Ole Miss Alumni Review - Summer 2009

Ole Miss AluMni Review

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The real-life adventures of UM’s own Indiana Jones Football Coach Houston Nutt off the field

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Department of Fun

From cricket to fly-fishing, there’s never a dull moment in Campus Recreation

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The University of Mississippi Alumni Association P.O. Box 1848 University, MS 38677-1848 (662) 915-7375 www.olemissalumni.com

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at t h e u n i v e R s i t y o f M i s s i s s i pp i

ACOUSTICS

C O M PU TATI O N A L M O D E LIN G

DIS A S TER PREPA REDNE S S E N V IR O N M E N TA L S T E WA RD S HIP

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or information on research being conducted at Ole Miss or to become involved by helping support a particular research effort, please contact the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at 662-915-7583 or changeagents@research.olemiss.edu.

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Vol. 58 No. 3

features

16 Taking Fun Seriously on the cover

Campus recreation works hard providing activities from white water rafting to yoga. by tom speed

22 Jay Johnson

departments 4 From the CirCle

the latest on ole miss students, faculty, staff and friends

and the adventures of a real-life archaeologist.

14 Calendar

by andrew abernathy

36 sports

26 It’s Not Easy Being Green

Creating a culture of environmental awareness and efficiency is goal for year-old sustainability effort. by jim urbanek

30 There’s More to Life than Football Coach houston nutt’s commitment to players, fans and the community goes far beyond the gridiron. by tobie baker

On the cover: Cricket is one of the club sports managed through Campus Recreation. Photo by Kevin Bain

Freshman wins nCaa tennis singles championship

40 arts and Culture 42 travel 46 alumni news

For dental alumnus of the year, passion for profession started in high school

Ole Miss A lumni R eview P ublisher Timothy L. Walsh (83) Editor Jim Urbanek II (97) jim@olemiss.edu A ssociate Editor and A dvertising Director Tom Speed (91) tom@olemiss.edu Creative Director Sabrina Brown Designers Rachael Davis Eric Summers Editorial A ssistant Lauren Smith C orrespondents Andrew Abernathy (08), Kevin Bain (98), Tobie Baker (96), Rebecca Lauck Cleary (97), Mitchell Diggs (82), Jennifer Farish (01), Jay Ferchaud, Robert Jordan (82), Jack Mazurak, Lindsey Phillips, Elaine Pugh, Edwin Smith (80), Emily R. Welly, Matt Westerfield

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Officers of The University M ississippi A lumni A ssociation Rose Jackson Flenorl (79), president Charles Clark (72), president-elect Bill May (79), vice president John T. Cossar (61), athletics committee member Karen Lee (73), athletics committee member

A lumni A ffairs Staff, O xford Timothy L. Walsh (83), executive director Joseph Baumbaugh, systems analyst I Sarah Kathryn M. Hickman (03), assistant director for marketing and membership Clay Cavett (86), associate director Josh Davis (99), assistant director Martha Dollarhide, systems programmer II Sheila Dossett (75), senior associate director Annette Kelly (79), accountant Tom Speed (91), publications editor Scott Thompson (97), assistant director Sovent Taylor (03) alumni assistant, club coordinator Jim Urbanek II (97), assistant director for communications Rusty Woods (01), assistant director for information services James Butler (53), director emeritus

fromthe

President Dear Alumni and Friends, When my daughter, Lillie, was young, she came home one day and shared that her friends thought she had an “old” name.

My Lillie never had a chance to know her great-grandmother Lillie Jackson.

Lillie Jackson had a huge impact on my life and the life of my siblings. Other than loving and obeying God, my grandmother thought there was no better way to improve your lot in life than to get a good education. She valued education. She made sure we valued it, too. We all knew the best way to get money from grandma was to have a good report card.

We loved pleasing grandma. We also loved the cash.

I am a member of the Ole Miss Women’s Council. It’s the only Ole Miss meeting I attend where it’s OK to cry. And that’s exactly what I did when I heard council member Edith Kelly-Green share why she was donating $100,000 to Ole Miss to establish the Christine Hickonbottom Scholarship to honor her grandmother. Edith’s grandmother also taught her the value of an education. She cleaned houses at Ole Miss and made many sacrifices because she wanted Edith to have the best education possible.

She wanted her to go to Ole Miss. Edith graduated with a degree in accountancy and went on to be the first African-American female officer at FedEx. Crystal Martin of Vicksburg, Miss., is a recipient of the Hickonbottom Scholarship. She recently addressed a group of alumni and thanked Edith. Crystal has decided she wants to one day honor her grandmother with a scholarship of her own.

Crystal said, “I can see it now—the Elizabeth Camphor Martin Scholarship— in honor of a remarkable woman who helped pave the way for me to climb as high as the skies could go.”

So I explained to Lillie why she had an “old” but wonderful name. It’s important to recognize and thank the people who shape our lives. People like grandmothers. People you may never meet. People like Ole Miss alumni and friends who understand that educating the children of our state impacts the economic future of our state. Alumni who remember the challenges they faced as students and want to help the next generation.

In this year’s University of Mississippi Foundation annual report, Roger Friou’s message emphasizes that endowed scholarships are vital to attracting the best and brightest students. The report profiles current and former UM scholarship recipients.

As I have attended local Ole Miss Club meetings across the country, almost every club has presented scholarships to high-school students. Thank you to alumni and friends for the scholarships that impact our university’s ability to attract top students.

Thank you for the scholarships both large and small that often determine whether a young person attends our great university. Thank you for loving and honoring the woman Ole Miss with the “old” name who has given you so much.

Sincerely,

Warner Alford (60), executive director emeritus The Ole Miss Alumni Review (USPS 561-870) is published quarterly by The University of Mississippi Alumni Association and the Office of Alumni Affairs. Alumni Association offices are located at Triplett Alumni Center, Room 172, University, MS 38677. Telephone 662915-7375.

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Rose Jackson Flenorl (BAEd 79)

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The latest on Ole Miss students, faculty, staff and friends

On Target

former dean of medicine assumes duties as chancellor

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lmost as soon as Chancellor Robert Khayat announced his plans to retire June 30, University of Mississippi faithful began weighing in on the qualities they wanted in a new chancellor: leadership, vision, academic credentials and, maybe most important, an understanding of the Ole Miss family.

By all accounts, Dr. Daniel W. Jones hit the bull’s-eye on every criterion. The former vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at the UM Medical Center, Jones became the university’s 16th chancellor July 1.

“I am humbled. It’s a privilege to be a part of the university, which is in a great place because Chancellor Khayat has done a wonderful job,” Jones says. “It’s frightening to think about following in his footsteps, but my life has been about service, and I am committed to serving the university to the best of my ability.”

His appointment followed a day of meetings June 15 with faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members, and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

“He has identified the vision that we have to raise the standards and have our students meet those standards to improve the well-being and economy of the state,” says Rose Flenorl, president of the Alumni Association and member of the university’s Search Advisory Committee. “And what really made me comfortable with Dr. Jones is that he start-

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ed off with the statement ‘A great public university’ and said he believes in it.”

A respected academician, administrator and physician, Jones had served as the Medical Center’s chief executive officer since 2003. During that time, the Medical Center expanded its commitment to minority scholarships, rural medicine and eliminating health disparities. His leadership team also led a campaign that raised $53 million and expanded the medical school’s class size from 100 students to 120 students per class. The research enterprise has been reinvigorated with completion of the Arthur C. Guyton Research Center and acquisition of initial funding for a research park.

A native Mississippian, Jones graduated from Mississippi College in 1971, earned his MD in 1975 at UMMC and completed his residency in internal medicine there in 1978. He had a private practice in Laurel, then went to Korea as a medical missionary in 1985.

He returned to the Medical Center as a faculty member in 1992 and was named the school’s Herbert G. Langford Professor of Medicine in 1998. He directed the hypertension division and led many clinical studies funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. He helped secure funding for the Jackson Heart Study and was its first principal investigator.

The new chancellor began volun-

teering for the American Heart Association 20 years ago and served as its national president in 2007-08. He was one of the early voices in AHA leadership to call attention to the growing problem of childhood obesity and heart disease in women, and was AHA’s national spokesman on high blood pressure.

Jones is married to Lydia Channell Jones. They have two children, Jennifer Jones Flechas of Oxford and Jason Jones of Clinton. AR Dr. Dan Jones is the 16th chancellor of Ole Miss. Photo by Robert Jordan

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nsf program director earns top honor for UM Engineers

East Meets West UM and India partner to create research center focused on ancient medicines

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n a historic uniting of the ancient East and the modern West, The University of Mississippi has formally agreed with the government of India to establish a resea rch center dedicated to the study of Indian Systems of Medicine.

S. Jalaja, secretar y of t he D e p a r t me nt of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Sidd ha a nd Homeopathy), in India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, inaugurated the center in April at the opening of the eighth annual O x f or d I nt e r n a t ion a l Conference on the Science S.K. Sharma, adviser of Ayurveda in India’s Ministry of Health and Family of Botanicals.

Welfare, discusses advances in quality “ T he Ind ia n Sy sstandards of Ayurveda, Siddha and tems of Medicine and the Unani medicines during the eighth industry today are faced annual Oxford International Conwith the need for validaference on the Science of Botanicals. tion of both the system Photo by Kevin Bain and products on scientific lines,” Jalaja says. “By initiating the creation of the Center for Research on Indian Systems of Medicine, the Department of AYUSH hopes to meet global concerns on the safety, efficacy and quality of ISM products.”

Indian Systems of Medicine refers to a number of traditional natural and herbal remedies that have been in use for more than 3,000 years. While the use of these practices continues to grow exponentially, to date few properly designed trials have been conducted to scientifically examine the clinical potential of Ayurvedic medicine.

The Center for Research in Indian Systems of Medicine, or CRISM, has been seven years in the making. It is to be housed in UM’s National Center for Natural Products Research under the directorship of Ikhlas Khan, director of the university’s FDA Center of Excellence. The Indian government is supplying funds for the center, and UM is providing technical support and space, Jalaja says. AR

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lark C.K. Liu, environmental engineering program director for the National Science Foundation, was named the 2009 Engineer of Distinction

by The University of Mississippi.

The title is bestowed annually on an engineer associated with the UM School of Engineering who is truly exceptional.

Past winners include Exxon Mobil executives and NASA chiefs.

Liu is a 1969 master’s graduate of UM’s engineering program. He recently completed t wo federally sponsored research projects: an NSF project to develop an engineering system for openocean mariculture using nutrient-rich deep ocean water, and a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation project to develop a windpowered reverse osmosis system for water desalination and treatment.

“I was very excited by the news of being selected to receive the Engineer of Distinction Award,” Liu says. “It is not only a great honor for me but presents an oppor tunity for me to revisit a place t hat has been so impor tant t o my p e r s o nal and professional development.”

He joined Clark C.K. Liu t h e U ni v e rsity of Hawaii faculty in 1980 and was promoted to full professor in 1989. For 29 years, Liu served as the principal investigator of more than 10 research projects sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, NSF, USBR and other agencies. He has been program director for environmental engineering since January 2008 by an agreement between the University of Hawaii and NSF. AR

Smart Move

center for intelligence and security studies has new home

A crowd watches as UM officials and others dedicate the new home of the university’s Center for Intelligence and Security Studies. Photo by Robert Jordan

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he Center for Intelligence and Security Studies, which began operation last fall at Ole Miss, officially opened in a new location, the former Athletics Department building on All-American Drive, with a ribboncutting ceremony April 13.

“At this point in our lives as members of this nation, we are quite aware of the need to address the issues that this center addresses,” said UM Chancellor

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international studies programs,” Wicker says. “The Center for Intelligence and Security Studies definitely strengthens those credentials. Through this program, Ole Miss is better positioned to continue graduating students with the skills our intelligence agencies need to keep our country secure.”

The center is led by Carl Jensen, assistant professor of legal studies and former special agent for the Federal Bureau of

Through this program, Ole Miss is better positioned to continue graduating students with the skills our intelligence agencies need to keep our country secure.

—U.S. Sen. roger wicker Robert Khayat (BAEd 61, JD 66), who was joined by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (BA 73, JD 75) for the ceremony.

“The University of Mississippi is well-known in our nation’s defense and intelligence communities because of the school’s strong foreign language and

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Investigation. Students enrolling in the program can receive a minor in intelligence and security studies, and the center has triggered a new intensive Arabic language program in the Department of Modern Languages, the only Arabic program in the state of Mississippi.

“What we’ve found is intelligence agencies are looking for people with core competencies,” Jensen says. “So when a student graduates, he or she may have a degree in Chinese or computer science but is also well-versed in how intelligence organizations operate.”

In March, the center selected its first cohort of 17 students to complete the minor. The cohort members have an average GPA of 3.69, a number comparable to the average GPA for entrance to the UM School of Medicine.

Jessica Moeller, a senior from Tupelo majoring in Chinese with a minor in anthropology, was chosen to be part of the first cohort to go through the program.

“I was attracted to the center because of the unprecedented approach it has taken to preparing students for careers in intelligence,” she says. “It provides practical training in intelligence methodology as well as writing and briefing to complement the unique focuses that each of the cohort members have.

“I feel that when I come out of the program, I will not only be qualified to work in intelligence but will also already be comfortable with the day-to-day tasks that I will face.” AR Summer 2009 7

fromthe

Circle organic ingredient discovered at um helps reduce wrinkles

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new skin-care product is getting nationwide press for an organic ingredient discovered by scientists at UM’s National Center for Natural Products Research.

The active ingredient, Alasta, an extract derived from the rind and gel of the aloe plant, helps improve the skin’s elasticity and firmness.

The general public will be introduced to Alasta through Sustainable Youth Technologies. The new beauty and wellness company is promoting it as the key ingredient in its products, including its Immune Performance Elastifirm Supplement, which was featured in the May issue of Vanity Fair.

According to David Pasco, research professor and assistant director of NCNPR, the aloe ingredient helps enhance skin elasticity and reduce wrinkles by directly targeting the immune system.

Besides Pasco, the team of NCNPR scientists who discovered the active ingredient includes Nirmal Pugh (PhD 01), senior scientist; Mahmoud Elsohly, research professor; and Samir Ross, associate professor.

Besides its age-defying capabilities, Alasta is an organic ingredient, ex tracted using sustainable and renewable technologies. Because of Sustainable Youth’s line of that, Sustainable skin-care products contains Youth President Alasta, an active ingredient discovered by scientists at the and Chief ExecuNational Center for Natutive Officer Denise ral Products Research at UM. DeBaun says that Photo by Robert Jordan Alasta not only is the key ingredient in the company’s products, which include the supplement as well as a serum and a cream, but also its discovery served as the launching point for the company. AR 8 A lumni R eview

Kristi Moore (Cert 02) (left) radiology technology instructor, showcases the new phantom training device for radiologic science students Kelsey Webber and Chris Hatt. Photo by Jay Ferchaud

Improving by Degrees radiologic program first in state to offer bachelor of science

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hen the School of Health Related Professions (SHRP) launches its Radiologic Science Program in the fall, it will be the first program in the state to offer a bachelor’s degree in the discipline.

The two-year Bachelor of Science program will require students to have taken 57 hours of prerequisites and will combine classroom teaching and lab work in SHRP with clinical instruction in the hospital’s radiology department and clinics.

“I’m excited about being part of the process and about the resources we will gain through SHRP,” says Mark Gray, director of the Radiologic Science Program. “The main attraction to our field is the diversity of opportunities.

“Once a graduate comes out of a radiography program, they can go on to CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine” and more, he says.

Until now, The University of Mississippi Medical Center has offered a program in radiologic technology that awarded certificates. That program is being phased out and will graduate its last class next year.

The American Society of Radiologic Technologists advocates an associate’s degree as the entry level for technologists and a bachelor’s degree as the professional level. Gray hopes that offering students a B.S. degree will lead to not only more qualified technologists but also to more interest in pursuing research in radiology.

Clinical coordinator Paula Young agrees there’s a need for radiologic research.

“There’s not a lot of research out there because you don’t start thinking about research until you get into higher education,” she says.

Twenty-three students out of approximately 80 applicants have been accepted into the first class, which begins in August. Class size is based on the number of practicing radiologic technologists available to supervise the students in the clinical environment. AR

Pride and Progress newsman bob schieffer tells graduates that ole miss has come a long way

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he University of Mississippi’s place in history is not defined by the events of fall 1962 but by the progress that has been made in the decades since, veteran CBS newsman Bob Schieffer told graduates at the 2009 commencement exercises in Tad Smith Coliseum.

