty Toddy” for the Ole Miss track and field legends participating in the summer games: Sam Kendricks in the men’s pole vault, McKenzie Long in the women’s 200-meter dash and Raven Saunders in the women’s shot put. And the next time you’re on campus, check out our beautiful new Grove Plaza anchoring one of our most beloved campus spaces.

When I reflect on our university’s outstanding achievements, I am grateful for our alumni community that is so incredibly passionate about our institution. Thank you for all you do and for building a family we deeply value.

Sincerely,

Jim Urbanek (BA 97), associate director, communications and marketing Rusty Woods (BBA 01), associate director for information services

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

from the President Dear Alumni and Friends,

Join the REBEL MUG CLUB Help the Ole Miss Alumni Association support McCormick’s in The Inn at Ole Miss, Mississippi’s only on-campus bar and grill.

Rebel Mug Club membership makes a great gift. For a $500 tax-deductible donation, members receive a commemorative mug and 20-ounce draft beers for the pint price in McCormick’s.

Sup Support The Inn at Ole Miss with a unique gift for family and friends, all while helping us make McCormick’s a premier Oxford destination.

Thank you for your support!

Join the Club: olemissalumni.com/mccormicks

As I look back on this year as president, I cannot be prouder of this great American public university. Our campus, our students, the Honors College, the accountancy school and the Medical Center have landed us on a national stage. Our new state-of-the-art STEM building will open for classes this fall.

The $1.5 billion Now & Ever campaign has exceeded its goal early. Thank you to all who participated and continue to give.

We also anticipate a successful 2024-25 athletics season. We have much to look forward to as our university continues to accelerate forward, and we will welcome a record-setting freshman class this fall. All the accomplishments mentioned would not be possible without the generosity of our incredible donors.

Speaking at the 2024 Convocation was particularly nostalgic. It reminded me of all the connections and friends I have made though my Ole Miss experience. I would not be where I am had it not been for my husband, Bruce, whom I met at Ole Miss, and all the family and friends I’ve made along the way. Being an Ole Miss Rebel is truly one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made!

Seeing the sea of graduates, families and friends in the Grove was a sight I will always remember. It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Oxford. All the graduates celebrated a true accomplishment that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives … not only a diploma but the friends sitting next to them and the bonds they made during their time on campus. These connections are forever. After the ceremony, many graduates enjoyed a champagne toast on the Triplett Alumni Center lawn.

I had the opportunity to join this year’s Rebel Road Trip that included four towns in Mississippi and other clubs across the South. It was amazing to see the Rebel fan base’s support and excitement for the upcoming football and basketball seasons. I especially enjoyed seeing alumni and friends in each town.

As we look to the fall and the rapidly approaching football season, active members are invited to a party on the lawn of Triplett Alumni Center to watch the rush of the Grove before the Middle Tennessee State game on Sept. 6. If you have never witnessed the setup of the Grove, it is a true phenomenon. We will have food, drinks and live music. This promises to be a good time, so plan to join the fun!

We will celebrate our most outstanding alumni at the Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony as part of Homecoming week before we face Kentucky. We will honor five distinguished Hall of Fame recipients as well as an Outstanding Young Alumni Award and Alumni Service Award recipient.

I hope you were able to participate in the Alumni Association survey that was sent out in June. Your opinion matters, and this information will help us determine where we can improve on our services to our alumni population.

Hope to see you on campus this fall!

Hotty Toddy,

Karen Moore (BS 82) President Ole Miss Alumni Association 4

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from the Circle

THE L ATEST ON OLE MISS STUDENTS, FACULT Y, STAFF AND FRIENDS

Mac and Sunny Haik get a look at the new Grove Plaza at the corner of University Avenue and Grove Loop at the University of Mississippi.

The Haiks made a gift to honor Mac’s late mother, Frances Haik Jordan, with the first major signage the Grove has had. | Photo by Amy Howell

Landmark Signage UNIVERSITY DEDICATES GROVE PLAZA

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son’s love for his mother and her great affection for the University of Mississippi and the iconic Grove were on display on May 14 during the dedication of the Grove Plaza.

This new campus landmark is the first major signage ever identifying the Grove, the 10-acre park enjoyed by thousands each year.

Donors Sunny and Mac (BBA 68) Haik, of Houston, Texas, were honored at a ceremony dedicating the Grove Plaza to his mother, the late Frances Haik Jordan, of Meridian and Decatur.

The signage includes landscaping and a plaque that reads, “In memory of Frances Haik. She loved Ole Miss and the Grove.”

During the ceremony, Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) thanked the Haiks for their $1.5 million gift, a portion of which was used to build the landmark.

“Behind the gift we celebrate today is the immeasurable love of a son for his mother,” Boyce says. “We are honored to celebrate the memory of Frances Haik Jordan, whose devotion to Ole Miss is the inspiration for this entire Grove Plaza.”

Mac Haik, alumnus and former standout Rebel football player, shared how his mother — a self-made successful businesswoman — came into her relationship with Ole Miss.

“She knew nothing about football, and I mean absolutely nothing,” he says. “She attended all my high school and Ole Miss games. She loved the atmosphere and meeting the players 6

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and their families. The players called her the team mom.”

Jordan served for 20 years as vice president and business development officer of Peoples Bank of Mississippi. She also worked as manager for 18 years at Roth Department Store.

She was active in her church and community and was selected as Decatur’s “Citizen of the Year” in 2009. She died in September 2012.

Haik was named to the Ole Miss M-Club Hall of Fame and the Ole Miss Alumni Hall of Fame. His pro career began in 1970, when he was the top draft choice of the Houston Oilers.

Shortly after injuries hastened his retirement from football, he established Mac Haik Enterprises.

MHE has grown from a startup entity of two people to an organization with 11 affiliated companies that employs around 3,250 associates, generates revenue of more than $3 billion per year and owns land, commercial office buildings, retail space, medical facilities, restaurants, hotels and 1,200 billboards.

MHE also includes Mac Haik Automotive Group — the largest independent automotive group in Texas and the 15th largest independent group in the nation. Five of the 19 dealerships are in Jackson.

The gift also established two scholarships — the Sunny Sue Haik and the Frances Haik Jordan awards for entrepreneurship — honoring Haik’s wife and mother, respectively, and benefiting qualified freshman and sophomore business students.

from the Circle

Aim for Fame UM GRADUATE STUDENT’S BOOK LANDS NETFLIX DEAL

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ia Bleidner kept detailed journals after transferring politics, she aimed to write somefrom a Catholic school to a Los Angeles County high thing humorous that resonated school full of wealthy, fame-seeking teenagers. Her with her fellow Gen Z community. coming-of-age accounts shared in If You Lived Here You’d Be “I especially wanted to reach Famous by Now have scored a Netflix series deal. young women,” she says. “I’ll get Bleidner, a student in the master’s program in creative messages on Instagram from writing at the University of Mississippi, shares her girls who read my book, journey navigating the drama and culture shock of and that is the Calabasas, a California city known for its rich coolest part of families, including the Kardashians. it for me.”

“I knew lots of people whose goal when Nearly 2,000 miles from Calabasas, they grew up was to be famous,” Bleidner Bleidner is working on a collection of short says. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I want to be a fiction stories for her thesis at Ole Miss. famous painter or a famous chemist’; it “I still have a lot more to learn,” she was, ‘Oh, I just want to be famous.’” says. “I want to be a better writer. The Kim Kardashian and Emma Roberts workshops that I’ve been in with other are part of the team producing “Calabasas,” M.F.A. writers have been so challenging a scripted Netflix series based on her book. because everyone is so talented. Just being “I still can’t believe it,” Bleidner says around all of these other talented writers has regarding the deal. “I’m excited — and a little already helped me become a better writer.” nervous, but I have confidence in the team working The California native says she would like to see Via Bleidner on the streaming series.” more undergraduates pursue publishing.

Bleidner’s book was published in 2021, when she was 19 “I encourage writers to just try,” Bleidner says. “When I was and studying at the University of California at Santa Barbara. a freshman in college just sending my writing out blindly, it Discussing everything from social media to high school happened for me.”

UNIVERSITY’S 2024 COMMON READING BOOK TEACHES HAPPINESS

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niversity of Mississippi campus leaders hope incoming students discover their passion, fuel their curiosity and, most of all, find happiness.

Happiness is the focus of the 2024 Common Reading Experience selection, Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier (Penguin, 2023),

by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey.

“For more than a decade, our Common Reading Experience has enriched our classrooms, sparked lively conversations and strengthened our connections,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) says. “I’m excited to see how this year’s selection by Arthur C. Brooks and

Oprah Winfrey will inspire our campus community to reflect on their aspirations and goals for pursuing a life filled with meaning, joy and success.”

Brooks, a Harvard leadership professor, partnered with Winfrey, the lauded talk show host, philanthropist and producer from Kosciusko, to write this year’s selection, which explains the science behind happiness and how to cultivate it.

“Build the Life You Want is an ideal book for our freshmen and incoming students and will provide foundational tools for them to build the life they want to have and to become the people they want to be,” says Natasha Jeter, assistant vice chancellor for

wellness and student success. “It’s a very unique approach because it uses a scientific slant to learning how to construct a life of happiness and fulfillment.”

Every freshman and transfer student gets a copy of the book over the summer, and many first-year experience and writing courses will use it in class. Jeter says she hopes the selection will introduce first-year students to a college experience predicated on literature that fosters a love of reading.

“Every year, we are challenged with how to participate in a process that accurately reflects our campus’s devotion to literature and to our students,” she says. “We want to make a selection that is relevant and provocative and that will help our students as they join the campus.

“The foundation we’re establishing here with our students will help them prepare for the rest of their lives.”

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from the Circle

Graduation Day Arrives at Last UM COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER WRIGHT THOMPSON CALLS FOR EMPATHY

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sea of blue caps and gowns flooded the historic Grove you. And it needs your best.” on May 11 for the University of Mississippi’s 171st Thompson’s message of empathy resonated with students.

Commencement. For many students, it was their first For the family of Sydni Davis (BA 24), a Tupelo native who in-person graduation. earned her degree in African American studies and hopes Much of the Class of 2024 entered higher education during to get her master’s at the University of Texas, graduation was the COVID-19 pandemic after having their high school overwhelming. Not only was her high school graduation intergraduation ceremonies canceled. On a crisp, sunny morning rupted by the pandemic, but her sister’s college graduation in the Grove, however, they got the full graduation experience, from Ole Miss was too. surrounded by family, friends and loved ones who “We have been waiting for today for so long,” says supported them along the way.

Carolyn Davis, who stood with her daughters “Today represents the culmination of years Sydni and Leah and her husband, Willie. “We of hard work and persistence,” Chancellor were robbed of both of their graduations four Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96) says. “It’s years ago, but we’re here today.” a special time marked by love and support Sydni followed her older sister, Leah from families, friends, faculty and others.”

Davis (BA 20), to Ole Miss, but her Acclaimed author, writer and reporter journey was her own. She became the Wright Thompson gave the CommenceAssociated Student Body’s acting attorment address to a crowd of nearly 10,000 ney general and vice president of Mortar graduates, friends and family members.

Board. She created the only student-orgaThompson describes his speech as “comnized museum exhibit on campus, and she pletely unsolicited advice,” but his words were was the first Mississippian to win the Fannie more a love letter to Ole Miss and the state that Lou Hamer Scholarship. houses her, to the prospect of growth as the future Wright Thompson “I came here as her little sister,” she says, gescomes knocking and to the kindness that he hopes turing to Leah. “But I’m leaving as my own person, to see in the world. and I’ve accomplished things I would never have thought I Between quips about etiquette on the historic Oxford would.”

Square, Thompson urged students to value empathy, compasBefore Thompson left the stage Saturday, he indulged in sion and a willingness to serve others. one last moment with the students.

“Be competitive with yourself; be gracious with others,” he “I have only one question for you guys,” he said. “You’re all said. “There’s plenty of success to go around.” college grads, you have your future stretched out ahead of you.

The author also encouraged students who love Mississippi Are you ready?” to stay here and help the state grow to be better and stronger.

With a raucous “Hotty Toddy” that rattled the air of the “Find your own Mississippi, love it and teach other people Grove, the graduating Class of 2024 answered in a way only how to love it,” he said. “Mississippi needs you; it needs all of Ole Miss could.

Photo by Kevin Bain

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from the Circle DATA PRIVACY COULD BE IMPROVED, UM PROFESSOR SAYS

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ew research from the University of Mississippi calls into question the methods that online shopping services use to keep users’ data private.

Charles Walter, assistant professor of computer and information science, and recent Ole Miss graduate Thomas Cilloni (PhD 23) found that efforts to make data anonymous can sometimes be reversed. In a study published in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Xplore, they used machine learning to reveal personal data from an anonymous data set with up to 80% accuracy.

“Your data identifies you,” Walter says.

“It’s incredibly important to recognize this as a problem in order to fix it. That’s why we conduct studies like this — to identify problems we need to fix.”

Data privacy describes how well online entities handle, use and store personal data. Several states — including Colorado,

California and Virginia — and the European private should ensure that no individual user Union have passed data privacy laws but can be identified from the available data, do not always provide enough regulation to says Cilloni, who graduated with a doctoral keep users safe, Walter says. degree in computer science in 2023.

“These laws say data has to be While nations and companies anonymized, but they don’t better define anonymization, it describe how,” Walter says. is important for users to take “A lot of companies would precautions with their just pull the names off data, too, the researchof (data), but that’s not ers say. nearly enough.

Choose which “So, the question cookies you allow to h e re i s h o w d o y o u track your data, read the anonymize data effecterms of service, be caretively? How do you define ful with what information anonymization?” you share on social media, In the study, the researchand every time you put data Charles Walter ers were able to determine a on the internet, make sure it person’s level of education, is information you would be income level and whether they had children comfortable sharing with a stranger, Walter with high accuracy. Methods to keep data says.

Expanding the Field DATA SCIENCE DEGREE PROGRAM AIMS TO ADDRESS INDUSTRY DEMAND

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ecognizing the increasing need program, which will welcome its inaufor data-savvy professionals, the gural class in fall 2024.

University of Mississippi School Data scientists use statistical methof Engineering is launching a new Bach- ods, machine learning and advanced elor of Science degree program in data data analysis techniques to extract science. insights from complex data sets.

“Job demand is very high A bachelor’s degree in data in data science, so it’s a science will give graduates high priority for our flexibility to seek jobs department,” says Yixin in virtually any field, Chen, chair of the says Timothy Holston Department of Com(MS 02, PhD 18), puter and Information instructional assistant Science. “About four professor and assistant years ago, we created a chair of computer and data science emphasis and information science. a data science minor, which “The need is for people were both very successful. who have computational Yixin Chen “We saw the potential for skills as well as training growth and increased industry need, so in a particular subject,” Holston says. we began developing a bachelor’s degree “For instance, a data scientist trained in program in response two years ago.” journalism could assist in fact-finding The Mississippi Institutions of missions to determine what news is real Higher Learning recently approved the and what’s false.”

Other applications include predicting patient outcomes in health care, personalizing customer experiences in retail and optimizing service quality in telecommunications, he says.

To that end, the curriculum will incorporate courses in a focus area of a student’s choosing.

“This will allow students to use the skills that they’ve learned in the data science intro courses and apply them to a specific area,” Holston says.

“The coursework also revolves around the application of mathematics. Data science can be heavily math-influenced.”

The department’s next step is to pursue accreditation through ABET, which is the accrediting body for all Ole Miss engineering programs, Chen says.

“Once the first students have graduated, we can begin the accreditation process,” he says. “We have a well-defined curriculum, and we are all excited about the first group of incoming students.”

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from the Circle

Photo by iStock

Possible Risk Factor HIGH LEVEL OF FAT-TRANSPORTING MOLECULE LINKED TO ALZHEIMER’S

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new study by researchers at the University of Missis- Charleen Adams, a lead scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan sippi and Harvard University may have uncovered a School of Public Health, says. “Mendelian randomization uses risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. genetics to make inferences stronger. It can take care of the Using genetic data from 21,982 Alzheimer’s disease patients problem of there being something else explaining the signal.” and 41,944 controls, the authors found that higher levels of a The research is still a long way from being truly convincing particular lipoprotein — a molecule that carries fat throughout that elevated levels of APOB can increase the risk of Alzheithe body — found in LDL, or “bad” cholesterol — may increase mer’s, Boutwell says. the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Their findings “One thing I think we should make as clear as we can were published in Nature’s Communications Biology. is that our study should not be seen as fundamenEvery year, more than 10 million new cases of tal, incontrovertible proof of APOB causing Alzheimer’s disease, the most prevalent form Alzheimer’s,” he says. “It’s so tempting when of dementia, are diagnosed. That equates you have interesting findings like ours to to about one new diagnosis every three latch on to them as more than they are, seconds. Despite its prevalence, the causes especially because Alzheimer’s is such a of the degenerative disease remain unclear. prevalent and devastating disease.”

The lipoprotein at the heart of the Boutwell cautions against vilifying study — apolipoprotein B-100, often APOB, noting that, in general, lipids help referred to as APOB — is a key player in to perform necessary functions in the metabolism and has been linked to cardiobody, such as transporting fats and cholesvascular disease. terol around the body, which is necessary to Studying the possible association is difficult create new cells. because researchers cannot easily modify the level “An important point to make about lipoproBrian Boutwell of APOB in study participants, says Brian Boutwell, teins in general is we’re often tempted to only UM associate professor of population health science think about them in a negative connotation, but and co-author of the report. cholesterol is vital to life, not only in our species but in many “Instead, we used a technique called Mendelian random- others as well,” he says. “Cholesterol is so essential in your ization — a way to try to do what a traditional experiment does body that it manufactures it — and that’s a good thing, because very elegantly.” there would be very negative consequences otherwise.”

Mendelian randomization is a method of using genetic Much more work must be done before definitively saying data to strengthen inferences when a traditional study is not high APOB levels cause Alzheimer’s disease, but Adams and an option.

Boutwell say they hope this study will spark other researchers’ “We know correlation is not necessarily causation,” interest in the topic.

