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Within Their Reach: McNair Scholarships Help Disadvantaged Students

Posted on: October 16th, 2019 by erabadie

For almost 25 years, UM program has supported, empowered minorities seeking doctoral degrees

Donald Cole (left), former UM mathematics professor and special assistant to the chancellor, attends a research conference with UM McNair Scholars Victoria Robinson and Skylyn Irby, and Sandra Spiroff, an associate professor of mathematics at UM. Submitted photo

OCTOBER 16, 2019 BY EDWIN B. SMITH

Before Victoria Robinson became a student at the University of Mississippi, no one in her family had ever furthered their education beyond a bachelor’s degree. The idea of going to graduate school and pursuing a terminal degree wasn’t even on her radar.

Fortunately for Robinson, among the University of Mississippi community are many caring faculty who go above and beyond to make sure each student is provided the resources and relationships to help them accomplish anything. For the Beaumont native, Donald Cole was that person.

The recently retired mathematics professor and special assistant to the chancellor recognized Robinson’s potential and informed her about the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, which helps high-achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds and empowers them to pursue doctoral studies.

“I was hesitant at the thought of applying, but the McNair program alleviated most of that stress,” said Robinson, who completed her mathematics degree at UM and is a doctoral student at the University of Alabama. “After talking to several of my classmates who did not participate in the McNair program, I soon realized how much they (McNair) had prepared me and how I could not have succeeded without them.”

By being involved in research and other scholarly activities, 44 McNair Scholars have already attained either their Ph.D. or Ed.D. Thirty-five others are working on doctoral degrees.

Skylynn Irby, another UM mathematics alumna, had never attended scholarly conferences before becoming a McNair Scholar. She is enrolled in the same program as Robinson at Alabama.

“With support from the McNair program, I attended conferences to present my research, and this allowed me to improve my presentation skills and ability to communicate technical material,” the Batesville native said. “I also received many opportunities to participate in conference networking events and visit several schools before deciding on a graduate program.

“Lastly, I received the opportunity to give back by connecting with other students and encouraging them to apply for McNair.”

Another UM McNair Scholar seeking her advanced degree is Stephanie Poiroux, of Pascagoula. The graduate, who is pursuing the master’s degree in sociology at UM, said she felt welcomed into the program that invested in her fulfilling her potential.

“Before I became a McNair Scholar, I had no idea how I was going to be able to attend graduate school, nor the steps I needed to take in order to get there,” Poiroux said. “Along with providing me with research and presentation opportunities, the McNair Program also provided resources and information to help me apply and prepare for graduate school, such as advice on how to talk to and connect with professors and GRE preparatory classes.”

Irby, Poiroux and Robinson are all great students achieving great things, but that is exactly what the program’s administrator wants to see on a campus that strives to recognize need and emphasizes the value of personal connections.

“The McNair Scholars program is a high-achievers program that has met or exceeded its goals and objectives for the past 24 years,” said Demetria Hereford, program director. “What is happening this year is what we think should happen every year.

“Although I am extremely proud of our scholars, I see this as normal phenomena – what we are supposed to do.”

The McNair program could set a new record for the highest percentage of bachelor’s degree recipients being enrolled in a post-baccalaureate program by the fall term of the academic year immediately following the completion of the degree.

Nine McNair scholars graduated from UM, Rust College, Tougaloo College, Mississippi Valley State University and Alcorn State University in May. Eight of those nine students were slated to begin graduate school in August. At 88 percent, this represents the highest percentage of McNair scholars to enroll directly in a graduate program to date, exceeding the 50 percent proposed in the grant.

Along that same trajectory, 86 percent of the McNair scholars have participated in scholarly activities and/or research, again exceeding the 62 percent proposed grant objective.

The U.S. Department of Education measures the program’s success via a yearly data report. While records won’t be official until December, preliminary figures indicate that the program will exceed the proposed grant percentages moreso than in the past.

As Cole and Hereford reached out to UM students and helped them make personal connections that led to lifelong relationships, many McNair alumni are employed as scientists and educators, trickling down and imparting their knowledge to others.

The McNair Scholars Program is a model program that other programs/efforts on campus with similar goals can learn a lot from, said Katrina Caldwell, vice chancellor for diversity and community engagement.