Schieffer, who first came to Oxford on Sept. 30, 1962, to cover the admission of James Meredith (BA 63) as the university’s first black student, returned to speak at the school’s 156th commencement. He recounted how he got “roughed up” during the riot and watched the next day as federal marshals escorted Meredith to the Lyceum.

The event is regarded as a turning point in the civil rights movement, but the memorable part is how the UM family responded, he said.

“They went to work the next week, determined as the years would go by to see that it would not be that night, but the years after, that this university would be remembered for,” said Schieffer, who visited campus last fall to cover the year’s first presidential debate.

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proud moment for all of us.”

Schieffer, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News and host of t he net work ’s “Face the Nation,” is a native of Aust i n, Te x a s . A s a rook ie repor ter for radio station K XOL in For t Worth, he covered Meredith’s admission to UM. Moving on to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he became the f irst reporter CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer delivers the commencement from a Texas news- address as Chancellor Robert Khayat and others look on in Tad Smith p a p e r t o r e p or t Coliseum. Photo by Kevin Bain from Vietnam. He moved to television as news anchor at in 1962, and it made me understand WBAP-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth and that we may still have a long way to go in this country, but in less than my lifelater joined CBS News.

He is one of the few broadcast or time, we have come a very long way, and print journalists to have covered all four I will tell you today, from the bottom of my heart, that moment made me proud to be an American,” he said.

The university’s progress toward racial equality is reflected in the country as a whole, he said.

“The lessons that were learned in those years and what has been accomplished here are not permanent,” he said. “Yes, the circle did begin to close, and one of the great wrongs did begin to be corrected, but the circle never closes completely. No lesson learned, however hard, is learned forever. The historian major beats in the nation’s capital: the Will Durant once said, ‘Civilization is White House, the Pentagon, the State not imperishable. It must be relearned by every generation.’”

Department and Capitol Hill.

Last year’s presidential debate at the Video of the ceremony, including Ford Center for the Performing Arts was Schieffer’s full speech, can be viewed on the university’s Web site at <http://itss. “perfect in every way,” he said.

“As I watched that debate unfold, I outreach.olemiss.edu/mpdl/?p=1430>. thought that night back to that evening AR

People began to understand what had happened here at The University of Mississippi, and it is a proud moment for all of us.

—bob schieffer

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“So it wasn’t that night that was better remembered; it is what has happened since that is remembered, and it is remembered all over America. We came to really understand that when that debate was held. People began to understand what had happened here at The University of Mississippi, and it is a

Summer 2009 9

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library honors tireless supporter with reading room

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ohn Pilkington’s teaching career at Ole Miss spanned more than three decades and influenced hundreds of students. Since his retirement in 1985, he has continued his early mission to help make the university library the best that it can be.

Pilkington, distinguished professor emeritus of English, has raised friends and funds through the Friends of the Library support group and spent many hours matching resources with books and other needs. His work has been priceless, says Dean Julia Rholes.

“Dr. Pilkington has patiently carried out his desire to help provide a better library for Ole Miss students and faculty,” she says. “Through his leadership and personal example working with Friends of the Library, the addition of so many books has remarkably enriched our collections.”

John Pilkington. Photo by Harry Briscoe

Rholes and several of Pilkington’s longtime admirers spearheaded efforts to honor him with the naming of a reading room in the J.D. Williams Library. The designated area is on the second floor of the library near the main elevators.

Pilkington was the senior professor in American literature in the Department of English from 1960-85. He taught one of the first-ever university courses devoted just to Faulkner and was a moving force in establishing the annual Faulkner Conference at Ole Miss. He designed many new classes, directed many doctoral dissertations and master’s theses, and developed and taught correspondence courses, for which he won a major award from the National University Extension Association. AR 10 A lumni R eview

Teaching at its Best historian recognized for making magic in the classroom

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n Joh n Nef f ’s cla ssroom, you can practically hear the cannons roaring and see the waters turning crimson at Shiloh’s bloody pond. Bringing history alive is the professor’s passion, and his students respond by flocking to his classes, particularly Era of the Civil War, which enrolls a capacity crowd of 70 each semester.

Nef f, who joined the UM faculty in 1999, was recognized for his efforts John Neff. Photo by Nathan Latil this spring, when he was tapped for UM’s highest teaching honor, the Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award. The recipient is announced each year at the Honors Day Convocation.

Chancellor Robert Khayat (BAEd 61, JD 66) presented Neff with a $5,000 check and an engraved plaque. His name also will be added to a permanent plaque listing all Hood Award recipients, which is displayed in the chancellor’s office.

“Dr. Neff consistently receives glowing comments from his students regarding the high quality of his teaching,” Khayat says. “His commitment to his discipline, knowledge of the subject matter, personal investment of himself in his work as a faculty member and extraordinary encouragement of his students have distinguished his career. Dr. Neff represents the best in higher education.”

One former student said that sitting in Neff’s class is like “watching a play narrated by a brilliant historian.” Another said, “Dr. Neff is an extremely talented instructor who has a deep knowledge and passion for this subject. Each class feels like a conversation rather than a lecture.”

Neff said his goal is to provide students the opportunity to acquire skills and tools that will carry them far beyond his classroom. He said he feels lucky to teach in a place where Civil War history has such resonance with so many students.

“They come to the classroom ready to dive in, and that is a really wonderful thing,” he said. “I hope to get students engaged in seeking to understand the world around them, to be in a position to be savvy, curious and discerning.”

Neff was named Liberal Arts Teacher of the Year in 2005.

The Outstanding Teacher Award has been a tradition at Ole Miss since 1966. In 1988, Mr. and Mrs. Warren A. Hood Sr. of Jackson made a gift to endow the award, and it was named the Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award in Mrs. Hood’s honor. In 2000, the Hoods made another gift to support the award so that it will continue in perpetuity.

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Words to Win By

anThroPoloGy MaJor TaKes firsT Place in inTernaTional essay conTesT

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University of Mississippi student placed first in an international essay-writing contest held by business nonprofit Net Impact and sponsored by FedEx Corp.

Edgar L. Bounds IV, an anthropology major from Senatobia, won the “Access: Voice of the Next Generation” contest with his essay about “increased cross-cultural connections leading to increased cultural understanding,” according to Net Impact.

The contest focused on the concept of access, or the “idea that people, organizations and nations have the ability to connect and interact rapidly and widely around the globe, accessing the goods, information and ideas t he y wa nt, when they want them,” says Sarah BurkeGorewitz, associate for communications and corporate partnerships at Net Impact.

Underg r aduate a nd graduate students from the U.S., Africa, China and Europe entered the contest and were asked to answer the question: “Where will access take us next?”

A s f i r s t-pl a c e Edgar Bounds w i n n e r, B o u n d s received a $2,000 cash prize and full access to the 2009 Net Impact Conference at Cornell University in November. His essay will also appear in FedEx’s annual business magazine, Access Review.

A panel of experts judged entries on originality, engagement with theme, voice and creativity.

“In his essay, Edgar pointed to a simple transaction between an American college student and a skilled artisan in Doha, Qatar, that, by many counts, would not have occurred if it weren’t for the increases in access of the last decade,” says contest judge William G. Margaritis, vice president of global communications and investor relations at FedEx. “He described how we are all connected— economically as well as culturally—to greater possibilities. His optimism for the positive benefits of increased access echoes that of FedEx, and we are delighted to recognize his accomplishment of first place in the Access essay contest.” AR

MFA student Rina Chiu of Taipei, Taiwan, contributed this painting to a Habitat for Humanity home.

uM arT sTudenTs Give housewarMinG GifTs desiGned for insPiraTion

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ne of the first questions many new homeowners ask once they get the keys to the front door is, “what am i going to put on that wall over there?”

But that’s a question eight families won’t have to ask, thanks to a special partnership between The university of Mississippi department of art and habitat for humanity of Greater Memphis.

The project “home is where the arT is” involves uM faculty and student artists who are providing wall-ready, family-friendly paintings for new habitat homeowners. The homes were dedicated in May in Memphis.

Besides the artwork, recipients also received brief artists’ biographies and information about when and where the pieces were created. The painters hope that exposing the families to fine art will ignite creativity and appreciation—-especially among children. “several participating artists are international students, and some of the american artists created the art while studying abroad in italy or france,” says danita Beck, an ole Miss Mfa candidate who is providing some of her work in addition to spearheading the project. “we hope we can spark an interest in not only art but geography and history, just to name a few topics.” “habitat homeowners receive things all the time—gifts, furniture, a full pantry. But i don’t know of any time that art has been offered,” says dwayne spencer, executive director of habitat for humanity of Greater Memphis. “so bringing the art to them is very exciting.” AR SummeR 2009 11

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Saving Willie Mae’s documentary recounts how volunteers rebuilt landmark new orleans restaurant after katrina

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few weeks after Hurricane Katrina, Willie Mae Seaton returned to her ravaged New Orleans restaurant, then planted herself outside the building and waited.

When a police officer asked if she could help, the nearly 90-yearold woman produced a small bundle from her purse, which she unwrapped to reveal one of her last possessions—a James Beard medal, one of the most prestigious awards in the culinary world. She had earned it for more than 50 years of cooking simple, yet delicious meals out of a kitchen that was now destroyed.

Clifton Gunn, a computer science major from Corinth, discusses his Forklift MyBot during a robotics seminar at UM. Photo by Kevin Bain

Students’ programming enables Lego robots to play the piano, draw

O The renowned New Orleans restaurant Willie Mae’s was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

“When we found that scene, we knew we had a film,” says Joe York (MA 05), producer and director of “Saving Willie Mae’s Scotch House,” a documentary developed by UM’s Media and Documentary Projects Center. The documentary, completed in November 2008 after 18 months of filming and editing, focuses on Seaton and the renovation of her restaurant by a handful of volunteers.

The film has received national attention via airings on public broadcasting around the country since December. It appeared on Mississippi Public Broadcasting in May. “In a way, this one restaurant, on this one corner, is a metaphor for the city as a whole. It’s still there, they still serve good food, but it is different somehow,” York says.

Post-Katrina, Willie Mae’s Scotch House, at the corner of Saint Anne and North Tonti streets, might have been torn down. York and his crew followed volunteers—many of whom had never even heard of the Scotch House before—as they worked to bring the restaurant back. It was an extensive overhaul that took more than a year.

Since the renovation, the restaurant has been featured on cable television food and travel shows such as “Man v. Food.” Although Seaton has retired from the kitchen, the business is run by her children and grandchildren. AR 12 A lumni R eview

ne child’s toy is a college student’s final project.

That’s what some UM computer science majors found as they completed a robotics class.

During the spring semester, each student was given a Lego Mindstorms NXT robot and developed software to make it run. The robots, dubbed MyBots, all have names and perform a variety of tasks, including operating a forklift, mapping, playing the piano and drawing.

One robot even played the Connect Four game against human competitors.

“We’re teaching a new kind of computing that listens for events to happen,” says Yixin Chen, assistant professor of computer science. “We’re teaching students to write programs to respond to their environment. These toys allow us to demonstrate to students a one-to-one relationship between their abstractions and the concrete, where they can observe the effects of their programming and develop solutions to socially relevant problems.”

The Lego robots, which were included in kits purchased at Lego Education for $280 each, are fully functioning and programmable, offering a low-cost alternative for teaching. A large research robot can cost as much as $30,000, Chen says.

“With the financial support of the computer science department, the Adler Endowment and a minigrant from the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, we were able to provide each student a Lego kit and sensors to work with,” he says. AR

Gone Fishing investigators unlock wonders of immune system by studying catfish

A

sk most anybody on The University of Mississippi Medical Center campus where to get catfish and they’ll point you to a cafeteria.

Ask Dr. Gregory Chinchar, professor of microbiology, and he’ll take you to a hospital basement room where 150 of the whiskered fish bottom feed in aerated plastic tanks.

Chinchar, a long with Dr. Norman Miller, Dr. Mel Wilson, Dr. Eva Bengten and a couple-dozen doctoral candidates study the immune system of the channel catfish. Some of this work involves understanding how the fish immune system works; other studies focus on how pathogens are controlled.

The channel catfish virus pathogen is a relative of the herpes simplex virus that causes cold sores in humans.

It doesn’t affect humans but attacks and kills Mississippi’s finned friends.

With 427 farms, Mississippi is the country’s largest producer of catfish.

Counting direct and indirect jobs, the state’s catfish industry employs several thousand people while providing one of the most efficient and environmentally sustainable sources of protein.

By converting roughly one pound of food into 0.8 pounds of fish, channel catfish have one of the highest conver-

Dr. Norman Miller (left) and Dr. Gregory Chinchar, both professors of microbiology at the UM Medical Center, examine a research participant in a 30-year ongoing study of catfish immune systems. Photo by Jay Ferchaud

Dr. Norman Miller, a microbiology professor who’s spent nearly his whole career in the study, says the work adds to the basic-science knowledge and under-

...[T]he “catfish group” hopes to identify cells that kill virus-infected cells and to use this information to help develop vaccines for aquaculture. sion ratios of any animal. Beef cows, by comparison, run about 80:1.

“So a ny cha nge t hat immunology brings to protect the species means greater efficiency,” says Dr. Melanie Wilson, professor of microbiology, who works on the study.

standing of immune responses.

In three decades, the resea rchers have published approximately 250 papers and articles on catfish-immune responses alone. Their work has produced lines of genetically identical fish used as control subjects in related stud-

ies, both at the Medical Center and around the country. Catfish cell lines, originally isolated at the Medical Center

by Miller, are supplied to research institutions throughout the world. The work is being used to help develop the catfish genome expression map.

The study has launched the careers of se vera l-doz en m icrobiolog ist s.

Many former students go on to study immune systems in mammals, including humans, Miller says. In the future, the catfish research could help other commercial fish species, such as trout, salmon and cod.

In addition to the antibody studies, the “catfish group” hopes to identify cells that kill virus-infected cells and to use this information to help develop vaccines for aquaculture. AR

Summer 2009 13

Calendar JULY

August

through Exhibit: “Hail to the Chief!” J.D. Williams Library, Faulkner Room, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 662-915-7408, or e-mail slmcwhit@olemiss.edu.

6

Reunion: 1954-1956 and 1957-1962 All Sports Reunion. A combined reception with separate dinners. Gertrude Ford Ballroom, The Inn at Ole Miss. Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail teresa@olemiss.edu.

18

6

31

Ole Miss Ladies’ Football Forum.

Indoor Practice Facility, Manning Way, 7 a.m. Call 662-915-1564, or e-mail chyna@olemiss.edu.

19

-23 Conference: Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference. Various locations and times. Call 662-915-7283, e-mail yconf@olemiss.edu, or visit <www.outreach.olemiss. edu/events/faulkner/index. html>.

20

Ole Miss Club Season: The Rebel Club of Memphis Kickoff Festivities. Memphis Botanic Garden, 5:30 p.m. Call 901683-0016.

27

Ole Miss Club Season: Oxford. Gertrude Ford Ballroom, The Inn at Ole Miss, time TBA. Call 662-801-3820.

28

College Day: Neshoba County Fair. Founders Square, Fairgrounds, Philadelphia.

9 a.m.-1 p.m. Call 662-9157375.

14 A lumni R eview

-8 Reunion: M-Club Summer Weekend.

Various locations. Call 662915-7375, or e-mail teresa@ olemiss.edu.

Bits ’N Pieces Puppet Theater: Alice in Wonderland

8

Mississippi Day in the Park. Chastain Park, Atlanta, Ga.10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Call 404-405-7262.

20

Key City Reception: Memphis. Hilton Memphis, 5:30 p.m. Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail jsdavis@olemiss.edu.

27

Key City Reception: Jackson. Hilton Jackson, 5:30 p.m. Call 662915-7375, or e-mail jsdavis@ olemiss.edu.

27

Luncheon: Patterson School of Accountancy. Jackson, location TBA, 11:30 a.m. Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail teresa@olemiss.edu.

September

1

-3 Reunion: 50-Year and Lyceum Club.

Oxford campus, various locations. Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail maggie@olemiss.edu

oct. 3

3

21

4

24

Luncheon: Patterson School of Accountancy. University Club, Memphis. 11:30 a.m. Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail teresa@olemiss.edu.

Ford Series: Marvin Hamlisch. Ford Center for the Performing Arts, 8 p.m. Call 662-915-2787, e-mail kmeacham@ole miss.edu, or visit <www.ole miss.edu/fordcenter>.