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from the Circle

Tailored Prescriptions PHARMACIES COULD CREATE CUSTOM DRUGS WITH 3D-PRINTED MEDICATION

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ore than 40% of older Americans take five or more prescription drugs a day, and nearly 20% take 10 or more. What if there was a way to combine those medications into one easy-to-track pill?

The use of 3D printing to create customized pills could do just that, say University of Mississippi pharmacy professor Michael Repka and two alumni of the School of Pharmacy. Repka worked with Sagar Narala (PhD 23) and Dinesh Nyavanandi (PhD 22), who recently completed doctoral degrees in pharmaceutical science, to outline the plan in a chapter from 3D Printing: Emerging Technologies and Functionality of Polymeric Excipients in Drug Product Development (Springer, Cham, 2024).

Using 3D printing, medications can be tailored by size, shape, dosage and content, customizing each tablet to the patient, says Repka, distinguished professor of pharmaceutics and drug delivery.

“Pharmaceutical companies have a one-size-fits-all approach to dosage, but that doesn’t work for everybody,” he says. “With this, we can tailor that dosage to what the patient needs.”

Being able to customize the size of medications could also benefit geriatric and pediatric patients, Nyavanandi says. In one study, 69% of geriatric patients admitted to skipping dosages because the pills were too difficult to swallow.

“There are many limitations with conventional medications, like the size of the tablet or capsule,” he says. “For pediatric and geriatric patients, the size of the tablet is a big challenge for them.

“Many of the pediatric and geriatric population will skip their medication because of the size of the tablet.”

With 3D printing, however, pharmacists can print not only smaller doses, but also customize the color or print the medication in the shape of a gummy bear or another familiar shape to help

Michael Repka, University of Mississippi distinguished professor of pharmaceutics and drug delivery, holds a copy of 3D Printing: Emerging Technologies and Functionality of Polymeric Excipients in Drug Product Development. | Submitted photo

encourage young children, Repka says.

The process could also eliminate some issues of medications expiring on the shelf, Narala says.

“For every medication, stability and storage are the most common challenges,” Narala says. “If we use 3D-printing medication, it is made when it is needed in a pharmacy setting, and we can avoid the associated stability or storage issues. 3D printing can avoid large-scale manufacturing, particularly beneficial for drugs with limited markets.”

If researchers can speed up the process of printing medication, printers could be installed in pharmacies, allowing local pharmacists to print medication on an as-needed basis, Repka says.

This could streamline the process of getting medication to the patients who need it, he said.

“To me, it’s mind-blowing that this is going to be happening,” Repka says.

“People have to know what they’re doing to print it, but the pharmacists working in the field right now can do this, and it actually makes it easier for them.”

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from the Circle

Mississippi students attend National Trio Day at the University of Mississippi. The university with the help of the McNair program hosted the event for the first time, gathering students from TRIO programs across the state and partnering with the NASA-funded Mississippi Space Grant Consortium to present career exploration sessions for the students. | Photo by Thomas Graning

Graduate Degree Goals MCNAIR PROGRAM NEARS 30 YEARS OF MENTORING UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS

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early three decades after it was founded, a recruiting program honoring an astronaut killed in a space shuttle explosion has quietly helped more than 70 underrepresented students earn their doctoral degrees at the University of Mississippi.

Murrell Godfrey (PhD 03), assistant graduate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion in the UM Graduate School and director of the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, wants to boost those numbers.

“Over 60% of McNair program bachelor’s degree recipients are accepted and enrolled in a graduate program of study by the fall term of the academic year immediately following the completion of the bachelor’s degree,” Godfrey says.

“The McNair Scholars Program’s goal is to increase graduate degree awards for students from underrepresented segments of society.”

The U.S. Department of Education established the program, named for Ronald McNair, the physicist and astronaut who died in the 1986 Challenger explosion, in 1995. It recruits first-generation, low-income students, as well as students from underrepresented groups in graduate studies, who demonstrate strong academic potential.

Achieving a doctoral degree is no small feat and 12

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accomplishing that goal benefits not only the graduate but also their families and communities, says Barbara Howard (BA 92, MEd 94), the program’s associate director.

“Less than 2% of the American population have obtained a doctorate,” she says, adding that when that percentage is broken down based on first-generation and low-income students, the numbers shrink drastically.

Ole Miss administrators select about 30 students for the McNair program each year. Of that group, 16 are invited to attend an intense, six-week research internship at the university that includes a generous stipend.

Interacting with the diverse McNair cohort is a plus, says Kaleb Henry, a junior biochemistry major from Waynesboro.

“We have some people who are majoring in English and literature,” Henry says. “However, you get to see all the people who may be in a field related to you, such as nursing or biology.

So just having those connections, which further your progression in your undergrad years, is very helpful.”

Last fall, Henry, with the help of Howard, formed the UM McNair Scholars Achievement Program, a registered student organization. Henry, who is president of the organization, says two key goals of the organization are to get McNair students to network and help them prepare for graduate school and their careers.

from the Circle

Peer Recognition UM CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR NAMED 2024 DISTINGUISHED RESEARCHER

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he University of Mississippi recog- undergraduates, and a number of his nized chemistry professor Nathan students have gone on to win prestigious Hammer for his exceptional teach- awards like the Goldwater Scholarship.” ing, research, creativity and serExposing students to vice during the 2024 spring research — both at the faculty meeting. u n d e r g r a d u at e a n d Ha m m e r i s t h e graduate levels — is Margaret McLean important to increase Coulter Professor the diversity of perof Chemistry and spectives in science, Biochemistry and Hammer says. has authored more “Different peothan 160 published ple bring different research papers p ersp e c t ives and since he was hired at talents to studying Ole Miss in 2007. pro b l e m s ,” h e s ay s .

“This is a singular honor “When you work with given to a faculty member with Nathan Hammer others that have experience in a demonstrated track record of different areas, you can paint research and creative achievement,” says a different picture of what you’re studying.”

Greg Easson, interim vice chancellor Hammer has previously received for research and sponsored programs. the College of Liberal Arts Award for “He has been specially recognized for Research, Scholarship and Creative his mentoring of students, especially Achievement for Senior Faculty and the

university’s Faculty Achievement Award in 2021. He also won the Alpha Omicron Pi Favorite Professor, Lambda Sigma Honors Society Excellence in Teaching and Student Members of the American Chemical Society Faculty awards.

The researcher has received more than $6 million in grants to fund his studies from institutions such as the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Justice and the American Chemical Society. He also received the prestigious NSF Career Award in 2010.

“To summarize, we can think of no better faculty member to receive the University of Mississippi’s 2024 Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award than Dr. Nathan Hammer,” say four Ole Miss chemistry and biochemistry professors in one of Hammer’s recommendation letters.

“His scholarship, teaching, research and impact on the scientific community are outstanding.”

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROFESSOR RECEIVES NSF CAREER AWARD

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University of Mississippi engineering professor has won the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award for early career researchers for his upcoming work in 4D printing.

The National Science Foundation awarded Yiwei Han, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, wit h an NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program grant. The award allots more than $576,000 toward Han’s research into 4D printing technology and marks Han as a potential national leader and role model in his field.

Han’s research is focused on additive manufacturing — the process of creating an object by building it one layer at a time.

Four-dimensional printing builds on the concept of 3D printing with an additional component: the product can change after printing if given the right stimulus.

A 4D-printed product is designed to work for five years and includes an education change shape, properties or functionality component in which he and his graduate when it is exposed to certain students will provide hands-on temperature, humidity, UV research and demonstration light or other triggers. The oppor tunities to K-12 technology has potenstudents. tial uses in the medical “If I can bring f ield, aerospace this to high school, and automotive middle school engineering and in students and even construct ion and undergraduates, we architecture, among can get more interest other applications, in this area, in additive Han says. manufacturing,” he says. “ With original 3D “ The government printing, what you print will has said it needs people in stay the same forever,” he says. this area, in manufacturing, Yiwei Han “ With 4D printing, if you give and the more students who it heat or light or something else, it can become interested in this work, the more, change.” perhaps, pursue a degree. That’s how we get The CAREER grant will support Han’s more developed and get new ideas.”

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from the Circle

Hovering Future DRONE SYMPOSIUM MULLS CHALLENGES, BENEFITS OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT

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rom war zones to grocery deliveries, autonomous and piloted drones are invading the public sphere, but legal concerns for uncrewed aircraft are still hovering overhead, industry experts said on April 30 at the inaugural Mississippi Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Symposium.

Industry and legal experts from across the country gathered at the University of Mississippi to discuss the legal, commercial and public opportunities in the world of drones. The symposium was hosted by the School of Law in collaboration with the Mississippi State University Raspet Flight Research Laboratory and the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology.

“We chose the theme ‘What can that drone do for you?’ because we wanted to challenge people to think not just about how we use drones today, but also about all the possibilities and opportunities the platform offers,” says Michelle Hanlon, executive director of the Center for Air and Space Law and a moderator for the symposium.

The drone industry in the United States has grown exponentially since 2016, when the Federal Aviation Administration eased regulations regarding drone piloting and required potential drone pilots to acquire a pilot’s license. Alongside their commercial uses, drones are used for geological surveys, inspections of infrastructure and in assessing storm and natural disaster damage around the world.

As drones have grown more accessible, so has their capacity for destruction.

“You can see now, going to YouTube, drones that cost maybe $150 strapped with weapons being used in the battlefield,” says Craig Morris, instructional associate professor in

the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies at Ole Miss.

“This spells the problem of the future. What about this tech is going to change and become more relevant and more available in the future?”

The laws and regulations surrounding unmanned aircraft must balance the utility of drones with the potential threat they pose both to safety and privacy, says Phillip Weissman, aviation authority for Advanced Air Mobility Professionals.

“While drones offer some amazing societal benefits, they also present some unique regulatory challenges,” he says. “Will there be people who demand that drones get off their lawn?”

While regulations catch up with drone technology, the use of unmanned aircraft will continue to spread across industries, says Grant Guillot, vice president of regulatory affairs for DroneUP, a drone delivery company.

“Anything we can do to introduce young girls and boys to this technology, anything we can do to broaden the workforce will be beneficial, because these things are coming at an astronomical rate,” he says. “We’re missing half of the workforce we need.”

Training that workforce is a goal of the Center for Air and Space Law, says Fred Slabach, dean of the Ole Miss law school.

“Our Center for Air and Space Law is tackling legal policy and regulatory aspects to help support the healthy growth of the drone industry, and we’re leading research efforts to take advantage of the many opportunities drones present,” he says.

“This isn’t just an afterthought for the University of Mississippi law school. The law school has been the leader for air and space law education since 1965.”

Panelists Phillip Weissman (left), aviation authority for Advanced Air Mobility Professionals; Sharon Rossmark, CEO and founder of Women and Drones; Grant Guillot, vice president of regulatory affairs for DroneUP; and Craig Morris, instructional associate professor in the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies, speak at the inaugural Mississippi Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Symposium at the University of Mississippi. | Photo by Thomas Graning 14

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from the Circle

Photo courtesy of UMMC

Too Much of a Good Thing REST IS BEST PRESCRIPTION FOR YOUNG ATHLETES’ OVERUSE INJURIES

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ports offer plenty of benefits to young athletes, but injuries can result when children and teens don’t have enough downtime, University of Mississippi Medical Center and Children’s of Mississippi experts say.

Too much of a good thing — be it baseball, soccer, gymnastics or other sports — can result in overuse injuries, says Dr. Derrick Burgess, assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery.

“We see overuse injuries a lot in young athletes between the ages of 9 and 15,” he says. “These happen when athletes use the same muscle groups repeatedly, such as in the shoulder, elbow, knee or ankle, especially when there is repeated stress on the growth plate.”

Growth in youth sports programs has resulted in children and teens playing the same sport all year long and possibly playing on multiple teams instead of changing sports with the seasons or taking a few months off. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, this increases the risk of overuse injuries.

“We see athletes who are playing on a team at school, a recreational team and also a travel team,” Burgess says. “They 16

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have games or competitions with all, plus practices with those teams. With travel teams, they may have games on consecutive days. That’s a lot of baseball or soccer.”

Prevention is the best way to deal with overuse injuries.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that young athletes play no more than one sport per day and have one day of rest away from sports each week.

Some overuse injuries are treated with rest, with more severe cases requiring physical therapy or even surgery.

“Kids have to be kids,” Burgess says. “School and multiple sports or teams can be a lot for a kid to balance. Children and teens also need down time for mental health and socialization.”

Jeff Martinez, director of operations for orthopaedic surgery at UMMC, recommends a three-month break from a young athlete’s main sport.

“That’s easier said than done,” he says. “Some sports practice all year long. It never ends.”

Scheduling downtime for athletes can, in the long run, result in fewer injuries and more enjoyment of a sport, he says.

“It’s normal for an athlete to want to play, but at some point, they’ve got to rest.”

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from the Circle

Special Message via Zoom TRUMAN SCHOLAR TRAVELS GLOBE TO STUDY CONSERVATION

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rom across the world, University of Mississippi biology major Christian Boudreaux received a life-changing Zoom call from Chancellor Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96).

Despite Zanzibar’s spotty internet service, the message was clear: Boudreaux had won a coveted Truman Scholarship.

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the nation’s official living memorial to the 33rd U.S. president, announced the junior from Oxford as the university’s 19th Truman Scholar on April 12. The foundation awards scholarships based on outstanding leadership potential and commitment to a career in public service.

“If you would have spoken to me about this in high school, I would have never believed the opportunities I have had and the things that I have been able to accomplish while in college,” Boudreaux says. “That is almost entirely as a result of the investment that the University of Mississippi has made in me and from the individuals that have helped to foster and direct the potential that they saw in me.”

During his call with Boyce and other university leaders, he was congratulated

and challenged to make a positive university, he has contributed to her lab impact on his generation. studying coral chimeras, which are a sin“We are so proud of Christian,” gle coral colony made up of genetically Boyce says. “More than anything else, distinct individuals. the Truman Scholarship is about taking Last summer, Boudreaux and Goulet on the mantle of leadership traveled to Israel to conduct for your generation. That’s research on coral chimeras something I hope in the Red Sea. He was Christian will accept — able to experience perhaps the ultimate marine labs there while challenge of his life; also getting to dive and we are counting on observe the organisms him to take care of his firsthand, Goulet says. generation.”

“He is absolutely B ou d re au x i s an a go-getter, but that active leader in promotdoesn’t even begin to ing environmental sustainencompass Christian,” she ability and conservation efforts Christian Boudreaux says. “The mere fact that he on campus and beyond. He has has stayed in multiple counheld several leadership roles, including tries during his undergraduate years while ser ving as the compost collective completing coursework and maintaining manager for the university’s Office of an excellent GPA is telling. He seizes every Sustainability, where he helped organize opportunity to get the most out of every compost pickups and educate students. experience.”

Ole Miss biology professor Tamar Boudreaux says his next big step is Goulet initially met Boudreaux when he to pursue a doctoral degree and conduct was a high school student who sought research at the “intersection of organism her advice on pursuing a career in resilience, climate change, genetics and marine biology. Since enrolling at the marine resource management.”

UM biology major Christian Boudreaux has a passion for nature photography, which is a pastime during his travels. This image is one of his favorites from his experience in Zanzibar. | Photo by Christian Boudreaux 18

A LU M N I R E V I E W

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Calendar AUGUST

Through Aug. 10 Exhibit: “Magic Lanterns” is an immersive exhibit containing luminous prints and projections of astronomical and astrological imagery sourced from 1860s magic lantern slides from the Millington-Barnard Collection of Scientific Instruments. UM Museum, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Visit museum.olemiss.edu.

Through Dec. 13 Exhibit: “More Than Words: The Book as Object.” This exhibition celebrates the concept of the book for itself, not necessarily for its specific content. J.D. Williams Library, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

6

Lecture: Brown Bag Summer Lecture Series with Blair Hobbs, visual artist and retired senior lecturer of writing at the University of Mississippi. UM Museum, noon-1 p.m. Visit museum. olemiss.edu.

10

Soccer: Ole Miss vs. Jackson State. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

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- Dec. 7 Exhibit: “American Art from the Graham D. Williford Collection.” The Williford Collection of American Art boasts 72 paintings depicting scenes from the Mediterranean. UM Museum, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.4 p.m. Visit museum.olemiss.edu.

15

Soccer: Ole Miss vs. Southern University. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

19-23

School of Law Orientation: Times and location TBD. Visit law.olemiss.edu.

Soccer: Ole Miss vs. Memphis.

Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

Football: Ole Miss vs. Furman.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, 6 p.m. Visit olemissgameday.com/football.

SEPTEMBER

1

Soccer: Ole Miss vs. McNeese State.

Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

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Ole Miss Alumni Land Rush: Free to active members. Triplett Alumni Center front lawn, 6-8 p.m. Email marykate@olemissalumni.com.

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Soccer: Ole Miss vs. Georgia State. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

Volleyball: Ole Miss vs. North Alabama (Exhibition). Gillom Center, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

Football: Ole Miss vs. Middle Tennessee. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, 3:15 p.m. Visit olemissgameday.com/football.

Soccer: Ole Miss vs. Southern Miss. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

Football: Ole Miss vs. Furman AUG. 31

Photo by Joshua McCoy

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Calendar

4

Volleyball: Ole Miss vs. Tennessee. Gillom Center, 6:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

6 9

Volleyball: Ole Miss vs. LSU. Gillom Center, 2 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Volleyball: Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M. Gillom Center, 6:30 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

RMI Fall Career Fair OCT. 1

Photo by Amy Howell

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Soccer: Ole Miss vs. South Carolina. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

18

Soccer: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

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Distinguished Alumni Awards: The Inn at Ole Miss. Reception, 6-7 p.m.; dinner, 7 p.m. Ticket required. Call 662-915-2345 for more information.

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27-28

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Volleyball: Ole Miss vs. Drake.

Gillom Center, 6 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Volleyball: Ole Miss vs. Florida Gulf Coast University. Gillom Center, 6 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

15

FAN: Future Alumni Network Build the M. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, time TBD. Email sunny@ olemissalumni.com.

15

Soccer: Ole Miss vs. Lipscomb.

Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

Soccer: Ole Miss vs. Texas. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

Navy ROTC Reunion: Various times and locations. Call 662-915-1869 or email clay@ olemissalumni.com.

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Volleyball: Ole Miss vs. Little Rock. Gillom Center, 2 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

Honors College Fall Convocation: Ford Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m. Visit honors. olemiss.edu/events.

20-21

Fall Family Weekend: Grove Pavilion. Visit events.olemiss.edu.

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Young Alumni Council Tailgate: Triplett Alumni Center front lawn, 3 p.m. Visit olemissalumni.com/events.

21

Football: Ole Miss vs. Georgia Southern. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, 6:45 p.m. Visit olemissgameday. com/football.

Alumni Association Annual Meeting: Triplett Alumni Center, 7:45 a.m. Call 662-915-7375.

Football: Ole Miss vs. Kentucky.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, 11 a.m. Visit olemissgameday.com/ football.

OCTOBER

1

RMI Fall Career Fair: Paul B. Johnson Commons, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Email kshoalmire@bus.olemiss.edu.

4

Soccer: Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

Business School Hall of Fame: Holman/Conner Courtyard, 3 p.m.

Email savannah@olemissalumni.com.

Panel: Student Alumni Council’s Bridging the Gap. The Inn at Ole Miss Ballroom, 4 p.m. Email sunny@ olemissalumni.com.

Young Alumni Council Happy Hour: Funky’s on the Square, 5:30 p.m. Email sunny@olemissalumni.com.

26

Football: Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemissgameday. com/football.

27

Volleyball: Ole Miss vs. Kentucky. Gillom Center, 2 p.m. Visit olemisssports.com.

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Soccer: Ole Miss vs. Arkansas.

Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, time TBD. Visit olemisssports.com.

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.

S U M M E R 2024

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Inspiring Determination New graduates highlighted in special series Regeana Peeler profile by Clara Turnage Ya Xin Huang profile by Hannah Hoang Jhalen Wells profile by MacKenzie Ross

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reated in 2019, the Journey to Commencement series started as an effort by the University of Mississippi to celebrate the pinnacle of the academic year by highlighting UM students and their outstanding academic and personal journeys from college student to college graduate. The series has shared more than 170 stories through a collaborative, award-winning campaign.

Students who choose to pursue their education through the university are diverse and carry with them unique stories about their journeys throughout college. From Regeana Peeler, graduating veteran and mother, to Dylan Barker, who is focused on improving air quality in schools, the series aims to recognize students’ success, hard work and determination to overcome obstacles on the way to the graduation stage.

The articles are housed on the Journey to Commencement website at journey.olemiss.edu.

journey.olemiss.edu

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Regeana Peeler

Ya Xin Huang

Jhalen Wells

Veteran Refuses to Give Up Regeana Peeler ‘returned with a purpose’ to Ole Miss

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rom her childhood in foster care and active duty in Afghanistan to the Chancellor’s Honor Roll at the University of Mississippi, Regeana Peeler (BA 24) has learned that perseverance earns success.

When she crossed the stage in May and received her bachelor’s degree in psychology, she did so as a Fulbright finalist, a mother, an honor roll student and a veteran. But most of all, it was as someone who refused to give up.

“I think that everything happens for a reason,” Peeler says. “Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what that reason is, but I wouldn’t change one thing on this journey. Because even when things were bad — and I mean, things got bad — I’m still here and I’m still pushing forward.

I’m persevering.”

When you ask Peeler how she got to Ole Miss, she smiles and says, “Well,

that’s a long story.”

The story involves growing up in foster care, a childhood on the move, enlisting in the U.S. Army Reserves and a quick stint at Ole Miss in 2012-13 before having to leave school due to academic suspension. She moved to Texas and took up part-time and full-time work — often at the same time — to make ends meet.

In August 2016, she gave birth to her daughter, Kennedee, and less than a year later, she was training to deploy to Afghanistan. In February 2018, she left her home country for the first time and landed in the desert.

Regeana Peeler poses for a photo with her daughters, Kennedee (left) and Stormee Gracelynn. | Submitted photo

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would get work done.”

As she continued her education — where she maintained her position on the Dean’s List or the Chancellor’s Honor Roll each semester — Peeler also became a leader in the UM Gospel Choir and committed more than 300 hours to Jumpstart as a team leader, helping young students learn to read.

“She wants to give back to the community,” says Vivian Ibrahim, director of the Office of National Scholarship Advisement. “I think that speaks to who she is.”

This past spring, Peeler applied for the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant

Regeana Peeler was an active member of the UM Gospel Choir and committed more than 300 hours to Jumpstart, where she helped children learn how to read. | Submitted photo

For the next six months, she served in the tactical operations center, drawing out routes for clearance and manning radios. She learned to sleep on edge, always wary of the warning bell that signaled an attack.

When she returned home, she took a job as a cashier at Dollar General, where she quickly moved up to assistant manager and then manager. A little more than a year later, however, she was ready for a change. She was ready to go back to school.

“Eve r yon e t o l d m e I c ou l d go anywhere, but I wanted to finish what I started,” she says. “I wanted to finish it here, and that’s how I got to Ole Miss.”

In spring 2021, Peeler returned to school and on Christmas Day, she gave birth to her second daughter, Stormee Gracelynn.

On campus, Peeler approached her teachers and asked if she could bring Stormee to class until she could get day care.

“They were good about it, and I was lucky because she was such a good baby, so she started coming to class with me,” she says. “If you saw me at the bus stop, I had her strapped to the front in a little carrier, I had her diaper bag on my back and then I had my backpack.

“It was stressful, but I wouldn’t change it.”

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Regeana Peeler, (first from right, fourth row) poses for a photo with the UM Gospel Choir, where she served as business manager. | Submitted photo

Peeler finished that first semester with all A’s while juggling a part-time job, saving money for a car and mentoring children for Jumpstart. Along the way, she met Stelenna Lloyd (BBA 04) and Andrew Newby at the Office of Veteran and Military Services and Lynn Wilkins (MA 96) in the Department of Human Resources, who helped arrange child care and connected her to academic resources.

“We saw there was a need, so I said, ‘Well, Stormee can stay with me,’” says Lloyd, operations coordinator at Veteran and Military Services. “So, Stormee would sit in my lap, and we

program, through which she hopes to bring her love for helping others to Uganda.

“For Regeana, it’s very much about the legacy she wants to leave for her family,” Ibrahim says. “She’s the kind of person who really listens, who understands people. She talks to everyone — regardless of age, whatever — the same way. I think that’s really special.”

When you ask Peeler about the future, she flashes a smile and says, “Well, that’s another story.”

But if her past achievements are any indication, it will be a story worth telling.

The Secret Is in the Sauce

Business student Ya Xin Huang goes from immigrant to entrepreneur

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hen Ya Xin Huang (BBA 24) immigrated to the United States, she was in middle school. She had no idea at that time what kind of opportunities would be available to her for college.

She and her family arrived in Warrensburg, Missouri, from China in 2012, when she was 11. Huang not only had to learn how to adapt to a new stage of life at an awkward age, but also to a new country, culture and language.

“We were eager to create a life where we were not reliant on others, a stark contrast from our previous experiences,” says Huang, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s in entrepreneurship. “The opportunity to establish our own life and pursue our dreams without depending on anyone else was the driving force behind our move, ultimately leading us to settle in Mississippi.”

Huang has worked hard for her Ole Miss degree, and she has worked equally hard to develop and perfect her own hibachi sauce. The School of Business Administration has helped her through

her journey to obtain both.

In 2015, after a year in Tennessee, the Huang family moved to Mississippi, settling in Forest, a small community near Jackson. Here, Huang attended Hawkins Middle School and Forest High School, where she excelled academically, taking numerous AP classes and eventually graduating No. 6 in her class of 100 students.

During her freshman year of high school in 2016, Huang’s parents borrowed $50,000 to finance their own restaurant, Hibachi Express. The family Huang shows off a large, fresh batch of Sing wanted the flexibility and stability of Sauce at her family’s restaurant, Hibachi running their own business. The restau- Express. | Photo by Jian Huang rant proved successful in the small town of roughly 5,000, and the Huangs have had a vision for her own concoction. paid back their loans.

“I knew I could make one that was Most hibachi restaurants have their better,” she says. Her Sing Sauce was own form of “yum yum sauce,” but Huang born in the kitchen of her parents’ new restaurant.

In 2020, Huang enrolled at UM as a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and a general business major. She received financial support through various merit-based and leadership scholarships.

The following year, she declared her major in entrepreneurship, and in 2023, competed in the Servin’ the South Business Model Competition and the 2024 Gillespie Business Plan Competition, the two marquee competitions sponsored by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, housed in the business school.

In the Gillespie competition, she received $1,250 as a finalist and won the Stephen E. Rowell Entrepreneurship Huang (center) with Andrew Bradford, Julien Bourgeois, Maryn Sifrit and Madison Hanna.

Award worth $5,000.

Bradford (University of New Orleans) and Bourgeois are co-founders of Automatic AI LLC. Huang plans to expand her sauce Sifrit and Hanna are co-founders of CollegeMate, second-place winner in the Gillespie business after graduation. Her next competition and recipients of the Charles R. Doty Entrepreneur Award. | Photo by Elizabeth Parker S U M M E R 2024

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Huang delivering her pitch at the Servin’ the South Business Model Competition in November 2023 at the Jackson Avenue Center. | Submitted photo

steps include improvements in bottling, labeling and distribution.

“My immediate plans for the distribution and sales of the sauce involve several crucial steps,” Huang says.

“First, I aim to obtain all the necessary certifications and approvals required for packaging the sauce. This includes completing canning and Pathogen Reduction and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point classes at Mississippi State University this fall.”

Once these regulatory milestones are achieved, she plans to broaden her distribution strategy, selling the sauce to grocery stores while simultaneously setting up an online shop for nationwide shipping.

Unstoppable Drive

Jhalen Wells dedicates himself to entrepreneurship, service

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s a high school senior, Jhalen Wells faced a tough decision.

Would the Clarksdale student accept a football scholarship to Jones Community College or embrace the opportunities of a full academic scholarship to the University of Mississippi?

Passionate about entrepreneurship and drawn to service, his ultimate decision was informed by his family’s guidance and a drive to achieve big dreams — which he knew he could do at Ole Miss.

“I was a general business major and then maybe thought I wanted to be a doctor,” Wells says. “I ended up starting a clothing brand my sophomore year, got into debt, started another small business and started going into marketing and all the other stuff to promote it.

“Then I heard about IMC (integrated marketing communications), and I just felt like it all finally fit into place.”

Wells’ first small business was a clothing brand that promoted mental health awareness. He made hoodies and launched a diversity campaign to promote it.

“With mental health issues, it doesn’t matter what the color of your skin is, religion, background or anything,” he 26

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says. “We all may deal with mental health issues.

“I had about 20 students meet me in the residential parking garage for a photo shoot, and I raised about $3,000 and donated it to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.”

A passionate volunteer and dedicated community member, Wells’ energy extends beyond his entrepreneurial activities. During his time at the university, he has been a part of the Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and a Luckyday scholar.

Wells says he’s motivated to give back to the Oxford community and the next generation of Ole Miss students. He has volunteered with Doors of Hope and on campus. He has also worked with elementary and middle school students through the Office of Pre-College

Jhalen Wells volunteered as a student athletics trainer for the Ole Miss football team and got to play at running back in the 2021 Grove Bowl. | Submitted photo

Programs’ Rebel Quest program and with incoming freshmen through JumpStart.

“When we were coming out of the major lockdowns of COVID, I reached out to Doors of Hope to see what they needed,” Wells says. “They told me they

Jhalen Wells (third from right) organized a coat drive, which collected more than 90 winter coats for students at Bramlett Elementary School in Oxford. | Submitted photo

needed a lot of household sanitary items.

“So I went around town, I went by the mayor’s office, the chancellor’s office, different organizations around campus, even nonprofits outside in the community and had a drive outside of RC South one Saturday afternoon.”

The drive collected two truckloads of supplies for the organization. Next, Wells organized a backpack drive for the Tupelo School District, which collected some 100 backpacks for students there, and a coat drive that provided more than 90 winter coats for students at Oxford’s Bramlett Elementary School.

His hard work was later recognized during his junior year, when he was invited to present his projects to the university’s senior leadership at one of their meetings.

“My mom, professors and directors of organizations that I am a part of showed up while I presented,” Wells says.

“It was cool to have that moment.”

Karrye Tynes (BA 10), assistant director for access and recruiting initiatives for the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, has seen firsthand how Wells has balanced his leadership roles.

“During the MOST Conference, Jhalen unquestionably embodied leadership skills; it comes naturally,” Tynes

Jhalen Wells was a Luckyday scholar at UM. | Submitted photo

says. “Over time, I’ve had the pleasure of watching his confidence and abilities mature even more. There is never a task that I have given Jhalen that he’s turned down or been (un)able to fulfill.

“His passion for working with students and capitalizing on each opportunity to establish great relationships with the students and peers during the conferences is commendable.”

Wells is scheduled to graduate in August. He has his sights on graduate school and plans to enroll in the higher

education program at Ole Miss this fall.

In the long term, he plans to venture into real estate with a vision to revolutionize university housing development.

“I don’t have any regrets about my time here,” he says. “I had my ups and downs, but I feel like it prepared me to be ready for what’s to come in the next chapter.”

To read the full versions of the stories above along with more on other Class of 2024 graduates, visit journey. olemiss.edu.

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Photos courtesy of Taylor Morton

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Kicking Up Her Alumna catches her stride in career with Justin Brands

By Annie Rhoades

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career in public relations isn’t always glamorous, but for University of Mississippi alumna Taylor Morton (BS 16), public relations manager for Justin Brands Inc., having the opportunity to work alongside country music legends is anything but mundane.

“Being [Justin’s] public relations manager means I handle all of our celebrity partnerships including George Strait and Reba McEntire, which is pretty dang cool,” Morton says.

“I also manage all corporate partnerships, media outreach, our influencer program, press releases and charitable giving.”

The Fort Worth, Texas, native didn’t have to look far from home to find her career calling.

After receiving her diploma in May 2016, she moved back home and almost immediately began onboarding with Justin Brands.

“I started looking at some places in Texas, specifically Fort Worth,” she recalls. “I told my dad when I was interviewing at a few places that I want a fun job and he said, ‘Taylor that’s just not realistic. Not all jobs are going to be fun, especially your first job.’ But I wanted something I was excited about.

“I graduated on a Saturday, moved home on Sunday, interviewed and got my job offer at Justin on a Thursday, and started the following Monday.

I’ve been here ever since.”

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Morton and the Justin Boots team with Reba McEntire at the grand opening of McEntire’s restaurant, Reba’s Place, in Atoka, Oklahoma

Friend and classmate Mary Landrum Pyron (BS 16), owner and custom hatter at ML Provisions, says Morton’s work ethic and dedication are evident in her career.

“Taylor and I met during undergraduate school at Ole Miss and have been friends ever since,” Pyron says. “It is great to have another female University of Mississippi [alumna] blazing the trail in the western industry.

“Taylor is constantly growing and creating new ideas. She has been with the same company since graduation. That speaks volumes, [because] typically people our age jump around from job to job every few years. Also, her networking doesn’t end after the sale of a boot. She is always looking ahead.”

Love at First Sight

A member of Delta Gamma Fraternity, Morton set her sights on Ole Miss from her very first visit to campus.

“We grew up right by TCU, so I was dead set on TCU until I was a junior in high school,” she says. “I had the realization that I didn’t want to live in the same ZIP code my entire life, so I started looking at other schools in the South and toured Ole Miss with my dad.

“It’s a running joke in our family that he intentionally took me on a nongame weekend. I knew I wanted a small school with a big school spirit, so we went on a bye week because he didn’t want me to get completely swept away by the fun of the Grove and all of that. I fell in love with campus within the first 10 minutes.”

Morton began her freshman year majoring in general

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business studies. But after taking her first business marketing class, she realized it wasn’t exactly the route she wanted to take.

“When I was [at Ole Miss], you had marketing through the business school and marketing through the journalism school,” she says. “I thought business seemed like a better fit, but I soon realized I liked the creative side of marketing more than numbers and analytics. I was happy with my decision to switch and go through the IMC (integrated marketing communications) program. I loved my professors and still keep in touch with a lot of them.”

Morton recalls School of Journalism and New Media senior lecturer Robin Street (BA 75, MA 85, MS 97) telling students that a job in public relations would easily entail about 90% writing.

“I have kept in touch with professor Street throughout my career, and I remember thinking at the time, OK sure,” Morton laughs. “But it is so true! I quote that now to college students that I go and talk to. It’s writing emails to key stakeholders in your company, people outside of the company, writing press releases, product descriptions and more.”

She also encourages new graduates entering the workforce to remember that “no task is too small” and to network as much as possible.

“The importance of networking is so true, because you never know what opportunities can come from a contact,” Morton says. “If you started a new job, be a sponge and listen and learn everything. Absorb as much as you possibly can. If somebody comes to you with a task, don’t ever say it isn’t your job. Just do it and continue to learn.”

Making Her Mark

Morton began her now eight-year career with Justin Brands as social media coordinator in 2016. She quickly moved to a marketing specialist position and then marketing manager before taking on her current role as public relations manager in June 2022.

“I’ve gotten to work my way up the marketing ladder,” she says. “I realized the things I was most excited about doing was anything give-back or charitable related. I was able to sort of create my own position after telling our management team that this is what I’m excited about and this is the strategy that I see for my portion of our team.”

Founded in 1879, Justin Brands Inc. is celebrating 145 years.

“It’s fun to look back at everything we’ve done in the past — the people we’ve worked with, the things we’ve done, the money we’ve given for different charitable causes,” she says.

“We have an archive department on site [at our headquarters in Fort Worth], so you can go back and see boots from the late 1800s and early 1900s. You can also see boots we’ve made for a ton of celebrities over the years including several U.S. presidents, Michael Jackson and many more.”

Working for a boot company comes with its share of perks.

From boots to celebrity encounters and countless events, Morton says there’s never a dull moment.

“I have a lot of boots! I’m a sample size, so it’s a problem,” she enthuses. “I probably have over 50 pairs in my closet, and I live in a one-bedroom apartment. It’s become comical to see the ways that I’m having to decorate with boots, because there’s no more room in my closet. I also get to travel quite a bit, so I’ve been to some neat places for photo shoots and events.”

The company hosts around a dozen events each year and is represented at over 150 rodeos, CMA Fest, conventions and the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas among others.

“I think the one thing I love most about my job is that every

Justin Brands celebrates 145 years of business with a birthday party in January of this year.

Morton alongside the welcoming committee, a longhorn in the Fort Worth Stockyards, at Justin presents ‘The Party in Fort Worth’ at Billy Bob’s Texas

day is so different,” she says. “We have a heavy summer event run, so I’m usually in the thick of event planning, getting out press releases from our most recent product launches as well as working with several of our external partners.

“One of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do in my career thus far is be part of launching our partnership with Reba,” Morton says. “I was only about a year in with Justin, and I got to attend a lot of the meetings very early on about products, what our marketing strategy was going to be, photo shoots, packaging — kind of truly launching a brand from start to finish.”

Friend and co-worker Shelbi Tidwell, product designer for Justin Brands, attributes Morton’s knack for “building and keeping relationships” as key to her accomplishments.

“Taylor and I both began our careers at Justin Brands Inc. in 2016 and quickly became close friends,” she says. “We work and collaborate seamlessly together. She’s a fantastic leader who always encourages those around her, which is one of the reasons she’s been so successful.

“I see a bright future for her. With her exceptional skills in building relationships and her natural leadership abilities, I believe she will continue to achieve great success and take on even more significant roles. She has the potential to make a big impact in her field and inspire many others along the way.”

Morton credits her success with Justin Brands to the love and support of her family, her studies at Ole Miss and the company’s executive team for allowing her to grow.

“Our company is very good and open about saying this is what you’re doing now, but what are you passionate about?

Where do you want to grow, and if you could do any job in the company, what would it be?

“I’m so appreciative of that — for allowing me to have my current position and for trusting me with the opportunities I’ve been given. I love my job and plan to keep looking for opportunities to introduce our brand to new people.”

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Presidential Path Alumnus leads Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

By Brian Hudgins

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ong before he became president of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Dr. James “Trey” Eubanks (BSPh 90, MD 94) found his medical calling during a high school football game in Tunica.

Eubanks and his Tunica Academy Blue Devils teammates lined up to block an extra point to force overtime — with a state playoff berth at stake in 1982. The Blue Devils got that blocked kick; however, Eubanks hit the ground during the play and suffered a dislocated elbow.

“The doctor who was working on the sidelines — his son was also playing for our team — took care of me and ran me to the hospital,” Eubanks says. “He popped my elbow back into place. I decided right there I wanted to be a doctor and provide that care to patients and give them that kind of relief because I was hurting pretty bad.”

Eubanks has provided care to patients for over four decades. A pediatric surgeon, he earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Mississippi and a medical degree at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He completed his residency and research fellowship at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and a pediatric surgery fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern in Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.

His work on behalf of pediatric patients and their families at Le Bonheur has included a stint as trauma medical director from 2004 to 2018.

Home Health Care Although Eubanks was motivated to become a physician due to his dislocated elbow, he already knew firsthand about the medical needs of his friends and neighbors, thanks to his parents, Diane (BSPh 65) and the late Jimmy Eubanks (BSPh 65), both being pharmacists and Ole Miss alumni. Eubanks worked at his dad’s drugstore, and his mother worked at a local hospital as an in-house pharmacist.

Many Tunica residents relied on pharmacists for medical advice, Eubanks says. The discussions between his parents and 32

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pharmacy customers made an impression on him.

“People would go to my dad or ask my mom how to treat illnesses with over-the-counter meds,” Eubanks recalls. “I did every job there was to do at the pharmacy, and I would also hear when someone was doing well (medically) or not too well.”

Eubanks’ two main activities during his high school years consisted of either going to team practice or doing pharmacy work shifts.

“I played a lot of sports, so I didn’t have to do as many shifts,” he says.

At Ole Miss, Eubanks’ attendance in pharmacokinetics classes had been less than great under the late Skip Jones.

When Eubanks cobbled together his summer school schedule, none other than professor Jones was waiting for him.

“I see Dr. Jones and I said, ‘Oh, this is hopeless. I just don’t have a chance,’” Eubanks says. “I actually made the top grade (in class) that summer and then took another hard course.

“I knew what it was going to take to get back in the good graces of the pharmacy school faculty. It was a great learning experience. I learned a lot from my family and some of my colleagues. The education at Ole Miss is fantastic.”

The main lesson Eubanks says he learned during those undergraduate struggles was being given an opportunity to show he could do better.

“When I got to medical school, Dr. (J. Lincoln) Arceneaux, the director of admissions said, ‘Your GPA looks like a quality check mark … up, down and then back up again.’ I was grateful that he understood I had positive momentum at the time I was applying.”

Eubanks also obtained a real estate license and experienced that branch of business before he embarked on a medical career.

“I never took any business school classes, but I learned a lot about real estate,” he says. “I learned a lot of things in school,

Eubanks and his surgical patient, Elizabeth Lasley, take a break in Le Bonheur’s hallway.

Photo courtesy of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Lisa Buser Photography

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but I also grew a ton as a person. I became a Christian when I was there in pharmacy school at Ole Miss. That changed my perspective.”

Finding his footing in medicine required Eubanks to build upon his base knowledge while enrolled at UMMC. He worked with Dr. Fred Rushton in 1991-92, which gave him the general surgery bug.

“In medical school in Jackson, I got a summer job working for Dr. Rushton, who was originally from Tunica,” Eubanks says. “He was a general surgeon. So I got to help him in the summers, and that was when I kind of fell in love with general surgery.”

During his first rotation in his third year as a UMMC medical student, Eubanks worked with the late Dr. Richard Miller, the first Mississippi surgeon to specialize in pediatrics. Miller cared for infants and children and trained new physicians at UMMC for 43 years.

One of Mi l ler’s c as es was a 3-ye ar-old w ho had Hirschsprung’s disease, a congenital condition that causes bowel problems. Miller successfully operated on the child, and the case stuck with Eubanks as a motivator.

Witnessing the complexities of pediatric surgery handled by his mentors and enjoying building things contributed to Eubanks’ love for pediatric procedures.

“I always have been a person who likes to build things with my hands,” Eubanks says. “I liked taking apart a TV and putting

Eubanks receives his white coat at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine’s White Coat Ceremony in 1994. | Photo courtesy of Trey Eubanks 34

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it together. I leaned toward that, and surgery fit my personality. I had great teachers and clinicians, and I enjoyed all my (medical) rotations. I have pediatric surgery in my blood.”

When Eubanks arrived at Le Bonheur more than two decades ago, he worked under former CEO Meri Armour, who oversaw Le Bonheur from 2006 to 2019. Eubanks gradually took on various administrative tasks, including being part of the team that provided assistance in the aftermath of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010.

Local hospitals and electrical systems had been damaged or destroyed. Eubanks and his peers were one of a few groups assigned to provide aid.

“The Department of Homeland Security was trying to get a pediatric medical response team to Haiti,” Eubanks says.

“They had reached out to three children’s hospitals throughout the country. We sent a team down there, and I was on that team. After that two weeks of seeing my colleagues putting in incredible and selfless work, when I came back, the CEO started putting me in more leadership positions where I had more administrative responsibilities.”

Growth Spurt Eubanks became trauma medical director in 2004, which coincided with Le Bonheur’s plans for construction of a new hospital. Le Bonheur broke ground for the new hospital in 2008, and a grand opening followed in 2010. In addition, the Family Partners Council formed in 2007, allowing the children’s hospital to work with patient families as part of the care team.

As building demolitions, remodels and grand openings happened, Le Bonheur grew in stature. U.S. News & World Report named Le Bonheur a Best Children’s Hospital in 2011.

The trauma program received Level 1 designation by the American College of Surgeons in the same year.

Going from pediatric surgery to trauma medical director put Eubanks in charge of multiple departments.

“As a trauma director, you are not just dealing with your own specialty, pediatric surgery,” Eubanks says. “I was helping organize — it was orthopedic injuries, it was neurological injuries, it was plastic surgery, EMT, nursing education and anesthesia education. You are coordinating the doctors and nursing personnel to provide trauma care in a manner which you think is the most efficient and safest way for the patients.”

Seeing so many different disciplines over the course of 14 years put Eubanks in a stronger position when it came time for him to handle the responsibilities as president.

“You are making sure that when a trauma patient hits the door, no matter how severely injured that patient is, you are working to get the best possible outcome for that patient,” Eubanks says.

Getting to that point sometimes required Eubanks to stress moving away from long-used practices that were not evidence based.

“We had some disagreements, but eventually, we got everybody moving in the right direction,” Eubanks says. “That clearly helped me become a better leader because to make the

Eubanks and his clinical staff celebrate Le Bonheur’s verification as a Level I Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons Children’s Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program last spring. Le Bonheur is the first hospital in Tennessee to achieve this designation. | Photo courtesy of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Lisa Buser Photography

operation move smoothly and safely for patients and families, I had to work with a lot of different personalities and people who thought differently than I did and had different concerns about patient care. I am thankful for that experience.”

Eubanks became surgeon-in-chief in 2015, adding to his administrative duties and exposure to that side of health care.

He took on the interim president position in March 2023 before being named president in December.

“It’s like drinking from a fire hose now, but it’s similar to other jobs in taking a team you are leading,” Eubanks says.

“You are just trying to take a team you are leading and keep that group focused on the mission … what are the goals and what are we trying to accomplish? You are setting the tactics to reach those goals and keeping the team focused. That’s really all leadership is about.”

L e B on h e u r’s g row t h i n c lu d e s a $ 9 5 . 4 m i l l i on , 128,000-square-foot critical care facility expansion project that broke ground in 2021 and opened in May. The addition of four floors encompasses a new cardiovascular intensive care unit, 14 new beds for the neonatal intensive care unit and eight new beds for the post-anesthesia care unit.

Considering patients come to Le Bonheur from Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, the Level IV NICU expansion from 60 to 74 beds is a welcome development, Eubanks says.

“We are one of two children’s hospitals to serve Mississippi,” he says. “One-third of our patients are from Mississippi, and

one-fourth are from Arkansas. Even though I am in Memphis, I feel like I am giving back to Mississippi as a north Mississippi and Delta person.”

Dr. Mark Meredith (BS 97, MD 02), director of quality improvement for the ER, also made his way to Le Bonheur from Ole Miss. Meredith, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biology before graduating from UMMC, stresses that a thoughtful approach is vital when caring for patients from three states.

“Dr. Eubanks is an excellent leader,” Meredith says. “He has contributed to the welfare of so many families and has made lifelong friends in doing so. He comes to the ER to see the patients and interact with the doctors and nurses. He also gets a lot of opinions before making decisions.”

Eubanks’ career trajectory, aimed at caregiving, started in Tunica on a high school football field and continued with important stops in Oxford and Jackson.

“Playing football, it’s not so much (learning) leadership, but you learn to be a good teammate,” Eubanks says. “There are experiences all along the way that prepare you for what is ahead.

“The reason I am president of Le Bonheur is not in small part due to my education at the University of Mississippi. All along the way, whether I was attending classes regularly or maybe not so much, the faculty inspired me to do better. That is appreciated!”

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Ole Miss Sports Headed to the Olympics KENDRICKS, LONG, SAUNDERS PREPARE FOR PARIS

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t the conclusion of 10 days at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Ole Miss stands with three Team USA members for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris: Sam Kendricks (BGS 15) in the men’s pole vault, McKenzie Long (MCJ 23) in the women’s 200-meter dash and Raven Saunders (18) in the women’s shot put.

Kendricks secured his third career Olympic qualifying berth, winning his 11th career national title in the pole vault to book passage to Paris at the third day of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Kendricks breezed throug h an arduous qualifying round on June 21,

McKenzie Long | Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

alongside Bob Richards and Earl Bell, and in Ole Miss history, he now only ranks behind men’s tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi’s five Olympiads for India, and fellow track star Brittney Reese’s four trips for Team USA. Kendricks is a two-time world champion, five-time world medalist and 11-time U.S. champion. In his Ole Miss career, Kendricks was a two-time NCAA champion, five-time All-American and two-time SEC champion.

Long finished third in the women’s 200-meter final at 21.91 (+0.6) to claim the last ticket to Paris, the second-fastest wind-legal 200-meter time of her career

and the fastest ever by a third-place finisher at the trials. Long is the first woman in Ole Miss history to qualify for the Olympics in a running event, and joins only Brittney Reese and Raven Saunders as the lone women in track and field program history to become Olympians.

In the women’s shot put, reigning Olympic silver medalist Saunders only needed one throw to secure her spot on Team USA, but decided to notch a slight improvement in the final round anyway. Saunders took the lead on her first-round season-best of 19.88m/6502.75, and was eventually overtaken by eventual champion and two-time reigning World gold medalist Chase Jackson in the fourth round at 20.10m/65-11.50.

That did little to dampen Saunders’ Olympic dreams though, as she held onto the second spot and even improved in the sixth round to 19.90m/65-03.50.

This is the third Olympic berth for Saunders, who finished fifth as a 20-year-old in Rio in 2016 before winning a silver medal in Tokyo in 2021.

Saunders is now the eighth woman in the history of the United States to make three Olympic teams in the shot put.

and was equally as efficient in the final on June 23, maintaining a clean sheet all the way up to his eventual winning height of 5.92m/19-5 — which he hit on his second attempt for the victory. That mark breaks his own U.S. Olympic Trials record of 5.91m/19-04.75 set in 2016, and he was the lone competitor in the field to clear that height on June 23.

This is the third career Olympic bid for Kendricks, who was the bronze medalist in the pole vault in 2016. He is only the third athlete in U.S. history to qualify three times in the men’s pole vault Photo illustration courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

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Ole Miss Sports

Top Performance WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD WINS THREE NATIONAL TITLES

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n the span of 90 minutes across the sun-strewn, hallowed grounds of Hayward Field on Saturday, June 1, Ole Miss track and field simultaneously pulled off a program-defining day of competition and captured the hearts and minds of the nation after winning an unbelievable three national titles, closing out the Rebels’ stay at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Earlier in the week, the Rebel women opened eyes around the nation after superb qualifying performances in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter hurdles and 4x100-meter relay. Ole Miss proved that earlier performance was no fluke, emerging as the victor in three of those four events for an amazing 32 meet points on Saturday alone.

First, the Rebel quartet of Akilah Lewis, McKenzie Long, Gabrielle Matthews and Jahniya Bowers brought home the first NCAA Outdoor relay title in Ole Miss history. What followed was a tourde-force performance by Long across the 100 and 200 that will go down as one of the single-best days of competition in the annals of collegiate track and field history and the history of Ole Miss Athletics.

Those performances helped push Ole Miss to 38 total points by the meet’s end, placing the Rebels at an overall program record fifth-place finish. That ties the record set this season indoors, giving ninth-year head coach Connie Price-Smith another accolade in a very long list of accomplishments during her tenure with the Rebels.

“It’s been a wonderful season, totally, truly incredible, and I’m honored to be a part of what these young ladies and gentlemen have done,” Price-Smith says.

“To come out here and get fifth in this arena with the people they were competing against has just been amazing.

The whole year building up to this has been nothing but fun to be a part of, and exciting to watch unfold.”

This marks the f irst relay title outdoors in Ole Miss men’s or women’s

Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

history, and it joins the 2017 men’s distance medley relay team as the lone national champion relays in program history. Ole Miss is the first school to win its first title in the women’s 4x1 since 2002 (South Carolina), and it is the first school not named LSU, Texas or USC to win since 2017 (Kentucky).

Just 50 minutes after the relay, Long was back in the blocks in the final of the women’s 100-meter dash. Long was the top time qualifier in Thursday’s semifinal, an impressive feat considering she sees this as her second-best event.

But a serendipitous stroke of luck in the starting blocks should have been a sign of good things to come: Her blocks were already set to her preferred settings.

“I literally went out on the blocks, and my blocks setting was already set,” Long says. “You usually have to fix your blocks before you get into your lane. But, the 100 is the event where I’m less comfortable in compared to the 200. When I went out there and the block was already in my settings, I was shook. I was like, Mom, this is instantly you. That’s never happened to me before.”

What Long is alluding to is the untimely passing of her mother, Tara Jones, this past indoor season.

In those blocks, Long found her

signature second gear, chasing down the field and crossing the line in a slightly windy 10.82 (+2.2) for her first career NCAA individual title — and the first for Ole Miss men’s or women’s track and field outdoors in an event shorter than the 800 meter.

Barely 40 minutes later, Long’s grand finale was at hand in the 200 meter.

Long exploded off the curve and into the cheering homestretch for the final time as a Rebel, and did so in stunning fashion, clocking in at a world-leading, wind-legal 21.83 (+1.0) to win her third and final NCAA title in just 90 minutes.

“I talk to my mom every day. Everything that I do is for her,” Long told ESPN’s John Anderson. “And in those blocks right there, I said, ‘Mom, this is my last race, just push me through,’ and she did.”

That time makes Long the second-best collegian of all time in the women’s 200-meter dash with the second-fastest time, just barely missing Abby Steiner’s 2022 collegiate record 21.80 (+1.3) run on this very same track.

It also already puts Long into a tie for No. 10 in the history of the United States and No. 24 in the history of the world, and all before she has run a race as a professional sprinter.

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Ole Miss Sports

Game Time FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES KICK TIMES, WINDOWS FOR REST OF 2024 SEASON

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pproximate start times and TV assignments for Ole Miss’ remaining eight games of the 2024 season have been set, the Southeastern Conference and ESPN announced in June.

New this upcoming season, the Southeastern Conference and ESPN designated TV windows for all games after week three as a new benefit of the new conference rights agreement.

