The University of Mississippi

Office of the Chancellor

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At the Flagship, November 2022

e-Newsletter, Welcome

@TheFlagship November 2022. The City of Oxford held its Annual Christmas Lighting Event on Nov. 8 in front of City Hall.

 

CHANCELLOR’S 3 THINGS TO KNOW

November has been a whirlwind at Mississippi’s flagship university. We welcomed renowned industry and government leaders and the SEC Nation television show to our campus, traveled across Texas to meet with prospective students during the inaugural Hotty Toddy Tour/Academic Roadshow, and enjoyed a visit with the youngest students on our campus — the preschoolers at our Willie Price Lab School. Here are three things to know right now:
  • ENROLLMENT ON THE RISE. The official numbers are in: Our total enrollment grew 5.1% this year, and we welcomed our largest freshman class ever this fall! The numbers buck national trends, and we were the only university in the state to experience growth. Thanks to a community-wide commitment, these great proof points illustrate our success in recruiting, retaining, and — most importantly — supporting our students on their journey of self-discovery. The word is out that Ole Miss offers academic excellence, dynamic experiences, and value. See the special section below for more exciting details.
  • WE HELP MISSISSIPPI COMPETE. More than 60 government and industry leaders gathered on our campus Nov. 8 for the second annual Mississippi Competes Vision Session, a conference focused on strengthening the state’s economic competitiveness. Bill Cook, venture partner at Columbia Capital, president of Cook Consulting LLC and an Ole Miss alum, pioneered the event to explore opportunities for the state’s advancement. We were grateful to be joined by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, state Sen. Nicole Boyd, and state Rep. Clay Deweese. Panelists included representatives from Black Sea Technologies, Butler Snow, Digital Infrastructure, Energize Colorado, Kodiak Robotics, Microsoft, Prysmian Group, Raytheon Technologies, Standvast, and TuSimple. We know this event sparked new ideas and opportunities while expressing our commitment to partner in Mississippi’s growth.
  • FIRST-GEN STUDENTS MATTER. Our first-generation students took center stage during First-Generation College Week (Nov. 7-10), which coincided with the national First-Generation College Celebration. Events included a keynote from author Jennifer Morton, a panel discussion featuring students, staff, and faculty, and more. I’m so grateful for our StudentsFIRST program, which gives first-generation students the academic and social support needed to be successful. Our first-gen students bring an important dynamic to our classrooms with their life experiences, and they are to be commended for their pursuit of life-changing opportunities.
I hope you enjoy a wonderful and joyful Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

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In Honor of Veterans Day

Letters from the Chancellor, Welcome

One of our most honored traditions as citizens of this great country is how we dedicate time to remember and honor those who selflessly served for our freedom and in defense of our nation. On this Veteran’s Day, I hope you will pause to reflect on the tremendous sacrifices made by courageous women and men. We owe these fellow Americans and their families our gratitude for their service to our country and the ways in which they protected our freedoms and risked their lives around the world to keep us safe, all without fanfare.

On our campus, we’re honored to have hundreds of veterans among our students, faculty, and staff. Please let these valued members of our university community know how much we respect and appreciate them, and how we recognize that their service allows us to enjoy a world of greater security, freedom, and liberty. On behalf of the entire Ole Miss family, I’m deeply humbled to thank all of our nation’s veterans and active duty service members for their service, leadership, and bravery.

Sincerely,

Glenn F. Boyce Signature

Glenn F. BoyceChancellor

 

At the Flagship, October 2022

e-Newsletter, Welcome

@TheFlagship October 2022. Members of the Pride of the South marching band perform on the Oxford Square during the university’s 2022 homecoming pep rally.

 

CHANCELLOR’S 3 THINGS TO KNOW

Welcome to the October edition of @ The Flagship! This month, we celebrated Homecoming, hosted the staffs of Mississippi’s federal congressional delegation, and enjoyed a spectacular Harvest Supper in support of the UM Museum. Here are three things to know right now:
  • LIFE-CHANGING WORK: Our faculty makes amazing contributions to the greater good. Nikki Reinemann, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, recently received a $1.5M Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award from the NIH to fund research related to cytoskeletal diseases such as cancer and heart disease. This award is Dr. Reinemann’s second award this year! Or, consider the transformative work that our School of Applied Sciences is doing with the North Mississippi Literacy Project. Our students in Communication Sciences and Disorders receive training and experiential learning as they work with schools in Lafayette County and Oxford to implement a multi-sensory structured language program to teach children to read, write, and spell. The program has benefited more than 2,000 children and will soon reach more.
  • HOTTY TODDY: We will celebrate the 2022 baseball national championship Nov. 9-12 by honoring the team during the Alabama football game. We’ll also premiere “Belief,” a documentary film from Ole Miss Sports Productions that gives an unprecedented inside look into the title run. On Nov. 10, the team will travel to Jackson for a luncheon at the governor’s mansion and visit Children’s of Mississippi Hospital. What a great series of events to celebrate our national champs! You don’t have to wait ‘til spring to see the national champs in action. Catch the team’s final fall game Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. against the Blazers of UAB.
  • MANY HAPPY RETURNS: We’re celebrating major anniversaries this year! The Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program (METP), which was created to address the severe teacher shortage in Mississippi public schools, has been training high-performing teachers for 10 years. The Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts will mark its 20th anniversary throughout the year with a diverse slate of performances, an expanded offering for area school children, a book, and a spring gala featuring Mississippi celebrities and friends. Finally, the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College celebrates 25 years of cultivating academic excellence and outstanding student scholars. See the special section for highlights about this prized academic program.