18

Fall Friday. Campuswide open house program. Registration in Martindale Student Services lobby, 8 a.m. Call 662-9157911, or e-mail jplowe@ olemiss.edu.

18

-19 Ole Miss Parents Weekend.

Times and locations TBA. Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail jsdavis@olemiss.edu.

Be an Ole Miss Student for a Day. 404 Student Union, 8:30 a.m. Call 662-915-7911, or e-mail jplowe@olemiss.edu.

-27 Ole Miss Theater: “Blues for an Alabama Sky.” Meek Hall Auditorium. Call 662-9157411 for times and ticket prices.

25

-26 Reunion: Rugby. Various locations. Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail teresa@olemiss.edu.

26

Red and Blue Preview Day. 145 Martindale, 8 a.m. Call 662915-7911, or e-mail jplowe@ olemiss.edu.

27

Ole Miss Day at the Mid-South Fair.

DeSoto Civic Center, Southaven, time TBA. Call 662915-7375.

The UniversiTy of Mississippi

28

Faculty Recital Series. Nutt Auditorium, 8 p.m. Call 662-915-7268 for information, or 662-915-7411 for tickets.

October

1

-4 Ole Miss Theater: “Blues for an Alabama Sky.” Meek Hall Auditorium. Call 662915-7411 for times and ticket prices.

3

Family Friendly Series: Bits ’N Pieces Puppet Theater presents “Alice in Wonderland.” Ford Center for the Performing Arts, 3 p.m. For tickets call 662915-7411.

3

Luncheon: Patterson School of Accountancy. Nashville, location TBA, 11:30 a.m.

Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail teresa@olemiss.edu.

9

Board Meeting: Pharmacy Alumni Chapter. Dean’s Conference Room, Thad Cochran Research Center, 2:30 p.m. Call 662915-7375, or e-mail thompson@olemiss.edu.

9

Athletic Hall of Fame Reception and Banquet. Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom, The Inn at Ole Miss, time TBA. Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail teresa@olemiss. edu.

9

, 16, 23 Fall Fridays.

Campuswide open house program. Registration in Martindale Student Services lobby, 8 a.m. Call 662-915-7911, or e-mail jplowe@ole miss.edu.

9

-10 Rebelette Alumni Reunion. Times and locations TBA. Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail jsdavis@olemiss.edu.

17

Fall Visit Day. Check in at tent in front of Martindale Student Services Center, 8 a.m. Call 662-915-7911, or e-mail jplowe@ole miss.edu.

19

Concert: L-O-U Orchestra. Nutt Auditorium, 8 p.m. Call 662-915-7268.

22

Artist Series: “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Ford Center for the Performing Arts, 8

p.m. Call 662-915-2787, e-mail kmeacham@ole miss.edu, or visit <www. olemiss.edu/fordcenter>.

24

Board Meeting: Law Alumni Chapter. McMillan Boardroom, The Inn at Ole Miss, time TBA. Call 662-915-7375, or e-mail thompson@olemiss.edu.

26

Be an Ole Miss Student for a Day. 404 Student Union, 8:30 a.m. Call 662-9157911, or e-mail jplowe@ olemiss.edu.

26

Faculty Recital Series. Nutt Auditorium, 8 p.m. Call 662915-7268 for information or 662-915-7411 for tickets.

27

Series 108: East Village Opera and Parsons Dance. Ford Center for the Performing Arts, 8 p.m. Call 662-915-2787, e-mail kmeacham@olemiss.edu, or visit <www.olemiss. edu/fordcenter>.

29

-31 Opera Scenes.

Meek Hall, 8 p.m.

Call 662-915-7268.

2009-10 SEASON Upcoming Performances

An evening with Marvin hamlisch, sounds of stage and screen Alice in Wonderland Bits and pieces puppet Theatre American spiritual ensemble American stars Christmas featuring former American idol stars Cabaret Camelot Cassandra Wilson Glen Miller orchestra Porgy and Bess Raggs LIVE Dance Party!

Remember Me, east village opera & parsons Dance SCROOGE, in Concert shirley Jones, A Night at the Oscars soweto Gospel Choir Tao, The Martial Art of Drumming The Adventures of Harold & the Purple Crayon The RFK Project, L.A. Theater Works To Kill A Mockingbird Turtle island Quartet/ying Quartet

30

-31 Ole Miss Theater: “The Madwoman of Chaillot.” Fulton Chapel. Call 662915-7411 for times and ticket prices.

L-O-U Orchestra oct. 19

662.915.7411 olemiss.edu/fordcenter fordcenter.blogspot.com myspace.com/fordcenterperformingarts friend us on facebook® Summer 2009 15

Rugby is one of the oldest club sports in the Department of Campus Recreation. Photo by Kevin Bain

16 A lumni R eview

Taking

Fun seriously

For the Department of Campus Recreation, rugby games, fly-fishing trips and the Swamp Stomper adventure race are all in a dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work

by Tom Speed

SummeR 2009 17

bill kingery

(MEd 72)

walks across the disc golf course on the Ole Miss campus and calls out with mock derision

to students tossing a disc—“Hippies!” He says it with a grin.

When Kingery began working for the Department of Campus Recreation in the early 1970s, the range of activities offered was limited. In the “Old Gym” (currently Martindale Student Services Center), students were afforded the opportunity of “free play”—unorganized access to the gym’s basic, stark facilities.

The dusty room featured a mostly barren basketball court. There was an outdoor pool. They sponsored some intramural softball games. That was the extent of it.

Kingery, who with his graying beard and golf tan has the appearance of an aging hippie himself, has an extensive collection of photographs, news clippings and other miscellany scattered about his Turner Center office. He speaks of the evolution of the department as a series of accomplishments and hard-won battles. He’s done it all in the name of providing a more enrich-

The disc golf course on the Ole Miss campus has become one of the most popular and economical attractions of the Department of Campus Recreation.

ing experience for Ole Miss students, one that provides leadership skills, adventure, competition and—above all else—fun.

He is prone to describing these achievements by punctuating his stories with the exclamation, “and the rest is history!” The establishment of the Turner Center, the renovation of the Fitness Center and, more recently, the creation of the challenge course all are chapters in the annals of Campus Recreation, which, according to Kingery, is always history in the making.

Today’s Campus Recreation is a multifaceted entity comprising many components: fitness, Ole Miss Outdoors, aquatics, intramurals and club sports. Shepherding the growth of the department has been a long and sometimes arduous task.

When the Turner Center was built in the 1983, a student wrote in The Daily Mississippian that the undertaking would prove to be a “white elephant,” a boondoggle that would be of little benefit and great expense to the students. Kingery kept the clip and, amazingly, manages to retrieve it from where it is buried in his mound of memorabilia. He had pushed hard for the funding of the building, considering it a major enhancement to student life.

As it turns out, Kingery was right. Thousands of students— as well as faculty, staff and community members—pass through the doors of the expansive Turner Center every day. (Students have free access to the center; faculty, staff, alumni and community residents may purchase memberships.) Plans are under way for further expansion.

A hallmark of the building is the natatorium, a 70-yard-long swimming pool that holds more than 700,000 gallons of water.

The aquatics program provides recreational swimming and diving, lifeguard instruction and even scuba classes. Students are often engaged in water polo or kayaking at one end of the pool while community members take an aqua aerobics class at the other end.

Another popular area of the complex is the Fitness Center.

The 10,000-square-foot space outfitted with weight machines, treadmills, elliptical machines and other exercise equipment was completed in 1998. On a typical day, the center is teeming with Turner Center members trying to keep fit, some of them distracting themselves from the exertion by watching the televisions lining the walls.

It’s a far cry from the largely unused gymnastics arena that formerly occupied the space. The opening of the Fitness Center drew a more diverse group of users to the Turner Center, Kingery says, adding that it was especially effective in attracting women students, which was one of his goals. “We didn’t really have any-

Bill Kingery (left), director of the Department of Campus Recreation, has seen the department grow immensely over the past 30 years, including the installation of a new challenge ropes course. Photo

by Nathan Latil

A natatorium and a fitness center are two of the popular features of the Turner Center, home of the Department of Campus Recreation.

thing to offer the female population,” he says. “Basketball was male-dominated. The weight rooms were the old typical smelly kind of gym.”

Additional expansion of Campus Recreation is most evident in the areas of outdoor activities and club sports. Ole Miss Outdoors offers trips including fly-fishing and white-water rafting that take adventurers from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Club sports, in which UM student teams compete against teams from other schools, include cricket and even ice hockey. Yes, ice hockey.

gaMe on

The last place you might expect to find an ice hockey team is in Mississippi. But thanks to the supportive staff in Campus Recreation, that dream became a reality for student Cody Johnson,

a junior journalism major from St. Louis, Mo. After a year as a conditional club, the Ole Miss hockey club will host its first home game in October vs. LSU at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven. The team will spend one more year as a “temporary club” before gaining full club status.

Becoming an official club sport all depends on student enthusiasm and leadership, says Traci Meredith (MA 07), coordinator of intramural sports and club sports.

“We encourage all of our club sports presidents to be proactive,” she says. “And Cody has been great. He already has a schedule for next year. They have 16 games planned.”

The hockey club joins longstanding club sports including rugby, lacrosse, karate and fencing. The competition is fierce, even if the games don’t pull as many spectators as varsity sports.

“It’s a step up from intramurals, competition-wise,” says Meredith.

SummeR 2009 19

While the club sports do receive some funding from the department—up to $4,000 per year—the students incur much of the expense. Members of the hockey team, for example, must pay $1,000 annually to be on the team. The funds go toward uniforms, travel expenses or, in the case of the hockey club, rink rental, which can be as much as $300 per hour.

It can get costly, but according to hockey team member Johnson, it’s worth it. “When you grow up playing hockey, you just get used to it. It’s part of the game,” he says.

With the addition of the Ole Miss team, every school in the SEC but Auburn and Vanderbilt offers club ice hockey. Most of those SEC teams will visit Ole Miss this year, while the Ole Miss team will travel to Atlanta to play Georgia and South Carolina, to New Orleans to play Tulane and to Nashville to play Middle Tennessee State.

While hockey is the newest club sport, two of the oldest and most popular club sports are lacrosse and rugby. Rugby, which started in the late 1970s, is probably the oldest club sport on campus, says Meredith. The team receives additional funding from its alumni organization and annually hosts an “Ole Boys” scrimmage, which pits the current roster against a team of rugby alums. The rugby club will celebrate its 35th year at the 2009 scrimmage in November.

Thanks to increased participation from faculty and international students, the cricket club is among the fastest growing club sports.

Meredith also oversees Campus Recreation’s flagship program—intramurals. Students join teams in a variety of activities and compete against each other. Intramuruals is by far the most popular program in the department, with nearly 7,000 students participating each year. Leagues offered include football, 3 on 3 basketball, softball and even trivia teams. Participation is free to students. “It’s a great outlet,” says Meredith. “Students can get outside and have fun.”

But sometimes intramurals afford additional opportunities.

Last year, Quaker State and the SEC sponsored an SEC tournament for intramural football and basketball. The winning teams at each SEC school went on to compete against other school champions, earning a trip to the SEC Championship football game in Atlanta and the SEC Basketball Tournament in Tampa.

Intramural basketball was one of the department’s first offerings. Photo by Nathan Latil

Hang gliding is one of many activities offered by Ole Miss Outdoors.

20 A lumni R eview

THe greaT ouTdoors

Ole Miss Outdoors reaches a smaller number of students than fitness or intramurals but arguably has a bigger impact on those who participate. Through outdoor adventure trips, competitions and the new challenge course, students have an everwidening array of options available.

Ole Miss Outdoors sponsors everything from dog sledding trips in Canada to sea kayaking on the Gulf Coast.

Weekend adventure trips include rock climbing in Alabama, sea kayaking on the coast and fly-fishing in the Ozarks. A few times a year, Ole Miss Outdoors organizes longer trips—snow skiing in Colorado, hang gliding in North Carolina or backpacking the Grand Canyon. Last year a group of 11 students traveled to Canada to participate in a five-day dog-sledding expedition during spring break. They braved freezing temperatures, snow and ice to complete the trip, and they have a video, which they posted on YouTube, to prove it.

Shannon Baker Richardson, assistant director of Campus Recreation, is in charge of Ole Miss Outdoors. A key goal is to instill leadership skills in students who qualify to lead trips.

Each semester, Richardson oversees a group of up to 12 student team leaders who must successfully complete an academic course called Adventure Leadership, be certified in emergency medical procedures and go through ethics training. Each trip is led by two students; Richardson stays behind so that they will have full responsibility.

“I want people to experience new things,” says Richardson.

“A weekend will possibly impact their lives, [but] a semester or a year or several years of working here and leading trips is something that will carry throughout [a student’s] entire life. “ Richardson says several students have come back to campus after graduation to say the leadership skills they learned in Ole Miss Outdoors helped them excel in their careers. “These leadership skills apply across the board,” she says. “It may not seem easily correlated, but leading these trips involves customerservice skills and managing different types of people. It requires a lot of adaptability.”

UM’s new challenge course is also under the purview of Ole Miss Outdoors. Located near the intramural fields on campus, the challenge course consists of a climbing tower, ropes course

and various other team-building and confidence-boosting activities. Like other aspects of Ole Miss Outdoors, the challenge course is available to students and nonstudents alike, with students receiving a discounted price.

“We’ve wanted the challenge course for a long time,” says Kingery. “We were able to do it with a $60,000 grant from the Ole Miss Parent Association and $5,000 from the Inter-fraternity Council and the rest from our budget.”

So far, the challenge course has been used for corporate team building and by student organizations. Campus Recreation also organizes a climbing competition on the course.

Another competition hosted by Ole Miss Outdoors is the Swamp Stomper adventure race held in the spring at Sardis Lake.

Ten to 12 teams of four people compete in a race that consists of canoeing, running, portaging (carrying the canoe) and a “mystery event.” The mystery event can be anything from a ring toss to a crossword puzzle—“anything that’s going to stump them mentally or physically,” says Richardson. Although most of the teams are made up of students, Richardson says that each year local businesses enter employee teams as a means of boosting morale.

Expanding Campus Recreation’s offerings has been a constant part of Kingery’s mission, and he is seldom surprised by a program’s success. But there is one exception—the disc golf course.

“I thought it was too much time and money and effort for something people wouldn’t use,” says Kingery. But he says every time he walks by, he sees seven or eight people playing. “They can go out there and play nine, 18 or even 36 holes of disc golf.

When I ask them about it, they say, ‘It’s free, and it’s fun!”

And the rest is history. AR

SummeR 2009 21

by Andrew Abernathy

22 A lumni R eview

Photo by Robert Jordan

Summer 2009 23

Photo by Robert Jordan

Archaeologist Jay Johnson takes it in stride when students and colleagues compare him to the swashbuckling matinee idol Indiana Jones.

J

ohnson, who came to Ole Miss in 1976, even displays a poster of Jones (a gift from his students) on his office door.

And, though Johnson hasn’t thwarted any Nazi plots or gone in search of ancient artifacts in India, his life as an archaeologist is not without its own excitement. His work has included locating unmarked 18th century graves in a Florida cemetery, exploring Indian mounds and unlocking the secrets of prehistoric stone tools.

As director of UM’s Center for Archaeological Research, Johnson has led nearly $4 million in research funded by grants from organizations including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tennessee Valley Authority, National Park Service, Soil Conversation Service, National Geographic Society, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the National Audubon Society.

“Growing up in Florida, I didn’t realize that people could really be archaeologists. I thought they were people who wore pith helmets and had to go to Egypt to do their research,” says Johnson, whose

24 A lumni R eview

interest in the profession was sparked by a freshman cultural anthropology class he took on a whim at Florida State University. Inspired by the passion of his professor, he quickly decided that archaeology was a more interesting choice than his original major—math.

Described now as the “prototypical archaeologist” by one of his UM colleagues, Johnson obviously made the right choice.

“I honestly can’t say enough wonderful things about him,” says Robbie Ethridge, associate professor of anthropology who has worked with Johnson since 2000 on a joint project studying the early Colonial period Chickasaw Indians. “He is very supportive of his colleagues, faculty and students, and is always generous in offering his time and opinion to so many who seek it.”

Johnson came to Ole Miss as a research associate after finishing his doctorate in anthropology at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. His original assignment was to coordinate the analysis of a collection of stone stools recovered during the excavation of multiple prehistoric sites in northeast Mississippi.

