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Alumni Association Names Top Alumni of 2019

Posted on: July 11th, 2019 by erabadie

Eight alumni will receive the Ole Miss Alumni Association’s highest annual honors as part of Homecoming 2019. Inductees into the Alumni Hall of Fame for 2019 are: Kimsey O’Neal Bailey (BSPh 94), Donald R. Cole (PhD 85), Jake Gibbs (BSPHE 61), Duncan M. Gray III (BA 71) and Richard C. Howorth (BA 72). David Orris McCormick (BA 77, JD 80) will receive the Alumni Service Award and Sly Lee (BSPSC 10, MS 12) will receive the Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Vaughn L. Grisham will receive the Honorary Alumni Award.

Alumni Association to Honor Eight at Homecoming for Achievement, Service

JULY 9, 2019

The Ole Miss Alumni Association is honoring eight recipients for its Distinguished Alumni Awards in 2019 in recognition of their service and accomplishments.

Inductees into the Alumni Hall of Fame are: Kimsey O’Neal Bailey (BSPh 94) of Aberdeen; Donald R. Cole (PhD 85) of Oxford; Jake Gibbs (BSPHE 61) of Oxford; Duncan M. Gray III (BA 71) of Oxford; and Richard C. Howorth (BA 72) of Oxford.

Created in 1974, the Hall of Fame honors select alumni who have made an outstanding contribution to their country, state or the University of Mississippi through good deeds, services or contributions that have perpetuated the good name of Ole Miss.

David Orris McCormick (BA 77, JD 80) of Pascagoula will receive the Alumni Service Award for service to the university and the Alumni Association over an extended period.

Sly Lee (BSPSC 10, MS 12) of Los Angeles, California, will receive the Outstanding Young Alumni Award, which recognizes alumni who have shown exemplary leadership throughout their first 15 years of alumni status in both their careers and dedication to Ole Miss.

Vaughn L. Grisham of Oxford will receive the Honorary Alumni Award, which honors individuals who, though not graduates of the University of Mississippi, have consistently demonstrated extraordinary commitment, support, dedication, loyalty, leadership or service that has enriched the substance of and contributed to the advancement of the university’s or Alumni Association’s missions, reputation or prestige.

The Alumni Association will host a reception for the honorees on Friday, Oct. 4, at 6 p.m. in the Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom at The Inn at Ole Miss. A ticketed dinner for the award recipients will follow the reception at 7 p.m. Those interested in attending the dinner should register in advance by calling the Alumni Association office at 662-915-7375. Individual seats are $100 per person while space is available. Reserved tables of 10 are available for $1,200. $25 from the sale of each individual seat, and $250 from the sale of each reserved table will go toward the Herb Dewees Alumni Association Scholarship.

Hall of Fame Awards

Kimsey O’Neal Bailey is a 1994 graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy and has been practicing for more than 25 years. She is a past president of the Mississippi Pharmacist Association and past and ex officio member of the Ole Miss Pharmacy Board of Directors. She has been a pharmacy supervisor for two Fortune 50 retail chains for over 16 years, overseeing pharmacy operations from 18 to 36 stores.

At Ole Miss, she was a standout basketball player, achieving All-Southeastern Conference for four years, Freshman of the Year of the SEC and SEC Great. She also is listed in the university athletic record books with 1,480 points scored and 692 rebounds. She was voted Miss Ole Miss and was the first African-American female to hold the title at the university.

Bailey was voted to the Ole Miss Women’s program’s Mt. Rushmore along with other recipients including Peggie Gillom-Granderson (BSW 80), Jennifer Gillom (BAR 87) and Jackie Martin-Glass (BSHPE 92). She is a 2003 inductee into the University of Mississippi Athletic Hall of Fame. Bailey has served on the Ole Miss Mississippi Alumni Association Board of Directors including roles with both the Executive and Athletics Committees.

Bailey is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., she was on the Board of Directors for Leake County Boys and Girls Club and was an East Central Community College Board of Trustees member for over 15 years. She is married to Ronald Bailey and has two children, Kobe and Kimsey.

Donald R. Cole a Jackson native, graduated from the then-segregated Brinkley High School and entered the University of Mississippi in 1968, six years after it had been integrated. Within a year, he found himself protesting vestiges of discrimination still lingering within the university, and within another year, he, along with seven other students, was suspended for their continued protest by participating in a demonstration on campus.

Cole completed his bachelor’s degree at Tougaloo College, and obtained master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and the State University of New York at Buffalo before returning to UM to complete his Ph.D. in mathematics.

After several years of working in the aerospace industry and teaching, he was invited back to UM to be an associate professor of mathematics and assistant dean of the Graduate School. He advanced to assistant provost and assistant to the chancellor for multicultural affairs, where he spent 25 years working under three chancellors and two interim chancellors to distinguish his alma mater as a national leader in race relations.

Cole is known for his unique approach in reconciling voices of dissent and promoting diversity and inclusion among faculty, staff, students and the community. As a national spokesman for the institution, he helped transition the university into a well-respected 21st-century institution.

Cole and his wife, Marcia (Cert 82, BA 88, MSS 00), a minister of the gospel, have three children: Donald (03), Mariah (BA 08) and William (BS 10).

Jake Gibbs was a two-sport All-American at Ole Miss and was selected by Sports Illustrated in 1991 as the 8th best collegiate quarterback in history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

In 1960, as co-captain and quarterback, he finished third in the Heisman Trophy race when he led the Rebels to the Football Writers’ national championship while earning All-American and All-Southeastern Conference honors.

Gibbs was voted SEC Back of the Year and SEC Player of the Year in 1960. He was selected the Most Outstanding Player of the 1961 Sugar Bowl.

Following his senior football season, Gibbs was drafted by the NFL Cleveland Browns and the AFL Houston Oilers, but chose to concentrate full time on baseball and signed with the New York Yankees.

As a third baseman at Ole Miss, Gibbs also helped the Rebels claim SEC baseball titles in 1959 and 1960. He was All-America in 1960 and 1961. His .384 career batting average still rates as the third best in Ole Miss baseball history. A member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Gibbs was selected by the student body as Colonel Rebel in 1961 and was also named to the Ole Miss student Hall of Fame.

Gibbs’ major league career with the Yankees spanned 10 years. He retired from baseball following the 1971 season and returned to Ole Miss as head baseball coach in 1972. He compiled a 486-389-9 overall record in 19 seasons, which made him the all-time winningest coach in Rebel baseball history, a record which stood until 2013. He led his squads to a pair of SEC titles, three SEC Western Division pennants and two appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including the 1972 NCAA College World Series.

Gibbs returned to major league baseball in 1993 as catching coach in the New York Yankees’ bullpen. He then served as manager of New York’s Class A Tampa team in the Florida State League during the 1994 and 1995 seasons.

Gibbs was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1995, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Ole Miss M-Club Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989. Additional honors came in 2006 when he was named a SEC Football Legend and in 2014 when he was selected a SEC Baseball Legend. He was also selected to the Chick-Fil-A Southeastern Conference Football Players of the Millennium team.

Gibbs was recognized in 2017 with the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Jake Gibbs Letterwinners Walk at Ole Miss, which serves as the culmination of the Walk of Champions as well as the front door to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

A native of Grenada, Gibbs was married 51 years to the late Patricia Monteith of Oakland. They have three children, Dean (BPA 85), Monte (BBA 88) and Frank, and seven grandchildren.

