The University of Mississippi

Office of the Chancellor

Letters from the Chancellor

Note of gratitude on National Employee Appreciation Day 2021

Letters from the Chancellor

The strength behind the red and blue: Faculty and Staff, today and all year long, we celebrate and thank our employees! National Employee Appreciation Day, March 5, 2021, The University of Mississippi

Dear faculty and staff,

Thank you! Two simple words, but filled with so much meaning, especially today on National Employee Appreciation Day 2021. We were motivated to share this note of gratitude with our faculty and staff because you inspire us. On a daily basis, we have a front-row seat to how our university is fueled by your commitment to serving our students, our state and our future.

We commend you for the dedication, talent and hard work you bring to your roles year-round. It is impressive, but not surprising, because at the University of Mississippi, our people are the foundation of our caring culture and our successes. Because of you:

  • We infuse excellence into all our endeavors.
  • We prepare people on their path to their true potential.
  • We create indelible experiences and enduring connections.

We are the Red & Blue because of you!

Your incredible commitment and selfless service to the university reflects the greater mission we all believe in: to build a better world through higher education. Your efforts are the backbone of how we will continue to do this and cement our legacy of excellence. Thank you — we are all truly grateful for your many contributions and extraordinary service.

Sincerely,

Senior Leadership Group

Chancellor signature

Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor

 

Noel's signature

Noel Wilkin
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

 

Keith Carter signature

Keith Carter
Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics

 

 

Josh Gladden signature
Josh Gladden
Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs

 

Steven Holley signature

Steven Holley
Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance

 

Shawnboda Mead signature

Shawnboda Mead
Interim Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Community Engagement

 

Charlotte Parks signature

Charlotte Parks
Vice Chancellor for Development

 

 

Charlotte Fant Pegues signature
Charlotte Fant Pegues
Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

 

Kirk Purdom signature

Kirk Purdom
Executive Director of Alumni Affairs

 

Perry Sansing signature

Perry Sansing
Interim General Counsel and Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Governmental Affairs

 

James Zook signature

Jim Zook
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

Update on Campus Guidance and Protocols

Letters from the Chancellor

Dear students, faculty and staff,

In light of the new state and local orders issued this week, we have reviewed our guidance and protocols and are issuing the following updates.

The university will continue to require all people to wear a cloth face covering or mask for the rest of the Spring 2021 semester in classroom settings and office settings. In addition, masks continue to be required while traversing public spaces in residence halls, dining facilities, the Student Union, Campus Rec, retail spaces and other on-campus facilities. We continue to promote good hand hygiene and distancing protocols for indoor spaces.

In outdoor areas of campus, social distancing of at least six feet continues to be strongly recommended as well as wearing a mask when you cannot maintain distance unless the protocols for the outdoor venue differ.

The implications of the orders for off-campus student events will be forthcoming and will be communicated directly to Registered Student Organizations.

Our community has done a tremendous job of adopting and adhering to our university protocols to limit spread of the virus, and those protocols continue to work effectively. We look forward to getting vaccines on campus to administer to faculty, staff and students, which may offer future opportunities to reevaluate our approach.

Sincerely,

Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor

Fall 2021 Announcement

Letters from the Chancellor

Feb. 26, 2021

Dear students, faculty and staff,

We have seen a return this semester of much of the vibrancy and vitality for which our campus is beloved and so well-known.

As we look ahead, priority registration for Fall 2021 begins on April 12. We will offer the Fall 2021 semester as a full in-person, campus experience. We will continue to monitor the health and safety of our campus community and adapt if necessary to government orders and public health guidance.

The growing adoption and distribution of multiple vaccines against the COVID-19 virus enables us to plan for a full resumption of in-person classes for Fall 2021 and fully return our campus to pre-COVID-19 operations. As we remain committed to doing all we can to operate similar to Fall 2019, we will monitor the distribution of the vaccine closely as well as other relevant indicators.

While we do not have an update yet regarding summer session and intersession, we are working on that now and hope to have an update for you soon. As we shared earlier, we look forward to hosting the Class of 2021 and Class of 2020 for in-person Commencement ceremonies on consecutive weekends in early May. Full details about Commencement can be found here.

Thank you again for all of your efforts and contributions to our campus community, and for your continued commitment to keeping our campus safe and healthy. Like you, I’m very excited and looking forward to returning fully to the academic, operational and campus atmosphere that we all know and cherish. We will continue to share updates, and I encourage you to monitor our COVID-19 website for more information.

Sincerely,

Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor

Message to students regarding Spring 2021 events

Letters from the Chancellor

Dear students,

As we settle into the rhythm of the spring semester (despite this week’s weather disruptions), I’m excited to share information below about the wide range of current events and activities, how you can stay plugged into campus life and our next steps for expanding engagement opportunities safely for the remainder of the semester.