“Demetria and Dr. (Donald) Cole have built a ‘best practice’ program, because they have been dedicated to maintaining excellence in this program,” Caldwell said. “Even though the grant sets expectations for success, it has been their work that has guaranteed that our campus continues to not only reach this significant benchmark, but they have exceeded it.”

A physicist and astronaut, McNair graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina A&T State University with a bachelor’s degree in physics. At age 26, he earned his doctorate in laser physics from M.I.T. McNair soon became a recognized expert in laser physics while working as a staff physicist with Hughes Research Laboratory. He was selected by NASA for the space shuttle program in 1978 and was a mission specialist aboard the 1984 flight of the shuttle Challenger.

After his death in the Challenger explosion in January 1986, Congress provided funding for the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program to encourage college students with backgrounds similar to McNair’s to enroll in graduate studies. This program is dedicated to the high standards of achievement inspired by his life.

For more information on the UM McNair Scholars Program, visit https://www.olemiss.edu/programs/McNair.

Rediscovering Ramanujan

Posted on: September 25th, 2019 by erabadie

In his forthcoming Dalrymple Lecture, renowned mathematician Ken Ono finds inspiration for the future of math in the past

Ken Ono, Thomas Jefferson Professor of Mathematics at the University of Virginia.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 BY ABIGAIL MEISEL

How do we save the Earth from the disastrous effects of climate change? There’s no app for that, but there is a theorem—of sorts.

“The future of humankind depends on people who can solve complex problems, and for that we need to cultivate science talent,” said Ken Ono, the Thomas Jefferson Professor of Mathematics at the University of Virginia. “To find the best science talent, we have to search for undiscovered talent, people approaching our most challenging problems in novel ways.”

For Ono, this statement is a demonstrable truth. And to prove it, he points to a two-time college dropout whose theories have propelled generations of scientists forward: Srinivasa Ramanujan.

On October 10, Ono will visit UM to deliver the 22nd Dalrymple Lecture in Mathematics: “Why Does Ramanujan Matter?”

The annual talk, presented by the UM Department of Mathematics, brings distinguished speakers to campus to discuss mathematics and mathematics research in language accessible to a general audience.

“Ramanujan’s work matters because it has formed the basis of number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions,” said Ono, who has become somewhat of an evangelist for the groundbreaking work of this self-taught Indian. “He intuitively found answers to problems that were regarded as impossible to solve by the greatest mathematicians of his day.

Born in 1887, when India was still under British colonial rule, Ramanujan was dismissed in his native country because he lacked formal education. To advance his work, and escape the cultural and political subjugation of the British, he emigrated to England at the invitation of famed mathematician G.H. Hardy, a professor at the University of Cambridge, with whom he had corresponded and shared his work. The two became collaborators until Ramanujan died an untimely death from tuberculosis in 1920. He was only 33 years old.

Perhaps his greatest legacy is unpublished work contained in three handwritten notebooks of proofs and equations that he left behind. To this day, mathematicians are continuing to confirm his findings.

“Ramanujan should be a household name like Einstein,” said Ono. “If Hardy hadn’t responded to his letters, he would have been lost to history.”

Ono underscored the importance of collaboration between these men of very different cultures.

“Countries need to collaborate,” said Ono. “They’ve become too polarized, and we need to work together to find the next generation of Ramanujans.

Another hurdle to finding those people, in Ono’s view, is the lure of the tech industry.

“Many kids start college with dreams of glory in science,” he said. “They want to make the world a better place, but then the realize they can make a quick buck.”

He added that the current educational system favors “over-testing instead of creativity.”

Ono has brought Ramanujan’s story not only to lecture halls but also to the screen.

He was an associate producer of a feature film about Ramanujan, The Man Who Knew Infinity (2016), starring Indian actor Dev Patel in the title role.

“Ken is one of the brightest lights in mathematics,” said James Reid, chair and professor of mathematics, who organized the Dalrymple Lecture. “We are thrilled to bring him to campus to share his joy of math and his message about how key math talent is to solving the major issues facing society.”

The Dalrymple Lecture will be held on Thursday, October 10th at 7 p.m. in the Jackson Avenue Center Auditorium A.