Over the three decades since then, Johnson has been a leader in the the field, particularly in adding the latest technology to the archaeologist’s traditional toolbox of shovels and brushes. He still does his share of digging and sifting, but that work is now much more targeted through the use of satellite imagery, infrared sensors and ground-penetrating radar.

Remote sensing, for example, is the use of high-technology instruments (such as satellites and magnetometers) to examine unseen characteristics of archaeological sites. Johnson was a pioneer in introducing this technique in Mississippi, and it is now used extensively because of its speed and noninvasive nature. If the archaeologist has a clear idea of what he is looking for and where it is, the chances of damaging or missing an artifact are reduced, Johnson says.

Before the new technologies came into use, an excavation required that crews spend several weeks dividing the site (sometimes as large as 100 acres) into quadrants and documenting surface artifacts to make an intelligent guess as to what lay below the surface. Today archaeologists have cut that time to mere days.

One of Johnson’s technological contributions is a low-altitude mapping technique that allows researchers to pinpoint significant areas hidden within prehistoric sites. Johnson fastened an infrared sensor to a tethered blimp and found he could use the device to “see” the actual floors of ancient dwellings, as well as graves and mounds.

Archaeologist Jay Johnson uses advanced technology, but still does his share of digging and sifting.

“

I have never found the golden statue with a ruby eye or a crystal skull, but I have found some very interesting facts about the past.

—jay johnson In 2005-08, Johnson and Brian Haley (MA 02), a former student who is now a research associate and coordinator of remote sensing for the Center for Archaeological Research, used remote sensing techniques to discover unmarked graves from the 18th century at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Pensacola, Fla. They used ground-penetrating radar, which they supplemented with thermal imaging, to detect caskets and grave shafts.

“The thermal imaging ‘sees’ it as a difference in temperature, and the groundpenetrating radar ‘sees’ it bounce off the radar energy,” Haley says. “Because human remains are involved it is important to use nonintrusive techniques.”

Historical documents indicated that in addition to the more than 3,200 marked graves, there were several others from the British occupation of the city from 1763-81. When the project is completed, Johnson and Haley should be able to put together a three-dimensional image of the cemetery that can distinguish graves from other objects in the ground such as rocks and tree roots.

It was Johnson’s leadership in using these new tools that brought him to the attention of the University of South Ala-

”

bama’s Center for Archaeological Studies, which is organizing an exhibit showing archaeologists at work. And here is where the comparisons between Johnson and Indiana Jones draw a little closer.

In September 2008, Johnson flew to New York City, where he underwent the unusual experience of creating the cast for a life-size statue of himself.

“They took a cast of my body and a more detailed cast of my hands and face,” Johnson says. “Then they made the figure out of plastic polyurethane foam and coated that with plaster. Lastly, they sculpted [the figure] and painted it and added hair and detail to make it more lifelike.”

After the cast was made, Johnson sent the director of the exhibit his own field hat and some clothes to make the statue more authentic.

“He was the perfect choice for the exhibit,” colleague Ethridge says. “I mean, look at him. He is tall, thin and handsome with a great mustache; you cannot find anyone more appropriate to represent an archaeologist.”

Greg Waselkov, director of the exhibit and of the Center for Archaeological Studies at South Alabama, said he

Johnson’s new methods have proven to be less intrusive than traditional techniques.

selected Johnson because of his research successes in the use of remote sensing and his expertise in stone tools used by prehistoric American Indians. The exhibit is scheduled to open in 2010.

All this attention has not turned Johnson’s head, however. He continues as usual with the work he has found so satisfying over the years. Johnson and a group of students are currently excavating a large site near Clarksdale, where they hope to uncover the remains of a large prehistoric ceremonial center.

“I have had the freedom to develop my research and have had a long line of very good students to share [my time with],” says Johnson. “Add that to a group of excellent colleagues and you have a situation that is hard to improve. I have never found the golden statue with a ruby eye or a crystal skull, but I have found some very interesting facts about the past.” AR

Summer 2009 25

being

it’s not easy

Creating a culture of environmental awareness and efficiency is goal for year-old sustainability effort

by Jim Urbanek

A

little more than a year ago, UM Chancellor Robert Khayat (BAEd 61, JD 66) signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. The commitment challenges colleges and universities to identify their greenhouse gas output, then develop a plan to reduce those emissions over the next five years. By signing this document, Chancellor Khayat publicly recognized the university’s commitment to the environment and sustainability.

Ole Miss was the first university in Mississippi to sign the commitment, which now i nc lu d e s m or e than 600 member institutions nationwide.

In the year since, terms li ke c a rbon f o o t p r i nt , L E E D certif ication, CFL l i g ht i n g , E 2 a nd sustainability have become much more commonly heard across campus.

“The Ole Miss Creed is based upon the value of respect, and that includes the environment,” says Khayat, who retired June 30.

26 A lumni R eview

Though much of the f irst year’s progress might not be noticeable to the occasional visitor, it has been the foundation for creating a campus community that will operate in a more efficient and sustainable way.

Part of that initial groundwork was establishing an Office of Sustainability and appointing Campus Sustainability Coordinator Jim Morrison (BBA 02), who is also UM’s director of strategic planning.

Susta inabilit y covers environmental and economic issues, and includes direct campus operations; the indirect activities of faculty, st a f f, st udent s a nd business partners; and engagement with the greater community.

Morrison notes t hat one of t he most importa nt t hings to be done initially was to collect enough data to make a carbon footprint assessment, which requires an in-depth

look at how UM operates.

“Our carbon footprint is essentially a snapshot of the negative impact our university has on the environment. Beyond our energy usage data, we collect data that tells us how many miles each faculty, staff and student drives to campus every day, and we calculate the emissions in their cars,” he says. “We even calculate every mile that our student athletes have flown to away games and students have flown for study abroad over the last 10 years. In the end, we are going to be able to look at our impact on the environment and develop a plan to dramatically reduce that impact.”

Morrison says the greatest focus is collecting data and understanding what needs to be done before moving forward.

“We all associate green as a topic of environmentalism, but in our world it is about efficiencies and effectiveness,” he says. “It’s about how can we do things smarter and be better stewards of our resources.”

The ultimate goal is to build a community that cares about the campus and living an efficient lifestyle.

“What’s needed is a change in culture,” says University Architect Ian Ban-

ner. “The key is to get us all thinking differently about the little things. Installing a compact fluorescent bulb certainly helps, but the next question to ask yourself is whether you need to turn on a light switch at all.”

Changing social behavior is understandably a challenge that isn’t expected to happen overnight.

“We can’t tell people to carpool to class and expect them to do it right away,” Morrison says. “Not until they have that ‘aha’ moment. We have to provide social benefits, such as creating a ‘green’ parking lot for those who carpool that is closest to the classes, and we are working toward that.

“Green is not easy yet,” Morrison says. “This is a marathon, and we are at mile number one.”

One area that is both significant in cost savings as well as being easily quantifiable is utility management. While Physical Plant staff are in the process of updating all campus lighting to highefficiency lights, UM is making strides toward understanding the specifics of campus utility usage. Meters are being installed in several buildings that allow digital readings of all energy usage in 10-minute intervals.

“With this we should be able to reduce our energy usage by 10-15 percent, which is a significant savings we can apply back to our core mission,” Morrison says. “The return on investment on a lot of these things is very quick.”

Ole Miss will have the first Gold LEED Certified building on a university campus with the completion of the new law school. The Center for Manufacturing Excellence is scheduled to be LEED Certified as well. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

Because Ole Miss is nationally recognized for football tailgating, officials thought it would be fitting to focus on being the best in green tailgating. Morrison says the university understands the key is implementing a system that doesn’t

Getting students involved is a key goal of the Green Initiative. Last year, students organized Students for a Greener Campus, and the ASB president was the first to have the Green Initiative on his platform.

Photo by Nathan Latil Summer 2009 27

More First-Year Highlights What’s Happening at UM • Green Initiative Fund established at The University of Mississippi Foundation to coordinate fundraising efforts.

• Task Force on Energy, Environment and Sustainability established along with a network of environmental action groups.

• Students for a Greener Campus established by students to promote the Green Initiative.

• Academic minor in environmental studies approved.

• Green Building Policy established stating that all new construction will be LEED Certified or the equivalent.

• Recycling Task Force created and a comprehensive recycling program developed that will dramatically improve the collection process and the breadth of what can be recycled on campus.

• Golf carts converted from gasoline to electric power, and solar-powered 14-passenger shuttle carts deployed to transport faculty, staff and students in the core of campus.

• Campus biofuel initiative expanded, converting lawn mowers to run on 30 percent biofuel made from recycled kitchen oil from campus food outlets.

Joint Efforts with Oxford • Joint committee on sustainability created to discuss best practices share opportunities for improvement; meets quarterly.

• Green Week celebrated to help build awareness of the environment and how to live efficiently.

• Enhancements of bicycle pathways and expansion of bicycle infrastructure are being planned. (The university recently invested $200,000 in the overall bike infrastructure on campus.)

• University Transportation bus system established to provide a transportation alternative to the university and Oxford communities.

28 A lumni R eview

Former Chancellor Robert Khayat signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment more than a year ago. Photo by Nathan Latil

change the way things have been done but that allows tailgaters to be smarter in the way that they do it, for example, how trash from the Grove is handled.

“Right now UM sends over 15 tons of trash to the landfill every football season just from the Grove, not counting the stadium or anywhere else,” he says.

Reducing that amount will lead to significant savings for the university.

“We have a tremendous opportunity there. We are working with several corporate partners on initial planning, and we’re looking to expand our partnership base with local businesses and alumni that are interested in getting involved.

We started this initiative last year by passing out green recycle bags to get people used to the idea. This year we are going to dramatically improve the infrastructure that supports recycling.”

Those efforts include encouraging the use of reusable materials, partnering with local catering vendors and offering “Grove ware,” which will be made of either recyclable, compostable or reusable material. The goal is to decrease the amount of trash UM sends to the landfill by 50 percent in two years.

“We are going to allow for tailgaters to have green certified tents, where they follow several simple guidelines for smarter tailgating, and we will be looking for alumni to serve as champions in the Green Grove Campaign,” Morrison says.

International Paper and Coke have offered to provide support and guidance as

the university develops its game-day recycling plan, which will include increasing the number of recycling bins available in the Grove, Circle and stadium, and a streamlined approach for transporting the recyclables.

Another initiative is Rebel Pedals, a new bike-share program. Starting this fall, university faculty, staff and students, and guests of The Inn at Ole Miss will be able to rent bikes at the Student Union and the Turner Center, providing a healthy alternative to driving a car.

Students are getting involved as well by organizing Students for a Greener Campus, and the ASB president this year was the first to have the Green Initiative on his platform.

“As a community, we are committed to being good stewards of the Earth,” Khayat says. “It is important that the educational experience of our students includes a keen awareness of the responsibilities of each of us to protect, preserve and enhance our world.”

Someone recently asked Morrison when the university would know that it has been successful at being green.

“It is when we stop using the word green, and it is just the way we live and operate,” he said. “We have to build the culture. This is a journey.”

For more information about the UM Green Initiative, contact Morrison at jwmorris@olemiss.edu or 662-915-1678, or visit <www.olemiss.edu/green>. AR

For Coach Houston Nutt—whose commitment to the community, to fans and to his players goes beyond what happens on the field—

There’s More to Life Than Football

by Tobie Baker

It was a gloomy, rainy day in early February when 10-year-old Wilson Furr got the news.

“Coach Nutt is coming?” he questioned.

“Coach Nutt is coming!”

I

mmediate phone calls were made to eight friends in the Sheffield area of northeast Jackson, Miss. The nine boys gathered on the corner. They held handmade posters and wore red and blue. It continued raining; still they waited.

Nearly an hour went by, but the sparkle of anticipation in their eyes never dimmed.

“Man, I hope he stops,” said one youngster.

“Me, too,” the others agreed.

A black car rolled past. The red brake lights illuminated. Then the white reverse lights flashed.

“It’s him,” Furr yelled. “It’s Coach Nutt!”

Nutt, who was in the neighborhood on a recruiting trip, stepped out of the car.

He jawed with the boys, who were soaked to the bone. He signed autographs. Photos were snapped. The impromptu meetand-greet lasted roughly 10 minutes—a fleeting moment in time that will forever be remembered by nine 10-year-olds.

(The boys autographed the photo, and a copy hangs inside Nutt’s second-floor office at the Indoor Practice Facility).

“Obviously, Houston Nutt has dedication, integrity and is a true gentleman,” says Furr’s grandmother Lulu Maness

(70). “This meant a ton to these boys.”

The respect Nutt showed those young Ole Miss fans by taking a few minutes out of his hectic schedule is characteristic of his life.

“We’ve been blessed, so we try to give back,” says Nutt, settling into the end of a long leather couch. “That’s what community service is all about. Giving back, making a difference. Not only with money but giving your time. Your attitude and effort can really make a difference.”

of leadership. You can’t demand respect.

You have to earn it.”

UM defensive football star Greg Hardy agreed, saying Nutt is a model leader.

“Every time I’m around Coach, he’s trying to get us out into the community to help,” said Hardy, who also participated in the workshop. “He likes to give back. He’s a real people person. When you see the level he’s on, man, you just try to follow his example.”

The leadership workshop, the first

junior at Oxford High School, appreciated the honest, open communication the program offered. He expects the advice to help shape him into a better leader.

“It makes me feel great that Coach Nutt, Greg Hardy and these other men volunteered their time to be here,” Johnson said. “As teenagers, we are let down so many times because no one seems to care anything about us, other than our parents and family. When somebody you don’t know cares, then that really bright-

“Coach Nutt is one of those people who cares about others. We’re fortunate as a university to have someone of his caliber who cares about things outside of football.”

— UM Assistant Provost Thomas Wallace The impact of attitude was the lesson he delivered in May at “Leadership: Put Me in the Game,” a free half-day workshop attended by 120 teenagers.

Nutt, who is UM’s 36th head football coach, talked about his experience with Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders, whom he worked with as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State University.

At 5'8", people always told the elusive running back that he was too small to play, Nutt said. From peewee football up to his rookie year in the National Football League, Sanders was dismissed. And, Nutt admitted, Sanders only received a scholarship at OSU because another player backed out.

“The theme is heart,” Nutt told the 8th-11th-graders at the conference. “It’s your ‘want-to.’ It’s your drive to do what’s right when the whole world says you can’t.”

Nutt told the workshop participants not to be afraid of their dreams, to follow their hearts and to learn to set goals. “Somebody’s going to tell you that you can’t,” he told them. “But I’m here today to tell you that you can.”

Another theme expressed by Nutt was that respect must be earned. To be a leader, he said, you have to serve: “You can’t be afraid to go in, roll up your sleeves and go to work. To me, that’s a true example 32 A lumni R eview

of its kind at Ole Miss, drew a capacity crowd. UM Assistant Provost Thomas Wallace (BAEd 78, MEd 80, PhD 02), one of the organizers of the event, suggested the turnout was due to parents’, teachers’ and school counselors’ desire to see an impact in the young men’s lives— but having Ole Miss’ head football coach on the program certainly didn’t hurt.

“When I approached Coach Nutt about taking part in the leadership conference, without hesitation, he asked, ‘What can I do to help?’” Wallace says.

“That was his first response. I’m amazed at his willingness to give of his time and talent in the manner that he does.”

Terry Johnson, a 16-year-old rising

The Nutt family: Hannah (left), Diana, Hailey, Houston III, Houston and Haven. Photo by Robert Jordan

ens my heart.”

Hank McMahon of Hernando drove down to the workshop with his twin 14-year-old sons. He described Nutt as a confident role model, something he said society needs more of today.

“It’s important. There are so many things these boys could have been out doing, but this was a very positive thing for them to do instead,” McMahon said.

“I’m really appreciative of the time that Coach Nutt gave for this.”

Assistant Provost Wallace says Nutt wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Coach Nutt is one of those people who cares about others,” he says. “We’re fortunate as a university to have someone of his caliber who cares about things outside of football.”

Wallace attributes that compassion for people directly to Nutt’s father, Houston Sr., and his mother, Emogene. They strived to instill in all four of their sons that every person has worth and commands respect, Wallace says. (The late Houston Sr. was the basketball, football and track coach for 34 years at the Arkansas School for the Deaf in Little Rock before becoming the school’s athletic director. Houston Nutt’s mother was an English teacher at the school for 33 years).

Houston Sr. raised his sons in a strict,

A group of young Ole Miss fans were thrilled when Coach Houston Nutt took the time to visit with them on a recruiting trip to Jackson.

tightknit family. (Family ties remain strong. Danny Nutt signed on at Ole Miss as assistant athletic director for player development the same year his brother became head coach.) When the boys were growing up, their father permitted them to play either at the deaf school or at the Boys and Girls Club. Period.

“Daddy was tough on us,” Nutt says.

“That’s the only two places we could go.”

The Boys and Girls Club gained approval because Houston Sr. valued the organization’s after-school program, which was designed to provide a safe environment for children.

“Daddy knew it was a good atmosphere where a strong work ethic and teamwork were being taught,” Nutt says.

His father’s wisdom remains with Nutt to this day. Oxford’s Boys & Girls Club, which Nutt supports, recently held an ice-cream social, a fundraiser planned

by Nutt’s wife, Diana, who serves on the club’s board of directors. In addition to helping solicit funds, Coach Nutt also spoke to the children. Players even tagged along to serve the ice cream.

“Coach Nutt told the children how important the Boys & Girls Club was in

helping to sculpt his life, specifically how it helped mold him to become a people person,” says director Christy Grice.

“When he told the children that story about his dad, then the children realized, wow, the Boys & Girls Club is an important place.”

Grice said many of the boys don’t have positive male role models in their lives, so she treasures people like Nutt who volunteer to serve.

“The kids ask, ‘When is Coach Nutt coming back?’” Grice says. “It’s so exciting to have him interact with these children, and it’s absolutely important to have him be a part of our community.”

The Nutt family has also supported the club with “significant” financial contributions that allow the organization to provide meaningful services, Grice says.

But it’s not all about the money, she adds.

“Often times, your time is more valuable because that time you take with a child can open other doors,” Grice says.

“The main thing is building relationships.

Relationships that many of these kids know nothing about, but they will need in order to survive in today’s world.”

Relationships are key to Nutt on and off the field.

“Houston’s players are like a family,” says longtime friend, former coach and former boss Frank Broyles, who worked with Nutt at the University of Arkansas.

“After the Ole Miss game here last year, you saw it on the field. There were probably 30 Arkansas players who went and shook his hand on the 50-yard line. He’s phenomenal and highly respected.”

Broyles adds that those are the kinds of characteristics you want in a coach.

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” says Nutt. “Players are willing to work a little harder for you, willing to go through that wall for you when they know you want to make a difference in their lives.

“When we first got to Ole Miss, we had problems with players not showing up on time, being accountable,” Nutt says. Again, Houston Nutt finds himself in the role of the father figure. “That’s when you have to step in with hard discipline, structure and love. That’s what builds family.

“We get involved with their lives,” he continues. “Anybody can put a whistle on their neck and say ‘Go through this drill,’ but if you genuinely know that perSummer 2009 33

son, know what makes them tick, then it’s much easier to coach them between those lines on the field.”

The players appreciate Nutt’s approach—even when they’re on the receiving end of a scolding—because they know they can depend on him, says Wallace, who works with players as part of his responsibilities for Rebel Ready, a program that helps prepare student athletes for success in college and life. “[Nutt] disciplines with dignity and respect, and they appreciate that,” Wallace says. “Now, in no way is he soft, but he can discipline them because they know he cares for them as individuals, not just as football players.”

Nutt’s commitment to community service was witnessed by an estimated 15,000 American soldiers over the summer. He trekked some 20,000 miles, visiting U.S. military bases around the world as part of the 2009 Coaches Tour.

Nutt and five other college football coaches took off from McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas in late May, traveling to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, Balad Air Base and Camp Victory in Iraq, Camp Le Monier in Djibouti and a U.S. Naval Station in Spain. After visiting both Scott and Andrews Air Force bases stateside, the tour of duty concluded in early June.

“We took great care in selecting the coaches we invited,” says former U.S. Marine Mike Whalen, a Morale Entertainment partner. “We wanted a man’s man, and Houston was our type of man. He was one of the right men for this trip.”

Nutt, along with the other coaches on the tour—Jim Tressel (Ohio State), Mack Brown (Texas), Troy Calhoun (Air Force), Rick Neuheisel (UCLA) and former UM and Auburn coach Tommy Tubberville—participated in meet-andgreets, coached flag football teams made up of servicemen and women, and hosted panel discussions, enabling troops to ask questions. In addition to signing autographs and posing for snapshots, Nutt also handed out 4,000 Ole Miss T-shirts.

For Ole Miss alumnus Sheldon Morris (BBA 00), a U.S. Army major on his third deployment in Iraq, the opportunity to meet Coach Nutt had to be 34 A lumni R eview

U.S. Army Maj. Sheldon Morris (BBA 00) is on his third deployment in Iraq. Photo courtesy of Sheldon Morris

sacrificed when he was dispatched on a mission at the last minute prior to the coaches’ arrival.

“I had really hoped to meet Coach Nutt while he was in Iraq. His effort to come here was a testament of himself and his family,” Morris says. “Coach Nutt is a giver on the field and out in the community.”

An Ole Miss football player from 1997-2000, Morris is currently a company commander of 114 servicemen and women stationed in Tal’Afar, a city in northwestern Iraq about 30 miles west of Mosul. With a nine-hour time difference between the U.S. and Iraq, Saturday football games don’t kick off in the Middle East until the wee hours of the morning. Morris says he’s is looking Coach Nutt shares his philosophy of leadership at a workshop for teenagers in May. Photo by Kevin Bain

forward to watching the Rebels play live once he returns home in December to his wife and daughter.

Nutt, now back home, has his camouflage military name badge resting atop his office desk. He says the long flight times were dreadful, but traveling the globe to visit American soldiers was time well spent.

“It was the least I could do to go and try to lift somebody else’s spirits,” Nutt says, tapping his fingers on a ceramic figurine with the prayer of Jabez inscribed.

“What’s ironic about this whole thing is my players are the same age as these men and women who are halfway around the world fighting to protect us so we can go eat a burger or do whatever. They truly know the meaning of sacrifice.”

Nutt says witnessing firsthand what American soldiers sacrifice to defend their homeland challenged his perspective on the prayer of Jabez, which seeks for people to enlarge their territory and increase their impact.

“The worst sin you can commit is to loaf, so this reminds me to touch more and more lives,” Nutt says. “The theme of this is giving back, giving back, giving back. Some people really miss out when they keep their time and money. It’s all about giving, which ultimately rewards you.” AR

Summer 2009 35

Sports First Serve

Freshman netter wins national singles title

I

n May, Ole Miss freshman Devin Britton became the first player in the history of the men’s tennis program to win an NCAA national championship in singles. He is the third Rebel to win an NCAA individual title, joining 11-time grand slam champion Mahesh Bhupathi and Ali Hamadeh, who took home the doubles title in 1995.

A native of Jackson, Miss., the 18-year-old Britton becomes the first American-born player to win the NCAA singles title since Alex Kim of Stanford in 2000. He is also the first freshman since 19-year-old Cecil Mamiit of University of Southern California (1996) to win the national title and the first nonseeded player since Luke Smith of University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 1997.

He is the youngest of the three freshmen ever to win the singles title, which includes 19-year-old John McEnroe of Stanford in 1978.

“It is a pretty awesome feeling [to win the national championship]. It’s great for

Devin Britton

Mississippi tennis. It was just an unbelievable tournament. I couldn’t be happier,” Britton says.

“He’s the man,” says Head Coach Billy Chadwick (MBA 85), the SEC Coach of the Year. “It was a unique run, but the thing is, he’s the type of player, when he gets on a roll, he’s hard to stop.

He had some big serves and applied pressure. We’re extremely excited.

“When you get a national champi-

onship, that says it all,” Chadwick adds.

“You took down everyone in Division I tennis. It came down to the last set against a tough opponent. To be a freshman from Mississippi who is just now scratching the surface of his potential is very impressive. It’s a great day for Ole Miss and a great day for the state of Mississippi. I think Devin made a smart move coming to college.”

Britton, who finished with a 29-9 overall record, made plenty of history in his first season with the Rebels. In addition to winning the first NCAA singles title for the Rebels, he became the first freshman to earn All-America honors. He earned All-SEC honors, made the SEC All-Freshman Team and was named the 2009 ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year.

The two-time SEC Player of the Week helped lead Ole Miss to the NCAA Elite Eight, the SEC Championship, the SEC Tournament Championship and a final national ranking of No. 4. AR

Par for the Course

Senior golfer named Honorable Mention All-American

O

le Miss women’s golfer Dori Carter added another honor to her outstanding career as she was named an Honorable Mention AllAmerican by Golfweek.

Carter, who wrapped up her career this year, became the first All-American in the history of the program last year when she earned the honor from the Golf Coaches Association.

This year, she became the first player in the history of Ole Miss women’s golf to earn All-SEC first-team honors more than once. Carter finished with a teamleading 72.78 stroke average with one tournament title and four top-five fin36 A lumni R eview

ishes. She won the Rebel Intercollegiate to capture her first career title. Carter led the Rebels to their first NCAA Regional appearance in five years and five top-five finishes, including winning their first tournament title (Johnie Imes) since 2004 and their best finish in the SEC (seventh) since 1999.

“Dori is very deserving of this achievement, and it’s another tribute to her work ethic,” Head Coach Michele Drinkard says. “We are very excited about her future in this great game. She will be returning for the fall semester to finish her degree in business and enjoy some home football games, before turn-

Dori Carter

ing professional and participating in the Futures Tour Qualifying School in early November.”

Carter was one of 11 players from the SEC to earn Golfweek All-America honors. The SEC led the nation with seven teams in the final top 25. AR

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Summer 2009 37

Sports

Prime Seats

Baseball fans shatter attendance record

O

le Miss baseball has been among the national leaders in attendance since Mike Bianco took the reins of the program in 2001.

The Rebels have been ranked in the top 25 in national attendance every season under Bianco and have placed among the top 10 nationally the past four seasons.

This year, the fan base did it again as Ole Miss broke its single-season attendance record with a total of 273,000.

The process of growing the fan base began with Bianco’s first season, when about 60,000 fans came out to support the team. By the next year, 2005, that number had increased almost three-fold to 170,152 fans. 2005 marked the second straight season for the Rebels to host an NCAA Regional and the first

Swayze Field at O-U Stadium saw record crowds this season.

time for Ole Miss to host to an NCAA Super Regional. In that showdown of Ole Miss vs. the eventual national champion Texas Longhorns, more than 26,075 fans flooded into O-U Stadium.

Those numbers seemed incredible at the time, but fan support just kept getting stronger. In 2006, the Rebels again stormed through the regular season and claimed the SEC Tournament Championship on the way to hosting a third-straight NCAA Regional and second consecutive NCAA Super Regional.

Along with that success came another record-breaking number for single-season attendance—184,311.

With the demand for tickets and the interest in Ole Miss baseball at an all-time high, the Rebel administration

went to work on expansion plans that would make O-U Stadium one of the finest college baseball venues in America. Fans had the opportunity to enjoy the results of their support when they were welcomed back to the new and improved Swayze Field at the opening of the 2009 season.

Season ticket sales soared, setting a record with more than 5,000 season ticket packages purchased. And, obviously enjoying the new facility, fans set yet another attendance record for a three-game series this year when 29,646 people showed up to see the Rebels battle Virginia in the NCAA Super Regional, the highest attendance figure of all eight Super Regionals. AR

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38 A lumni R eview

Big Hitters

Lauren Grill

O

le Miss junior Lauren Grill and freshman Corrine Doornberg both earned postseason accolades from the Southeastern Conference softball coaches for the 2009 season.

Grill earned second team All-SEC honors at the utility position, while Doornberg was named to the league’s AllFreshman Team as an outfielder.

Grill, a second-team selection a year ago, is only the second player in school history to be named All-SEC twice in her career, joining former Rebel Amanda Fine (BSCS 00), who earned the honor in 1997 and 1998. A first-team AllAmerica pick last year by Louisville Slugger, Grill led the Rebels with 10 doubles,

Softball standouts earn SEC honors

10 home runs, 32 RBI and a .608 slugging percentage on the year. Her 10 long balls this season give her 36 for her career and place her just 13 behind DeDe Justice’s school record of 49.

The Tualatin, Ore., native ranked second in the SEC in walks in conference action, third in triples and 11th in doubles and on-base percentage. She also led the SEC with eight intentional walks in conference play.

“It shows what a special player Lauren is to earn All-SEC honors twice in a league as competitive as this one,” says Ole Miss Head Coach Missy Dickerson.

A Langley, British Columbia, native,

Doornberg led the Rebels with a .315 batting average on the year, which is the second-highest mark for a freshman in school history behind Grill’s .325 average in 2007. The Canadian becomes the fifth player in school history to earn SEC All-Freshman honors.

Doornberg started 42 games for Ole Miss this season and finished tied for the team lead with six steals. She batted .274 in conference play, which was the fifthhighest mark among freshmen.

“This is a big honor for Corrine,” Dickerson says. “We are looking for her to continue to get better and expect big things from her.” AR

Summer 2009 39

arts &

Culture Concentration Camps on the Home Front: Japanese Americans in the House of Jim Crow by John Howard, 356 pages, $29 (Hardcover), ISBN: 0226354768 W it hout t r i a l a nd without due process, the United States government locked up nearly all citizens and longtime residents who were of Japanese descent during World War II. Te n c onc e nt r at ion camps were set up across the country to confine more than 120,000 inmates.

Almost 20,000 of them were shipped to the only two camps in the segregated South: Jerome and Rohwer in Arkansas.

These locations put them right in the heart of a much older, long-festering system of racist oppression.

The first history of these Arkansas camps, Concentration Camps on the Home Front is an eye-opening account of the inmates’ experiences.

John Howard (MBA 84) is a professor in the Department of American Studies at King’s College London, England.

New Orleans Set recorded by Les Kerr, $17, ONU Records Songwriter Les Kerr (BA 78) has released his sixth album, New Orleans Set, a collection of songs written over a 25-year period. A broadcast journalism major at Ole Miss, Kerr began writing songs while still on campus in the ’70s and performed at then-landmarks The G i n, T he Wa r e house and Abby’s Irish Rose.

K e r r g r e w up in Pascagoula and Jack son, Miss., a nd h a s l ived i n Nashville, Tenn., since 1987, but in m a ny w ay s Ne w Orleans is his 40 A lumni R eview

spiritual home. Much of his inspiration as a songwriter comes from the time he has spent there, and the songs on t h is CD ref lec t the culture, music and cuisine of the Crescent City.

“I can’t remember when Ne w Orlea ns was not a part of my life,” says Kerr. “There is something romantic about it that I feel to this day when I go there to perform and visit.”

In addition to recording five albums prior to New Orleans Set, Kerr co-wrote “For The Love of Ole Miss,” the theme song for the MomentUM campaign.

First Lady of Letters: Judith Sargent Mur ray and the Struggle for Female Independence

by Sheila L. Skemp, 512 pages, $39.95 (Hardcover), ISBN: 0812241402 Po e t , e s s ay i s t a nd play wright Jud it h Sa rgent Murray (1751-1820) was one of the most thoroughgoing advocates of women’s rights in early America. She was as well-known in her own day as Abigail Adams or Martha Washington. Her name, though, has virtually disappeared from the public consciousness. Thanks to the recent discovery of Murray’s papers—including some 2,500 persona l letters —historia n Sheila L. Skemp has documented the compelling story of this talented and most unusual 18th-century woman.

Sheila L. Skemp is the Clare Leslie Marquette Professor of History at The University of Mississippi.

Coaching with a Purpose by Johnny Flynt, 137 pages, $14.95 (Paperback), ISBN: 9781604583816 In Coaching with a Purpose, Johnny Fly nt (MEd 74) shares how to coach using life-changing illustrations, experiences and Christian coaching principles. Readers can find not only lessons to apply in coaching but also ideas to apply in everyday life.

Flynt has been coaching players and people for more than 40 years. He has coached high school and college, including 10 seasons in the SEC. He also has served for more than 20 years as a pastor. He has been married to his wife, Joann, for 37 years, and they have two children and four grandchildren.

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White, 336 pages, $25.99 (Hardcover), ISBN: 0061351601 Like many, Neil White (95) weighed the measure of his worth by appearance. He desired nice cars, homes and clothing. He was active and generous in his church, but his bank account was quickly evaporating, and he couldn’t keep up with his addiction to an appearance of perfection. So he began moving money from one account to another to avoid bouncing checks. What started out as just covering expenses became something bigger, something illegal:

advertising awards. He currently lives in Oxford with his wife. This is his first book.