Television start time windows for weeks 4-14 are defined as follows: • Early: 11 a.m.-noon CT start • Afternoon: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CT start • Night: 5-7 p.m. CT start • Flex: Games flexed between the afternoon (2:30-3:30 p.m.) and night (5-7 p.m.) windows Ole Miss’ home game vs. Georgia Southern (Sept. 21) will kick off on SEC Network at 6:45 p.m. This will mark the second all-time meeting between the Rebels and Eagles.

The Rebels’ SEC opener vs. Kentucky (Sept. 28) is slated for an 11 a.m. CT kick on either ABC or ESPN. Ole Miss holds a 29-14-1 series advantage against the Wildcats.

The month of October will begin with a road game at South

Carolina (Oct. 5). The matchup between Rebels and Gamecocks has been selected within the flex window and will occur either in the afternoon (2:30-3:30 p.m.) or night (5-7 p.m.).

The annual Magnolia Bowl vs. LSU (Oct. 12) will take place during the night window (5-7 p.m.) and the TV network is TBA. LSU is Ole Miss’ second-most-played opponent behind only Mississippi State.

After the Rebels’ first bye week of the 2024 season, Ole Miss squares off at home vs. Oklahoma (Oct. 26) and then in Fayetteville vs. Arkansas (Nov. 2). Both games have been designated an early window kick (11 a.m.-noon).

Ole Miss’ home game vs. Georgia (Nov. 9) has been assigned to the flex window (2:30-3:30 p.m. or 5-7 p.m.). It will be the Bulldogs’ first visit to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since 2016.

The Rebels and Florida Gators (Nov. 23) will square off for just the fourth time in the last 20 years. The matchup will kick off at 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on either ABC or ESPN. For all listed windows (early, afternoon, night, flex), the exact start time within such window(s) will be confirmed no later than six days prior unless otherwise noted.

Photo illustration courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

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Ole Miss Sports

New Pitching Coach JOEL MANGRUM JOINS BASEBALL STAFF AS NEWEST ASSISTANT COACH

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le Miss Baseball and head coach Mike Bianco announced the hiring of Joel Mangrum as the Rebels’ newest assistant coach June 12. Mangrum will serve as the team’s pitching coach and handle the day-to-day management of the pitching staff.

“We are super excited to bring Joel to Oxford and Ole Miss Baseball,” Bianco says.

“He has a unique and dynamic way of developing pitchers and has proven his success at both the professional and collegiate levels.”

A native of Brandon, Mangrum comes to Oxford after professional and college coaching stints with the Cleveland Guardians, University of Louisiana at Monroe, New Mexico State, Austin Peay, Milligan College and Hinds Community College.

“I’m really excited to be joining the Ole Miss Joel Mangrum Baseball family,” Mangrum says. “I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity that Coach Bianco has provided me and my family. This is a dream come true. We look forward

to making Oxford home and helping continue the tradition of Ole Miss Baseball being a national power in college baseball.”

Mangrum has spent the last six seasons with the Guardians, four of them as minor league pitching coordinator. He was promoted to pitching coordinator in 2020 after serving as a minor league pitching coach in 2018 and 2019.

Before ULM, Mangrum served as the recruiting coordinator and pitching coach for three seasons at New Mexico State (2015-17). During his time in Las Cruces, Mangrum helped guide the Aggies to back-to-back 30-plus win seasons for the first time in five years (2016 and 2017).

Mangrum graduated from Mississippi College in 2005, where he was an All-American Southwest Conference honorable mention selection in 2005 as a designated hitter after batting .351. Before that he was a pitcher and infielder at Hinds Community College in Raymond, where he was an All-Region 23 selection.

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Makena Gobbell New Home Sales

mgobbell@blackburnhomes.com

(662) 236-0060

www.theoxfordcommons.com 40

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Just Published

Sunset in the Sound by Candace Cox she has worked alongside her husband, Wheeler (JD 1981), 336 pages (hardback), Dogwood Press, ISBN: 979-8986280370 In 1951, wide-open gambling is both a way of life for fun-loving Biloxi residents and a way of enticing tourists with postwar money to burn. However, that’s not the only thing burning, as one nightclub after another is erupting in flames.

Mac Simpson, a fresh-faced 18-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, is studying electronics at Keesler Air Force Base as part of his four-year commitment to the country he loves. When Mac meets Vickie Burns, a gorgeous musician with a beautiful voice who dreams of sharing the stage one day with Hank Williams, he thinks he’s found the girl of his dreams.

But trouble looms in paradise. When Mac and Vickie recognize a young man who seems to turn up at nearly every fire scene and question him, are they now in danger? A fascinating work of historical fiction with riveting, real-life testimony from the U.S. Senate committee hearing about the damaging effects of gambling on Keesler personnel, Sunset in the Sound is a satisfying coda to Candace Cox Wheeler’s Biloxi-based trilogy.

A fourth-generation Biloxi native, Wheeler is a partner in the law firm of Wheeler and Wheeler PLLC, where

David, since 1981.

The Switcher: Jim Herring and Two-Party Politics in Mississippi

by James H. Herring (BA 60, LLB 63), 560 pages (hardcover), LifeStory Publishing, ISBN: 978-0971100480 The Switcher is Jim Herring’s vivid, bird’s-eye account of the politicians, parties and principles that competed for voters’ allegiances from the 1960s through 2008 in Mississippi. Readers witness unfurling political events, power plays and personalities as the state’s upstart Republicans battled to achieve a viable two-party system against the state Democratic machine that was set on preserving its good-old-boy, powerful vice grip on state politics.

Herring is a former senior statesman of the GOP and chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, positions that offered him a unique perspective in the realm of the Mississippi state party system.

The Biblical Case for Gold: In the 21st Century b y Judd F. Allen (BBA 67), 220 pages (paperback, also available in Kindle), WestBow Press, ISBN: 979-8385008223

For over 1,400 years in ancient Israel, the sanctuary tax was unchanged. God had created a sound monetary system that experienced no inflation, despite wars, royal intrigue, foreign invaders and 70 years spent in Babylonian captivity. Furthermore, the prophet Ezekiel described a third temple to be built in five, 50 or 500 years. In this future temple, the sanctuary tax is the same as it was in the days of Moses. So, what’s the answer? A partial answer is discovered in the Hebrew word “shekel.” The definition of shekel is “weight.” As recently as the 18th century, the British Empire had two centuries of no inflation. During this period, bank clerks’ salaries were unchanged for a century, all because of no inflation. With paper currencies, the world’s monies have lost their weight.

Consequently, this book offers alternatives for 21st-century citizens to help protect their finances — and have more control over their assets, regardless of the evening news.

Judd F. Allen spent nearly half a century helping families with their investments and financial and estate planning.

He co-founded the financial planning firm Allen Wealth Management. He and his wife, Pat, live in Boone, North Carolina.

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 1374, Oxford, MS 38655.

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As an Ameriprise private wealth advisory practice, we have the qualifications and experience to help navigate your complex financial needs. Whether it’s investment management, tax strategies or legacy planning, we can work with you to grow and preserve what you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

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The Retirement Experience You Deserve Are you ready to have your spirit thrive and your social calendar filled? Our community is the perfect blend of excitement, relaxation, and true Ole Miss spirit. Through our lifestyle activities, amazing amenities, and caring team members we ensure your needs are met as you live the good life that you deserve. Step into your new home and embrace true community with us. We look forward to meeting you!

Schedule your tour today!

662.506.3901 ElisonOxford.com ASSISTED LIVING

OXFORD

100 Azalea Dr. Oxford, MS 38655 MS 7201-7201

S U M M E R 2024

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Rebel Traveler

2024-25

Albuquerque Balloon Festival

T

he alumni travel program is a service the Ole Miss Alumni Association offers as part of its mission to unite its alumni and keep them connected to Ole Miss and one another.

OMAA has partnered with several tour operators that specialize in alumni travel to offer a broad selection of educational tours. Alumni and friends obtain group rates and discounts. Listed prices are per person, based on double occupancy, and pricing and dates are subject to change until booking.

Airfare is not included unless noted.

Visit olemissalumni.com/travel for a complete listing and the most up-to-date information.

Offerings and itineraries are subject to change or cancellation. OMAA strongly recommends purchasing travel insurance.

For a brochure or more information on a trip, contact the Alumni office at 662-9157375 or email travel@olemissalumni.com.

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ALBUQUERQUE BALLOON FIESTA OCT. 9-15, 2024

Tour Operator: Premier World Discovery Travel with us to the Land of Enchantment where you will enjoy New Mexico’s beautiful landscapes, history and architecture. A highlight will be a visit to the world-famous Albuquerque Balloon Festival — the world’s largest hot air ballooning event. You’ll have an opportunity to learn about Native American history and culture with visits to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring ancient Pueblo homes that have been continuously inhabited for over 1,000 years. Enjoy three nights in Santa Fe, founded in 1607, making it America’s oldest state capital city and third-oldest continuously inhabited city in the U.S. Enjoy this UNESCO Creative City, which is renowned for its beauty, Pueblo-style architecture and for being

one of the most important art markets in the U.S. You’ll also visit the Los Alamos Bradbury Museum, which tells the story of this isolated town and its role in the Manhattan Project, and Loretto Chapel, where you’ll learn of its unique and mysterious past. — From $3,775, including airfare

NEW ENGLAND RAILS AND TRAILS OCT. 9-16, 2024

Tour Operator: Premier World Discovery Immerse yourself in the vibrant fall colors of New England. Ride the rails from Massachusetts to Maine and back on this seven-night journey. Beginning in Boston, see the Old North Church where Paul Revere got the signal to start his famous ride, tour the restored Boston Tea Party ships, and wander historic Beacon Hill. Enjoy breathtaking vistas aboard the Cog Railway as you summit Mount Washington — the highest

2024 -25 peak in the Northeast. Return to North Conway, New Hampshire, and board the Conway Scenic Railroad for a nostalgic ride through the Mount Washington Valley countryside. Next, travel from North Conway to Burlington, Vermont, along the Kancamagus Highway. This drive offers unparalleled views of the Quechee Gorge, “Vermont’s Little Grand Canyon,” and the opportunity to participate in hands-on demonstrations at the Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock. Just outside Burlington, view the impressive collection of American art at the Shelburne Museum and watch apples turn to cider at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Lastly, pay a visit to the home of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, founded in 1978 in a renovated gas station. In Portland, Maine, take a scenic cruise around Casco Bay before snapping an obligatory photo in front of the famed Portland Head Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth. Before concluding your trip back in Boston, get a taste of Maine with a farewell lobster dinner. — From $4,395, including airfare

GRAND DANUBE PASSAGE OCT. 15-30, 2024

Tour Operator: AHI Experience the timeless heritage and cultures of eight distinct countries while sailing the Danube River. Plus, bookend your cruise with stays in Prague, Czech Republic, and Sofia, Bulgaria.

This handcrafted itinerar y awards fascinating landmarks, celebrated cities and local experiences to immerse you in each destination. Witness cathedrals, mosques and fortresses that spring from the pages of storybooks, and stroll through medieval towns brimming with hallowed history. Visit Vienna, Bratislava and Belgrade, and feast your eyes on an illuminated Budapest on an evening cruise. During your eight-night river adventure, discover beauty around ever y bend, from the picturesque Wachau Valley to Melk Abbey and the Iron Gate Gorge to idyllic villages perched above. Taste delicacies in Croatia’s Slavonia region, and enjoy a folk show and Viennese waltz performance.

Along the way, get a deeper look at select

Rebel Traveler

destinations with our special Personalize Your Journey excursions that focus on cuisine, architecture and local life. You’ll enjoy first-class ship accommodations, deluxe hotels and a generous meal plan featuring wine and beer with lunch and dinner. No single supplement for solo travelers. — From $5,895

CHRISTMAS MARKETS ALONG THE DANUBE DEC. 6-14, 2024

Tour Operator: Gohagan Celebrate the enduring magic of the Yuletide season on an enchanting seven-night river cruise to Europe’s most beloved Christmas markets. Discover magnificent settings where cobblestone streets strung with colorful lights meet festive market stalls of handcrafted ornaments, fine wooden toys and irresistible holiday treats. This unique itinerary brings the old-world charm of the holidays to life in a vivid celebration of history and culture.

Be inspired by some of Europe’s most noteworthy landmarks — Mozart’s birthplace in Salzburg, the 900-year-old Abbey of Melk in the legendary Wachau Valley and the Habsburgs’ glamorous summer residence in Vienna. Enhance your expedition with the Vienna pre-program and Munich post-program options. — From $2,995

MONTREAL AND QUEBEC CITY CHRISTMAS MARKETS DEC. 11-16, 2024

Belogradchik Rocks, Bulgaria

Tour Operator: Premier World Discovery Embrace the holiday spirit and the wonderland of the Christmas season with a unique and warm atmosphere, beautiful decorations, a great selection of succulent treats and exquisite Christmas gifts. This tour features world-famous hotels, sightseeing, wonderful meals and provides ample time to explore Montreal and Quebec City during this festive season. In Montreal, check in for two nights at the historic Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel. Enjoy this bustling modern city by seeing Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Joseph’s Oratory, Jacques Cartier Square, McGill University and a panoramic view from atop Mount Royal. Explore the Montreal Christmas Market, visiting S U M M E R 2024

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Rebel Traveler 2024 -25 teem with endemic flora and fauna. The wildlife is uniquely receptive to up-close human interaction — encounter birds, marine and land animals on included excursions. Walk with giant tortoises in San Cristóbal and swim with playful sea lions in Santa Fé. — From $7,495

GREAT SOUTHERN LANDS OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND FEB. 9-24, 2025

Wellington, New Zealand

the shops, sipping mulled wine and enjoying the sights and sounds. Board the Via Rail train for the scenic journey to the “Paris of North America,” Quebec City. This UNESCO World Heritage city is one of the best-preserved cities in North America. A highlight of the trip is a three-night stay at the world-famous Château Frontenac. While in Quebec City, enjoy visits to St. Anne de Beaupre Shrine, Albert Gilles Copper Museum and Montmorency Falls, the highest falls in Eastern Canada. Enjoy leisure time at the German Christmas Market in the heart of Old Quebec, designed to recreate the atmosphere of the big European Christmas markets. Embrace this magical city with illuminated pedestrian streets, decorated shops and bistros, all offering a festive atmosphere during the holiday season. — From $3,849, including airfare

BATTLE OF THE BULGE DEC. 11-19, 2024

Tour Operator: National WWII Museum Prepare to walk in the footsteps of those brave Americans who faced the German onslaught in December 1944. This comprehensive tour includes the principal battle sites in Belgium and Luxembourg.

Visit Bastogne, where Gen. Anthony McAuliffe of the 101st Airborne Division replied to a German demand for 46

A LU M N I R E V I E W

surrender with a single, pithy word: “Nuts!” Pay solemn tribute to the men massacred near Malmedy by the SS troopers of Kampfgruppe Peiper. Travel the “Bulge” from its north shoulder at Elsenborn Ridge to Diekirch, Luxembourg, in the south, while listening to the heroic stories of American soldiers who fought through bitter cold and snow to prevail against a hardened and desperate enemy. — From $6,495

WONDERS OF THE GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS FEB. 2-12, 2025

Tour Operator: Gohagan The Galápagos Islands represent a truly unique environment. Located 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, the archipelago’s isolation combined with its nutrient-rich waters created one of the world’s richest marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in the coastal landscapes that inspired Charles Darwin on this unequaled 10-day Galápagos journey, an unforgettable experience with a bounty of extraordinary wildlife. Begin your journey exploring the UNESCO treasures, rich indigenous traditions and contemporary verve of Quito, Ecuador’s beguiling capital city. Then travel to the Galápagos and discover the natural splendor of six Galápagos islands. These legendary islands, each with its own ecosystem,

Tour Operator: Go Next Hear “g’day” and “kia ora” as local Australians and New Zealanders greet you on this 14-night cruise aboard Oceania Cruises’ Regatta. Embark in Sydney and set sail for Melbourne.

Wander through the many laneways lined with impressive street art or stroll the bustling Queen Victoria Market, an all-encompassing food hub since 1878.

In Burnie, let local cheese makers dazzle your taste buds, and in Hobart, journey to the summit of Mount Wellington for panoramic views of the city. As you make your way to New Zealand, take in the sensational sights and sounds along the Tasman Sea and the fjords of Milford Sound. In Timaru, enjoy a leisurely walk along the picturesque Carolina Bay. Then, watch a sheep-shearing display in Christchurch or see movie-making history in Wellington, where “The Lord of the Rings” was filmed. Bask in the sun on a beach in Napier. Enjoy a relaxing afternoon at a boutique winery in Gisborne, and before arriving in Auckland, immerse yourself in the Maori culture with a traditional hangi feast and performance. — From $7,699

CLASSIC PANAMA CANAL FEB. 18 – MARCH 1, 2025

Tour Operator: Go Next Embark on an extraordinary 12-night cruise along the Panama Canal and the Caribbean Sea, where enchanting tales of the past merge seamlessly with breathtaking coastlines and vibrant local cultures. Set foot in Panama City, a mesmerizing fusion of tradition and modernity that links two worlds.

Then, marvel at the Panama Canal before strolling down the narrow stone walkways of historic Cartagena. Feel

2024 -25 the gentle embrace of the sun-drenched Sierra Nevada mountains, and rest in the sand of the forest-fringed beaches of Santa Marta. In Oranjestad, observe the colorful colonial buildings and traverse the floating bridge in Willemstad.

Escape to the serenity of Port Antonio, a hidden gem of natural beauty. Before journey’s end in Miami, discover the vibrant markets in Nassau and immerse yourself in the rhythm of island life. — From $3,899

Mary Leakey discovered remains of a prehistoric hominid skull — revealing some of the oldest evidence of human evolution. Other one-of-a-kind experiences include a safari picnic lunch in the Serengeti and a picnic served on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater amid prides of lions, black rhinos and elephants. — From $8,095

TANZANIA SAFARI DURING THE GREAT MIGRATION FEB. 21 – MARCH 3, 2025

Tour Operator: Premier World Discovery The Grand Canyon is “the one great sight which every American should see,” said President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, when he first laid eyes on one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights.