Fundraising Campaign Honors Cole

Posted on: August 29th, 2019 by erabadie

Endowment Recognizes UM Leader’s Positive Impact

Donald Cole (left), pictured here with state Institutions of Higher Learning Trustee Shane Hooper at a UM Commencement, is being honored with a named scholarship for his devoted work as a faculty member, administrator, mentor and advocate. The Cole scholarship will assist African American Studies majors and encourage them to get involved in the university and pursue progressive change across Mississippi.

AUGUST 28, 2019 BY ANGELA ATKINS

For 50 years, Donald Cole has made an impact at every stage of the University of Mississippi experience – as an undergraduate and graduate student, faculty member, administrator, mentor and advocate.

To honor his lifetime commitment, UM faculty, friends and alumni are working to establish the Don Cole Catalyst for Change Scholarship Endowment and have launched a fundraising campaign.

Ethel Young Scurlock, director of the African American Studies program and senior faculty fellow of the Luckyday Residential College, is the driving force behind the effort to fund scholarships in Cole’s honor. She said she’s amazed at the power of Cole’s 50-year legacy at Ole Miss.

“Every time he’s been here, he’s been a difference maker,” Young-Scurlock said. “He’s been able to organically create change and to build friendships throughout the state. That kind of leadership is rare, and we hope that will be a model for what our students will do in the 21st century.”

The Cole scholarship will support students majoring in African American Studies and encourage them to pursue a double major, get involved in the university and work toward progressive change across Mississippi, just as Cole did.

Cole arrived on the UM campus as a freshman in 1968, just six years after James Meredith integrated the university. Progress was still needed in the campus environment to help all students feel welcome. Cole, as he did throughout his life, jumped in to make a difference. As a result of his activism – which culminated in his arrest in 1970 for staging a protest during a campus concert – the university expelled Cole along with seven others.

After that experience, many people would have broken their ties with Ole Miss. But 15 years later, Cole returned to the university to earn a doctorate in mathematics. After working in the private sector and as a professor, he came back to UM again in 1993 as the assistant dean in the Graduate School and associate professor of mathematics.

During Chancellor Robert Khayat’s tenure, Cole served as assistant to the chancellor for multicultural affairs. When Cole retired in January 2019, he was assistant provost and an associate professor of mathematics.

Vice Chancellor Emerita Gloria Kellum worked closely with Cole in her 43 years at UM and said he advocated for all students, finding scholarship money and working to attract and retain diverse students and faculty members.

“He wanted to show the world that this university is serious about trying to provide everyone with opportunity,” Kellum said. “I watched him really open that door for a lot of people. He understood what it was like to not have justice as a civil right.”

Young-Scurlock said the Cole scholarship will help attract young people who seek an African American Studies background, understand socio-political engagement, and will go on to careers in business, politics, medicine, law, education, public and international policy, and beyond. Each recipient will take a course on the civil rights history of the university in which they will learn about the men and women who paved the way for them – including Cole.

“I think students get such a deeper commitment and understanding of what it means to be a part of the University of Mississippi when they understand what it took to make this institution what it is,” Young-Scurlock said. “Talking to students about Coolidge Ball, our first black athlete, talking to students about Cole, who made a difference by protesting and coming back and serving as an administrator, and even looking at the struggles of (Chancellor Emeritus) Robert Khayat, they understand that the University of Mississippi did not come out of nowhere, but it came out of struggle.

“Then our students understand that the struggles they have at 19 or 20 years old are important. Those experiences prepare them to be some of our top leaders in the nation. That’s our mission here.”

To support the Don Cole Catalyst for Change Scholarship Endowment, individuals and organizations can send a check to the University of Mississippi Foundation, with the fund noted in the memo line, to 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655 or give online at Ignite Ole Miss.

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.

Private Gift Preserves Ambiance of Faulkner’s Famed Rowan Oak

Posted on: July 10th, 2019 by erabadie

Historic Preservation

Sandy Black sits in the office of William Faulkner’s home.

JULY 8, 2019 BY BILL DABNEY

William Faulkner’s desk, typewriter and resting bed are fixtures in the office of the late Nobel Prize-winning author’s Oxford, Mississippi, home. Peering in, it’s easy to imagine the writer, pipe in hand, contemplating his next sentence.

Now, one of his biggest fans is preserving that ambiance.

“I can’t imagine that the university didn’t already own all of this furniture and it was just a shock to me that it could leave, that they could just pick it up in a truck and take it away. I had no idea,” said Sandra Miller Black of Madison, Mississippi, whose recent $500,000 gift helped the University of Mississippi ensure that all of Faulkner’s furnishings would remain in the home.