 

Until next month, take care!

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Message to Campus Community on Student Death

Letters from the Chancellor, Welcome

To members of the university community,

What had been a beautiful fall Saturday in Oxford ended with a horrendous event that took the life of one of our students. Walker Fielder, a junior from Madison, Mississippi, was killed and another student, Blanche Williamson, a sophomore from Raleigh, North Carolina, was seriously injured after they were struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run just off the Square. It is a painful and distressing development for our campus community, and it is understandable that emotions are high with many unanswered questions about what happened.

Please join me in offering heartfelt condolences to Walker’s family, friends, classmates, and others. Walker was a leader in the Sigma Chi fraternity, and a widely liked member of our campus community. While there are no words that can alleviate the deep sorrow that his friends and family are experiencing, please keep them close in your thoughts and prayers during this time of immense grief.

In addition, please pray that Blanche continues to heal and recovers fully. She needs our support, love, and care.

I am grateful to the Oxford Police Department for its swift response. They are working with other law enforcement agencies to investigate this case vigorously, and two suspects who are not affiliated with our university are now in custody. Our community can help investigators by avoiding public speculation about what happened or why, and share relevant information if you have it. If you have any information that can help, please contact the Oxford Police Department at 662-232-2400, ​the University Police ​Department at 662-915-7234, or CrimeStoppers at 662-234-8799. Since this matter is an ongoing investigation, OPD will share updates with the public as they are able.

We are a tight-knit and welcoming campus and community, which is what makes this act so jarring for us. I urge anyone in need of support to reach out to those around them, or to seek assistance from one of the following university support services:

 

Sincerely,

Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor

University Honors James Meredith and Commemorates 60th Anniversary of Integration

Letters from the Chancellor, Welcome

60 Years of Integration, Building Upon the Legacy, The University of Mississippi

 

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

In the life of a flagship institution stretching across three centuries, significant and pivotal moments occur throughout its history. These moments call for remembrance, reflection, and celebration. James Meredith’s enrollment in and integration of the University of Mississippi in 1962 is one of those moments, and we are proud to honor it with the coming Week of Commemoration to mark the 60th anniversary.Read More

At the Flagship, August 2022

e-Newsletter, Welcome

The university’s newest students gather to celebrate Fall Convocation on Aug. 23, 2022, @The Flagship, August 2022

CHANCELLOR’S 3 THINGS TO KNOW

With the start of a new academic year, our campus is bustling as new and returning students fill our residence halls, classrooms, libraries, common areas, and green spaces. The beginning of a new year also means our annual tradition of Fall Convocation. This year, we welcomed international bestselling author John Green, whose collection of essays “The Anthropocene Reviewed” is our Common Reading Experience text.

 

Here are three things to know right now:

 

FRESHMEN EVERYWHERE: We welcomed our largest-ever freshman class this fall! While final enrollment figures will be confirmed later this fall, this year’s class far surpasses the 2016 freshman class of 3,984 students. That’s a testament to all that our university offers, including a legacy of academic excellence, a beautiful campus in America’s best college town, myriad student success programs, and a commitment to provide unique opportunities that will define our students’ college experiences. It is also a testament to the team effort delivered by our staff to attract this amazing class, which is also one of the most academically prepared classes we’ve ever had. I’m thankful to everyone who contributed.

 

LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP: As a flagship university, we have an enduring legacy of inspiring and educating leaders — for the state of Mississippi and beyond. You see it in the halls of Mississippi government that are teeming with Ole Miss graduates who lead across the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Be sure to check out “A Legacy of Leadership,” which we published to honor and recognize the leadership, dedication, and contributions of our outstanding alumni who serve in state-level public service roles. We’re so grateful to them for advancing our state! That influence also extends to the halls of government in Washington. A recent LegiStorm analysis found the University of Mississippi is “a top undergraduate school for Republican staffers” on Capitol Hill.

 

NATIONAL CHAMPS: The Ole Miss baseball team is the reigning NCAA College World Series champion! I’m not sure we will ever grow tired of saying that. An army of Ole Miss fans descended on Omaha to witness a special and defining moment in our university’s history as we cheered on a resilient and talented team that won our university’s first-ever men’s NCAA team title. We are building a new legacy of winning as this win follows the Ole Miss women’s golf team’s NCAA national championship in 2021. It’s a great time to be an Ole Miss Rebel.

 

Until next month, take care!

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