Duncan M. Gray III was born in Canton, Mississippi. He enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts at Ole Miss in 1967 and finished with a degree in English and political science in 1971. As an undergraduate, Gray was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity and was selected for membership in both Phi Kappa Psi and Omicron Delta Kappa honoraries. He was listed in the Who’s Who of American Colleges and Universities, served as president of the campus senate and was chosen as a member of the Ole Miss Hall of Fame in 1971.

After graduation, he enrolled in Virginia Theological Seminary in 1971, spent 18 months on the staff of Senator Mark Hatfield and graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in 1975. After his ordination as deacon and priest in the Episcopal Church, he served congregations in Greenville, New Orleans, Memphis and Oxford.

In 2000, Gray was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Dioceses of Mississippi, a position he held until his retirement in 2015. His tenure as bishop was marked by an emphasis on leadership development, initiatives in racial reconciliation, rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina and navigating the cultural shifts in sexual norms. He was involved in overseas work in Honduras and Panama, established new models of partnerships in Uganda and South Sudan and served in numerous national and international leadership positions.

He and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 45 years. They have three children, Duncan IV (MA 04), Peter, Tabitha, and eight grandchildren. In retirement, he lives in Oxford and continues to work on clergy leadership development world-wide, while serving in a variety of roles locally at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

Richard C. Howorth was born in Marks, Mississippi, and majored in English and sociology at the University of Mississippi. His family moved to Oxford, his mother’s home, in 1963, where his father practiced surgery. Forebears on both sides of the family were connected to the University of Mississippi, the earliest being William Barksdale, class of 1855. Richard’s grandfather taught Shakespeare for 50 years; a great-grandfather was chancellor; a great-great-grandfather was dean of the law school; and Howorth is named for an uncle who was UM’s second Rhodes Scholar.

After years of considering the feasibility of an Oxford bookstore, Richard and his wife, Lisa (BA 76, MA 84), learned the business by working in one in a Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., returning home two years later to open Square Books in 1979.

Square Books gradually expanded to become today four stores on five floors in three buildings one hundred feet apart on the historic town square of Oxford, Mississippi. In 1989 Howorth joined the board of directors of the American Booksellers Association, serving two years as president and board chairman, an experience that helped him decide to run for mayor of Oxford and serve two terms from 2001 to 2009. In 2011 and again in 2015 he was appointed to the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, including two years as board chair.

In 2008 Howorth received the Authors Guild Award for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community, one of only two booksellers to receive the designation. Square Books was named Publishers Weekly Bookstore of the Year in 2013, and recently Square Books was recognized with a Citation of Merit from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters.
The Howorths have three children, Claire, Beckett and Bebe, and two grandchildren.

Alumni Service Award

David Orris McCormick was born at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and currently lives in Pascagoula. He grew up in Long Beach and attended Ole Miss where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration in 1977 and his Juris Doctor degree in 1980. That same year he was admitted to practice law. He joined Cumbest, Cumbest, Hunter & McCormick in 1980 as an associate.

In 1991, McCormick became managing partner of the firm, which was established in 1970. He is a member of the Mississippi Bar Foundation and was inducted as a Fellow in 2007; the Mississippi Bar Association where he served as a Bar commissioner from 2007 to 2010; and, the Jackson County Bar Association, where he served as president from 1988 to 1989.

McCormick’s practice is primarily in civil litigation representing plaintiffs with an emphasis on personal injury and asbestos-related diseases. McCormick, along with other attorneys, assisted Attorney General Mike Moore in pursuit of the historic tobacco lawsuit and settlement on behalf of the State of Mississippi.

McCormick has served in numerous positions on behalf of Ole Miss including the Jackson-George County Ole Miss Alumni Club (president, 1992-94); Ole Miss Law Alumni (president, 2003-04); The Inn at Ole Miss Steering Committee (2004-08); member of the Momentum Financial Campaign for Ole Miss (2006-08); member of the UM Foundation Board (2006-09); and the Ole Miss Alumni Association (president, 2007-08).

He and his wife, Susan Cumbest McCormick (MM 80), attend Eastlawn United Methodist Church where he serves on the administrative board, Staff-Parish Relations Committee and also leads an adult Sunday School class. The McCormick’s have two children, Sarah Kathryn Hickman (BBA 03, MBA 05) and Caroline L. (James) Stevens (BAccy 11, MAccy 12), and have one grandson, William McCormick Hickman.

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Sly Lee is a first-generation American entrepreneur and scientist who is passionate about creating positive global impact leveraging exponential technologies. He is co-founder and CEO of Emerge, who is redefining the concept of “teleportation”, with a first product that transmits our sense of touch from a distance through immersive computing (AR/VR). Emerge’s vision is to connect people’s emotions and feelings, on the path to ultimately “teleporting” our presence.

Lee is also advisor to the board/former co-founder of The Hydrous, a 501(c)3 nonprofit on a mission to create open access oceans. Their team pioneered a method to 3D capture coral reefs in high resolution using photogrammetry for scientific monitoring, data visualization and educational experiences. Their work has been featured at the Skoll World Forum, WIRED Magazine, Fast Company and TED.

Lee is an Oxford native of Singaporean immigrants and a second generation Ole Miss alumnus who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Master of Science degree in environmental toxicology at the University of Mississippi. He hopes to inspire the next generation of southern entrepreneurs and investors towards technology focused endeavors, which he believes is necessary to spur innovation in his home state.

Lee is a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient, alumnus of Singularity University Global Solutions Program 2015, World Economic Forum Global Shaper and avid surfer and scuba diver. He is very close to his two brothers, Dexter and Nicholas, and their loving parents, Maria and Peng. Lee resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Britney Spencer Lee.

Honorary Alumni Award

Vaughn L. Grisham joined the Ole Miss faculty in 1961. Four years later, he enrolled in doctoral studies in sociology and history at the University of North Carolina. While taking his coursework at UNC, Grisham was hired to teach full time at North Carolina State University, where he was identified as a Master Teacher.

Armed with his Ph.D., Grisham returned to UM between 1968 and 2016, where he taught over 20,000 students in the Department of Sociology and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Ole Miss selected him as the Outstanding Teacher in the university, and later presented him with the Frist Award for service to the university and the state. The American Sociological Association named Vaughn one of the top 25 outstanding sociology professors in higher education. He was president of the Ole Miss Faculty Senate for two terms. In addition, faculty from the eight Mississippi universities elected him as State Faculty Senate president for two terms. He has authored six books.

Grisham served as the Scholar-in-Residence at the Southern Growth Policies Board; Associate: Kettering Foundation; Associate: Annie E. Casey Foundation; Associate: Winthrop Rockefeller Institute; and Associate: Brushy Fork Institute, Berea College.

Vaughn established the McLean Institute for Community Development at UM in 1984 and its work continues to this day. He has assisted communities in 33 states, two Canadian provinces and his work has been taken to both Siberia and South Africa.

He has been married to Sandy Hopper Grisham for 37 years. They have four children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

UM Faculty Travel Across Southeast for Collaborations

Posted on: April 10th, 2019 by erabadie

Ten faculty members participate in SEC Faculty Travel Program

DECEMBER 13, 2018 BY SHEA STEWART

Ten University of Mississippi faculty members are taking part in the SEC Faculty Travel Program this academic year, joining more than 100 fellow faculty members from other Southeastern Conference institutions.

Established in 2012 by the SEC provosts, the program provides financial assistance from the SEC office that bolters intra-SEC collaboration. Participants travel to other SEC universities to exchange ideas, develop grant proposals, conduct research and deliver lectures or performances. Areas of interest for this year’s Ole Miss class include music, engineering, anthropology and African American studies.