Ever y traveler should explore the beautiful American West, and that is exactly what you will do on this exciting program to Arizona. This travel

Tour Operator: Gohagan Journey to the majestic grasslands of Africa’s premier safari destination to observe one of Earth’s greatest spectacles — the annual Great Migration of vast herds of wildebeest followed by zebra, gazelle and Cape buffalo. This incredible

GREAT TRAINS AND GRAND CANYONS MARCH 9-14, 2025

Kauai Island, Hawaii

10-night land program features immersive game drives in three of Tanzania’s most prestigious game parks — Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park and Serengeti National Par k — a s we l l a s t h e U N E S C O inscribed Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Enjoy lunch at t he historic Gibb’s Farm, an organic farm and coffee plantation on the outer slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater, and visit the UNESCO-designated Olduvai Gorge in the Great Rift Valley to see where

experience features a combination of American West highlights with the scenery of Grand Canyon National Park, the Native American histor y at the Montezuma Castle National Monument, the Old West nostalgia of two train rides and five nights at a picturesque property in Sedona. Just north of Phoenix, Sedona is known for its upscale resorts, artist galleries and breathtaking red rock scenery, and is the perfect “home base” for this six-day adventure. — From $3,795

Rebel Traveler

HAWAIIAN THREE-ISLAND ADVENTURE MARCH 11-19, 2025

Tour Operator: Premier World Discovery Aloha! From the moment you arrive in this incredible destination you will be greeted with sheer beauty and a cultural experience like no other. You will quickly realize why Hawaii is known as the “Paradise of the Pacific.”

With many exotic beaches, flowers, mountainous landscapes, breathtaking views and magnificent waterfalls, you will be amazed everywhere you travel within this incredible island state.

We welcome you to experience three Hawaiian islands on this incredible tour that features a perfect combination of sightseeing and leisure time in this island paradise. Please review the itinerary details and count the extras. — From $5,995, including airfare

DUTCH WATERWAYS APRIL 16-24, 2025

Tour Operator: AHI Embark on a carefree, seven-night cruise along the intimate waterways of the Netherlands and Belgium, brimming with centuries of history and Old World splendor. Delight in Amsterdam’s charming canals and stroll amid the glorious tulips at Keukenhof Gardens.

Revel in Bruges’ wonderfully preserved Gothic gems and Antwerp’s impressive medieval old town. Other ports of call introduce you to Enkhuizen, a beautiful Dutch Golden Age city, and Veere, a laid-back harbor town. Enjoy enriching lectures and a choice of included excursions. Admire Enkhuizen’s stately landmarks on foot and by boat; tour the picturesque, 17th-century port town of Hoorn; or bike through the pastoral West Frisian countr yside. See The Hague and the Mauritshuis’ celebrated masterpieces, watch artisans at the Royal Delft porcelain factory or sample farmfresh cheeses in Gouda. In Bruges, visit a chocolaterie, discover the beer culture or take in renowned Belgian art. Unpack once aboard your exclusively chartered, first-class ship, and savor generous meals with wine and beer at lunch and dinner.

No single supplement. — From $3,595 S U M M E R 2024

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Alumni News

Photo by Steve Mullen

SPRING MEETING The board of directors of the Ole Miss Alumni Association met for its annual spring meeting on April 28 at the Triplett Alumni Center.

Class Notes

’60s

BARBARA BECKMANN (BSChE

61), of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was honored by the University of Mississippi School of Engineering with the announcement that the Department of Chemical Engineering will be named after her due to her generous support.

CURTIS WILKIE ( B SJ 6 3 ) , of Ox ford,

received the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters’ Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award for his body of work over a decades-long career at the institute’s 2024 annual awards gala.

’70s

JOHN BULLARD (BA 75), of

Alexandria, Virginia, received a national Emmy and an Edward R. Murrow Award for NBC News coverage of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

DAVE NELSON (BBA 77), of Eau Claire,

Wisconsin, received the 2024 Presidential Award of Excellence in the category of Humanitarian Services during celebrations held at the American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. 48

A LU M N I R E V I E W

E. SCOTT PALMER (BBA 78), of Forest, was

J. RHEA TANNEHILL (BPA 91, MEd 92, JD

’80s

’00s

elected to the board of directors for Community Bank of Mississippi.

CHERYN NETZ (BA 88), of Aus-

tin, Texas, was appointed general counsel of the Texas State Securities Board in Austin.

CHARLES W. NICHOLSON (BBA 81), of

Brandon, was elected to serve as chairman of the board for Community Bank of Mississippi.

’90s

KRISTEN HAZEN (BAccy 97), of

96), of Oxford, was elected to serve as president-elect designee of the Mississippi Bar.

DAVID BLACKBURN (BAccy 00,

MAccy 01), of Oxford, was named one of Mississippi’s Top CEOs of 2024 by the Mississippi Business Journal.

BLAKE HODGE (BBA 08), of Oxford, won

the Phoenix Bass Fishing League event at Grenada Lake.

JOSEPH KILGORE (BBA 00, JD 03), of Phila-

Atlanta, has joined the board of directors for the Atlanta-based nonprofit organization CURE Childhood Cancer.

delphia, has announced that he will be leaving the bench as a chancellor. He has accepted a position as counsel for the law firm of Watkins & Eager PLLC, in its Jackson office.

JEFFERY JOHNSON (BBA 96), of Flowood,

JESSICA BANAHAN MCNEEL (BA 04, JD 07),

was named one of Mississippi’s Top CEOs of 2024 by the Mississippi Business Journal.

BETH TACKETT (BBA 94), of Greenwood,

was named a vice president of Viking Range LLC.

of Pascagoula, was named 2024 Parent of the Year by the Mississippi Department of Education.

KATIE NARON (BAEd 04, MEd 05), of

Oxford, received the University of Mississippi’s School of Education Outstanding

Alumni News Teacher of the Year Award for the 2023-24 academic school year.

ELIZABETH RANDALL (BBA 03, MBA 05),

of Oxford, was named one of Mississippi’s Top CEOs of 2024 by the Mississippi Business Journal.

JEREMY ROBERTS (BA 07, BS 10, EdD 23),

of Terry, obtained his Doctor of Education in higher education from the University of Mississippi in May 2023.

ROBERT SAVOIE (BBA 07), of Solon, Ohio,

was elected to the executive Policy Committee of the McGlinchey Stafford law firm.

RYAN UPSHAW (BA 02, MA 08, EdD 23), of

Jackson, was named Volunteer of the Year for the state of Mississippi by Volunteer Mississippi and the Governor’s Initiative for Volunteer Excellence.

RICHARD WOOD (BBA 09), of Cleveland,

has accepted the position as general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Baton Rouge Downtown, managed by Hospitality America.

’10s

KALLEN ALDERMAN (BS 17), of

Oxford, was named to the 2024 Top 40 Under 40 class by the Mississippi Business Journal.

HANNAH GADD ARDREY (BM 13, MM 15),

REGAN MCINTOSH (BSPSC 16, PhMD 19),

ZACHARY ATWOOD (JD 13), of Vestavia

KENNEDY MILLER (BBA 10), of Jackson, was

of Oxford, received her Doctorate of Education from William Carey University in February.

Hills, Alabama, was promoted to associate senior counsel for the Stewart Title Guaranty Co. He was also awarded the National Title Professional designation by the American Land Title Association in May. JASMINE BARNES (BAccy 15), of Jackson,

was named to the 2024 Top 40 Under 40 class by the Mississippi Business Journal.

ZACH BRANSON (BA 12), of Atlanta, has

returned to the law firm Jones Walker as a tax partner in its Atlanta office.

ASHLEY GLOVER (BSW 11), of Austin,

Texas, was recognized as a finalist for the prestigious Austin Under 40 Awards.

SHELBY-RAE HAMEL (BA 14), of Gulfport,

received a promotion to uniform sales consultant at Cintas in Gulfport.

WILLIAM KNEIP (BA 16), of Oxford, was

named to the 2024 Top 40 Under 40 class by the Mississippi Business Journal.

of Madison, was named to the 2024 Top 40 Under 40 class by the Mississippi Business Journal. named to the 2024 Top 40 Under 40 class by the Mississippi Business Journal.

JEFF DAVIS PACE III (BA 10), of Gulfport,

was named one of Mississippi’s Top CEOs of 2024 by the Mississippi Business Journal.

BRITTANY VARNEY (BA 10), of Gulfport,

was named to the 2024 Top 40 Under 40 class by the Mississippi Business Journal.

BIRTHS

Benjamin Anders, son of Mary Atwood (BSN 18, TPT 12) and Zachary Anders Atwood (JD 13), April 30, 2024.

Grover William, son of Lindsey Morgan Coughlin Johnston (BS 20) and Nelson Johnston, April 6, 2024.

John Callum, son of Kelly McKenzie and James Andrew McKenzie (BBA 11), June 4, 2024.

WEDDINGS

Natalia Kumar and Joshua Shane Horton (BA 15, JD 17), May 19, 2024.

Brooke Lashae Swinney and Jackson Duncan, June 1, 2024.

Photo courtesy of the Mississippi Society of D.C.

MISSISSIPPI ON THE MALL

T

he Mississippi Society of Washington, D.C., hosted the 33rd annual Mississippi on the Mall on Saturday, June 8. Held at Henry Bacon Ball Field, the event drew over 600 attendees. Participants enjoyed catfish, sweet tea and Southern hospitality.

S U M M E R 2024

49

Alumni News

MISSISSIPPI IN NEW YORK

O

le Miss alumni and friends in New York celebrated the 37th Mississippi in the Park on Saturday, June 15, in Hudson River Park.

The picnic, attended by Chancellor Glenn Boyce and most of his cabinet, featured music and tables sponsored by various Mississippi universities.

As we celebrate 185 years in business, we thank our loyal Ole Miss alumni and friends for your continued support.

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OFFICIAL OLE MISS ALUMNI FASHION AND GIFTS olemissalumni.com/shop

Scan to Shop!

Alumni News

Sustaining Life Membership Program

T

he Sustaining Life Membership Program is a voluntary way for current Life Members to provide additional annual support to the Ole Miss Alumni Association at one

of several tax-deductible levels: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Blue and Red. These contributions are used to support necessary programs to engage Ole Miss alumni and friends and to help create

future alumni leaders through student involvement, scholarship and leadership programs. Thank you for your generous support of Ole Miss and the Alumni Association.

FY 2024 MEMBERS Platinum: $1,000+

Mr. and Mrs. Holmes S. Adams Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Bailess Mr. and Mrs. John L. Barker Mr. and Mrs. Lucien L. Bourgeois Mr. and Mrs. David E. Brevard Mr. and Mrs. Lampkin Butts Mr. J. Truman Channell Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Clark Drs. Ann D. and Frank A. Critz IV Mr. William M. Dalehite Jr. Mr. Fred de Roode Mr. and Mrs. Vance P. Derryberry

Dr. Michael Ederer Mr. Mac Elliott Mrs. Diane B. Eubanks Mrs. Carolynne K. Fooshee Mrs. Martha Ann Franco Lt. Col. Howard L. Gerlach Mr. and Mrs. James W. Granbery Mr. Roy Butler Granger Mr. and Mrs. William W. Gresham III Dr. Bruce R. Guerdan Mr. Robert Andrew Harder Mr. and Mrs. Samuel B. Haskell III Dr. James S. Hicks

Mr. and Mrs. D.B. Holstein W. Robert Hudgins, M.D. Mrs. Dinah Dedmon Huthnance Mr. Jerome R. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. C.M. Lusco Mr. Michael J. Maslanka Mr. and Mrs. David O. McCormick Mr. Jeffery M. Michael Mr. and Mrs. A. Bruce Moore Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Paul H. Moore Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Steven T. Mullen Mr. and Mrs. John R. Pittman Mr. and Mrs. John K. Purdom

IMPRESSIVE SOLUTIONS FOR THE REBEL WHO WANTS TO STAND OUT. PRI NT | DI REC T M A I L | DIGITA L | S TORE FRONT | L A RGE FOR M AT | DESIGN 247 I N D U S T R I A L D R I V E N

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M A D I S O N , M I S S I S S I P P I 39110

601-853-730 0

H E D E R M A N .COM

Alumni News Mrs. Barbara L. Purdon Mr. and Mrs. William N. Reed Mr. John H. Rice Mr. John Douglas Self Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Harry A. Sneed Mr. Michael R. Sweet Mr. and Mrs. William F. Tait Mr. and Mrs. John H. Thames Jr. Dr. Valmadge TeErino Towner Mrs. Elizabeth Gresham Veazey Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey J. White Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Whitley Dr. and Mrs. Lynn K. Whittington

Gold: $500-$999

Mr. and Mrs. Olen S. Akers Mr. and Mrs. Bill H. Benson Mr. and Mrs. Bradley J. Blalock Mr. and Mrs. Louis K. Brandt Mr. Larry H. Bryan Mr. Phillip C. Burnett Dr. Taylor D. Caffey Ms. Angela D. Carney Mr. B. Craig Clemmer

Mrs. Natalie F. Cofield Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Couch Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Carl D. Deweese Ms. Margaret A. Dixon Mr. and Mrs. Nicky Drake Mr. and Mrs. S. Lawrence Farrington Mr. Brooke Ferris Mr. Paul M. Franke Jr. Dr. William B. French Jr. Mr. and Mrs. William N. Fry IV Dr. Jane T. Gaede Dr. and Mrs. Yancey Gillespie Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey R. Godwin Jr. Mr. Thomas Alsop Griesedieck Dr. Nancy M. and Mr. Joel C. Hale Mr. Thomas H. Hamilton IV Mrs. Margaret Heard Hays Dr. and Mrs. George J. Heard Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth W. Hill Mr. and Mrs. R.H. Holmes IV Mr. David A. Huey Mrs. Trentice G. Imbler Mr. and Mrs. William M. James The Hon. E. Grady Jolly

Mr. and Mrs. Vernon R. Kelley III Mr. Robert L. Koestler Hon. and Mrs. William Lewis Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John A. Maloney Dr. Fred J. McDonnell Mr. and Mrs. Guy W. Mitchell III Mr. Terrence B. Mohr Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Nance III Mr. and Mrs. G.R. Neblett Jr. Mr. Claude Nixon Jr. Mrs. Jennifer R. O’Barr Mr. Robert Raymond Palmer Mr. and Mrs. Crymes G. Pittman Mr. and Mrs. Lee W. Randall Mr. and Mrs. David G. Roach Ms. Donna Ruth Roberts Mr. and Mrs. Richard Roberts III Mr. and Mrs. Larry Rocconi Jr. Dr. K. Scott Segars Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Donald S. Smith Mr. and Mrs. W. Marion Smith Mr. Hubert A. Staley Mrs. Margaret J. Varshock Mr. Kenneth W. Williams

Mississippi’s Only College Campus Bar & Grill Active OMAA Members Enjoy 10% Off Food and Beverages.

Show your app membership card Sh to receive the discount.

120 Alumni Drive 662-234-2333

olemissalumni.com/mccormicks

S U M M E R 2024

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Alumni News Mr. and Mrs. Sandy Williams Mr. Jun Yan

Silver: $250-$499

Mr. Hirschel T. Abbott Jr. Mr. Jesse R. Adams III Dr. John J. Arnold Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Ayers Dr. Antrece Lynette Baggett Ms. Carol Jo Barnes *Mr. Fred Allen Bell Jr. and Mrs. Julia S. Bell Mr. and Mrs. Gene W. Bennett Ms. Kathryn Brewer Black Mr. and Mrs. David B. Blackburn Dr. Otis J. Bouwsma and Ms. Lucilla Perez Mr. and Mrs. R.R. Brashier Mr. Charles E. Brown Mr. James E. Carr Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Carroll Jr. Dr. David K. Carter The Hon. and Ms. Mark J. Chaney Jr. Mr. Jason J. Cobb Mr. Michael P. Cohan Maj. Gen. (Ret.) and Mrs. Augustus L. Collins Mr. Henry D. Colotta Mr. L. Pepper Cossar Mr. Shelby B. Drummond Jr. Dr. and Mrs. David N. Duddleston Mr. Eric T. Duncan Jr. Mr. Robert E. Duncan Mr. John A. Dupps Mr. Stephen Scott Emerson Mr. Joe M. Enoch Mr. Alan J. Ferguson Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Flenorl Mr. and Mrs. Russell H. Folk Dr. and Mrs. Don L. Fruge’ Mr. Tommy R. Funk Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Garraway Mr. Bruce J. Gray Mr. and Mrs. Heyward Carter Green Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Gresham Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Ben Griffith Mr. and Mrs. G.O. Griffith Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Haley III Michael and Tracey Hall Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Heidelberg III Mr. H. Richard Hemmings Dr. and Mrs. Frank S. Hill Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Hardy M. Hill Mr. Harold E. Hill Jr. Mr. R. Scott Hines Hon. and Mrs. David W. Houston III 54

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Mrs. Rita S. Howard Mr. and Mrs. Rick R. Zeiher Dr. William S. Howard *Mr. Stanley Michael Hughes Blue: $100-$249 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Abernethy III Mr. James H. Ivy Dr. Richard S. Abney Mr. and Mrs. Larry L. Johnson Dr. and Mrs. George E. Abraham II *Dr. Carol Buchanan Jones Brig. Gen. and Mrs. Benjamin F. Adams III Dr. Harriet L. and Mr. Joel R. Jones Mr. Jeffrey D. Aldridge Mr. and Mrs. Jerry L. Lee Mrs. Marian Sykes Alexander Dr. and Mrs. George H. Leggett III Mr. and Mrs. Weldon Aultman Mr. James A. Lesemann Jr. Mr. Gary A. Avery Mr. and Mrs. William H. Linginfelter Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Bailey Mr. and Mrs. Robert Y. Love Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Beecroft Mr. Leonard Lurie Mr. Roeland T. Bell Dr. and Mrs. Robert A. Magarian Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Boland Dr. Gregory E. Maksi Mrs. Gayle S. Bourland Mrs. Rhoda N. Maloney Mr. Cole Brabham Hon. John N. Martin Ms. Sherrye Polk Brame Mr. and Mrs. Scott T. Matlock Mr. and Mrs. R.S. Brennan Mr. and Mrs. James A. McCullough II The Hon. Cynthia Lee Brewer Mr. and Mrs. John S. McIntyre Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Broun III Mrs. Catherine P. Miller Mr. Ernie H. Brown Mrs. Vivian LeFlore Mora Mr. and Mrs. James L. Brown Mrs. Elizabeth L. Morgan Mrs. Holly H. Buchanan *Mr. Sidney Gerald Morgan Mr. David Wayne Callicutt Dr. and Mrs. Lee D. Morris Mr. and Mrs. John S. Case Mrs. Ruth T. Murdock Mrs. Hilda Louise Casin Mrs. Phyllis H. Nuckolls Mr. Darren Riley Chapman Mr. and Mrs. Rush O’Keefe Mr. David H. Chapman Mr. and Mrs. Steven R. Osso Mr. and Mrs. Gary S. Childers Mr. Tommy C. Pannell Eric and Karan Clark Mr. Charles G. Perkins Dr. Neal G. Clement Mr. and Mrs. Michael R. Peters Mr. Benjamin Augustus Collins Ms. Janet Jones Pilko Dr. Jeff R. Comer Dr. and Mrs. James W. Rayner Drs. Charles L. and Rosemary M. Conlon Mrs. Mary Jane Ridgway Dr. Ann Homer Cook Dr. Jeff W. Rish III Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Cook Mr. Marc Rosen Mr. Giles A. Coors III Mr. Ronald L. Samuels Mr. and Mrs. R. Steven Cox Mr. and Mrs. Robert Seibels III Mr. and Mrs. J.J. Crongeyer Jr. Dr. S.L. Sethi Dr. James M. Cross Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Sloan Maj. Bryan A. Culipher Mr. and Mrs. Briggs Smith Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Cunningham Mr. Michael R. Smith Dr. James W. Davis Dr. and Mrs. Gordon L. Stanfield Ms. Mary Leslie Davis Mr. and Mrs. A.W. Stringer Mrs. Tis N. Dean Dr. and Mrs. John H. Sumners Ms. Schantell Y. Dearing Mr. Dennis James Troy Mr. William Joseph Dennis Mr. James S. Verplanck Mr. Ted Denstel Dr. James E. Warrington Dr. and Mrs. Robert A. DeSantis Dr. Benjamin O. Weeks Jr. Mrs. Demetria Barnes Dobbs Mr. James B. Wolf Mr. Richard M. Edmonson Sr. Mr. and Mrs. David A. Wright Mr. Michael W. Wright and Mrs. Vickie M. Cook Mr. Xavier Omar Edwards

YOU ARE PART OF OUR PAST.