We’re so proud of the way our students have found creative ways to host events while following our campus protocols. We now have more than 380 registered events scheduled across our campus this semester, and we expect to add many more before the term ends. We’ve already had our first Flagship Friday, Welcome Week on the Student Union Plaza and are looking forward to Engagement Week featuring our registered student organizations, free food and giveaways. You can see the entire list of registered student events in The ForUM.

Events and activities are an incredibly important part of campus life, and I’m committed to the university doing all we can to help you make the most of your college experience through this period. I’m grateful to you, our students, for all that you have done to help us navigate this pandemic to date. We appreciate your continued patience and commitment to do your part to protect all in our community.

Sincerely,

Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor
Expanding Events and Activities for the Spring Semester
In January, we shared that we would monitor our COVID-19 positivity rate for the first month of the semester to inform decision-making about future on- and off-campus activities. We must follow public health guidance and current executive and local orders in effect for the respective venue, and that requires good information to understand the health status of our community. Please note that all events are subject to approval and changes may occur based on our positivity rate.On the Events page of our COVID-19 website, you will find the positivity rate framework that we will follow for the remainder of the semester. The framework outlines conditions that must be met to host events, based on a series of thresholds for the positivity rate. Also, on the Events page (and in the snapshot below), you will find the minimum requirements for all events and activities regardless of venue (university-managed and non-university-managed) for the current positivity rate.

 

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
  1. SOCIAL DISTANCING: Social distancing must be maintained at all times (indoors and outdoors).
  2. CAPACITY: Must adhere to COVID capacity limitations and regulations currently in effect for that space or venue (consult current executive orders, city restrictions, etc.).
  3. MASKS: Cloth face coverings or masks required at all times except when actively drinking or eating (indoors and outdoors).
  4. FOOD:

    •  Lower Risk Requirement: Food allowed if served while seated and adhering to dining restrictions.
    •  Moderate Risk Requirement: Food services Grab and Leave only.
  5. EVENT MONITORS: Minimum of three designated Event Monitors present.
  6. ATTENDEE LIST: Attendee list provided to Ole Miss Student Union (OMSU) or Fraternity & Sorority Life (FSL) at least seven days in advance. Only current students and/or organization advisors will be allowed to attend.
  7. REGISTRATION: Activities must be registered in ForUM. Activities prior to March 11 must be registered ASAP. Activities on or after March 11 must be registered at least 15 business days in advance.
  8. NON-UNIVERSITY-MANAGED VENUES: Additional requirements must be met for non-university-managed venues. See the activities protocols and parameters for full details.

 

Q: When and how can we start registering events?
You can start now! Activities must be registered through The ForUM. Events prior to March 11 need to be registered ASAP. Events on or after March 11 must be registered 15 business days in advance as outlined by standard Union procedures. The latest updates for Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) regarding protocols for events and activities for this semester can be found here. If you have questions, email union@olemiss.edu.Q: When can we start having events?
Events and activities can be submitted now and will be reviewed by OMSU or FSL staff for adherence to the requirements outlined for this semester. Staff will do their best to be flexible with requests so that events and activities can proceed.Q: What kind of events and activities can we have?
Events and activities can be hosted as long as the specified requirements are met and it is submitted through the appropriate channels.Q: Can we have off-campus events outside of Oxford and Lafayette County?
Non-university-managed venues must be reviewed and approved by the Ole Miss Student Union or Fraternity and Sorority Life. At this time, group travel outside Lafayette County is prohibited unless a waiver is obtained through the Event Registration process.Q: Can we do events in shifts?
Yes, organizations can schedule up to two shifts of maximum capacity for each shift. Additional details about how shifts must be managed is posted on the Events page.Q: Why can’t we just do things like we used to?
We know this is a lot to sort through as we navigate new and creative ways of gathering and holding activities. We also know this is not college life before COVID-19, but it is more open than we could be in the fall. It is important that we recognize the pandemic does not mean that we can’t do the things that we used to do before COVID-19, it just means we need to do them differently. Take, for example, college sports. COVID-19 didn’t mean we didn’t get to cheer on Lane Kiffin, Matt Corral and our football team. It just meant we had to do so with fewer people in the stadium, with masks on and social distancing. The same holds true for student activitiesQ: Why does the asymptomatic testing matter?
Our Asymptomatic Testing Program is an important part of this strategy. We understand that some people who are infected with the virus don’t exhibit symptoms, yet they can spread illness to others. Understanding the positivity rate among those who do not have symptoms is an important tool to help us protect our community. Your participation in testing is essential — more testing does not equate to more positives, so please do your part to stop misinformation that students should not get tested because it will drive up the positivity rate. The more students who are tested, the larger the pool for calculating the rate. Please participate in the testing program and encourage your classmates and friends to do so.Q: How do we know what the university’s current positivity rate is?
Each Friday, the university updates its COVID dashboard based on the previous week’s positivity rate. The rate measures the percentage of positive RT-PCR tests performed during the prior seven days through the Asymptomatic Testing Program.Q: How can RSO and FSL Leadership better understand how all this will work?
Details will be shared soon for a Zoom panel session for RSO and FSL leadership to review this process and get questions answered.Q: How can I find out what events are occurring on campus?
Q: Do you have questions about your event?
As you plan events/activities or social gatherings, please consult the Event Registration resource page for answers to many common questions. If you still have questions, contact the OMSU staff at union@olemiss.edu.