Faulkner’s house, outbuildings and land, affectionately named Rowan Oak by the author himself in 1931, were purchased by the university in 1974 and added to its University Museum and Historic Houses. But all furnishings remained the property of Faulkner’s extended family.

Until now.

“My husband has been very generous in giving me monthly allowances. With these, I bought the children’s birthday gifts, household supplies and paid some bills, that kind of thing,” said Black, who is married to John Black, a UM Foundation board member.

“But I always had a nice amount left over and I invested it early on in Apple, Google and Amazon. It grew and grew, and I was able to accumulate enough money to be able to make this gift.”

Black was inspired to affix Faulkner’s furniture to his home in perpetuity by Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks who told her of the need. So his request plus her longtime love of the author’s work and home were a good fit.

“We are so grateful to Sandy for her gift which will ensure that generations of Faulkner fans continue to visit Rowan Oak and be able enjoy his historic home in its entirety,” Sparks said. “This is good for Rowan Oak and it’s good for Ole Miss, Oxford and the state of Mississippi.”

Black fell in love with Faulkner’s home in 1989 when she and a group of friends began attending the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha conference — a celebration of the author’s work that draws hundreds of visitors to Oxford, Mississippi, from all over the world. Annually, Rowan Oak draws upwards of 60,000 visitors to its house and grounds from all 50 states and more than 50 foreign countries.

“We had a fabulous time,” Black said. “We did everything. We went to Bailey’s woods and had the picnics and, of course, the discussions and seminars were spectacular. We all were English majors so we really enjoyed that and being together.”

Black never met Faulkner. She saw him shopping once when she was a student at Ole Miss but feels she knows him through his stream-of-consciousness writing style. Of all his books, some of which she has read several times, her favorites are “Absalom Absalom,” “Go Down Moses” and the Snopes trilogy.

“I love his work. It seems to me that he writes like all of us think. It’s spidery and it goes off in all sorts of directions at the same time,” said Black, who has lectured on Faulkner to freshman English students at Holmes Junior College in Jackson, Mississippi.

“I would recommend that the female students read ‘A Rose for Emily’ because I knew that everyone would like that and then for the male students I would recommend ‘The Bear’ – it’s stunning for guys.”

Sandy met her husband, John Black, at a fraternity rush party at Ole Miss. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Ole Miss in 1961 and a master’s degree in accountancy in 1962. In college, he was a Taylor Medalist and member of Omicron Delta Kappa academic honorary and Phi Delta Theta fraternity. They were married in 1963 and have three adult children and eight grandchildren.

Now retired, John Black owned HCM Inc. of Jackson, an organization that primarily operates nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Sandy Black said, in addition to reading books by Faulkner and J.R.R. Tolkien, she enjoys gardening, cooking, playing bridge and collecting regional art. Most recently, the couple has helped their son, Johnny Black, campaign for a seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

In 2015, the Blacks made an $11 million gift to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the largest private gift received by UMMC in a single year on record. Since then, the Blacks also made a major gift to renovate the guest house at the chancellor’s home on campus and they consistently support Ole Miss Athletics.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with Sandy’s gift to the university and we greatly appreciate her vision in desiring that future generations of Faulkner fans fall in love with Rowan Oak as she has,” said Robert Saarnio, director of the University Museum and Historic Houses.

Curator Bill Griffith agreed: “Rowan Oak without its furniture would simply be Faulkner’s house. Thanks to Sandy Black, the property will remain his home.”

Home to Faulkner and his family for over 40 years, Rowan Oak was originally built in 1844, and stands on over 29 acres of land just south of the Square and campus in Oxford. The house is open most days and the grounds are open year-round, from dawn to dusk. There’s no fee to visit the grounds, but admission to tour the house is $5 cash.

For information on supporting culture and arts at Ole Miss, contact Rob Jolly, development officer, at 662-915-3085 or jolly@olemiss.edu. To make a gift, visit give.olemiss.edu.

Supporting STEM

Posted on: June 4th, 2019 by erabadie

Estate Gift to Support Active Learning Facility

Participants in the Mississippi Bridge STEM Program take notes in a class led by UM mathematics instructor Kelvin Holmes.