BE A PART OF OUR FUTURE.

T

he Ole Miss Alumni Association allows you to have the connection with the place and people that share your past, while securing Ole Miss’ future with funding for student outreach, scholarships, reunions, alumni communications and athletics support.

Lend us your voice by remaining an active, duespaying member. Renew at olemissalumni.com/join and encourage family and friends to remain active.

Thank you for being an active part of the Alumni Association.

Alumni News Hon. and Mrs. Robert W. Elliott Sr. Mr. Robert E. Ellis Mr. Larry E. Eubank Mr. and Mrs. Bryan P. Farmer Mr. Harold L. Ferguson Jr. Mrs. Weba Coward Ferguson Ms. Mary Elizabeth Ford The Hon. and Mrs. Webb Franklin Mr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Frierson Mr. and Mrs. H.W. Gates Mrs. Judy A. Gauthier Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Gex II Dr. and Mrs. Randel C. Gibson Mr. Karl D. Gottschalk Mr. and Mrs. George R. Goza Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Grant Mrs. Mary Ann W. Griesbeck Mr. and Mrs. Lowell E. Grisham Jr. Chief Warrant Officer William Gray Hairston Jr. Mr. Bradley G. Hall Ms. Alice L. Hammond Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Hancock Jr. Mr. William L. Harrington Jr. Dr. John F. Hassell Mrs. Catherine Anderson Hawkins Mr. and Mrs. Van Elliott Hedges Mr. T. David Hedrick Mr. and Mrs. Mike Henry Mr. and Mrs. James C. Herbert Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Timothy N. Herndon Dr. Hartwell C. Herring III Ms. Monica M. Hewes

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Mr. Joseph M. Hinshaw III Ms. Carol A. Hobby Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Holland Dr. Jerry Holmes Mrs. Dana Dallosta Horner Mrs. Ann Phillips Hough Mr. and Mrs. Carson M. Hughes Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Hutchins Jr. Dr. William A. Ivy Mrs. Rebecca K. Jabour Mrs. Alice D. Jackson Mr. and Mrs. Ted D. Jackson Mr. Marcus C. Jennings III Mrs. Deborah T. Johnson Mrs. Melissa Windham Johnston Mr. and Mrs. Augustus R. Jones Mr. and Mrs. Michael Jones Mrs. Michelle W. Jones Mr. Ted Jones Mrs. Joyce D. Jurik Mrs. Delia H. Kaigler Dr. Gloria Kellum Mr. and Mrs. Bobby J. Kidder Ms. Leone D. King Mrs. Joy F. Kirchhoff Mr. Roosevelt Kitchens Dr. Alan G. Landvay Mr. and Mrs. John B. Laney Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Lauderdale Mr. and Mrs. David L. Lawrence Mr. Charles P. Leonard Mrs. Barbera Hollowell Liddon Mr. Hubert S. Lipscomb Jr.

Dr. Charles D. Llano Mr. Joe Macione Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Maness Mr. and Mrs. Cooper A. Manning Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Maples Mrs. Mary Ellen B. Marchand Mr. and Mrs. Michael F. Martin Dr. Olin B. Mauldin Jr. Mr. Wallace G. McAlpin Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. McCormick Mrs. Daisye R. McGee Mr. William A. McGinnis Jr. Dr. William T. McLarty Mr. Todd McLeod Mr. and Mrs. Floyd M. Melton III Mr. and Mrs. Floyd M. Melton Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Meredith Dr. Vernon Miller and Ms. Sheral Cade Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey C. Mitchell Dr. James B. Moore Jr. and Mrs. Caren K. Madden Dr. Catherine Woodyard Moring Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Morlino Mr. and Mrs. William H. Morris Jr. Dr. Karl F. Morrison Dr. William R. Mott Mr. Christian S. Mueller Mr. Thomas Munoz Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Sherman Muths Jr. Mrs. Linda M. Newell Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Christopher Norwood Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Orange Mrs. Rebecca G. Pace Mr. and Mrs. Edward P. Peacock III

Alumni News Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Pointer Mrs. Anne Biles Ponder Mr. and Mrs. Ray S. Poole Jr. Dr. and Mrs. John W. Prados Mrs. Camille S. Puckett Mr. and Mrs. William M. Renovich Mr. Mack W. Riley Mr. William Robert Roberts Dr. and Mrs. Gerald M. Robertson Dr. Tommie L. Robinson Jr. Mrs. Merrell Rogers Dr. Walter H. Rose Mr. and Mrs. William J. Ross III Mr. Bernard L. Royce Mr. and Mrs. Scott A. Samuels Mr. and Mrs. Lenny Sawyer Dr. Mark E. Schandorff Mr. and Mrs. Eugene R. Schnierle Mr. John Richard Schwalje Mr. Frank Seid Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Shaw Mrs. Lisa Puckett Sinders Dr. Patsy S. Sledge Dr. and Mrs. John A. Smith Jr. Mr. William K. Smith Capt. Jack F. Speed Jr. The Hon. and Mrs. S.R. Steckler Dr. Kate Stewart Mr. Stanley M. Swentkowski Mr. and Mrs. Barrett B. Teller Mr. and Mrs. Denny Terrell Mrs. Lucy M. Thompson Mrs. Rebecca Allen Thompson

Ms. Julia H. Thornton Dr. and Mrs. William C. Cushman Dr. Ancel C. Tipton Jr. and *Mrs. Senith Ann Dr. William D. Davenport Jr. Tipton Dr. Thomas C. Evans Jr. Mr. Vincent M. Tsin Mr. and Mrs. Charles Farris III Mr. and Mrs. James E. Vance Mrs. Sandra K. Finley Lt. Col. and Mrs. Ronald J. Vaughan Mr. John W. Glenn Mrs. Jeanine Ogletree Walker Mr. Frank Bentley Hampton Mr. William L. Wallace III Mr. J. Rush Hicks Jr. Dr. Juliet H. Walton Dr. Lisa and Mr. Timothy W. Huddleston Mr. and Mrs. Gregory P. Ware Dr. and Mrs. Albert C. Laws Mr. Charles E. Warren Ms. Carmen E. Lewis Mr. Cecil L. Watkins Mr. and Mrs. Eddie K. Lindsey Dr. and Mrs. Donald Q. Weaver Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Lucas Mr. Larry D. Weeden Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Silas W. McCharen Mr. James H. Wheeler Jr. Dr. Teresa Rowley McDaniel Mrs. Anne J. Wilbourne Mr. Dale H. McDavitt Mr. Dan S. Wilford Mrs. Tiffany Jacquelyn Mensi Mr. A. Thomas Williams Mrs. Cathie M. Moore Mr. Henry L. Wilson Mr. and Mrs. Glen A. Murphy Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Witty Mrs. Priscilla P. Musgrave Dr. and Mrs. Travis W. Yates Mr. and Mrs. William J. Nunley Mrs. Rebecca G. Pace Red: $1-$99 Mrs. Dorothy J. Pennington Mr. J. Michael Blackburn Ms. Deborah A. Pierce Mr. and Mrs. William R. Bouchillon Mr. Jimmie Gerald Purvis Mr. and Mrs. Bub Brannan *Mr. Donald Gordon Shipp Sr. Mr. Samuel Welman Braswell Jr. Ms. Hannah Grace Steele Mr. William E. Brent Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Ketric T. Tyson Mr. Richard Malcolm Caldwell Mr. and Mrs. L.K. Watt Jr. Mr. Keith M. Canfield Dr. William E. Wheeler Mrs. Susan A. Cantrell Mr. and Mrs. Jerome W. Wilson Jr. Mrs. Desiree P. Casey Mr. Kenneth W. Yerby Mr. George L. Chamberlain Jr. *Deceased

P R I V A T E LO CATED ON THE SQUARE IN OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI FROM THE ESTATE OF A SOUTHERN LADY.

OPEN SATURDAY 11AM - 4PM WEEKDAYS BY APPOINTMENT Inquiries: Rex Harrison Brunt (662) 803-5544 Explore The Collection: www.theonlyoxford.com The use of registered trademarks of others is merely to identify goods. All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Use of those product and company names does not imply, nor is there, any affiliation with or endorsement by them.

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Alumni News IN MEMORIAM 1930s Hubert Larry Barnett (BSCvE 39), of Louisville, Tenn., Dec. 2, 2023

1940s Thomas Moore Barnett (BBA 48), of Tupelo, June 17, 2024 Rozelle Hahn (MedCert 48), of Santa Fe, N.M., April 1, 2024 Bettie Boyce Hollingsworth (48), of Hernando, April 30, 2024 Sara Simmons Morgan (BSC 45), of Greenwood, May 29, 2024 Alma Eugenie Hopkins Parkerson (BA 42), of Madison, April 20, 2024

1950s Ellis Nick Abdo III (BA 57, MD 62), of Fort Worth, Texas, April 11, 2024 Lawrence Atwell Ashley Jr. (BSCvE 56), of Liberty Lake, Wash., March 26, 2024 Dorrance Aultman (LLB 56), of Hattiesburg, June 17, 2024 Rayburn Holmes Bates (54), of Ocean Springs, Aug. 24, 2023 James Marvin Beck (BBA 59), of Baton Rouge, La., April 7, 2024 Jimmy Carl Beck Sr. (54), of Memphis, Tenn., April 22, 2024 Ann McPherson Bryan (BAEd 59), of Huntington Beach, Calif., June 23, 2023 Florice Bailey Cardwell (BSC 54, MBEd 58), of Oxford, May 14, 2024 Robert Lee Chiles Jr. (BSME 59), of Villa Rica, Ga., March 6, 2024

John Shannon Clark (LLB 58), of Waynesboro, April 4, 2024 Richard Forrest Collins (BA 52, MS 56), of Glendale, Calif., March 18, 2024 John Thomas Copeland Jr. (MD 58), of Starkville, July 7, 2023 Edward Duncan Eidt (BBA 51), of Natchez, May 13, 2024 Harvey Young Fiser (BA 50), of Clarksdale, March 24, 2024 Rose Wilson Fleming (BAEd 59, MLS 76), of Marietta, Ga., Aug. 8, 2023 Eleanor Green Gerrard (BAEd 51), of Hattiesburg, April 23, 2024 Dorcas Ferguson Gregory (MA 57), of Senatobia, May 23, 2023 Jo Ann Thomas Griffin (BA 55), of Arlington, Va., Jan. 16, 2024 Dorse Harland Hagler (BA 59), of Denton, Texas, Dec. 1, 2023 Bernice Mazurek Harmon (MA 50), of Clinton, Tenn., March 22, 2024 Joan Kinard Hood (BAEd 57), of Shannon, May 12, 2024 Iva Nell Harris Huff (BSC 51), of Meridian, June 7, 2024 Margaret Eugenia Krutz Lamar (BSC 59), of Austin, Texas, June 3, 2024 Edward McLean Loggins (52), of Beaumont, Texas, May 24, 2024 Joseph Tillman Lyle (BA 52, BSPh 55), of Ridgeland, May 17, 2024 Mary Harwell Marable (BAEd 58), of Richmond, Va., April 29, 2024 Martha Jane Marcum Matthews (BSHPE 54), of Palm Coast, Fla., July 2, 2023 Bill Sanders McLaughlin (BBA 56), of Burlison, Tenn., Jan. 7, 2024 Martha Dulaney McLeod (BSC 55), of Memphis, Tenn., Sept. 5, 2023 Martha Davis McManus (59), of Houston, Texas, March 30, 2024 Linda Lee Miles Meyer (BS 59), of Denver, Colo., July 2, 2023

ONLINE MBA EX PAN D YOU R OP PO RT U NI T I ES

I looked for a program that had high rankings, good reviews, and great financial value.

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• Rolling admission for fall, spring, and summer cohorts.

ONLINE.OLEMISS.EDU/MYMBA mba@olemiss.edu | 662-915-5483

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The Future Alumni Network is the student level of membership in the Ole Miss Alumni Association.

Becoming a member is the erst step in beginning students’ lifelong relationship with Ole Miss.

Get special gifts & perks: • Free printing and scantrons in Triplett Alumni Center Sponsored by Rose Business Equipme Equipment

• Special events throughout the year just for student members • Receive special gifts every year • Access to MEMBER ZONE on home football game days • Discounts and special offers at local and national retailers • Meet prominent alumni and learn valuable career advice at our networking events • Special car decal

Memberships are only $25 annually, or $75 for four years for undergrads!

• Four-year members receive $100 off an alumni Life Membership their senior year.

JJn Today!

JOIN ONLINE AT OLEMISSALUMNI.COM/STUDENTS

Alumni News Edward Lile Murphree Jr. (BSCvE 54, MA 62), of Oakton, Va., Dec. 26, 2023 Elizabeth Carolyn Pylant Nesbitt (BAEd 52), of Scottsboro, Ala., May 30, 2024 Jack Parsons (LLB 56), of Wiggins, April 10, 2024 Ursula Byrd Patch (BAEd 51), of Tarpon Springs, Fla., July 27, 2023 Gerald Calhoun Phillips (59), of Denver, Colo., April 25, 2024 Bettie Rutherford Pittman (BA 52), of Athens, Ga., March 11, 2024 Sylvia Elias Prewitt (BAEd 58), of Osceola, Ark., April 10, 2024 Ronald Duane Ragland (BSChE 55), of Casper, Wyo., Jan. 30, 2024 William Robert Reynolds (BBA 51), of Pompton Plains, N.J., April 1, 2024 Eone Chatham Riales (BSC 57), of Nesbit, Sept. 26, 2023 J.W. Richardson (BBA 54), of Flora, Aug. 8, 2023 Lloyd William Rose (54), of Starkville, April 17, 2024 Donald Phillip Smith (BSHPE 50), of Williamsburg, Va., May 23, 2024 Mary Evelyn Nabors Spencer (BAEd 54), of Paducah, Ky., April 23, 2024 Charlene Dansby Trexler (BA 58), of Lakeland, Tenn., Aug. 10, 2023 Bobby Hoyt Tyler (BSHPE 59, MEd 64), of Water Valley, April 28, 2024 Robert Preston Wailes Jr. (BBA 57), of New Orleans, La., June 6, 2024 Rubye Myers Williams (BAEd 53, MEd 65), of Nixa, Mo., July 19, 2023

1960s Wilson Otis Allen (BSPh 67), of Southaven, April 4, 2024 Milton John Arras Jr. (MD 64), of Walterboro, S.C., March 28, 2024 Robert Baringer (MD 60), of St. Augustine, Fla., March 26, 2024 Sarah Flowers Boling (BSC 63), of East Lansing, Mich., March 11, 2024 Emma Marie Braddock (MEd 67), of Ripley, July 15, 2023 William Doyle Brewer (BBA 69), of Saltillo, April 12, 2024 Robert Emery Carrington III (62), of Byhalia, June 11, 2024 Donald Merritt Clanton (BSHPE 65, MEd 71), of Senatobia, May 20, 2024

While serving as former General Manager of the Inn at Ole Miss for 30 years, it was a joy to work with the Ole Miss Alumni and those that visited Oxford and the surrounding areas!

With 18 years in Real Estate, my continued passion is to guide and help individuals in the purchase or sale of property!

I would love to help you!