Strawberry Plains Audubon Center : Four Centuries of a Mississippi Landscape by Hubert H. McAlexander, 160 pages, $20 (Paperback), ISBN: 1604730029 In 1982, sisters Ruth Fi n l e y a n d M a r g a r e t Finley Shackelford made wills bequeathing 2,500 acres and two antebellum houses in Marshall County, Miss., to the National Audubon Society. Early in 1998, the surviving sister, Margaret Shackelford, invited the society to open its state headquarters at the family home in Holly Springs and to begin working at Strawberry Plains, the plantation where she lived four miles north of town. When she died late that year, the society took full possession of the sistersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bequest, and Strawberry Plains

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A udu b on C e nt e r w a s established.

Strawberry Plains Audubon Center: Four Centuries of a Mississippi Landscape documents the unique complex and history of the land encompassed by the center.

With a large cast of cha racters from ma ny generations, this book richly delineates life on a tract of land in north Mississippi. It tells a fascinating story involving famous historical figures including Hernando de Soto and William Tecumseh Sherman, but concentrates on those who owned and worked this land and their changing fortunes. Through their individual stories, the author conveys the larger sweep of history in the South and tells an uplifting saga of stewards of the land whose vision led to the creation of a lasting legacy for people and wildlife.

Hubert H. McAlexander (BA 61, MA 66) is Josiah Meigs Professor of English at the University of Georgia.

AR

Jefferson Ave.

North Lamar

kiting checks. Eventually, White was caught, convicted of fraud and sent to prison.

When White reported to prison to start his two-year sentence, he was baffled by the sign outside: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Medical Center. This was no ordinary prison. Neil White had been sentenced to imprisonment in the last leper colony in the continental United States.

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts is the emotional and incredible true story of redemption in which White discovers the secret to happiness and a fulfilling life, as well as the importance of fatherhood, in the most u n l i kely of places.

Nei l W h ite is the former publisher of New Orleans ma ga zine, Coast magazine and Coast B u siness Jour nal .

He is t he recipient of more than 25 publishing and

Courthouse

SummeR 2009 41

Travel planner 2009-10

A

lumni and friends of the university enjoy traveling together.

For 2009-10, the Alumni Association is offering some spectacular trips.

Alumni and friends obtain group rates and discounts.

All prices are per person, based on double occupancy. Airfare is not included. For a brochure or more information, contact the Alumni office at 662-9157375. You also can find these trips listed on the Ole Miss Alumni Association’s Web site at <www.olemissalumni.com>.

Ireland/Ennis Aug. 21-29, 2009 Set on Europe’s outskirts against the waves of the Atlantic Ocean is a rare land—the legendary Emerald Isle. Begin your exploration in Ennis, County Clare, and travel to the ancient Burren and windswept Cliffs of Moher. Visit Bunratty Castle, the most complete and authentic medieval

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland 42 A lumni R eview

castle in Ireland, then continue to Bunratty Folk Park, whose recreated 19thcentury village provides insight into the life of bygone days. Cruise to the Aran Island of Inishmore and marvel at the cliff-side fortress of Dún Aengus. Appreciate the country’s epic literary heritage at Coole Park in County Galway, with its beech tree bearing W.B. Yeats’ initials and the 16th-century tower of Thoor Ballylee, where he resided. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore Ireland, a captivating island of legend and history, lively villages and peaceful countryside.—$2,395 Celtic Lands Aug. 22-Sept. 2, 2009 Embrace four millennia of Celtic history on this remarkable 12-day voyage aboard the deluxe, exclusively chartered M.S. Le Diamant. Cruise around the misty, legend-haunted islands of Scotland and along the verdant coasts of southern

England and northern France. Experience the stark beauty of Scotland’s Hebrides; admire the elegant architecture of Edinburgh; observe the enduring Celtic heritage of Northern Ireland and Wales; and revel in the historical charms of the Cornish port of Penzance. In Normandy, France, admire the soaring grace of MontSt-Michel and stroll along the historic beaches where Allied forces landed on D-Day. We also invite you to enhance your travel experience with an exclusive pre-program option in Dublin and/or a post-program option in Paris, the romantic “City of Light.” —$5,195 Ancient Wonders of the Western Mediterranean Sept. 11-21, 2009 Join in an expedition to the heart of the Mediterranean, and experience the grand colosseums, spectacular temples and ruined cities of the classical world

on this 11-day voyage aboard the exclusively chartered deluxe M.S. Le Diamant.

Cruise along the stunning coasts of the French and Italian Riviera, and marvel at Michelangelo’s David in Florence, “Cradle of the Renaissance.” Sail in the wake of Roman galleys, medieval mariners and the sleek triremes of Phoenician sea traders to the ancient port of Sicily. You will also tour the fabled Oracle of Delphi, one of the most sacred sites in ancient Greece, and walk the hallowed grounds of Gallipoli.—$3,995 Island Life in Ancient Greece Sept. 27-Oct. 5, 2009 Discover a region acclaimed for its fascinating history, stunning natural beauty and deep-rooted cultures on this distinctive weeklong voyage across the Aegean Sea through the Greek Isles and to Turkey’s historic coast. Explore Greece’s most fabled islands, including Santorini, renowned for its pristine beaches. Stroll through the ruins of Ephesus, and sail in the wake of Achilles, Odysseus and Agamemnon to legendary Troy aboard the exclusively chartered M.S. Le Diamant, one of the finest ships to cruise the eastern Mediterranean. Enhance your understanding of the region’s history and cul-

tures through educational lectures and a comprehensive series of excursions. You are also invited to join a two-night preprogram option in the ancient Greek capital of Athens and/or a two-night postprogram option in Istanbul, crossroads of East and West.—$2,995 village life along the Seine River Oct. 2-10, 2009 Explore the tranquil beauty, fascinating history and rich artistic heritage of the French province of Normandy while cruising on the Seine River aboard the intimate, five-star M.V. Cezanne from the historic port of Rouen to the splendid French capital of Paris. Enjoy excursions to the provincial capital of Rouen, renowned for its exquisite cathedral; Claude Monet’s house and studios in Giverny; and Auvers-sur-Oise, where Vincent van Gogh spent his final days.

Also visit the Normandy Beaches where Allied Forces landed on D-Day in June 1944, and savor regional specialties like Camembert and Calvados. Conclude in Paris, one of the world’s most romantic cities, and stroll through the streets of the legendary bohemian neighborhood of Montmartre, where artists and musicians like Pablo Picasso and Django Reinhardt once lived and worked. —$2,695

Thailand Discovery Tour Oct. 23-Nov. 1, 2009 The Thailand Discovery guides you to vibrant cities and gorgeous white sand beaches on an exciting cultural adventure.

Purchase exotic fruit and unique gifts while relaxing on a Thai Long Tail Boat through the Floating Market in Bangkok. Absorb the Long Neck Karen Tribe culture in Thaton, and sit atop enormous elephants on a thrilling jungle ride. Cool off after a spicy Thai dish with a tasty Thai iced tea, swim in crystal clear water along Phuket Island, and venture through caves and islands in Phangna Bay via canoe.

Complete your Thailand Discovery with an inexpensive, wonderful Thai massage. Visit the Specialty Groups tab at <www.chinadiscoverytours.com> to learn more about this Ole Miss tour.—$2,599 (includes international flights) Antiquities of the Nile Valley and the Red Sea Jan.13-23, 2010 Join this spellbinding odyssey aboard the inviting 25-cabin M.Y. Harmony IV, and immerse yourself in the rich cultural heritage and natural beauty of the Nile Valley and the Red Sea. Stand face to face with the Sphinx in the shadow of Giza’s pyra-

Library of Celsus, Greece Summer 2009 43

The Pyramids at Giza, Egypt

mids, and walk in the footsteps of Ramses II in ancient Thebes. Visit the birthplace of monasticism in Egypt’s Eastern Desert, and travel to the Monastery of St. Catherine at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Enjoy a dinner of Arabian specialties at a Bedouin camp, bask in the glory of the legendary city of Petra, and stay in the awe-inspiring ancient city of Luxor.—$3,995 Austria, Germany and Slovakia January 14-23, 2010 Please join us as we journey to Vienna and Munich for a week filled with beautiful scenery, magnificent art, first-class music performances, excellent food and wine, and the camaraderie and fun we always have when we travel together. Vienna, Austria, the former capital of the Habsburg monarchy, is a treasure trove for art and history lovers and a paradise for classical music enthusiasts. A highlight will be the opportunity to attend one of Vienna’s festive balls in the Hofburg Palace, where you can dance the night away to Strauss waltzes. We will take a day trip to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, and to Eisenstadt, where Joseph Haydn produced many of his famous works. Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is a city with incredible charm, a cultural metropolis and a shopper’s paradise. Munich is also the gateway to the Bavarian Alps, and we will take the train up to the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain.—$2,470 (includes round-trip airfare from Memphis)

44 A lumni R eview

Tanzania Safari During the Great Migration Jan. 17-27, 2010 Travel with us on the journey of a lifetime into the wilds of Tanzania, Africa’s premier safari destination, where, in one of our planet’s greatest natural spectacles, vast herds of elephant, wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and Cape buffalo roam the savannas, followed by magnificent lions, cheetahs and leopards. At Ngorongoro Crater, observe the largest concentration of mammals in the world, and step back into the dawn of time at Olduvai Gorge, birthplace of the human race. During the program, enjoy accommodations in the region’s finest lodges, learn about Tanzania’s wildlife from our expert naturalist-guide, and meet indigenous Masai tribesmen and local schoolchildren.— approximately $4,995 per person Mysteries of the Mekong: Saigon to Angkor Wat March 2-13, 2010 Immerse yourself in the mysterious allure of Indochina while cruising in style and

Angkor Wat, Vietnam

comfort aboard the deluxe M.V. Jayavarman along the fabled “Waterway of the Nine Dragons,” the Mekong River.

Journey from cosmopolitan Saigon to the undiscovered gem of Phnom Penh, a rare pocket of “Old Asia,” and encounter a timeless world of tranquil rice paddies, authentic floating villages and grand pagodas that recall the glories of bygone kingdoms and empires. Your journey culminates in the lush jungles of Cambodia amid the magnificent 12th-century temples and sculptures of Angkor Wat. Hanoi pre-program and Bangkok post-program options also are offered.—$2,995 River Life in Saxony along the Elbe River April 16-24, 2010 Cruise along the River Elbe aboard the deluxe M.V. Frederic Chopin from the splendid castles of Prague and the captivating beauty of Bohemia to the medieval river towns of “Saxon Switzerland.”

Immerse yourself in the incomparable treasures and the timeless traditions of the Elbe River on this fascinating journey to

the Czech Republic and Germany. Tour the imposing medieval fortifications of Königstein Castle; marvel at the Baroque splendors of Dresden; and walk in the footsteps of Martin Luther through historic Wittenberg. Special enhancements include a private beer tasting, a demonstration of porcelain craftsmanship in Meissen and an exclusive village forum with local residents.—$2,695 Sorrento coastline, Italy

Amalfi, The Divine Coast May 5-13, 2010 Delight in the scenic grandeur of the Amalfi Coast, with its varied architecture and amazing vertical landscape. Nicknamed “the Divine Coast,” the serpentine Amalfi Drive winds around towering cliffs and sandy coves, and past charming villages, brightly colored villas and cascading flower gardens. During your stay in the seaside resort of Amalfi, venture out to see the town of Ravello with its spectacular 13th-century Villa Rufolo and the dramatic cliffs of Positano, Italy’s most vertical town. Explore the cliff-top

village of Sorrento, overlooking the Bay of Naples. Discover an epoch suspended in time at the fabled ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii. See the Temples of Hera and Athena at Paestum, and immerse yourself in the extraordinary beauty and classical antiquity of Capri, the Isle of Dreams.—$2,295 European Coastal Civilizations May 18-26, 2010 For one full week, travel in impeccable style and comfort aboard the deluxe M.S. Le Diamant, one of the world’s most

celebrated small cruise ships, and explore coastal Portugal, Spain and France, discovering an enticing canvas of historic sea ports, ancient civilizations and enduring, yet dynamic, cultures. A program of attractively priced shore excursions will be available, including opportunities to admire the mesmerizing architecture of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, walk in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela and linger over a glass of Duoro port in Oporto.—$2,495 AR

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L A N D F O R S A L E

Summer 2009 45

News alumni

All Smiles

For Dental Alumnus of the Year, passion for profession started in high school

D

r. Eleanor Gill (BA 82, DMD 87), The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s 2009 Dental Alumnus of the Year, dentistry has been a lifelong passion that began in high school when she worked as an assistant in a dentist’s office.

Once she was ready to start her formal training after earning a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, UMMC was her first choice.

Gill earned her DMD from the School of Dentistry and spent years lecturing for the school while launching her private practice in Olive Branch. Working with students and answering their questions about her practice helped her to develop professionally, she says.

“It helped me learn from my mistakes,” she says. “I benefited as much from the students’ questions as they did from my answers.”

Gill is very active in the dentistry community and belongs to many state and national organizations. A member of the Mississippi Dental Association for 10 years, she served as president of the organization from 2005-06.

She has also served as a School of Dentistry student mentor.

“Eleanor has done and continues to do so much, not only for our school but for our profession of dentistry,” says Dr. Butch Gilbert, interim dean of the School of Dentistry. “She is the perfect example of the professional we want our students to become: providing excellent health care for her patients, sharing her leadership skills to advance our profession and so importantly [serving as] a strong supporter of dental education.”—Matt Westerfield AR

Dr. Neva Eklund (DMD 92) (left), president of the Dental Alumni Chapter, and Dr. Butch Gilbert, interim dean, with Dr. Eleanor Gill (BA 82, DMD 87), UMMC 2009 Dental Alumna of the Year.

With more than fifty years of combined experience in providing wealth management & investment strategies WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE FORMATION OF

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TEL: 662-550-4554 FAX: 662-234-5533 www.oia-ria.com

Legal Eagles Law school launches Alumni Hall of Fame

O

fficials and alumni of the School of Law have created a Law Alumni Hall of Fame, with the inaugural induction set for February 2010.

“The Hall of Fame grew out of a need to recognize outstanding alumni of the law school who have, through their professional achievements, brought honor to the law school,” says Al Povall, outgoing president of the UM Law Alumni Chapter.

Bylaws for the newly established honor, approved last summer, provide for up to five selections each year, with no more than two of those selections being deceased members. Anyone can submit a nomination.

All nominees must be graduates of the UM law school. Nominees cannot, however, be elected politicians or judges who currently hold office; current law school faculty and staff; university employees who were employed during the fiscal year the nominations are submitted; current Alumni Association or Law Alumni Chapter officers; or alumni who have been deceased for more than

five years (unless extraordinary qualifications or circumstances exist.)

The Hall of Fame is an appropriate way to honor law graduates who are outstanding in their profession, says Tim Walsh, executive director of alumni affairs.

“This new Hall of Fame gives us an opportunity to honor their success and their positive reflection not only on the law school but the university as a whole,” he says.

Nominations should be submitted in writing to Ole Miss Alumni Association, Triplett Alumni Center, c/o Scott Thompson, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677, or they may be faxed to Thompson at 662-915-7756. Each nomination should include the nominee’s name and address, reasons and supporting information for the nomination, and ways the nominee has brought honor to the law school.

Those selected for the honor are to be recognized during Law Alumni Weekend 2010, scheduled for Feb. 26-28. AR

Lamar Law Center, home of the University of Mississippi School of Law since 1978.

Summer 2009 47

News alumni

Class Notes 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@alumni.olemiss.edu or Alumni Records Dept., Ole Miss Alumni Association, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677-1848. Class notes may also be submitted through the association’s Web site at www. olemissalumni.com. The association relies on numerous sources for class notes and is unable to verify all notes with individual alumni.

’40s

William F. Winter (BA 43, LLB 49) of Jackson was one of 10 Mississippians presented with the newly created Mississippi Medal of Service.

’50s

lenore loving Prather (JD 55) of Columbus was one of 10 Mississippians presented with the newly created Mississippi Medal of Service.

’60s

JosePh leray mcnamara (BA 69, JD 75), a shareholder in t he R idgela nd office of Copeland Cook Taylor and Bush, PA, will be inducted as a Fellow at the 2009 annual meeting of the Mississippi Bar Foundation.