Travel of the UM faculty is made possible partly through a $10,000 award from the SEC.

“Being a member of the SEC means more than being in an athletic conference,” UM Provost Noel Wilkin said. “This faculty travel program brings together faculty from across the SEC to explore collaborative projects that might otherwise be difficult to initiate or fund.

“We value our SEC partners and our collaborations with other SEC universities.”

Participants from UM for the 2018-19 academic year are:

Graham Bodie, professor of integrated marketing communication, visiting Auburn University
Elizabeth Ervin, associate professor of civil engineering, visiting the University of Arkansas
Micah Everett, associate professor of music, visiting the University of South Carolina
Selim Giray, assistant professor of music and orchestra director, visiting the University of Tennessee
Samuel Lisi, assistant professor of mathematics, visiting the University of Arkansas
Maureen Meyers, assistant professor of anthropology, visiting the University of Tennessee
Adrienne Park, instructor in music, visiting the University of Tennessee
Charles Ross, director of African American studies and professor of history, visiting the University of Alabama
Michael Rowlett, associate professor of music, visiting the University of Tennessee
Hakan Yasarer, assistant professor of civil engineering, visiting Auburn University

The SEC Faculty Travel Program is one of several academic endeavors designed to support the teaching, research, service and economic development focus of the SEC’s 14 member universities. Past program participants have been invited to present their research at conferences, been awarded competitive grants and secured publications in leading journals.

“The SEC Faculty Travel Program provides faculty at all SEC universities the opportunity to broaden their network of scholars and professionals,” UM Associate Provost Donna Strum said. “This opportunity often leads to collaboration on intercollegiate teaching and research projects, which advance our mission. We appreciate the SECs support and look forward to the 2018-19 program.”

Several additional Ole Miss faculty members also completed trips to SEC institutions earlier this year:

Shennette Monique Garrett-Scott, assistant professor of history and African American studies, visited the University of Tennessee
Robert Cummings, executive director of academic innovation and associate professor of writing and rhetoric, visited the University of Georgia
Dinorah Sapp, lecturer in intensive English, visited the University of Kentucky.

Two Math Champs = Win for Ole Miss

Posted on: March 18th, 2019 by erabadie

UM professors Dao Nguyen and Thái Hoàng Lê both won gold medals at Math Olympiad

$University of Mississippi Math Professors Thái Hoàng Lê, left, and Dao Nguyen, right, both hold gold medals in the International Mathematical Olympaid as high school students in the 1990s. Photo by Megan Wolfe$

University of Mississippi Math Professors Thái Hoàng Lê, left, and Dao Nguyen, right, both hold gold medals in the International Mathematical Olympaid as high school students in the 1990s. Photo by Megan Wolfe/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services.

MARCH 13, 2019 BY MICHAEL NEWSOM

One of the first known uses of mathematics was 37,000 years ago when someone in the Lebombo Mountains between South Africa and Swaziland carved 29 marks into a bone from a baboon’s thigh to count something. Ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Romans and Greeks also made advancements to the science of math, many of which remain in use today.

Though it’s been around for tens of thousands of years and is a cornerstone of education, science and engineering, math still vexes many of us. But for others, the subject is a passion – a lifelong puzzle they are constantly working.

Meet Dao Nguyen and Thái Hoàng Lê, both assistant professors of mathematics at the University of Mississippi. Not only do they like complicated problems, they were among the world’s best at solving them as high school students in Vietnam in the 1990s.

The two won gold medals in the International Mathematical Olympiad. Only six students are selected from each participating country, so just getting there requires winning school, city and nationwide competitions.

The professors admit the prospect of spending two full days competing against the world’s best mathletes isn’t for the faint of heart.

“It’s grueling, but we do it because we like it,” said Lê, who first represented Vietnam in the event in 1998 and won gold in Romania 1999 as a high school student. “I just like mathematics, so I really enjoyed it. I like the logic in it. Everything is very logical and precise. Everything is clear-cut. It is either right or it is wrong. There is no in-between.”

UM assistant professor of mathematics Thái Hoàng Lê holds a gold medal in International Math Olympiad, which he won as a high school student on the Vietnam team in 1999. Photo by Megan Wolfe/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

“Logical thinking is different from real life. Real life is much more complicated.”

The International Mathematical Olympiad, which is for high school students, is held annually in a different country. Since the first IMO in 1959 in Romania, with only seven countries participating, the event has expanded to more than 100 countries from five continents.

The event is rigorous. Last year, competitors just barely old enough to drive were asked to solve this problem, among others:

“1. Let Γ be the circumcircle of acute-angled triangle ABC. Points D and E lie on segments AB and AC, respectively, such that AD = AE. The perpendicular bisectors of BD and CE intersect the minor arcs AB and AC of Γ at points F and G, respectively. Prove that the lines DE and FG are parallel (or are the same line).”

Though the problems are incredibly difficult, Nguyen, who won gold in 1992 in Moscow as part of the Vietnam team, doesn’t remember feeling stress during the competition all those years ago. Like many who are good at what they do, he has a quiet confidence about him.

“We had a lot of talented students from other countries, but there was no pressure,” Nguyen said with a grin. “I like a challenge.”

He said it’s the almost never-ending puzzle math provides that keeps him interested.

“Basically, it’s an instinct,” Nguyen said. “You do a lot of homework. The logic is very important. From one clue, we can infer it to another and figure out how something should look. Then you can do more.

“When you study for something and you can do it, you just want to do more.”

Math is a skill someone improves throughout his or her life to reach higher levels of difficulty. It takes many hours of work to be good enough for the Olympiad. Movies often get this part wrong, Lê said.

“Good Will Hunting” features an iconic portrayal of complicated ciphering. Matt Damon, who plays a janitor, is caught by a professor solving an extremely complex problem on a chalkboard that no one had been able to work.

Real-life math isn’t like that, Lê said.

“That movie is not realistic,” Lê said with a laugh. “That guy doesn’t do anything right. He is just hanging around. He is just good at math. It doesn’t work like that. You have to spend hours and hours.

UM assistant professor of mathematics Dao Nguyen holds a gold medal in International Math Olympiad, which he won as a high school student on the Vietnam team in 1992. Photo by Megan Wolfe

“It’s like how Michael Phelps swims so well because he practices so much. He wasn’t born like that; I mean, unless he is a fish. He has to practice very hard.”

It’s extremely uncommon to have two professors in the same department who have won the math Olympics, much less two from the same country on the other side of the planet.

UM is fortunate to have the two on faculty, said James Reid, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics.

“The students of the university have an opportunity to learn from two extraordinarily gifted mathematicians,” Reid said. “The mathematical promise exhibited by these scholars in their youth has come to fruition in the present as Drs. Nguyen and Lê are researchers in the cutting-edge research areas of number theory and computational statistics.”

Another unlikely part of their story is that Lê knew who Nguyen was before meeting him at Ole Miss because of Nguyen’s success in the Olympiad six years before him. The two friends didn’t meet, however, until they were both working at UM.

Nguyen didn’t go straight into teaching. He was graduating college just as the tech boom began in the mid-1990s, and he went into the computer science field. He earned a doctorate from the University of Michigan in 2016. In 2017, he put his passion for statistics to work in the classroom at Ole Miss.

“Teaching is great,” Nguyen said. “When you know something, you just want to disseminate your knowledge. The students are eager for knowledge. If I can inspire them, then that’s great.”