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William Hopson Compton (BA 63), of Notasulga, Ala., May 13, 2023 Irvin Howard Cronin (MD 60), of Brandon, March 26, 2024 Bill Crook (60), of Raleigh, N.C., March 21, 2024 Rufus Noble Dillard (BAEd 60), of Apex, N.C., June 1, 2023 Donald Ray Downs (LLB 63), of Corinth, April 15, 2024 Harold Eugene Dunn (BA 68), of Lambertville, N.J., April 13, 2024 Peggy Emerson (EdD 68), of Heflin, Ala., May 5, 2024 Mary Catherine Stephens Estes (BA 66), of Oxford, June 18, 2024 John Murray Estess (MD 63), of Tupelo, April 3, 2024 William Franklin Ferguson (EdD 69), of Hernando, March 24, 2024 Robert Dennis Findley (BA 64), of Gallatin, Tenn., July 3, 2023 Lula Mae Goode (MBEd 62), of San Angelo, Texas, Dec. 5, 2023 Gayle Goodin (MA 66, PhD 78), of Griffin, Ga., Aug. 31, 2023 Leslie David Hervey Jr. (BBA 63), of Jackson, April 4, 2024 Judith Inez Craft Hester (BA 62), of DeSoto, Texas, Nov. 27, 2023 Betty Jane Smith Hoar (MA 60), of Oxford, April 11, 2024 Cliff Hodge (BBA 64, JD 67), of Baton Rouge, La., May 8, 2024 Wallace Earl Hoffman (PhD 68), of Leesburg, Fla., March 23, 2024 Herman Sarkis Hovagimyan (MS 61), of Newport Beach, Calif., Feb. 20, 2023 Jamie Whitten Howell (BSHPE 61, MEd 62), of Pope, May 7, 2024 Charlene Chiles Imholz (BA 69), of Mountain Home, Ark., March 31, 2024 Sylvia Murphy Jacobs (BSC 62), of Niceville, Fla., Feb. 1, 2024 Anita Dossett Jones (66), of Pottstown, Pa., June 6, 2024 Daniel Porter Jordan Jr. (BA 60, MA 62), of Charlottesville, Va., March 21, 2024 Faye Holland King (BA 64), of Madison, May 22, 2024 Anne White Koethcke (BAEd 64), of Clifton Forge, Va., May 10, 2024 Billye Jo Pettis Landis (BSN 61), of Kingwood, Texas, May 20, 2024 John Mallory Lewis (BSCvE 63), of Water Valley, April 19, 2024 Lee McDonald Lipscomb Jr. (BSEE 61), of Freeport, Fla., April 15, 2024 Henry Dallas Little Jr. (60), of Raleigh, Dec. 16, 2023

LARRY MCCAY

lmccay67@gmail.com 662.816.1667

Alumni News Richard Snow Lybarger (MA 69), of Madison, July 30, 2023 George M. Mann (MCS 65), of Jacksonville, Ill., April 7, 2024 Leonard Wayne Martinec (BSPh 60, MD 64), of Owens Cross Roads, Ala., June 8, 2024 Joseph Leray McNamara (BA 69, JD 75), of Jackson, March 23, 2024 John Charles McPhail (MCS 63), of Madison, Sept. 21, 2023 John Gordon McWilliams (69), of Hattiesburg, April 11, 2024 Alan Emil Michel (BA 60, JD 71), of Daphne, Ala., Jan. 7, 2024 Hazel Carr Michel (MEd 68, AMEd 70), of Daphne, Ala., Dec. 6, 2023 James Newell Miller (BSME 60), of Galveston, Texas, March 25, 2024 Wilmer Riddle Mills (64), of Zachary, La., May 11, 2024 Benjamin Edward Mulligan (MA 61, PhD 64), of Clover, S.C., Jan. 9, 2024 Robert Hitt Neill Jr. (BBA 64), of Stoneville, April 21, 2024 George Allen Page (MCS 65), of Southington, Conn., March 23, 2024 Roger Lee Paulus (MEd 68), of Perryville, Mo., May 27, 2024 Georgia Parnell Pearce (MALT 64), of Fayetteville, Ark., April 18, 2024 Ann Roberson Powell (BAEd 60, MA 61), of Athens, Ga., May 3, 2024 Joyce Murphy Redmond (64), of Clarksdale, May 21, 2024 Gary Sewell Roberson (BBA 65), of Columbia, S.C., April 29, 2024 Rebecca Taylor Robertson (BS 61), of Oxford, May 23, 2024 Jimmy Ray Rose (MS 64), of Birmingham, Ala., Oct. 13, 2023 Vernon Frank Ross (MD 65), of Seattle, Wash., Feb. 19, 2024 Michael Evans Ryan (BBA 65), of Hattiesburg, Jan. 14, 2024 Konrad Wolfgang Scheel (PhD 69), of Deming, N.M., April 2, 2024 Frank Joseph Schlosser (BBA 65), of Cade, La., Dec. 5, 2023 John William Seale (63), of Livingston, Texas, March 24, 2024 Thomas Pettus Shelburne III (BSME 64), of Mercer, Pa., Aug. 30, 2023 Dolores Thomas Smith (MBEd 60), of Poplarville, Dec. 3, 2023 Sydney Allen Smith III (BA 63), of Flowood, April 26, 2024 Agnes Taylor King Thomas (BSC 69), of Memphis, Tenn., April 9, 2024 Louise Hendrix Thomas (MBEd 66), of Memphis, Tenn., June 29, 2023 Ronald Alton Thornton (BSPh 67), of Brandon, Nov. 8, 2023

Horacio Luis Tisera-Lopez (64), of Pittsburgh, Pa., June 5, 2024 Ronald Linwood Toulouse (BAEd 61, MBEd 65), of Kennesaw, Ga., April 14, 2024 Carwell Willis Traylor Jr. (BSPh 68), of McComb, April 29, 2024 Sharon Hoopingarner Uhl (MEd 69), of Satsuma, Fla., June 9, 2024 William Hutcherson Vaughan Jr. (BS 64, MD 67), of St. Pete Beach, Fla., April 19, 2024 Robert Broughton Wade Jr. (BAEd 60), of Oxford, April 19, 2024 Sandra Kay Houston Walden (BS 66, MA 78), of Atlanta, Ga., May 16, 2024 Nancy Sue White (BS 67, MA 74, MLS 82), of Pontotoc, May 25, 2024 Jerry Michael Wilson (BSPh 69), of Hermann, Mo., May 31, 2024

1970s Noell Bush Bailey (BA 73), of Cape Girardeau, Mo., June 7, 2024 Brenda New Bauch (BPA 74, MCJ 76), of College Grove, Tenn., June 13, 2024 Ramona Pryor Beardain (BA 76), of Batesville, May 29, 2024 Bobby Lewis Broach (MEd 70), of Conway, Ark., July 29, 2023 Jerry Wayne Bullock (BBA 72), of Boyle, March 29, 2024 Janis Worthen Champion (BAEd 72), of Oxford, June 3, 2024 Hilda Brasher Cline (BM 72, MM 77), of Amory, June 14, 2024 Regina Tolar Coleman (BA 74), of Memphis, Tenn., May 23, 2024 Robert Kerry Coleman (BAEd 73), of Cabot, Ark., March 24, 2024 JoAnne Avent Collins (72), of Water Valley, May 24, 2024 Alvis Kenneth Cooper (MSS 79), of Myrtle, March 27, 2024 Malcolm Charles Cullen (BA 72), of Panama City Beach, Fla., April 2, 2024 Rosie Lee Daniel (MBEd 75), of Bruce, Dec. 18, 2023 Betty Brown Duffee (MCS 70), of Marianna, Fla., April 21, 2024 William Franklin Edwards (BSPh 72), of Ridgeland, June 8, 2024 Mary Baptist Farrar (MEd 78), of Tupelo, March 26, 2024 Deborah Black Franklin (BPA 78, MCJ 79), of Hernando, April 29, 2024 Ray Albert Furr Jr. (BA 71, MA 96), of Oxford, March 26, 2024

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Inquiries: Rex Harrison Brunt (662) THE-ONLY | Explore The Collection: www.theonlyoxford.com The use of registered trademarks of others is merely to identify goods. All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Use of those product and company names does not imply, nor is there, any affiliation with or endorsement by them.

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Alumni News Nellie Bennett Gault (BAEd 76, MEd 86), of Saltillo, March 15, 2024 Rebecca Rainey Graeber (BBA 75, JD 86), of Marks, April 27, 2024 Selma Jordan Green (MEd 78), of Sardis, May 12, 2023 Johnny Michael Grisham (BBA 70), of Prattville, Ala., April 14, 2024 William Gatlin Hardin Sr. (MD 78), of Memphis, Tenn., May 22, 2024 Charles Hill Hawkins Jr. (BBA 73), of Kosciusko, May 28, 2024 Bobby Joe Hibbard (MEd 74), of Monticello, Ark., March 24, 2024 Audrey Cannon Hill (BAEd 74), of Memphis, Tenn., May 25, 2024 Shelia Jackson Hill (BSB 75), of Baton Rouge, La., May 15, 2024 Barbara Jones House (MN 78, PhD 87), of Madison, April 14, 2024 James Michael Ingram (BPA 78), of Madison, April 15, 2024 Charlie Sam Iupe Jr. (BBA 76), of Houston, Texas, April 11, 2024 Carol Buchanan Jones (BAEd 72, MEd 76, PhD 80), of Gulfport, May 9, 2024 Norman Ray Kaylor Sr. (PhD 71), of Leland, N.C., March 18, 2024 Floyd Ellis King Jr. (BSN 75), of Brandon, May 17, 2024 John Howard King (MA 79), of Paris, Ky., Jan. 22, 2024 Bettie Dixon Knight (MD 72), of Jackson, May 3, 2024 Richard Lynn Lantrip (BPA 73), of Water Valley, April 14, 2024 Kathy Oakley McCall (BA 75), of Hartsville, Tenn., May 15, 2024 Henry James McFarland Jr. (BBA 72), of Fernandina Beach, Fla., March 30, 2024 Jimmy Arnold Meeks (MD 73), of Tiplersville, April 26, 2024 Danny Davis Moore (BA 75, MD 79), of Fulton, March 22, 2024 Alton Fredric Morgan Jr. (BBA 73), of Brentwood, Tenn., May 12, 2024 Martha Webb Nicholson (BAEd 74), of Hattiesburg, June 6, 2024 Joann Bready Potts (BAEd 73), of Oxford, Jan. 16, 2024 Priscilla Jean Keck Rampy (75), of Roswell, Ga., March 18, 2024 David Lee Ray (BA 76), of Ridgeland, May 23, 2024 Erly Robinson (MCS 75), of Marks, Feb. 12, 2024 Tommy Lee Rowland (BBA 72), of Miramar Beach, Fla., May 17, 2024 Linda Hudson Segrest (BM 71), of Birmingham, Ala., May 14, 2024

Cook

Thomas Louis Segrest (JD 72), of Birmingham, Ala., May 31, 2024 Kathleen Saffold Shackelford (BA 79, MS 87), of Coila, May 22, 2024 Forrest Hugh Shoemaker (MCS 70, PhD 74), of Arvada, Colo., May 5, 2024 Sarah Dixon Shutt (MA 71), of Hamptonville, N.C., Dec. 17, 2023 Ferr Smith (JD 73), of Jackson, Nov. 5, 2023 Rachel Hudson Smith (MLS 78), of Austin, Texas, Nov. 29, 2023 Robert Clifton Strong (MD 76), of Ridgeland, June 9, 2024 John Emerson Terrell (MEd 70), of Wauchula, Fla., May 3, 2024 Grady Franklin Tollison Jr. (JD 71), of Oxford, May 31, 2024 William Francis Tracy (EdD 79), of Chattanooga, Tenn., May 30, 2024 Jack Dennis Wamble (MEd 78), of Milton, Fla., Oct. 22, 2023 Patricia Kelley Wells (BSN 74, MN 79), of Jackson, Jan. 24, 2024 Billy Don West (BSPh 70), of Biloxi, April 24, 2024 Robert Lee Williamson (BSHPE 76, MEd 78), of Texarkana, Texas, May 21, 2024 Darilynn Wade Wilson (BA 73, MD 84), of Pensacola, Fla., April 19, 2024 Wanda Lee Wright (AMEd 73), of Cape Girardeau, Mo., March 28, 2024

1980s Abraham Abraham (MS 85), of Kerala, India, May 7, 2024 Chester Anderson (BSEE 89), of Blue Springs, May 27, 2024 Mary Jean Parkinson Blackston (MEd 80), of Oxford, April 1, 2024 Deidre Krecker Childers (BA 86), of Marion, Ill., April 30, 2024 Doyle Lee Coats (JD 82), of Gulfport, April 26, 2024 Maurice Joseph Duplantis III (BS 82), of Covington, La., March 23, 2024 Chris Nicolaos Fox (BBA 87), of Gunter, Texas, April 18, 2024 Jeffrey Glenn Harden (BBA 86), of Brandon, April 23, 2024 Thomasine Hill (BA 80), of Waverly, Tenn., March 29, 2024

AT THE VIKING COOKING SCHOOL

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Alumni News Detra Swafford Holloway (BAEd 85), of Jackson, Tenn., June 5, 2024 Stanley Michael Hughes (BBA 89), of Denver, N.C., May 11, 2024 Peggy Ruth Jolly (MAud 82, MEd 03), of Tupelo, April 9, 2024 Lee Ann McKell Kantor (BSN 86), of Canton, April 7, 2024 Regan Adonis Mason (BAccy 83), of Biloxi, April 4, 2024 Samuel Eric Storm (BS 85), of Madison, April 21, 2024 Roy Anthony West (BSN 85), of Jackson, April 13, 2024 Paul Jeffrey Wright (BBA 80), of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., April 16, 2024

1990s Adron Dale Blaylock Jr. (BBA 99), of Fulton, May 12, 2024 Martha-Carol Whitehead Carpenter (BAEd 91), of Collierville, Tenn., April 5, 2024 Scott Dunnam (90), of New Albany, June 10, 2024 Helen Adamchik Hancock (JD 90), of Ocean Springs, April 18, 2024 James Strong Henderson III (DMD 95), of Hattiesburg, May 5, 2024 Jennifer Smith McGee (BA 92, MS 94), of De Witt, Ark., April 15, 2024 Julie Howard Stark (BSHEc 92), of Memphis, Tenn., April 5, 2024 Mark Stevenson Taylor (MS 95), of Brandon, Feb. 25, 2024 Robert Mansfield Wayne (92), of Corinth, May 10, 2024

Linda Pratt Johnson (BA 04), of Hernando, Aug. 17, 2023 Brian O’Neal Noble (BA 04), of Hoover, Ala., May 28, 2024 Joy Brewer Riley (BBA 03), of Senatobia, Dec. 5, 2023 Andrew Keith Ryals (BA 08, DPT 11), of Winona, June 10, 2024

2010s Elliot Cole Christian (13), of Oxford, June 11, 2024 Tracy Allen Dye (BAccy 14), of Shannon, April 19, 2024 Michael Joiner Halford (BA 13), of Madison, May 19, 2024 Mary Grace Hunter (11), of Oxford, May 30, 2024 Robert Goy Miller (11), of Oxford, April 15, 2024 Sherrita Campbell Murray (15), of Oxford, March 20, 2024 Jacob William Nabors (17), of Germantown, Tenn., March 19, 2024 Christopher Kevin Newman II (BGS 15), of Shuqualak, April 22, 2024 Catherine Zita Walsh (12), of Oxford, Sept. 9, 2023

2020s Marcus Leon Daniels Jr. (23), of Lucedale, June 11, 2024 Fraquan Gaines (BMDS 20), of Oxford, May 18, 2024 Kaylea Ann Kemper (BSCJ 24), of Oxford, June 1, 2024

2000s

STUDENT

Charles Bradley Harris (09), of New Albany, March 27, 2024

Kylee Alissa Googe, of Hernando, April 9, 2024

The University of Mississippi Museum Presents

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S U M M E R 2024

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Alumni News FACULTY, STAFF AND FRIENDS Mark M. Anthony, of Water Valley, May 16, 2024 Joseph Lincoln Arceneaux, of Madison, March 31, 2024 Michael William Bruner, of Oxford, June 6, 2024 Jerry Ned Clanton, of Birmingham, Ala., March 24, 2024 Betty Gregory Dickson, of Parsons, Tenn., Jan. 5, 2024 Jerry Michael Estes, of Madison, April 10, 2024 Daniel Gilchrist IV, of Carthage, June 9, 2024 Patrick William Haley, of Oxford, April 25, 2024 Charles Virgil Imbler Sr., of Tupelo, May 26, 2024 Peggy Eskridge Inman, of Oxford, May 3, 2024 Howard Lee Jones Jr., of Natchez, May 28, 2024 Ron Knapp, of Oxford, June 9, 2024 John Augustus Manning III, of Baton Rouge, La., May 4, 2024 Elmer Julian Maples, of Oxford, June 17, 2024 Jimmy Lamar McCoy Jr., of Pontotoc, April 15, 2024 Gilbert Ronald Merritt, of Dawsonville, Ga., June 9, 2024 Margaret Anne Murphey, of Tupelo, June 1, 2024 James Clinton Nix Sr., of Meadville, May 26, 2024

Mary Profilet, of Grenada, May 6, 2024 Harry Gene Rayburn, of Tupelo, May 14, 2024 Robert Sandler Rhodes, of Norristown, Pa., Feb. 28, 2024 Robert Lee Richardson Jr., of Memphis, Tenn., June 8, 2024 Sontero Dewayne Rooks, of Oxford, May 8, 2024 Sam Lee Scheffsky, of Oxford, April 21, 2024 William Donald Seagrove, of Madison, April 5, 2024 Stephen Charles Sloan, of Orlando, Fla., April 14, 2024 Frances Watts Smith, of Oxford, April 4, 2024 James Gregory Thames, of Youngsville, La., March 30, 2024 Brenda Musgrove Tillman, of Roswell, Ga., March 24, 2024 Senith Couillard Tipton, of Jackson, April 13, 2024 Christine Smith White, of Coldwater, April 28, 2024 Millicent Whitson Workman, of Plano, Texas, Jan. 29, 2024

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 1374, Oxford, MS 38655. 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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Ole Miss affinity license plates also are available in AL, GA, TN, TX, and Washington, DC. For more information, visit olemissalumni.com.

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