H

’70s

Deborah hoDges bell ( JD 79) of O x ford wa s inducted as a Fellow at the 2009 annual meeting of the Mississippi Bar Foundation. roDger broWn (BBA 74, BBA 77) of Belden was elected president of the Mississippi chapter of the American College of Health Care Executives.

Jolee hussey (BA Ed 70, MSS 72) of Oxford was selected as the Oxford School District’s Teacher of the Year.

Cille mChenry litChFielD (BSCS 77) of Madison was named deputy executive director of the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration.

WelDon Perkins (BBA 74) of Moss Point was elected to the board of directors of First Federal Savings & Loan, where he also serves as executive vice president.

A SSISTED L IVING

•

kenneth b. reCtor (BA 74, JD 77), a member of Wheeless, Shappley, Bailess & Rector, LLP, in Vick sburg, was inducted as a Fellow at the 2009 annual meeting of the Mississippi Bar Foundation.

Paul r. sCott (BA 78, JD 81), a member of the Hernando office of Smith, Phillips, Mitchell, Scott & Nowak, LLP, was inducted as a Fellow at the 2009 annual meeting of the Mississippi Bar Foundation. nina s. tollison (BM 73) of Oxford was elected president-elect of the Mississippi Bar. PatriCia D. Wise (BAEd 73, MCd 76), a judge of the 5th Circuit Chancery Court District in Jackson, was inducted as a Fellow at the 2009 annual meeting of the Mississippi Bar Foundation.

A LZHEIMER ’ S /M EMORY C ARE

ermitage Gardens of Oxford is honored to be a longstanding and respected member of the Oxford community. We offer an uncompromising, high standard of living with all the warmth and hospitality of home, right here on our beautifully landscaped campus.

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C A L L T O DAY 48 A lumni R eview

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SummeR 2009 49

News alumni

’80s

William l. Calhoun Jr. (BSPh 89) of Tupelo was promoted to regional director of operations for Principle Pharmacy Group of Birmingham, Ala. kenneth C. Johnston (BBA 88, JD 91), director at Kane Russell Coleman & Logan, PC, spoke at the 2009 Banking Institute in Charlotte, N.C. He, along with representatives from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the FDIC and others, participated on a panel entitled “Negotiating the Storm: Lease Cost Bank Resolution.” marianne may Jones (BBA 83) of Vicksburg received one of the “Top Producer” awards for real estate sales in Vicksburg for 2008.

JaCqueline estes mask ( JD 82), a judge of the 1st Chancery Court District in Tupelo, was inducted as a Fellow at the 2009 annual meeting of the Mississippi Bar Association.

J. tuCker mitChell (JD 83), a shareholder in the Ridgeland office of Copeland Cook Taylor & Bush, PA, was selected for membership in the Federation of Defense a nd Corporate Counsel. riCharD neWman (BBA 88), owner of Storage Depot, LLC, was elected president of the Mississippi Self Storage Owners Association.

Ad Hoc Ambassador a rebel abroaD in ukraine

W

illiam Tate’s work has taken him around the globe, but even when he’s on the other side of the planet, he’s never far away from Ole Miss. Tate (BBA 86) is a walking, talking and driving promotion for all things Ole Miss in his adopted home of Kiev, Ukraine.

Sporting an Ole Miss affinity tag, he whizzes through city streets in his BMW, covering his wind-whipped hair with an Ole Miss ball cap when he stops. The trunk of his car contains Ole Miss cups, shirts and other memorabilia.

Tate moved to Ukraine after watching television coverage of the 2004 “Orange Revolution” that promoted the ascension of pro-Western president Vicktor Yushchenko.

A former member of the National Guard Special Forces, Tate had already traveled to many developing countries, but the burgeoning democracy in Ukraine became a magnet for the entrepreneur.

William Tate

Tate is currently working on a book and software series that combines financial advice with selfhelp psychology. Before moving to Ukraine, he worked as a financial adviser in California.

Today, he splits time between Ukraine and Tupelo, but wherever he travels, it’s a good bet he’s wearing his red and blue. AR

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50 A lumni R eview

At Last.... an affordable real estate opportunity in Oxford, MS. For information and availability, contact: Adam Quick, Project Manager Office: 662.513.0058

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SummeR 2009 51

News alumni

Stop the Presses inDianola newspaperman inDucteD into hall oF Fame

L

ongtime Indianola Enterprise- from Ole Miss in 2003. The Indianola Tocsin editor and publisher Jim paper was named Indianola’s small Abbott (BSJ 70) was inducted into business of the year in 2005. the Mississippi Press Association Hall The induction ceremony was of Fame June 19 at the Beau Rivage part of MPA’s 143rd annual convenResort in Biloxi. tion. AR Abbott retired in 2008 after leading the newspaper for 37 years.

He is a past MPA president and Jim Abbott a native of Greenwood.

He joined the EnterpriseTocsin after returning to the U.S. following a tour in Vietnam, becoming the youngest newspaper editor in the state at that time.

During his tenure, Abbott was awarded the Silver Em WRIGHT_7X4.75 AD

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Page 1

Colette a. olDmixon (JD 81), a member of the law firm of Smith & Oldmixon in Poplarville, received the 2009 Law Related Public Education Award at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Bar Foundation. aliCia reynolDs (BAcc y 86) wa s named partner in Horne, LLP, at the firm’s Nashville, Tenn., office.

’90s

laWton barnes (BA 92) started a new position as producer for HDNet & HDNet Movies, where he creates advertising for the Dallas Mavericks and Magnolia Pictures. Barnes received four Addy awards from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Advertising Foundation for previous works produced at Beau Rivage.

ChaD braDDoCk (BSPh 98, PhMD 00) of Southaven is now working for Tyson’s Medical Center Pharmacy in Holly Springs. bill byrD (BA 92) relocated to Savan-

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52 A lumni R eview

FroMThe GuysWho BroughtYou City Groceryand Bouré nah, Ga., as a marketing representative with Auto-Owners Insurance Co. Byrd covers southeast Georgia. thomas Conner (BBA 91) of Olive Branch was elected vice president of the board of directors at Memphis Consumer Credit Association in Memphis, Tenn. t. miChael Cronin Jr. (BBA 92, JD 95) was named partner in the Jackson office of Adams and Reese. He practices in the areas of labor and employment, education and health-care law. a. toDD goForth (BAEd 90, MEd 91) was elected state president of the Tennessee Teachers To Speak of Other Languages ESL Professional Organization.

Goforth is currently the ESL coordinator for Shelby County Schools in Memphis, Tenn. elizabeth ross haDley (BA 96, JD 99) of Round Rock, Texas, is general counsel to Texas state Sen. Kip Averitt. miChael martin (BAccy 93, MAccy 94) is assistant comptroller for Lee County, Miss. Martin formerly worked for J.E. Vance & Company, PA, in Tupelo. eDDie rester (BA 93) received his doctorate in ministry through George Fox University in December 2008. Rester continues to serve at Parkway Heights Methodist Church in Hattiesburg. steven W. Wall (BBA 91) joined the staff of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (BA 59, JD 65) as legislative director.

’00s

John C. atkins (BA 08) of Ol ive Br a nc h to ok a job with Bill Flowers Real Estate Investment Co. anna elizabeth herzog (BA 07) joined the faculty at Kingsbury High School in Memphis. hal miller (BBA 08) works with NixTann and Associates in its Oxford office. vernon rayForD (BSPh 03, PhMD 05) graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn., on May 8. He moved to Boston, Mass., and is completing the Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency.

WeDDings katherine marie barron (BA 03, MA 05) and Brett Waller Rosson, Nov. 29, 2008. molly ann benoist (BCR 04) and samuel Cole eaton (BBA 03), April 4, 2009. elizabeth anne bolen (BA 03) and Ryan L. Stookey, Feb. 13, 2009. kimberly anne breaux (BA 07) and lee michael Ferguson (BSChE 06), April 18, 2009. mona mahmoud elsohly (BA 98) and Yousri Abdel Nabi, Dec. 30, 2008.

Jennifer elizabeth grogan (BA 02, MSS 04) and John C. Sisco, Oct. 4, 2008. allison leigh gwyn (BA 07) and blake russel Parsons (BA 07), March 21, 2009.

Chasity lynn Johnson (BSFCS 98) and James Kiley Thames Jr., March 28, 2009. ashley nicole lishman (BA 06, MS 08) and graham Wesley legate (BSCvE 07), July 12, 2008.

Pamela J. manasco ( JD 08) a nd thomas goodwin bittick (JD 06), August 8, 2008. ann marie mayers (JD 07) and Austin Brady Pate, Feb. 28, 2009. olivia russell mclaurin (BSFCS 06) and brent Jackson mcCay (BSES 98), April 4, 2009. kelly stewart mclennan (BAccy 03, MAccy 04) and Joshua morgan guyton (BBA 03), Aug. 2, 2008. kathryn lynn mitchell (BA 95) and richard kent Williams Jr. (BBA 94), Feb. 14, 2009.

Erica S. Mosley and arnold Datron lee (JD 03), April 25, 2009.

Kathryn Lee Patrick and gregory Paul Ware (BSPh 91), April 4, 2009. taylor shinn Phillips (BAEd 04, MEd 05) and Joseph Justin beard (BBA 05), June 14, 2008. nancy margaret ray (BBA 01, BA 01) and Andrew Richard Adler, Oct. 11, 2008. kaycee Carol roper (BBA 05) and benjamin allen burrell (BBA 01), June 28, 2008. alison lynlee stafford (BBA 03, MBA 05) and reed D. stacy (BBA 03), May 3, 2008. brooke elizabeth stegall (BA 04) and John Kothman Weedon, Feb. 14, 2009.

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News alumni

Sarah Lee Wall (BAccy 06) and David Bradford Nix (JD 08), March 7, 2009.

Jill Annette Ward (BM 03, MM 05) and William Antonyo Bonds (BSCJ 05), June 14, 2008. births Grace Tyler, daughter of Jenny Tyler Baker and Ernest Roy Baker Jr. (BE 99), Feb. 12, 2009.

Luke Wallace, son of Amanda Lee Bilbo (BSES 07) and Andrew Wallace Bilbo (BA 07), Nov. 24, 2008.

Georgia Brooke, daughter of Robin Preaus Blanchard (BBA 98) and Greg Blanchard, April 11, 2009.

Andrew Harris, son of Holly Edwards Bowie (BA 99) and Joshua K. Bowie (BBA 99), Dec. 11, 2008.

Benjamin Franks, son of Jennifer Cadle Bradford (BA 90) and Christopher B. Bradford (BA 89), Oct. 2, 2008.

Mary McDaniel, daughter of LaUna Gray Brubaker (JD 98) and Christopher Brubaker, Nov. 19, 2008.

Brook ly n L a nd r y, d au g hter of Timeka Nicole Davis (BA 99, MS 01) and Josh S. Davis II (BBA 99), April 14, 2009.

Sara Margaret, daughter of Jennifer Long Grisham (MD 03) and Robert Joshua Grisham (BS 98), Nov. 21, 2008.

Courtney Catherine, daughter of Amanda Chastain Gufford (BAccy 98, M Acc y 99) and Charles P. Gufford (BAccy 99), Feb. 4, 2009.

Maeve Amelia, daughter of Kristi Hanor Hamrick (BA 93) and T.J. “Jay” Hamrick Jr. (BPA 93), Sept. 17, 2008.

John Nichols II, son of Carleen Keng Harrison (BAccy 07, MTax 08) and Nick Harrison, Sept. 10, 2008.

Susan Patton, daughter of Suzanne Herron Helveston (BA 02) and Campbell Helveston (BA 02), May 14, 2008.

Margaret Caroline, daughter of Ashley Powell Hodges and Matthew Cole Hodges (BBA 03), Nov. 24, 2008.

Dina h E stel la, d aug hter of Jill Morgan Holland (BA 03) and Robert H.

“Bert” Holland Jr. (BBA 02), Nov. 12, 2008.

Hayes Edward, son of Sarah Sloan Hollis (MA 04) and Jeffrey L. Hollis, July 31, 2008.

Holt Joh nson, son of Cour tney Brooks Hurt (BA 97) and James Robert Hurt Jr., Jan. 29, 2009.

Patrick Baylor, son of Amy Jarrett Lane (BSES 98) and Greg S. Lane, March 2, 2009.

K a t he r i ne M i m s , d a u g ht e r of Leighton Braddock Mason (BA 03) and Robert Stephen Mason (BBA 03), Oct. 13, 2008.

D a r by E l i z a b e t h, d a u g ht e r of Virginia Nichols McInnes (JD 00) and Daniel Darby McInnes, Feb. 25, 2008.

Fenner Clark, son of Brooke Beard Melton (BBA 98) a nd Stephen C .

Melton, March 12, 2009.

Joseph David III, son of Mary Phillips Johnson Neyman (BA 94, MBA 95) and Joseph David Neyman Jr. (BPA 93, JD 96), Feb. 24, 2009.

HERE’S YOUR LICENSE TO BRAG! Now you can sport the official University of Mississippi license plate!

For an additional $50 a year — $32.50 of which returns to Ole Miss for educational enhancement — you can purchase this “license to brag” about your alma mater. When it’s time to renew your license plate, simply tell your local tax collector you want the Ole Miss affinity license plate. It’s an easy way to help your University.

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

54 A lumni R eview

H a r r i s on Gre g or y a nd Ja c k s on Raymond, sons of Sherry Wolf Patchan (BPA 95) and Gregory Joseph Patchan, Feb. 10, 2009.

Ja mes L ock wood, son of Lauren Rickenbacher Ross (BSFCS 01) and Jackson L. Ross (BBA 99), Feb. 26, 2009.

Olivia Cate, daughter of Elizabeth Luster Sherman (BA 02) and Charles D. Sherman III (BBA 99), March 16, 2009.

Jillian Elyse, daughter of Shannon Sprinkle Sweet (BA 00) and Nicholas N. Sweet (BSPh 01), March 25, 2009.

Kristen Nicole, daughter of Tiffany Clepper Uelner (BA 97) and Scott Uelner, March 23, 2009.

Mary Charles, daughter of Elizabeth Gresham Veazey (BAEd 98, MEd 99) and Charles Rhodric Veazey III, March 31, 2009.

Jason Heath Jr. and Maris Melton, twins of Marlana Melton Walters and J. Heath Walters (BBA 94), March 24, 2009.

In Memoriam 1930s Davis Love Fair Jr. (BA 36), March 13, 2009 Jean Jackson Falknor (BA 35), May 9, 2008 Mary Hartsfield Hall (BSC 31), March 15, 2009 Clyde B. Herrington (BSChE 39), Oct. 31, 2008 1940s La’Nell Price Kemp (BAED 48), Feb. 7, 2009 Wiley Tinsley Alliston (LLB 41), Feb. 28, 2009 Sally Leigh Becker (BAEd 48), June 14, 2008 Preston “Pep” Poythress Bennett (BAEd 46, MEd 47), March 31, 2009 Willis Clayton Blount (BSHPE 49, MEd 50), Feb. 28, 2009 Bruce Byron Bradley (48), April 7,

Summer 2009 55

News alumni

Going Long pharmacY proF nameD teacher oF the Year

D

r. S c o t t L o n g ( B S P h 8 4 , PhD 94) was recently named Teacher of the Year for 2008-09 by the senior pharmacy students at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

This was the fourth time for Long to win the award at SWOSU. Long is a 1979 graduate of Philadelphia (Miss.) High School. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he served as staff pharmacist at the Choctaw Health Center PHS/HIS facility for three years before returning to Ole Miss for graduate work.

Dr. Scott Long

Long has also worked as a relief pharmacist in Philadelphia, Oxford, Batesville and other towns in central and north Mississippi.

