CHANCELLOR’S 3 THINGS TO KNOW
Hotty Toddy! What an exciting time to be an Ole Miss Rebel as we welcomed friends and families back to the Grove with so much passion and positivity to celebrate our first two home football games. It has been exhilarating to join you in cheering our team on to its 3-0 start. Off the field, our students are in the full swing of the fall semester after five weeks of in-class learning. We owe a hearty thank you to our faculty and staff for all their efforts to return to our classrooms and labs. Looking ahead, there is so much more excitement to come, but for now, here are three things to know:
- Upward Trajectory: While official numbers won’t be released by IHL until November, a preliminary review of 2021-22 enrollment figures shows a 19% increase in our freshman class over last year. This represents the largest increase in the number of incoming freshmen from one fall to the next in university history! While the numbers will fluctuate a little until the official announcement in November, our freshman class numbers nearly 3,600 students. We’re also excited that our transfer students grew by 8% and that our overall enrollment has increased. In the wake of nearly two years of change and uncertainty prompted by COVID-19, we’re ecstatic about this growth and see it as validation of our commitment to attracting, retaining and graduating talented and dedicated students from across Mississippi, the country and the world.
- Top of the Ranks: Ole Miss is best in the state, again! I’m so proud that we’ve been named among the top 10% of public universities nationally as one of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges.” Not only did we jump 10 spots from last year’s ranking to No. 67 among public universities, but this is also the 11th consecutive year Ole Miss has been featured in the top 100 public universities. The university was also recognized as best in Mississippi and among the top in the nation for tuition value, support of student military veterans, and business and nursing programs. In fact, among “Best Value Schools,” Ole Miss is No. 31 among public institutions, placing us in the top 5% nationally. We were also recognized for our retention and graduation rates, which are also the highest in Mississippi. There is so much to celebrate at Mississippi’s flagship university!
- Honoring an Icon: During an extraordinary and historic day for our university, Dr. Donald R. Cole was celebrated as the newest namesake for the Martindale-Cole Student Services Center. Dr. Cole is an icon on our campus who has served the Ole Miss community for more than five decades as a student, educator, caring mentor, and highly effective administrator who worked tirelessly to advance diversity and equity efforts. Hundreds of family, friends and community members joined the event as well as the building’s other namesake, Larry Martindale, who called for adding Dr. Cole’s name as a symbol of the diversity across our campus. The renaming is a meaningful reflection of what the University of Mississippi represents today.
Until next month, take care!
Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor
TOP STORIES
EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE
Through the Ole Miss Wish program, the university provides a perfect Ole Miss experience to military-connected families that are fighting a child’s life-threatening or chronic illness. This year’s Ole Miss Wish kid, Everly Taylor, was recognized at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium by meeting Walkaround Elmo from Sesame Street.
HELPING DELTA FARMERS
Jason Hoeksema, a UM biology professor, is using a nearly $1 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to explore the potential benefits of holding runoff water on agricultural landscapes after crops are harvested.
TOURNEY CHAMP
Ole Miss women’s golf senior Julia Johnson started her 2021 fall campaign with a bang, winning the individual title of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.
FLAGSHIP FACTS
Special Section
Nurturing Potential Through Graduate & Professional Education
The education and experiences gained in pursuit of graduate and professional degrees shape a lifetime of opportunities with successful students becoming tomorrow’s top researchers and practitioners. At the University of Mississippi, our graduate and professional students are driven by the quest for ingenuity, creativity and the pursuit of big ideas. I’m pleased to share a number of recent highlights and achievements in our graduate and professional programs.
INNOVATIVE DUAL DEGREE: By leveraging the talents of two of the university’s most highly acclaimed programs, the School of Pharmacy recently partnered with the Master of Business Administration program to establish a PharmD/MBA dual degree. The unique program provides extensive knowledge in business and management that will guide graduates to become health care leaders in various pharmaceutical settings.
ONLINE MBA PROGRAM: The demands of balancing career and life responsibilities with graduate education can be challenging for students who are years removed from the traditional academic setting. That’s one reason why we’re so proud that our online Master of Business Administration program ranks among the top 10 in the nation for the third consecutive year.
LEGACY OF WRITERS: The university’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program is distinguished by its acclaimed faculty, including New York Times-bestselling author Aimee Nezhukumatathil and immediate past Mississippi Poet Laureate Beth Anne Fennelly. Widely recognized for the excellent funding it provides its students, the program began 21 years ago and has been ranked highly by Poets and Writers and other national publications.
KICKING KINESIOLOGY PROGRAM: The University of Mississippi‘s Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management’s Ph.D. in Health and Kinesiology was recognized in 2021 by the National Academy of Kinesiology as the nation’s No. 5 kinesiology program among public universities, and No. 6 overall. The program prepares students for university teaching and research positions as well as careers in industry and medicine.
AIR AND SPACE LAW LEADER: The UM School of Law is a global leader in air and space law education, research, and public service. Home to the Center for Air and Space Law, which was established in 1999, the law school’s program in Air and Space Law includes a concentration for J.D. students, a Master of Laws degree for both U.S. and foreign-trained law school graduates, and a recently developed graduate certificate for non-lawyers.
OPENING PHARMACY DOORS: The School of Pharmacy has made it easier for all Mississippi students to pursue doctoral education in pharmacy through its Preferred Admissions Program. In the program, the School of Pharmacy works with five in-state colleges to open a gateway to a career in pharmacy. Students complete pre-pharmacy coursework at one of the five partner institutions before coming to the University of Mississippi to attain a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.
SPORT ANALYTICS: The Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation Management launched its newest graduate program, offering a Master of Science in Sport Analytics. The program is a one-year, online curriculum with two areas of emphasis: sport performance and sport business. Students in the program are trained for analytical positions in sport business or sport performance areas, including positions working with collegiate and professional sports teams, marketing agencies, media companies, and more.
LEADING IN LAW: Our School of Law was recognized by National Jurist preLaw magazine as one of the top institutions for Federal Judicial Clerkship placement. For the graduating class of 2020, 9.6% of the class secured federal clerkships upon graduation, and 3.5% of the class secured state clerkships.
21st CENTURY LEARNING: U.S. News & World Report ranked the university among the nation’s best online graduate degrees in education. With more than 300 institutions included in the ranking, UM is in the top 10 percent of institutions nationwide among public and private institutions. The university’s faculty provide a dynamic experience and seek to meet the needs of working professionals.
RESONATING WITH RADIOLOGISTS: Launched in 2020, the Biomedical Imaging/Bioengineering Ph.D. track at the University of Mississippi Medical Center is intended to educate and train the next generation of biomedical researchers. Students conduct mentored research with the goal of continuing work in a career in biotechnology, clinical research, translational or basic science research.