With so much success, it would seem that students might be intimidated to take classes from Lê and Nguyen. But, the lesson from the story of Nguyen and Lê is that math is tricky for everyone, even two gold medal winners, and it takes work to become a great mathematician.

The two professors want to help Ole Miss students reach new heights.

“I want to impart knowledge to these students,” Lê said. “There are things I also had trouble learning, so I try to put myself in their shoes and try to help them get through the process that I had to get through.”

Board of Trustees Presents Annual Diversity Awards

Posted on: March 1st, 2019 by erabadie

Medical Center administrator and former UM educator honored for service, statewide impact

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 BY STAFF REPORT

Dr. Steven Cunningham (left), chair of the IHL Diversity Committee, congratulates Michael Ryan, professor and associate dean for student affairs in the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences at the UM Medical Center, on being named the 2019 Diversity Educator of the Year as they are joined by UM Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks and Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. Photo courtesy IHL

The Mississippi board of trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning celebrated Black History Month with its annual Diversity Awards ceremony in Jackson. Campus and community leaders were recognized for their efforts in advancing diversity and encouraging understanding and respect.

Michael Ryan, professor and associate dean for student affairs in the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, was named the 2019 Diversity Educator of the Year. Retired educator and community volunteer Penny Sisson, a UM alumnus from Oxford, received the Karen Cummins Community Service Award.

“The Board of Trustees is honored to recognize Dr. Ryan and Mrs. Sisson,” said Dr. Steven Cunningham, chair of the board’s Diversity Committee. “They both demonstrate a tremendous capacity for helping others and have directed their talents and skills in ways that have made an incredible difference to countless individuals. They have helped our communities and our state become more inclusive places to live, work and raise a family.”

Sandra Cox-McCarty

Besides the Diversity Educator of the Year, the board also honored faculty from each of Mississippi’s public universities for advancing diversity at their institutions. Sandra Cox-McCarty, associate dean of the UM School of Law, was the Ole Miss honoree.

Sisson has taught Spanish in a variety of settings from pre-kindergarten through adult education, including at Oxford University School, elementary and secondary schools in Cambridge and Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and in Grenada; and universities including UM and the University of North Carolina. She also has tutored students at Ole Miss and offered Spanish classes for the community of Oxford, incorporating cultural information, understanding and appreciation for similarities and differences throughout these classes.

She has taught English as a second language for the Oxford School District, volunteered her time and expertise to teach English to members of the Oxford community; and offered workshops for teachers explaining cultural differences. She has taught multicultural education for UM on both the Oxford and Tupelo campuses.

For more than 20 years, Sisson has worked in the Hispanic ministry at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, offering worship, teaching English classes and introducing the Hispanic community to a variety of social services available.

She formed a group at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, called International Friends, for women from a variety of countries. While meeting each week, the group toured many places in the community, including the public library, Southside Gallery and Azalea Gardens. Through the experiences, the members learned about cultural differences and worked on understanding and appreciating differences among the members.

Dr. Steven Cunningham (left), chair of the IHL Diversity Committee, congratulates retired educator Peggy Sisson on being honored with the board’s Karen Cummins Community Service Award. Photo courtesy IHL

Sisson has participated in the racial reconciliation training provided by the Diocese of Mississippi and worked with the racial reconciliation group at St. Peter’s to help make the church’s Rise and Shine Breakfast an example of what racial reconciliation work can achieve as participants come together for breakfast, fellowship and understanding as they enjoy their time together.

She has served as a translator and interpreter for the Honduras Medical Mission more than 25 times. She has lived in Palenque, Cardenas, Cholula and Tehuacan, Mexico, which has given her the perspective of being an outsider in a community and informed her desire to develop an inclusive mindset in the Oxford community. A native of Grenada, Sisson earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UM.

Ryan was named the 2019 Diversity Educator of the Year for his contributions to diversity and positive relations among all segments of the medical center campus and the broader community.

He has worked with the Medical Center since 2004, serving as assistant professor and associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, director of the School of Graduate Studies Discovery U Programs, director of the graduate program in physiology and biophysics, director of the Master of Biomedical Sciences program and as a research health scientist for the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Ryan has also worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Iowa.

In his nomination letter, Dr. Ralph H. Didlake, the Medical Center’s associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, summarized Ryan’s contributions: “Our enthusiasm for Dr. Ryan’s nomination is based on his substantive work to attract and mentor underrepresented students into the sphere of bioscience research. This is a critical diversity need and the institution is very proud of his efforts.”

Ryan has served as a mentor for many undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral underrepresented minority trainees and championed the careers of women and minorities in all phases of his professional career, including teaching, research, service and leadership. He has trained many minority high school and undergraduate students.

He has played a major role in increasing the number, quality and diversity of the student body at the Medical Center and has been awarded a National Institutes of Health R25 grant to promote a diverse biomedical research workforce in Mississippi, which has supported 40 underrepresented minority students from undergraduate institutions, many of them historically black colleges and universities.

The percentage of underrepresented minority students in doctoral programs at the Medical Center has nearly doubled, and Ryan has helped them in numerous ways, including preparing for their qualifying exams, serving on dissertation committees and counseling them when they have difficulties. Ryan advises approximately 65 students each year, of which 27 percent are underrepresented minority students and 55 percent are women.

Ryan has served as a leader and mentor in several programs that provide summer research experiences for K-12 students and undergraduate students, including the Summer Undergraduate Research Enrichment Program at the Medical Center. Under Ryan’s direction, the number of minorities in the SURE program has steadily increased from 12 percent to 35 percent.

His contributions to diversity and inclusion extend beyond the Medical Center into the community. He has organized and led community outreach events that bring science to elementary, middle and high school students, such as an outreach event at the Mississippi Children’s Museum and the Discovery U High School Program. Ryan has served as a mentor for the Base Pair Program with Murrah High School and on the Mississippi Children’s Museum’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Ryan is consistently rated as one of the top instructors in medical physiology and dental physiology and has been recognized with numerous awards for his work both inside the classroom and beyond, including election to the Norman C. Nelson Order of Teaching Excellence at the Medical Center and election as chair of the Water and Electrolyte Homeostasis Section of the American Physiological Society.

He also has received the Medical Center’s Gold Level Excellence in Research Award, the American Society of Hypertension Young Scholars Award, the UMMC Dental School All-Star Faculty Award and the Merck Young Investigator Award.

Ryan has been recognized for his efforts on diversity and inclusion initiatives with the A. Clifford Barger Underrepresented Minority Mentorship Award from the American Physiological Society, the UMMC Beacon Award and the Veteran’s Affairs Merit Award.

He graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Cortland College and earned a doctoral degree in physiology and biophysics from the University of Buffalo. Ryan is a member of several professional associations, including the American Society of Gravitational and Space Biology, the American Physiological Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Heart Association, the Gulf Coast Physiological Society, the Biochemical Society and the UM Medical Center Group on Women in Medicine and Science.

UM Educators Fostering Cuban Educational Collaboration

Posted on: December 20th, 2018 by erabadie

Six faculty members are applying principles, information gathered and shared during recent conference

DECEMBER 18, 2018 BY EDWIN B. SMITH

Cuba TIES IV Conference participants help set up one of the posters by UM faculty for presentation. Submitted photo

Six University of Mississippi faculty members were among educators from Cuba and many surrounding countries, including the United States, brought together for the recent Cuba TIES IV Conference.

UM educators who presented at the fourth annual conference, held in Cienfuegos, Cuba, included Chris Sapp, Tracy Koslowski, Guy Krueger and Brad Campbell.