Message to Graduate and Professional Students from Chancellor Boyce

Letters from the Chancellor

Dear graduate and professional students,

Happy New Year and greetings as we embark upon the spring 2021 semester! As we get busy with the work of a new semester, I want to share my profound gratitude for all that you did last semester to persevere through an incredibly challenging time. I want to especially thank our graduate instructors and graduate assistants who are to be applauded for keeping on track with their own studies while staying in service to our students. Our graduate and professional students embody the meaning of “resilient.”

As we press ahead even as we continue to face many obstacles related to the pandemic, I want to convey words of encouragement for the semester ahead. The education and experiences you are gaining here will shape the opportunities and paths you encounter throughout your life. This is because we expect our graduates to be driven by the quest for ingenuity, creativity and the pursuit of big ideas. Especially in light of the unexpected economic challenges caused by COVID-19, the value of your graduate or professional degree is even greater.

Please let us know how we can support you throughout this semester and for the duration of your studies here — the Office of the Chancellor is here as a resource for you. Graduate and professional students are a vital part of our campus community, and it is important that you receive the support you need to thrive. We are committed to ensuring that our graduate and professional students achieve their greatest potential as tomorrow’s top researchers and practitioners.

Best wishes for a successful semester!

Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor

Spring 2021 Message from Chancellor Boyce

Letters from the Chancellor

Dear faculty and staff,
 
As we embark upon the Spring 2021 semester, I want to extend my sincere appreciation for all that our university community has accomplished — not only this past fall, but since the onset of the pandemic. It is hard to comprehend that we are approaching the one-year mark since we began this journey together. You kept our university going, displaying an incredible work ethic and commitment to the continued success of the university and our students. For that, I’m truly inspired by and grateful to you.
 
Vaccine
While this semester will largely feel similar to the fall semester, I’m heartened by the rollout of the vaccines being administered throughout the state and country. I’m also hopeful that the vaccine rollout means our operations will begin to return to normal by this Fall, but we will continue to put the safety of our community at the forefront of every decision made.  
 
Understandably, I have heard from many of you who are anxious to learn when the vaccine will become available on our campus. We do not currently have a definitive timeline of when University Health Services will receive doses from the state to administer to our employees. However, I’m supremely confident in the thorough and thoughtful groundwork being laid by the Vaccine Distribution and Administration Task Force to be ready the minute we are notified when we are up.
 
I want to encourage all members of our university community to get vaccinated as soon as you are able through other channels provided by the state of Mississippi. It will help to protect you, but even further it will help to protect your families, friends, co-workers, neighbors and all of those you care about. This is the best way in which each of us can fulfill our responsibility to contribute to upholding a healthy and safe environment for those around us.  
 
Since this rollout is evolving rapidly, we will continue to keep you updated on developments as we learn them. For now, the best way to stay current is to monitor our vaccine update page and read the COVID-19 newsletter published each Wednesday. Our very own Dr. Jean Gispen, staff physician with the Employee Health Center, penned a blog about her experience with the vaccine as a healthcare provider. She shares great insight about the science of the vaccine.
 
Parameters and Protocols for Spring 2021
We have shown that our on-campus parameters and protocols are effective. While we can celebrate this fact, we must understand that we must all continue to remain vigilant. It will be several months before the protection of the vaccine is widely administered. During that time, it is vital that all of us continue to wear cloth face coverings, stay distanced, monitor our health and practice all COVID-19-related safety measures. I commend our faculty and staff who have fully embraced this responsibility.
 
Provost Noel Wilkin shared a message recently with faculty, staff and graduate instructors with helpful reminders for the semester related to classroom protocols, instructor supplies, class attendance and the condensed spring schedule, among other items. I encourage you to review this important planning guidance.  
 
Contributing to a Successful Semester
The start of a new semester is always a significant and invigorating time in the life of a university. We have much to look forward to including not one, but two Commencement celebrations — truly the pinnacle of our academic year that honors the incredible achievements, character and spirit of our students. 
 
My deepest thanks to you, our dedicated faculty and staff, for all that you have already delivered and for the tremendous work that lies ahead. I look forward to another incredibly successful spring semester at the University of Mississippi.
 
Sincerely,
Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor