CHANCELLOR’S 3 THINGS TO KNOW
Just as we were getting into the full swing of the Spring 2021 semester, Mother Nature threw us a curveball…or a snowball, if you will! But not snow, ice nor frigid temps will prevent us from sharing 3 Things to Know right now:
- Winter Weather: I’m so proud of how our community responded to last week’s Arctic blast. Across our campus and throughout the city and county, countless individuals went above and beyond to make sure our families and students were safe and had water, heat and passable roads. I’m especially appreciative of Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill’s leadership and all the City of Oxford and Lafayette County do for us at Ole Miss 24/7 year-round. I’m grateful for our Facilities Management team, University Police Department and all of our staff members who maintained essential campus operations under challenging conditions. Check out these shout-outs of gratitude and recognition shared by members of our campus community.
- Baseball is Back: After a year of waiting since the COVID-shortened 2020 season, college baseball finally returned as our Diamond Rebs opened their season at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown with wins over three Top-10 teams in TCU, Texas Tech and Texas. That showing earned the Rebs’ their first-ever #1 ranking from Baseball America and D1Baseball.com! If you get a moment, watch this video tribute that captures the fun, fondness and fellowship of Ole Miss Baseball. Here’s to a season flooded with Swayze showers!
- Statewide Honor: Congrats to our very own Arthur Doctor, director of fraternity and sorority life, who was named Mississippi’s 2021 Diversity Educator of the Year by the Institutions of Higher Learning’s Board of Trustees. Arthur is an outstanding campus and community leader, and it is especially impressive to be recognized among all IHL universities. Thank you, Arthur, for your contributions to our campus and for making an enduring difference for our students and countless individuals.
Check out the special section below on how we’re moving Mississippi forward. We see it every day on our campuses — from our dedication to educating our students to the tremendous ways our efforts touch the many communities we serve.
Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor
TOP STORIES
Top 10 In The Nation
For the third year in a row, UM’s online MBA program has been ranked in the top 10 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
Breakthrough Research
Lainy Day, an associate professor of biology at UM, has published breakthrough research about the evolution of birds in Nature, the premier international journal for science and technology.
National Designation
The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) earned the designation as a Huntington’s Disease Society of America Center of Excellence. As one of only 54 Huntington’s disease care facilities in the country with the title, UMMC continues to offer care for patients with the fatal genetic disorder.
FLAGSHIP FACTS
Moving Mississippi Forward
From educating our brightest young people to partnering with industry to serving our communities, the University of Mississippi plays a major role in driving Mississippi toward greater prosperity and progress. Here are just a few of the ways we are advancing our state:
Energizing our Economy
As an APLU Innovation and Prosperity-designated university, we are recognized for our steadfast economic impact evident throughout our institution, including in our students. Take, for example, a group of engineering students who recently rolled up their sleeves to receive intense, hands-on manufacturing instruction from trainers with Toyota Motors’ Manufacturing Mississippi plant in Blue Springs. And last spring, five students from the School of Business served as a triage team for small businesses at the UM-headquartered Mississippi Small Business Development Center to help businesses affected by COVID-19.
Serving Those Who Serve
Our commitment to serving our veterans, military and dependents runs deep throughout our institution. Last year, we signed an MOU with the Mississippi National Guard to provide comprehensive tuition support to our student veterans. Just last month, we celebrated the opening of a new one-stop shop for student veterans and military-connected students as we cut the ribbon on newly renovated space in George Street House.
Expanding Connections with Communities
In January, we added the town of Ecru and city of Pontotoc to M Partner, a community partnership program that seeks to match university capabilities with the goals and needs of local communities. Both communities have identified priority projects to promote economic development, elevate local history, expand educational enrichment, create public art, and encourage visitors.
Preparing the Best Teachers
The Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program (METP) allows our university to educate a new generation of talented students who commit to teaching in Mississippi schools for five years upon graduation. We are also home to the Mississippi Teacher Corps, a competitive alternative-route teaching certification program that serves school districts across Mississippi and was one of the first of its kind.
Saving Lives and Improving Medicine
UMMC is the state’s only academic health science center and location of the only children’s hospital in Mississippi, which recently celebrated the ribbon-cutting of the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower. UMMC’s Dental Mission Week provides services to those in need, including 300 veterans in 2021.
Growing Innovation and Job Opportunities
The Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation in the works on the Oxford campus is one of our largest and most tangible proof points of our vision to increase the number of graduates in STEM fields, support growth and innovation in our state and strengthen the training pipeline for engineers, tech entrepreneurs and science and math teachers. Once completed, the state-of-the-art 204,000-square-foot facility will be one of the nation’s leading student-centered hubs for STEM education.