“We have established a connection with colleagues at numerous universities in Cuba who are requesting we present and collaborate in further research,” said Koslowski, an instructor of intensive English who presented a poster on “Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in the EFL/ESL Classroom” with Silvia Miriam Morgan, a Cuban research partner from Universidad de Guantanamo. The poster was co-authored by fellow Ole Miss lecturer Dinorah Sapp.

“We have also established connection with the Ministry of Higher Education in Cuba in hopes of building future opportunities for Cuban colleagues and students in collaboration with UM faculty, students and programs,” Koslowski said.

Christopher Sapp, associate professor of German, co-designed Koslowski’s poster. He also presented a poster on “Teaching Students to Read Research” with colleagues from Universidad de Holguin.

“I have been invited back to Cuba in the spring to present at WEFLA at the University of Holguin,” Sapp said. “I also have four potential students from Cuba who would like to pursue graduate degrees in applied linguistics or teaching English as a second language.”

Krueger, a lecturer in writing and rhetoric, described his Cuba reception as “fantastic.”

“The people in Cuba were interested in my scholarship, asked great questions and have been proactive in reaching out to have me return and present at other venues,” said Krueger, who, with Campbell, presented a paper titled “Fostering Academic Development Through Social Language Experiences: An International Perspective” with their Cuban research partner Luis Mijares Nunez of Universidad de Pinar del Rio.

“The people I worked with in Cuba are serious about continuing relationships and working together.”

All Ole Miss presenters collaborated via email and social media with their partners for several months before the conference to prepare their work.

“Dinorah Sapp and I have been invited to present our poster at the TESOL International Convention in Atlanta in March,” Koslowski said. “I have been invited to design and conduct other workshops for students and faculty at the universities in Pinar del Rio and Cienfuegos this coming April.”

The conference was hosted by Universidad de Cienfuegos, a school with about 4,000 students and campus buildings located across the city. Besides faculty from Universidad de Cienfuegos and educators from several countries such as Colombia and Ecuador, a representative from the Cuban Ministry of Higher Education was in attendance.

The UM faculty contingent, which also included Sandra Spiroff of the Department of Mathematics and Laura Antonow of the Department of Higher Education, were able to meet and network with many of the conference participants over the five-day event.

Koslowski met with Dayni Diaz Mederos, the director of international programs at Universidad de Cienfuegos, and with Santiago Rivera Perez, the director of language programs in the Cuban Ministry of Higher Education, to explore the potential for Cuban students to attend Ole Miss or even possibly faculty and student exchange programs with Cuban universities. Because open travel between the U.S. and Cuba is not yet possible, establishing a relationship with the Ministry of Higher Education is critical for potential partnerships in areas such as funding and granting visas.

“Major takeaways from the conference include that Cuban students are interested in American universities for their studies, and by having the largest faculty delegation from the U.S. at the event, UM representatives were able to widely promote UM to students and faculty alike,” Krueger said. “This promotion had a profound impact, as faculty at Cuban universities and representatives from the Cuban Ministry of Higher Education expressed their interest in further partnerships with UM due to the successful collaborations we have already enjoyed.”

Krueger said he also has noticed a difference in his classroom fluency.

“I have always been comfortable working with international students in my classroom, but attending the Cuba TIES IV Conference, where some information was presented in Spanish, really made me think about how much language matters in educational settings,” he said.

“Being forced to try to translate quickly reminded me what many of our international students at UM might go through on a daily basis. This helps me remember to slow down and think about the extra challenges international students face.”

For more information about future Cuba TIES events, contact Tracy Koslowski at tlcase@olemiss.edu.

Don Cole Retires after Storied History at Ole Miss

Posted on: December 10th, 2018 by erabadie

Longtime mathematics professor, administrator credited with leaving lasting legacy at UM

DECEMBER 10, 2018 BY BENITA WHITEHORN

Don Cole retires from the University of Mississippi and his longtime responsibilities in the Lyceum on Jan. 15. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

When Donald Cole was a graduate student at the University of Mississippi in the 1980s, he and a faculty member would walk over to the Union to get coffee together. Cole would walk so fast, his companion would have to hold onto his shoulder to keep up.

As a champion of education, Cole has outpaced others ever since, but he’s retiring officially Jan. 15, and the many people who love and admire him are feeling the loss. A retirement reception will be hosted from 3 to 5 p.m. Dec. 12 in the Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom at The Inn at Ole Miss.

“He’s retiring, and it’s hitting home,” said Demetria Hereford, associate director of the Ronald E. McNair Program, who has worked with the assistant provost and associate professor of mathematics for 21 years. “Dr. Cole’s voice is one that people listen to because he’s fair to all people. People respect and appreciate fairness and compromise, thus gravitate towards him.”

The 68-year-young Cole has tried to help all students as a math professor or mentor, but he likely has done more than anyone at the university to help underrepresented students achieve academically through leading such initiatives as the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation’s IMAGE, or Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education, and summer Bridge STEM programs and the McNair program, which recruits 29 low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students each year and prepares them for doctoral studies.

“Dr. Cole is the most giving and kind person,” said Andie Cooper, who has worked as Cole’s executive assistant for the past three years. “His smile is contagious, and his faith is visible through his actions as he works diligently on many committees throughout campus. He truly has the heart of a servant.”

Always ready to laugh but thoughtful when he speaks, Cole reflects on the prospect of retiring after a history with the university that goes back to 1968.

“It’s going to be the people and places that I miss,” Cole said. “I’ll be coming up on weekends and looking around, so the building part I can do something about.

“Some of the people I’ll naturally run into in the community. But I’m going to miss a lot of aspects because I put my life off into it.”

Besides his roles as program director, grant writer, mentor and mathematics professor, Cole is also an administrator. Under Robert Khayat, chancellor from 1995 to 2009, he was named assistant to the chancellor for multicultural affairs.

He chaired the Chancellor’s Standing Committee on Sensitivity and Respect until last year; co-chaired the Extended Sensitivity and Respect Committee in 2013, which was initiated after a post-election incident on campus in 2012; and co-chaired the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on History and Context the last couple of years.

Cole said he believes the university has come a long way in becoming a welcoming place for all.

“I’m always the half-full guy,” Cole said. “And so I see that the university has come a tremendous way. I remember getting here as a freshman (in 1968). I remember how uncomfortable I was, and I remember some of the incidents that made me uncomfortable. And the university’s just a far cry from that today.

“Yes, we have a long ways to go. Sometimes when we ‘fix something,’ we need to be reminded that it doesn’t stay fixed, that as new groups of students, faculty and staff come in (every year), that we have to be vigilant, we have to be conscious and not rest on any laurels. We have to cover some of the same ground, remembering that we’re covering the same ground with different people.”

Cole’s colleagues attest to the powerful effect of his presence on the university.

“From the outset, it was clear that he would be a team player but would never compromise his values and beliefs,” Khayat said. “He was loyal to the university, to his students, his colleagues and his faith.”

Provost Noel Wilkin added, “The advice and guidance that Don has provided around issues of race and diversity have been incredibly valuable. These are grounded in his steadfast pursuit of affording all students who come to our university an opportunity to be successful.”

There and Back Again

Cole grew up in Jackson, living with his parents and seven siblings, and entered Ole Miss as a freshman engineering major in 1968. He was a member of the Black Student Union, which presented the UM administration with a list of demands, asking for an end to overt racism, more opportunities for black students and staff, and the hiring of black faculty.

In 1970, Cole took part in a protest at an Up with People concert on campus and was expelled from the university along with seven other students. He spent two nights in the Oxford jail.