The awards were presented at the recent senior graduate recognition ceremony held on the Weatherford, Okla., campus. AR

2009 henry James brown (BS 41, MedCert 42), Aug. 14, 2008 emily Powell burman (BAEd 47), March 3, 2009 robert richardson busick Jr. (48), April 3, 2009 James norman Clayton Jr. (BBA 47), Sept. 22, 2008 bessie hicks Condon (48), April 11,

2009 William a. eley (46), April 5, 2009 Jerry brooks Forrest (43), Dec. 27, 2008 David Wyndham griffin (MedCert 42), Nov. 3, 2008 Catherine rand gulley (BSC 40), Feb. 24, 2009 Dorothy Watson harris (BBA 47), Oct. 21, 2008

irl brown krause Jr. (MA 49, EdD 54), Nov. 12, 2008 lucile sullivan kulicka (BSPh 41), June 8, 2008 margaret Wilsford longino (BA 44), March 11, 2009 mary Wisdom maxwell (BSC 46), March 22, 2009 sarah blewett mcgehee (42), Nov. 10, 2008 edmund War ren montgomer y ii (BA 41, LLB 47, ???JIM ANOTHER DEGREE HERE?? 68), April 14, 2009 William y. murphey (BBA 47), April 30, 2008 Charles Webber Palmer (48), April 19, 2009 Courtney gaither Parham (BA 40), Feb. 28, 2009 almond Whitfield Patrick (BSPh 49), March 24, 2009 hazel todd Pulliam (BSHPE 49), March 24, 2009 John Curtis richardson (BA 43), March 15, 2009 Doris White schomp (BAEd 43), Feb. 22, 2009 elizabeth Wright smith (BA 45), Dec. 26, 2008 lePoint Cassibr y smith (BA 41), April 9, 2009

Leave The Comfort of Driving To Us Airport Trips Athletic Events Business Trips Birthdays Concerts Weddings Special Events 56 A lumni R eview

Vans â&#x20AC;˘ Cadillacs â&#x20AC;˘ Lincolns

Charter Services 662-234-2250 877-234-2250 www.mdtransportationinc.com Advance reservations required Full payment due before services rendered

Club Spotlight Nashville Rebel Club busy with successful events Three Doors Down

Where families live and memories are made.

T

he Nashville, Tenn., metro area is home to nearly 1.5 million people. Among them are thousands of Ole Miss alumni and friends.

With such a strong base, the local alumni chapter has been reaching out with some impressive events.

The most recent example was Mississippi Rocks The Ryman, a concert event held in April to benefit the alumni scholarship endowment. The concert featured Mississippi natives Three Doors Down, Seven Day Binge and Chad Harris, an Oxford native. Nearly 2,000 people filled the hallowed halls of the Ryman Auditorium, former longtime home of the Grand Ole Opry, for the show.

Club president Martin Michael (BBA 90) says the group raised $30,000-$35,000 to benefit the scholarship endowment. Tim Weeks (BE 81, JD 84), a talent booker for the Grand Ole Opry, was one of many steering committee members to help coordinate the event.

“Three Doors Down were great,” says Michael. “The fact that they are from Mississippi and were interested in jumping in and helping out, knowing it was a fundraiser, really helped, and Tim was able to connect

with their manager.”

T h e ro c k g ro u p h a i l s f ro m Escatawpa and has sold more than 16 million albums worldwide.

A similar event at the Ryman held in 2007 featured host John Grisham along with Marty Stuart and Amy Grant.

Michael says the club has been successful with these events thanks to the hard work of the board and associated steering committees.

Plans are already under way for a third event at the Ryman, possibly to coincide with the Ole Miss vs.

Vanderbilt football game on Oct. 3, 2009.

“We have been talking about stepping it up a bit,” says Michael.

For more information about the Nashville Rebel Club, contact Michael at martinmichael@com cast.net. AR

Kitchens by

Old Hwy 7 North Oxford, MS 662-234-3211 www.elliotlumberinc.com

Summer 2009 57

News alumni

Deep Impact Scholarships can shape lives

M

ore than 75 percent of Ole Miss students receive some type of financial aid, and scholarship programs can have a profound impact on a student’s success.

Each year, the Alumni Association awards scholarships of varying amounts to as many as 200 students via five different scholarship programs. One such student was Knox Graham, a senior economics major from Tupelo. Graham was the recipient of a Herb Dewees Scholarship, which provided him with tuition assistance throughout his Ole Miss career.

He learned of the scholarship, which is reserved for students who are lineal descendants of Ole Miss alumni, through his parents, Mike and Lindy (BBA 81) Graham. He says the schol-

arship helped him financially and emotionally. During Graham’s sophomore year, his father suffered a debilitating stroke.

“I had a hard time coping with that,” he says. “But having the scholarship really helped me. Knowing that I’d be able to stay in school when we lost the primary breadwinner in our family was a big help.”

Graham says his grades slipped a little at the time, but he was able to pull them back up. He’ll graduate in December with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish.

A portion of all Alumni Association membership dues go toward funding these alumni scholarship programs, and all proceeds from the sale of each year’s edition of “The Shirt” help to

fund them, as well. But the ability to award these scholarships is affected by trying economic times. In 2008, all applicants to the Dewees scholarship were denied.

“It wasn’t anything they did or didn’t do or whether they were deserving,” says Alumni Association Executive Director Tim Walsh (BPA 83, MEd 91). “But because of the drop in the stock market, all of endowments are down by more than a third.”

For more information about alumni scholarships and “The Shirt” initiative, please contact the Alumni Association office at 662-915-7375. For information about other scholarship programs at Ole Miss, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at 800-891-4596. AR

GOAL: 24,000 ACTIVE MEMBERS Only you can help your Ole Miss Alumni Association reach this important milestone!

Make your Alumni Association the strongest in the SEC and the nation by renewing your alumni membership each year and encouraging classmates, friends, neighbors, fans and Ole Miss supporters to also join and remain active.

Even fans who didn’t graduate from Ole Miss can join as Associate Members with full benefits.

Single Membership __$40 Annual __$800 Life __$850 Life Plan ($170 x 5 years) Joint Memberships __$50 Annual __$995 Life __$1,050 Life Plan ($210 x 5 years)

58 A lumni R eview

Last Name: ________________________First:_______________________ Middle Name: __________________Maiden Name: ___________________ Address: ______________________________________________________ City, State, Zip, Country: ________________________________________ E-mail: ________________________Phone:_________________________ Window Decal Preference: Inside _____

Outside _____

Go online to renew your membership and update your contact information at <www.olemissalumni.com> or fill out this form and mail to Membership, Alumni Association, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677. Phone 662-915-7375 CODE: REV

Mary Long Stegall (BAEd 41), March 5, 2009 John Callaway Wax (BA 42), Feb. 17, 2009 1950s Larr y Switzer Andrews (BSPh 58), April 4, 2009 Paul Clifton Aust (MA 50), Feb. 21, 2009 Stone Deavours Barefield Sr. (LLB 54), March 20, 2009 Homer Erskin Bonds Jr. (BBA 54), March 23, 2009 Martha G. Branscome (59), Feb. 19, 2009 Marcus Lynch Burks Jr. (BA 53), Sept.

7, 2008 Charles Willis Connell Jr. (BBA 56, LLB 61), April 2, 2009 Carl Edward Cooper (MEd 58), March 15, 2009 James Marcus Crawford (50), Feb. 21,

Need To Change Your Address?

INSIDE OXFORD, INC. the design firm Oxford, Mississippi (662) 234-1444

2009 Clara Galtney Dupree (BA 52), Feb. 21, 2009 George G. Griffon II (BSPh 52), March 3, 2009 Myrtle Taylor Hays (52), April 15, 2009 James Prentiss Hooper (BA 50, MS 53), March 13, 2009 James Isaac Jackson (BBA 53), Oct. 15, 2008 John Hassel James (MedCert 54), Feb. 20, 2009 Thomas Edward Keeling (BSPh 51), April 6, 2009 Mary Garret Love (BA 56), March 17, 2009 Sidney B. Majure (LLB 51), July 18, 2008 Rufus Glenn Neel (BS 58, MD 62), March 14, 2009 Richard Hering Nelson (BBA 57), Nov. 13, 2008

Keep in Touch Want an e-mail address that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t change?

Sign up for your free

olemissalumni.com forwarding address.

Just set it to forward to your favorite address, be it work or home. Then change it whenver you like.

Sign up now at www.olemissalumni.com

Summer 2009 59

News alumni

Quality Control alumnus named to baldrige award board of examiners

D

r. Hoyt J. Burdick (MD 80), chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs of Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington, W.V., has been appointed to the 2009 board of examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

The award, created by public law in 1987, is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive.

Margaret Greene Rogers (MEd 54), March 24, 2009 Robert R. Roper (BA 51, MD 60, BS 64), Jan. 19, 2009 Louis C. Scheider (BSHPE 58, MEd 61), April 14, 2009

60 A lumni R eview

Those selected to serve as examiners meet the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition.

Additionally, Burdick was recently elected to the board of directors for the American College of Physician Executives, a national organization consisting of more than 10,000 physician leaders. The leadership role includes strategic and curriculum planning for the 30-year-old organization.

Charles David Scruggs (BA 50, MedCert 52), April 23, 2009 Roy Snipes (56), April 5, 2009 William David Stinson (LLB 51), March 17, 2009 Henry Clay Stubbs Sr. (BSPh 59),

Burdick has served as vice president for medical affairs at Cabell Huntington Hospital for more than 15 years and is responsible for supervising activities in quality and resource management, infection control, performance improvement, survey readiness, medical and dental staff, medical informatics, medical directorships and graduate medical education. AR

March 30, 2009 James Spence Sullivan (BA 55), April 14, 2009 Eugene M. Waddey Jr. (55), May 18, 2008 John H. White Jr. (BBA 57, LLB 61),

Expanded Features Unlimited Pages

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April 7, 2009 John H. Whitworth Jr. (BBA 55, LLB 61), Feb. 18, 2009 Lester Whitten Young (BBA 50), Feb. 22, 2009 1960s Lucy Burt Anderson (BM 69), Oct. 31, 2008 Elton Ford Bullock (MEd 66), Feb. 21, 2009 Frank Carlton (LLB 61), March 8, 2009 James Craig Clark Jr. (MA 62), March 23, 2008 Theodore Dickerson (BSChE 61), April 4, 2009 James Harris Dunn (BBA 60), March 26, 2009 Elizabeth Egger Fulgham (63), Feb. 5, 2009 Edmon Lee Green (MD 66), Dec. 3, 2008

High Cotton

Bonnie Miller Harmon (BSPh 69), March 19, 2009 Henr y O. Head (MEd 61), July 1, 2008 Virginia Seaton Ingle (MS 67), April 21, 2009 Sterling Gray Jackson Jr. (BBA 63), April 3, 2009 Sylvia Logan King (MBEd 62), Feb. 10, 2009 Barbara Lee Knightley (MLS 68), April 14, 2009 James Sanford Love III (BBA 66), March 9, 2009 Berniece Lovelady Matthews (MEd 69), March 2, 2009 Bobby Ewing McClellan (PhD 63), Jan. 9, 2009 Laura Virginia McMullen (MBEd 68), Oct. 4, 2008 Virginia Kirby Nickels (MALT 64), April 4, 2009 Virginia Fetters O’Brien (MEd 66),

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Club Room, Garage Parking, Rooftop Terrace, Units with Private Balconies and Viking Kitchens.

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Anderson Road & Jackson Ave W 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath Condos 0.3 miles from Campus.

Prices starting at $99,900.

Swimming Pool, Gated Entrance, Totally Renovated Units.

Land For Sale 157 Acres located 1.5 miles east of Oxford, lake potential, spring fed streams. $1,490,000 392 Acres north of Oxford, ideal recreational land, 3 spring fed ponds, great hunting. $862,400

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www.guestrealty.com Call any Guest Realty agent at our THREE Oxford Office locations: 1721 University Avenue 234-5600 1300 Van Buren Avenue 234-5624 20 CR 413 (Castlehill) 832-8885 Summer 2009 61

News alumni

All for the Arts

senator receives arts eDucation honor

D

istrict 14 Sen. Lydia Chassaniol (BAEd 72) of Winona received the Friends of Arts Education award for 2009 from the Winona School District for her efforts to promote the arts within the state and her district. A former art teacher, Chassaniol has worked in public and private schools and is the former director of the Communities in Schools program in Greenwood and Leflore County Schools. AR

Nov. 13, 2008 bobby mcCall Pettyjohn (MS 60), Oct. 8, 2008 John elton rawson (MD 65), April 15, 2009 Joan reid (MBEd 63), March 18, 2009 John thomas ritchie ii (BA 61), Feb. 28, 2009 Carla mitchell roberts (BSC 63), April 8, 2009 leslie W. shelton Jr. (MD 61), June

Lydia Chassaniol

20, 2008 r. Dar r yl stewar t (BSCh E 63), March 1, 2009 myra Walker Wilson (MLS 61), Feb. 27, 2009 1970s michael lee allen (BPA 72), March 29, 2008 giles Wood bond Jr. (JD 72), April 21, 2009 susan russell Cabaniss (BA 75),

March 2, 2009 James keith Cappleman (BBA 76), April 8, 2009 John byron Crawford (BA 71), Dec. 23, 2008 John richard Davis (MURP 74), Feb. 9, 2009 tommy eugene Furby (BBA 75, JD 77), April 11, 2009 m a r ga r e t m c m i l l i n h e n d e r s o n (BAEd 75, MEd 81), April 14, 2009 James michael hill (BBA 72, MURP 74), April 5, 2009 thomas Johnson (MEd 71), April 3, 2009 Curtis ivan klepzig (BBA 74), March 22, 2008 angie Williams labarge (MEd 70), April 11, 2009 billy Wayne lambert (BA 73), March 13, 2009 earl s. lee Jr. (78), March 26, 2009 gilbert s. macvaugh Jr. (PhD 70), April 4, 2009 george arnold marlowe (BBA 73), March 8, 2009 sandra Wilkins Penn (71), April 27, 2009 James C. Pinkerton (BPA 72), April 7, 2009 rachel andrews Pyron (MLS 75), March 18, 2009

& Chef Kelly English Ole Miss Alum

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invites you to experience

Restaurant Iris Simplicity at its most elegant.

901.590.2828 2146 Monroe Avenue :: Memphis, TN :: 38104 Tuesday-Saturday: 5 pm- 10 pm :: Sunday: 11 am- 3 pm

restaurantiris.com :: follow us on twitter @restaurantiris :: become a fan on facebook 62 A lumni R eview

Oxford’s Gone Gourmet Oxford’s first gourmet-to-go & specialty food store

Leave the cooking to us!

Tailgating • Dinner • Gifts

662-513-0102 Open M-F 10 am - 6 pm Sat 10 am - 4 pm

234-8648 Alumni Owned And OperAted Summer 2009 63

News alumni

Mary Collins Vanzant (MLS 75), Feb. 21, 2009 Henry Perry Walters (MBA 75), April 14, 2008 1980s B. J. Bates (BBA 86), April 3, 2009 Jamie Ann Beard (BA 86), April 29, 2008 Debra McCotry Calvert (MEd 87), April 19, 2009 David Michael Holly (JD 89), April 23, 2009 Irish Marie Leggette (MEd 80), March 12, 2008 Michael Alton Martin (BPA 80), March 9, 2009 Debra Fowler Partin (BS 86), Feb. 28, 2009 Jerry E. Rudman (BAccy 82), March 4, 2009 Kenneth Edward Sutton (BS 81), Aug. 18, 2008

1990s James Curtis Daves (BAccy 93), Nov. 13, 2008 Glyn Ray Johnson (BA 99), Feb. 28, 2009 2000s William Alexander Braud (08), Dec. 19, 2008 Mary Katherine Roberts (BAccy 03), April 25, 2009 John David Smith (02), Feb. 9, 2009 Faculty and Friends Wilma Coleman Brummett, April 3, 2009 Mavis Coulter Clark, March 22, 2009 Katherine Babb Fooshee, April 27, 2009 Ann Akin Gillespie, April 11, 2009 Marie Martin Graham, Feb. 23, 2009

Fine Dining Overlooking the Historic Oxford Square

Banquet Rooms for up to 100 Wedding Receptions Rehearsal Dinners

Hot Breakfast Plate Lunch Salad Sampler Open Tuesday-Saturday 7:30 am-2pm and Sunday 11am-2pm Available for Private Parties

110 Courthouse Square • Oxford, MS 662.234.2659 www.downtowngrill.net Mon.-Wed. 11-9 • Thurs.-Sat. 11-10 Closed Sunday 64 A lumni R eview

Taylor, MS 236-7900 Come make a day of it Tour the Southern Living House and have lunch!

Sarah Tillis Green, Feb. 6, 2009 Chris Ann Harwell, April 13, 2009 John Christopher Hayes, Oct. 11, 2008 Mary Farish Holmes, April 15, 2009 Sharon Crandall Sanders, Feb. 22, 2009 Alphonse C. Van Besien, April 8, 2009

To submit a class note, send it to records@ alumni.olemiss.edu or Alumni Records Dept., Ole Miss Alumni Association, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 386771848. Class notes may also be submitted through the association’s Web site at www.olemissalumni.com. The association relies on numerous sources for class notes and is unable to verify all notes with individual alumni.