JUNE 4, 2019 BY BILL DABNEY

A recent unrestricted gift to the University of Mississippi from the estate of Maurice Lucas Kellum of Tupelo, Mississippi, is being directed to support construction of a leading student-centered science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) building on the Oxford campus.

University leaders have a vision for the 200,000-square-foot-plus building to be an important tool to bolster science literacy in Mississippi by providing active learning classrooms and state-of-the-art labs to prepare STEM majors and K-12 teachers of those subjects. The building will help address the critical need to increase STEM graduates and support growth in the state, regional and national tournament.

Kellum’s gift of $187,025 will help offset building costs associated with the $150 million project, which is poised to be the crown jewel of the university’s Science District along University Avenue.

Maurice Lucas Kellum

Kellum, who died in October 2017, was married for 56 years to the late Dr. William Carl “Bill” Kellum Sr., a 1950 UM graduate. He was the first board-certified internal medicine specialist in Tupelo and served as the chief of staff of the North Mississippi Medical Center. He was also a U.S. Army veteran who served in World War II.

Maurice Lucas Kellum dedicated her life to her family and her church. The Kellums had six children, 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren – several of whom are Ole Miss graduates.

UM Provost Noel Wilkin believes Mississippi’s future workforce projections suggest a great need for professionals with degrees in STEM fields.

“Our science facilities at Ole Miss have served us well for decades and we are now faced with space needs for a student enrollment that has soared in the last decade and a half,” he said. “In addition, we need academic spaces that encourage more engagement; the new facility will focus on active learning spaces that better facilitate the work of students and faculty members.”

“The new STEM building is designed as a premier educational facility that will allow us to expand and enhance our ability to prepare students to become recognized professionals in these fields.”

In addition to the STEM facility, the UM Science District includes Coulter Hall (chemistry), Thad Cochran Research Center (National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and School of Pharmacy); Faser Hall (pharmacy); Shoemaker Hall (biology); Hume Hall (mathematics); Carrier, Anderson and Brevard halls (engineering), the Kennon Observatory and Lewis Hall (physics and astronomy); and the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence.

The planned UM science, technology, engineering and mathematics building will be an important tool to bolster science literacy in Mississippi by providing active learning classrooms and state-of-the-art labs to prepare STEM majors and K-12 teachers of those subjects. The 200,000-plus-square-foot facility is poised to be the crown jewel of the university’s Science District along University Avenue.

A major pedestrian artery through the Science District is to be named in honor of the Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, which has contributed nearly $54 million to the university, including funds for STEM building construction. Ford Way will run between University Avenue and All American Drive just north of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, which includes the location for the new STEM building.

Kellum’s estate gift awarded her membership in the 1848 Society, named for the year the university opened the Lyceum doors to its first students. The society recognizes alumni and friends who provide for the university through planned and deferred gifts.

For information on including Ole Miss in your estate, contact Byron Liles, senior director of gift planning, at byron@olemiss.eduor 662-915-7601.

UM Student Wins Coveted Goldwater Scholarship

Posted on: May 8th, 2019 by erabadie

Addison Roush is the university’s 14th Goldwater Scholar

Addison Roush, an Oxford native and junior in the UM Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, is the university’s 14th Goldwater Scholar. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

MAY 8, 2019 BY EDWIN B. SMITH

A University of Mississippi chemistry major who is pursuing research treatment methods that he hopes will eventually combat Alzheimer’s disease has been awarded a prestigious and coveted Barry S. Goldwater Scholarship.

Addison Roush, an Oxford native and junior in the university’s Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College becomes the 14th Ole Miss student, and the first since 2012, to receive a Goldwater Scholarship. Roush, who has an emphasis in biochemistry and a minor in mathematics, also is committed to providing leadership and mentorship to Lafayette County High School students.

The Goldwater Scholarship is the oldest most prestigious science scholarship available to undergraduates and recognizes college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming the next generation of research leaders in their fields.

“I feel extremely honored to have been recognized for my work in the sciences, and I am very grateful to the Goldwater Scholarship Board for this recognition and to Mr. Barry M. Goldwater for founding such a wonderful award,” Roush said. “There is truly nothing quite like receiving an award just for doing what you love.”

In his research with Joshua Sharp, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Roush is developing new techniques to simplify the study of protein structures and their interactions. With data yielded through Roush’s research, scientists will gain a useful new tool with many applications.

He will continue building his knowledge this summer through a research training program where he will work alongside Dr. William DeGrado at the University of California at San Francisco.

In the long term, Roush aims to continue his work by developing ways to visualize protein-folding events as they occur. He hopes to apply the knowledge he gains to help combat Alzheimer’s disease and prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

“I will continue to work with Dr. Sharp to further develop methods useful for performing protein structural studies,” Roush said. “I will be working with Dr. DeGrado to study the interaction between amyloid beta, a peptide that is strongly associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and TREM2, a potent genetic risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease, using cross-linking mass spectrometry.”

Sharp said Roush’s intellectual curiosity is unmatched among the undergraduate students he has worked with and exemplifies the attitude faculty members hope to nurture in Ole Miss students.

“Addison is driven by an intense desire to know, and moreover, to find out what’s next,” Sharp said. “When presented with a problem, Addison displays an intensity of thought, a capacity for self-motivated scientific exploration and a rare ability to find and ask the next important question in the field.

“His visits to my office to discuss his research are a constant delight, with Addison having new and productive ideas at every turn.”

Roush’s promising methodology and protocols through his independent exploration of the research problem continue to have a substantial impact on the group’s future research. His findings are being prepared for submission for publication and he will be the first author on the manuscript.

“I fully intend to pursue a Ph.D. in biophysics or a related field immediately after graduation, but I will likely not know where that will occur until this time next year,” Roush said. “Regardless of where I end up for graduate school, my goal is to study protein misfolding disorders and to continue my technique development work for these applications.

“I am particularly interested in both Alzheimer’s disease and prion diseases, such as spongiform encephalopathies. My hope is to eventually develop treatment methods that combat both of these disease classes.”

Roush said he discovered his love of chemistry while taking organic chemistry and changed his major from pharmacy to biochemistry as a result, even though it meant taking a fifth year to finish.

“Because of the nature of the (Goldwater) scholarship, I feel as if my career goals have been validated,” Roush said. “Academic chemistry research can be an extremely difficult field to break into, especially if one hopes to eventually work at a top institution as I do.

“Because of this, it is a supreme honor to have my plans for a career in research be recognized by such a prestigious organization.”

Along with the recognition of being named a Goldwater Scholar, selected students also receive $7,500. For the 2019 competition, more than 5,000 applications were submitted from 443 academic institutions, and 493 students were named Goldwater Scholars.

“We are extremely proud to count Addison Roush as one of the top biochemistry students in the country and happy the Goldwater Foundation recognizes the research excellence that occurs at the University of Mississippi,” said Tim Dolan, director of the UM Office of National Scholarship Advisement. “Addison has shown his commitment to research as well as to mentoring the next generation of science leaders.

“The Office of National Scholarship Advisement enjoys working with all students, but especially with Mississippi natives who demonstrate through their research and civic engagement that the University of Mississippi provides a rich environment for learning and that our students prove they are equal to their peers across the country.”

Roush’s previous achievements include membership in Phi Kappa Phi national honor society, being named a National Merit Scholar finalist and Early Entry 1 Classmate of the Year in the School of Pharmacy. He serves as president for the Ole Miss Section of the Student Members of the American Chemical Society.

Ten Seniors Inducted into UM Hall of Fame

Posted on: April 8th, 2019 by erabadie

Recipients honored for service, achievement and potential for success

APRIL 6, 2019 BY EDWIN B. SMITH

The 2019 University of Mississippi Hall of Fame. Pictured are (front row, from left) Blair Wortsmith, of Little Rock, Arkansas; Makala McNeil, of Grenada; Mallie Imbler, of Tupelo; Jaz Brisack, of Oxford; Skylyn Irby, of Batesville; Randon Hill, of Oxford; (top row from left) UM Provost Noel Wilkin; UM Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Brandi Hephner LaBanc; Jarvis Benson, of Grenada; Levi Bevis, of Florence, Alabama; Elam Miller, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Jacob Ferguson, of Randolph; UM Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks and UM Assistant Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students Melinda Sutton Noss. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services.

Ten University of Mississippi seniors have been inducted into the university’s 2018-19 Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors afforded students at UM.

The inductees were honored Friday (April 5) in a ceremony at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Chosen by a committee in accordance with policy developed by the Associated Student Body, selections are based on outstanding contributions in all aspects of campus life.