“Virtually every one of the 27 demands have been made a reality on this campus,” said Charles Ross, UM professor of history and director of the African American studies program, which he said exists only because of the courage Cole and others displayed as students. “Today, many individuals on our campus take for granted the opportunities that were created by the sacrifice made by Don and others.”

Kenneth Mayfield is another of the students who were expelled in 1970. He and Cole have been best friends since, and Cole even introduced him to his wife. Mayfield did not return to Ole Miss, but he persuaded his daughter, Dominique, to enroll there.

“My daughter graduated from Ole Miss (with a degree in political science),” said Mayfield, senior attorney at the Mayfield Law Firm in Tupelo. “I really wanted her to finish there because I was unable to finish there, and it would give me some sense of completion.”

Cole arranged it so that he would present his best friend’s daughter with her degree.

“It was like I finally got to graduate from there,” Mayfield said. “She’s practicing law with me now.”

After unsuccessfully trying to re-enter Ole Miss a year after their expulsion, Cole and Mayfield were accepted to Tougaloo College, where they received their bachelor’s degrees.

Mayfield went on to receive a law degree from the University of Michigan. Cole earned master’s degrees in mathematics from both the State University of New York and the University of Michigan, and returned to Ole Miss and completed a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1985.

After graduating from Ole Miss, Cole worked in Fort Worth, Texas, in the aerospace industry. He later accepted an offer to work as a mathematics professor at Florida A&M, and then was asked to join Ole Miss as assistant dean in the Graduate School and associate professor of mathematics. He returned in 1993.

So, why did Cole return to Ole Miss after being kicked out as an undergraduate?

“I’m often asked that question, and I have never been able to truly give a good answer, even to myself,” he said. “I had not truly failed at anything, and I had come here to get a degree and I had failed to get a degree.

“I had left in disgrace, left with a jail certificate, and I had come here, not by myself, but come here representing so many others, and I suspect that I had feelings about letting so many other folk down, and maybe this gave me another shot at redeeming myself, and that’s the nearest that I can answer.”

Returning to the university after the way he was treated is probably one of the biggest contributions Cole could make, said Brandi Hephner LaBanc, UM vice chancellor for student affairs.

“I feel like he truly is a role model,” Hephner LaBanc said. “He was able to forgive what happened to him, not forget.

“There have been many others he’s linked arms with, but I think he was the forerunner. He allowed us to come behind him and be brave.”

Cole has helped carry on what James Meredith accomplished when he became the first black student to enroll at Ole Miss, said Judy Meredith, a retired assistant professor at Jackson State University and wife of James Meredith.

“James Meredith opened that door, and God put Don Cole there to keep that door open,” she said.

The Merediths said Cole has always made them feel welcome during their visits to campus.

“I’ve been to Ole Miss a lot of times. Nobody has done more and better for me than Dr. Donald Cole,” James Meredith said. “I’ve never known anyone in education that I’ve had greater respect for, and I’ve known a lot of people in education who have helped me through the years.”

Teacher and Mentor

Cole has taught one math course, ranging from geometry to calculus, every semester since he’s been at Ole Miss. His interest in mathematics started in elementary school.

“I loved me some Caroline Sue,” said Cole, referencing a grade school classmate. “I devised a great scheme to get Caroline Sue to like me. She wasn’t good in math, so I took our math workbook and did the whole workbook, so that whenever Caroline Sue had a question, I had the answer right there.

“The instructor was impressed because they kind of used my book as a key. I didn’t care about that; I cared about Caroline Sue. She ended up dating my friend.”

Over the years, Cole has helped hundreds of Ole Miss students understand math, even those who thought they never could, such as Scott Coopwood, of Cleveland, Mississippi.

“I had one last class to take in order to graduate in August of ’84, and I was worried that I might not pass it because math has never been one of my strong points,” said Coopwood, founder and owner of Coopwood Communications, which includes Delta Magazine and the Delta Business Journal.

“The class was Statistics, and the first day I walked into the room I saw a young guy sitting on the edge of his desk looking through some papers, and it was Don. As everyone was pouring into the room, I walked up to him and said, ‘I’m awful at math and I’m concerned that I might not be able to pass this class, and if I don’t, I won’t graduate.’

“Don put his hand on my shoulder and in a very positive manner, he said, ‘Don’t worry, regardless of your math skills, if it comes to it, I’ll work with you after class every day, and I don’t care how long it takes. … You’re going to pass this course, and you’re going to graduate on time.’ He hadn’t known me more than two minutes.

“Don was a great teacher in every way. He went slow and explained everything extremely well. I spent a lot of time with him when I was taking that course. I can’t recall many teachers who had faith in me or in fact even encouraged me. But Don certainly did. Thirty-four years later and I have never forgotten the impact he had on my life in the summer of 1984.”

Other students sing Cole’s praises as a mentor, as well.

“As a freshman majoring in mathematics, I knew that he would be someone who could serve as a resource and mentor throughout my undergraduate tenure,” said Skylyn Irby, who met Cole during the summer before her freshman year and participated in the Bridge STEM program, which serves underrepresented incoming freshman STEM majors, and McNair program.

“He was someone who overcame the adversities that many underrepresented people of color encounter in STEM-related career fields. More specifically, he was a mathematician and someone who gave me the confidence to pursue a degree in mathematics.”

Cole has had a profound impact on undergraduate and graduate education at the university, said James Reid, UM chair and professor of mathematics.

“It was noted in that June/July 2009 issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society that over one-third of the African-Americans who received Ph.D.s nationally that year had graduated from this university in 2006,” Reid said. “Dr. Cole was an essential contributor to this effort and recruited and mentored many of these students. He is a remarkable member of the Ole Miss family.”

Cole, who won the university’s Frist Student Service Award in 2001 and Award for Excellence in Promoting Inclusiveness in Graduate Education in 2004, said the LSMAMP IMAGE and summer Bridge STEM programs and McNair program are dear to his heart.

“They have been pivotal programs that have absolutely changed the lives of many, many individuals who have participated,” Cole said. “They have been programs that have highlighted us as an institution far beyond our walls and borders.”

Family Man

So, with all the work Cole has done for the university, has he had time to be a caring husband and father and all-around good person? The answer is yes, said Marcia Cole, his wife of 38 years and UM lecturer of applied gerontology.

“I think he is the kindest, most patient, caring individual that I know,” she said. “He just genuinely cares about people, and he will do everything within his power and use any resource available to him to be of some help, even to his detriment.”

The Coles have three grown children: Don II, 35; Mariah, 32; and William, 31. Marcia Cole said her husband wanted to be a father from day one. He watched his children play sports and taught them how to swim and build a fire. He made sure his daughter knew how to bass fish, catch a ball, change a tire, do yardwork and fix the plumbing.

“He’s a big kid at heart,” Marcia Cole said. “At the house, if I heard something happen, I wasn’t calling the kids. I called him.”

Upon retirement, Don Cole said he’ll continue to devote time to his favorite hobby, photography, and around the house he plans to set up a couple of aquariums, garden and “fix” things. In addition, he’ll continue serving his community through work with civic and humanitarian organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church.

From faculty to students to administrators, Cole’s impact at the university and across the state will be felt for generations to come.

“Cole is a selfless, supporting role model,” said Victoria Robinson, who participated in the Bridge STEM program, IMAGE and the McNair program. “Without him, I would not be as successful as I have been in my undergraduate career. I’ll miss him more than he knows.”

Award Recipients to be Recognized During Black Alumni Reunion Gala

Posted on: February 26th, 2018 by erabadie

Alumni Association to present slate of honors at sold-out event

FEBRUARY 24, 2018 BY MDIGGS

Donald Cole | Photo by Robert Jordan/ Communications

The Ole Miss Alumni Association is recognizing 13 distinguished alumni as part the University of Mississippi’s 2018 Black Alumni Reunion.

The awards include the Dr. Jeanette Jennings “Trailblazer” Award, The Rev. Wayne Johnson Community and Civic Award, the Alumni Achievement Award and the Celebrated Athlete Award.

The Alumni Association hosts a sold-out gala for the honorees at 6 p.m. Saturday (March 3) at The Inn at Ole Miss. Leadership, lifetime achievement and legacy awards also will be presented at the event.

“The Black Alumni Reunion, as well as the gala, have grown tremendously,” said Kirk Purdom, the association’s executive director. “The 2018 awards gala will be our largest ever, and it offers an opportunity to celebrate history and honor some outstanding alumni, in addition to providing classmates a great opportunity to reunite.”

The Dr. Jeanette Jennings “Trailblazer” Award recognizes Ole Miss alumni who served a vital role in the progress of black faculty, staff, alumni and/or students on the Ole Miss campus. Jennings came to UM in 1970 as the university’s first black faculty member.

Donald Cole (PhD mathematics 85) and Jacquline Vinson (BBA 01, MA 10) are the 2018 recipients.

As the university’s assistant provost and associate professor of mathematics, Cole plays an active leadership role in policymaking, teaching, research and diversification at UM. More than 40 minority doctoral degrees in a variety of disciplines are attributed to his grants, teaching and mentorship.

Vinson is project coordinator for the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation IMAGE program and co-principal investigator of the Bridge STEM program. She was married to the late Theopolis P. Vinson and continues her husband’s legacy on the Ole Miss campus with a scholarship endowment in his name for minority students in the School of Education.

The Rev. Wayne Johnson Community and Civic Award recognizes exceptional service by Ole Miss alumni through commitment to their community in a civic, ministerial or volunteer capacity. An Oxford native, Johnson was instrumental in founding the Oxford Development Association.

Dr. Rashad Ali

This year’s recipients are Dr. Rashad Ali (BA chemistry and zoology 81, MD 85), Barbara L. Howard (BA biological science 92, MEd 94) and Reginald H. Turner (BBA 92).

Ali, who has more than 27 years of experience as an OB-GYN physician and is a highly regarded surgeon, is chief executive officer of the Family Health Center of Laurel. He continues to show his concerns for health care in Mississippi by collaborating with the nonprofit housing organization Community Connections Inc., and has contributed more than $250,000 to ensure that quality housing is available to qualified residents of south central Mississippi.

Barbara L. Howard

Howard is founder and director of Hearts Desire Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides educational resources to the community. One of her major projects is the Books to Prisons Ministry, where she provides Christian literature to prison libraries for incarcerated men and women. She is an assistant professor at Jackson State University and author of the books “Wounded Sheep: How to Calm a Storm” and “Wounded Sheep: How to Heal Church Hurt.”

Turner has more than two decades of experience in academia as a professor, academic dean, chief academic officer, chief student affairs officer and, ultimately, as president of Westwood College-Northlake in Atlanta. He has earned numerous awards including Adjunct Faculty of the Year, Staff Member of the Year and Administrator of Year. Turner has been inducted into Morehouse College’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. International Collegium of Scholars and awarded a congressional medal for Outstanding Community Service.

The Alumni Achievement Award recognizes Ole Miss alumni for exceptional achievement in their chosen professional field. This award acknowledges the entrepreneurial spirit, corporate prowess and dedication to succeed exemplified by alumni or former students.

Rose Jackson Flenorl (BAEd 79) and Markeeva Morgan (BSEE 01) are recipients of this award.

Morgan is a senior manager for avionics, guidance, navigation and control, and software at the Boeing Co. after serving nearly two decades in military and federal civil service. He is a PMI-certified project management professional who teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in management, leadership and organizational theory at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Morgan is pursuing a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington University.

The Celebrated Athlete Award recognizes former Ole Miss student-athletes or coaches for success in the field of athletics after their UM tenure. This year’s recipients are Peggie Gillom-Granderson (BSW 80), Terrence Metcalf (BBA 16) and Robert “Ben” Williams (BBA 76).

Gillom-Granderson led the Ole Miss women’s basketball team to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women State Tournament Championships in 1978 and ’79. She is Ole Miss’ all-time leading scorer with 2,486 points and rebounder with 1,271 rebounds, and also served 16 seasons as an assistant coach to Van Chancellor. As an assistant coach for USA Basketball, she helped guide the 1999 U.S. Pan American Games team to a bronze medal and the 2000 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

Metcalf, a fan favorite on the Ole Miss Rebel football team from 1997 to 2001, is assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Pearl River Community College. He was selected the 2001 SEC Most Valuable Lineman and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American in 2001. Metcalf was inducted in the Class of 2017 SEC Legends. After playing seven seasons with the Chicago Bears, he finished his pro career in 2010 with the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

Usefulness of Math Topic of February Science Cafe

Posted on: February 15th, 2018 by erabadie

UM professor Sandra Spiroff to discuss applications of mathematics

FEBRUARY 14, 2018 BY EDWIN B. SMITH

UM mathematics professor Sandra Spiroff explains complex mathematical equations in the classroom. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Communications

Practical uses for mathematical concepts is the topic for a monthly public science forum organized by the University of Mississippi Department of Physics and Astronomy.

The spring semester’s second meeting of the Oxford Science Cafe is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 20) at Lusa Pastry Cafe, 2305 West Jackson Ave. Sandra Spiroff, UM associate professor of mathematics, will discuss “When are we ever going to use this? Some applications of mathematics.” Admission is free.

“In 1623, Galileo Galilei wrote, ‘Philosophy is written in this grand book (meaning the universe), which stands continually open to our gaze, but cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and interpret the characters in which it is written,’” Spiroff said. “‘It is written in the language of mathematics, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it.’”

Spiroff’s 40-minute presentation will explore the mathematics behind some of our everyday experiences.

“In addition, we will use technology to model the behavior we wish to understand,” she said.

Spiroff earned her doctorate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research area is commutative algebra, which includes the study of rings, modules, fields, groups, and the maps and invariants associated to these constructions.

She holds a five-year grant from the Simons Foundation and is an advocate for underrepresented groups in the study of mathematics, including women and minorities. Spiroff is organizing a research conference at the Banff International Research Station in Canada for the former and participating in national and regional conferences in support of the latter.

Active in the university’s globalization efforts, Spiroff will be traveling to China with a UM delegation to pursue partnerships with universities in Beijing and beyond. She is vice president of the UM Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and faculty adviser of the American Mathematical Society Graduate Student Chapter.

For more information about Oxford Science Cafe programs, go to https://www.phy.olemiss.edu/oxfordsciencecafe. For more information about the Department of Physics and Astronomy, visit https://www.olemiss.edu/depts/physics_and_astronomy or call 662-915-5311.

UM Museum Unveils 2017 Keepsake Ornament

Posted on: November 27th, 2017 by erabadie

This year’s design features popular 19th century scientific instrument

NOVEMBER 16, 2017 BY STAFF REPORT

The UM Museum’s 2017 keepsake ornament featuring Barlow’s Planetarium is available for purchase. Submitted photo

The University of Mississippi Museum has unveiled its 17th annual keepsake ornament, a design featuring the Barlow’s Planetarium, part of the collection of antique scientific instruments on display at the museum.

The planetarium, also known as an orrery, has a storied history with Ole Miss. Designer Thomas H. Barlow of Lexington, Kentucky, who created and sold several of these instruments to universities and museums throughout the United States, made the university’s orrery in 1854.

The ornaments alternate annually between highlights of the museum’s 20,000-object permanent collection, campus landmarks and sites around Oxford, said Robert Saarnio, museum director.

“This mid-19th century astronomical model occupies a place of great prominence in the museum’s exhibition galleries and is a much-beloved historical artifact of countless museum visitors,” Saarnio said. “All ornament sales proceeds directly support programs of the University Museum, and we are very grateful to those campus and community members for whom these collectibles are eagerly-awaited annual Museum Store offerings.”

In the late 1850s, Chancellor F.A.P. Barnard, who also served as chair and professor of mathematics, astronomy and natural philosophy, purchased the orrery for the university. The orrery and other scientific instruments were used in classrooms and laboratories until they became obsolete in the 1870s.

The planetarium aligns the planets based on a specific date. At the museum, the date is set to Nov. 7 1848, the day the university first opened its doors to students.

The Barlow’s Planetarium commemorative ornament is available for $25, plus tax. It can be purchased in the Museum Store or by phone with a credit card at 662-915-7073. A flat $7 shipping and handling fee will be added to all orders to be shipped within the 48 contiguous states, and all sales are final.

Orders must be placed by Dec. 13 to arrive in time for Christmas Day.

Collectible ornaments from previous years still available in the Museum Store include the Old Skipwith House, Brandt Memory House, Ventress Hall, Lafayette County Courthouse, Oxford City Hall, the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Jersey, Theora Hamblett House, Theora Hamblett’s “Christmas Trees,” Walk of Champions, Oxford’s Double Decker Bus and the Herakles Neck Amphora. All previous year’s ornaments are $20, plus tax.

Museum members and Friends of the Museum receive a 10 percent discount on all merchandise in the Museum Store.

The University Museum is at the corner of University Avenue and Fifth Street. Holiday Hours for the Museum Store are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, and 10a.m.-6p.m. Saturdays.
Museum gallery visiting hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays.

For information about events and exhibits, visit https://museum.olemiss.edu/.

Two UM Faculty Win Inaugural National Science Foundation Fellowships

Posted on: September 20th, 2017 by erabadie

Ryan Garrick and Saša Kocić among 30 nationwide selected for competitive research program

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 BY EDWIN SMITH

Ryan Garrick, UM assistant professor of biology, examines insects as part of his research on the effects of environmental change. Photo by Robert Jordan/UM Communications

Two University of Mississippi professors have been honored for innovative research in their respective fields by being selected for fellowships in a competitive new National Science Foundation program.

Ryan Garrick, assistant professor of biology, and Saša Kocić, assistant professor of mathematics, have been chosen for funding under NSF’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. The Research Infrastructure Improvement Track 4 program is designed to help junior investigators in EPSCoR-eligible states develop career-spanning collaborations through extended visits to other premiere research institutions around the nation.

Garrick will conduct his fellowship at Ohio State University, while Kocić will visit the University of California at Irvine.

Of 136 proposals considered by NSF in this competition, only 30 awards were made across 27 universities, for a funding rate of 22 percent. UM was among only three institutions receiving two fellowship awards in the competition.

Both recipients said they were pleasantly surprised by their selection.

“After many attempts to secure federal funding to support research and career development, during a time that appears to be a particularly difficult period for faculty doing basic research, finally having some success was a relief,” Garrick said.

“This award is certainly very special to me,” Kocić said. “Many people at University of Mississippi and beyond have helped me in that process. I am extremely grateful to all of them and glad that all that effort was not in vain.”

Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter congratulated Garrick and Kocić for their achievements.

“We are so pleased to see the success of our researchers in this highly competitive program,” Vitter said. “Their tremendous achievements help drive discovery and creativity on our campus and enhance our undergraduate and graduate education.

“I congratulate Drs. Garrick and Kocić for how their innovation, collaboration and research bolster UM’s role as a Carnegie R1 highest research activity institution.”

The awards reflect the promise shown by both researchers’ work, said Josh Gladden, interim vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs.

“That the university received not just one, but two awards in this crowded competition is especially gratifying and shows that the National Science Foundation sees the same great potential that we do in the research careers of both Dr. Garrick and Dr. Kocić,” Gladden said.

“NSF EPSCoR funding has helped to launch the careers of many successful researchers at Ole Miss and across the state, with more than $80 million in research infrastructure investments in Mississippi over the last 25 years.”

Each institution was allowed to submit only three applications. Garrick and Kocić each discussed the scope and goals of his particular research project.

Saša Kocić, UM assistant professor of mathematics, is continuing his study of dynamic systems and mathematical physics, which promises to help scientists better understand such diverse phenomena as heart function and stock market fluctuations. Photo by Thomas Graining/UM Communications

“Biodiversity, or the variety of species in an ecosystem, is declining in many areas of the world due to environmental change,” said Garrick, principal investigator on a project examining “Enhancement of technical and analytical skills for the application of genomics to research in molecular ecology and comparative phylogeography.”

With $110,413 over the next two years, he will collaborate with colleagues at Ohio State to understand how the numbers and genetic variability of four invertebrate species found in southern Appalachian forests change as their environment changes.

“This fellowship will enable research using genetic techniques to study how organisms have responded to past and present environmental change,” he said. “It will also generate new opportunities for sustained collaboration with the host institution.

“Findings will advance understanding of whether whole communities have the ability to respond to environmental change together, or as individual species. This information will aid in conservation and management of U.S. forest fauna.”

Kocić is the principal investigator on a project focusing on “Sharp arithmetic transitions and universality in one-frequency quasiperiodic systems.”

With his $161,681 two-year grant, he and a graduate student will initiate a new collaboration between the university and UC-Irvine, in particular with Svetlana Jitomirskaya, one of the top experts in dynamical systems and mathematical physics. The project will develop and apply state-of-the-art tools for studying dynamical systems, which will allow mathematicians to obtain new results by looking at systems at different spatial and time scales, revealing shared properties.

“Dynamical systems is a large area of mathematics that concerns the evolution of different systems and phenomena, ranging from the motion of celestial bodies to heart function to fluctuations in the stock market,” Kocić said. “The project is centered around a powerful tool called renormalization that acts as a ‘microscope’ and allows one to look at systems at different spatial and time scales, revealing properties of the systems that are universal, that is, shared by a large class of systems.”

There is a broad range of phenomena where these tools have led to an explanation. The transition between the liquid and gas phases – boiling and evaporation – is one familiar example.

A particular focus of this project will be on sharp transitions and universality in two types of systems: relatively simple systems that underlie more complicated systems, and systems arising from quantum physics, Kocić said.

“This project will lead to advancement of both areas, strengthen the research program in dynamical systems and mathematical physics at UM, and enhance its undergraduate and graduate education,” he said.

“This collaboration will be very important not only for my career and the field of research, but also for my current and future students, our dynamical systems group, the mathematics department and the whole of the University of Mississippi.”

Garrick’s fellowship is funded by NSF grant 1738817; Kocic’s by NSF grant 1738834.

The mission of EPSCoR is to enhance research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions – states, territories or commonwealths – by strengthening STEM capacity and capability. EPSCoR envisions its targeted jurisdictions as being recognized as strong contributors to the national and global STEM research enterprise.