Greetings Colleagues,
When I was named the preferred candidate to become University of Mississippi chancellor, one of my first priorities was to visit the Medical Center to meet and get to know our gifted faculty and staff through a listening session at the Jackson campus.
Greetings Students!
When I was named the preferred candidate to become University of Mississippi chancellor last fall, one of my first priorities was to visit the Medical Center to meet and get to know our magnificent health sciences students through a listening session at the Jackson campus.
Greetings!
Thank you for your tireless work and dedication that led to UM receiving Carnegie’s highest research designation of Research 1 (R-1) http://news.olemiss.edu/um-recognized-among-countrys-elite-research-universities/. We join schools like Harvard, MIT, and Johns Hopkins in recognition afforded to only 2.5% of institutions of higher learning in the United States.
Having been on the job as chancellor almost a month, I am truly thankful for both your support and for your passion for Ole Miss. It has been a great start to a new semester. Evidence of excellence is everywhere across our historic campus and your support is an important factor in that excellence. With a dominating Sugar Bowl victory on my first day in office, followed six days later by the opening of the fantastic new Pavilion at Ole Miss, Sharon and I quickly got into the Ole Miss spirit.
Thank you to all our staff for another great start to a new semester! You keep us going 24/7, even when our students are away. Evidence of your good work is everywhere — from the ease and speed of class registration and the consistently high customer service across campus to the condition of our physical plant and the remarkable year-round beauty of our campus. (Isn’t it a wonder how the Grove is green again after the million-plus footprints in the fall?)
I dare say there is likely no person who has achieved a college degree who could not readily identify a professor who played a pivotal role in her or his success. Thus, I am honored to identify myself as your faculty colleague first, then as your chancellor. Having been on the job almost a month, I invite you to visit with me at upcoming Flagship Forums (further explained later in this letter) to give you an overview of my first month, to make a few observations on the state of the university, and to seek your input as we work together to lift this great university to even greater heights.