This year’s Hall of Fame members are Jarvis Benson, of Grenada; Levi Bevis, of Florence, Alabama; Jaz Brisack, of Oxford; Jacob Ferguson, of Randolph; Randon Hill, of Oxford; Mallie Imbler, of Tupelo; Skylyn Irby, of Batesville; Makala McNeil, of Grenada; Elam Miller, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee; and Blair Wortsmith, of Little Rock, Arkansas.

“Hall of Fame is a fitting way to recognize the legacy that each of these students leaves at the University of Mississippi,” said Mindy Sutton Noss, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students. “Each of those selected for Hall of Fame has a record of scholarship and service to the university community and has had a positive impact while on the Ole Miss campus.”

The 10 students were among more than 200 Ole Miss seniors recognized for inclusion in Who’s Who Among Students at the University of Mississippi.

Jarvis Benson

Majoring in international studies and Spanish, Benson is a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Croft Institute for International Studies. A former president of the Black Student Union, he was an Associated Student Body senator, mentor for the Mississippi Outreach for Scholastic Talent, or MOST, program and an orientation leader. Benson served as a community organizer for Mississippi Votes and oversaw the largest voter registration effort in the state since the Freedom Summer of 1964.

Levi Bevis

Bevis, pursuing a public policy major, is a member of the Honors College. He served in several roles over the course of his education, including president of the Columns Society and Forward Mississippi, an organization he helped found. A member of UM College Democrats, Bevis served as a legislative intern in Washington, D.C., last summer with U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. He has held several positions with the Associated Student Body and been involved with many bipartisan efforts on campus.

Jaz Brisack

A general studies major with minors in public policy leadership, journalism and English, Brisack was named a Truman Scholar and a Rhodes Scholar in 2018. She served as president of the College Democrats, competed on the UM Debate Team and co-taught an Honors College course on labor history. Brisack is also a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, a labor organizer who worked on the United Auto Workers’ campaign to unionize Nissan and a volunteer at the Pinkhouse, Mississippi’s only abortion clinic.

Jacob Ferguson

Ferguson is a double English and history major. An Honors College student and member of the Columns Society, he has served on the executive committee for the Honors College Student Ambassadors. Ferguson also was an orientation leader and served on the planning committee for the university’s TEDx event.

Randon Hill

An English and Spanish double major, Hill is particularly involved in campus fraternity and sorority life. She served as president of the Tau Eta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., as well as the National Pan-Hellenic Council at UM. Hill has led and participated in dozens of service projects, both on campus and in the community. She also has been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.

Mallie Imbler

Imbler is completing a double major in public policy leadership and political science. A member of the Honors College and a Trent Lott Leadership Institute scholar, she is a Taylor Medal recipient and Phi Beta Kappa inductee. Imbler also completed an internship in the Office of Presidential Personnel at the White House last summer. She helped start and facilitate the growth of the new Future Alumni Network, and ultimately served as its president. Imbler also served as an Ole Miss Ambassador and a member of the Undergraduate Council and held leadership roles with Kappa Delta Sorority.

Skylyn Irby

Irby is a mathematics major in the Honors College. She has served as vice president of the UM Gospel Choir, and held several leadership positions in the Black Student Union and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. A Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Irby has been involved in the Associated Student Body, MOST Program and Bridge STEM Program through the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation.

Makala McNeil

A sociology and integrated marketing communications double major, McNeil served as an Associated Student Body senator. She also was an executive board member of Students Against Social Injustice and the campus chapter of the NAACP. McNeil has held several leadership positions in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., served as a mentor for the MOST Program and worked with the Office of Sustainability as an intern.

Elam Miller

Miller, a public policy leadership major, served as president of the Associated Student Body in his senior year and as vice president in his junior year, among other roles. An Honors College student, he has served on a number of university committees, including the Chancellor’s Standing Committee on Accessibility, the Strategic Planning Council and the Council of Academic Administrators.

Blair Wortsmith

Wortsmith is a managerial finance major and a member of the Honors College. She is also one of only eight women to be named both Most Beautiful and Miss University, and is the first out-of-state student to do so. Besides her pageant titles, Wortsmith has held leadership positions within Delta Delta Delta Sorority, Associated Student Body and MoneyThink. She is also a member of several honor societies.

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.