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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.”

Donor Increases Amount of Endowment Honoring His Parents

Posted on: November 20th, 2018 by erabadie

Clark Makes Contribution

Karan (left) and Eric Clark of Oxford, present a check to Sandra Guest, vice president of the UM Foundation. The gift adds a $10,000 contribution to the existing John S. and Mamie Craft Clark Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund at the University of Mississippi. Joining them is the 2018 Clark Scholar, Margaret Jordan, a freshman mathematics major from Pearl.

NOVEMBER 20, 2018 | STAFF REPORTS

Eric and Karan Clark of Oxford, Mississippi, recently made a $10,000 contribution to the John S. and Mamie Craft Clark Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund at the University of Mississippi.

Clark and his brothers, John B. Clark of Ridgeland, Mississippi, and the late Larry E. Clark of Brandon, Mississippi, all UM graduates, created the scholarship in the 1980s to honor their parents: the late John S. and Mamie Craft Clark of Taylorsville, Mississippi—both devoted, lifelong Rebel fans.

John S. Clark, who attended UM in the last 1920s and early 1930s, became a state representative from Smith County and a successful businessman, working in insurance, land and timber, and oil and gas. Mamie Clark was a respected community leader who was instrumental in the establishment of the Taylorsville library and museum.

The Clark Scholarship was established so that the principal of the fund will always remain intact and the earnings are used to fund academic scholarships. Recipients are chosen based on scholastic achievement, leadership ability and financial need.

To make gifts to the university, visit give.olemiss.edu for academics, www.umc.edu/givenow/ for the UM Medical Center, or givetoathletics.com/forward-together/ for Ole Miss Athletics.

Seven UM Freshmen Named 2018 Stamps Scholars

Posted on: September 11th, 2018 by erabadie

Students exemplify best of scholarship, community service and leadership

SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 BY EDWIN B. SMITH

The 2018 cohort of Stamps Scholars at UM is: (front row, from left) Grace Dragna, Grace Marion and Valerie Quach, and (back row) Shahbaz Gul, Jeffrey Wang, Gregory Vance and Richard Springer. Photo by Bill Dabney/UM Foundation

Seven members of the 2018 freshman class at the University of Mississippi have the distinction of being Stamps Foundation Scholars.

The Stamps Scholarships at Ole Miss are the most comprehensive, full scholarship packages for in-state and out-of-state students.

This year’s cohort is: Shahbaz W. Gul and Qihang “Jeffrey” Wang, of Oxford; Gregory Vance, of Jackson; Melvin “Richard” Springer IV, of Biloxi; Grace Louise Dragna, of Mandeville, Louisiana; Grace Elizabeth Marion, of Levittown, Pennsylvania; and Valerie Quach, of Austin, Texas.

“This gifted class of UM Stamps Scholars contributes to our exceptional track record of attracting and retaining the best students from around the state and the nation,” Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter said. “We’re very grateful for the generosity of the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation. Our partnership with them provides nationally competitive scholarships and enables extraordinary enrichment opportunities for high-achieving students.”

The 13th class of Stamps Scholars includes 230 top students from across the country at 30 partner universities. Selected from almost 300,000 applications, these scholars have diverse academic interests such as medicine, education, engineering, history, public policy, and visual and performing arts.

With its partner universities, the Stamps Foundation seeks students who demonstrate academic merit, strong leadership potential and exceptional character. Through the foundation, students have access to funding to engage in internships, undergraduate research or other professional development activities.

Potential Stamps scholars are invited to campus for a special weekend visit to get an in-depth look at the university’s academic programs as well as opportunities to interact with campus administrators and students.

An early entry pharmacy major, Gul is a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Chancellor’s Leadership Class. His desire is to become a physician and work in pediatrics.

Gul said he is grateful to be considered for the scholarship.

“I plan to use the enrichment funds provided by the Stamps Scholarship to attend scientific conferences, present my research and make connections with others doing similar studies,” Gul said. “I’m really honored and excited to be a part of this program.”

Wang said he sees the Stamps Scholarship at UM as the perfect balance between a fantastic, focused education and a big public school experience.

“The Stamps Scholarship Program provides big opportunities for networking with other student scholars,” said the biochemistry major and a member of the Honors College, Global Ambassadors and the American Chemical Society. “The Stamps family is very kind, courteous and professional, and I am very appreciative for all they’ve done.”

Wang’s goals include doing research in both analytical chemistry and environmental sciences.

The Stamps Scholarship is an extraordinary opportunity, said Vance, a biomedical engineering major with a possible minor in neuroscience. He is a member of the Honors College and University Choir.

“The Stamps Scholarship is an incredible way to help students see beyond the classroom,” he said. “I know we’ll have experiences here that we may never have again. I’m excited about meeting new people and learning about their cultures, all of which will make me a better person.”

Vance said he plans to pursue either medical school or an advanced biomedical engineering degree after graduation. He particularly would like to help treat children with neurological diseases.

Springer said he appreciated the Stamps family for contributing so much energy and effort to help students further their education and pursue their dreams.

“This phenomenal opportunity really means the world to me,” said the mathematics major who also plays trumpet in the Pride of the South marching band. He is a member of the Honors College, Chancellor’s Leadership Class and the Associated Student Body.

Springer’s goals are to study abroad, observe math education techniques and curricula in other countries and then return to help improve instruction in Mississippi and around the United States.

“I’ve been fortunate to have had great teachers all of my life,” Springer said. “I’m not sure yet if I want to become one, but I most definitely want to contribute in some way to the next generation of student scholars.”

Double majoring in economics and public policy leadership, Dragna is a member of the Honors College, Trent Lott Leadership Institute, Rebels Against Sexual Assault, Big Event and the Associated Student Body. She is grateful for the Stamps Scholarship, which is allowing her to attend the university.

“I was really shocked and excited that the school that I love so much was also interested in me,” Dragna said. “It’s really difficult for me to comprehend all of the opportunities I’ve been presented with this honor.”

Dragna said she is passionate about developing public policy in the area of women’s health care in rural areas She aspires to one day become a public servant with the federal government, making decisions for women’s health issues.

“I never could have gone to college without the generosity afforded me by the Stamps Family Scholarship Program,” said Marion, a journalism major with a minor in Spanish. “I am really excited to have been selected and to study at one of the best universities for journalism in the nation.”

Marion is a member of the Honors College and the Daily Mississippian editorial staff. Her goals include studying abroad, volunteering in the local community and continuing to attend national professional journalism conferences. Following graduation, she plans to either become a journalist or attend law school.

“I wasn’t expecting to get the Stamps Scholarship, and was very shocked and happy when I did,” said Quach, an early entry pharmacy major beginning her pre-med requirements. She is also a member of the Honors College and Chancellor’s Leadership Class. “The Stamps Foundation Scholarship Program forms a big, widespread community of student scholars and alumni, both internally and externally. I’m very honored to have been chosen to join it.”

Quach’s focus is on discovering new medications and/or procedures to improve treatment of Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, dementia and other neurological diseases.

“I’ve always been interested in health care, particularly geriatrics,” Quach said. “It’s my passion and I really enjoy doing it. Hopefully, my research will make a difference.”

Launched in 2006 by Georgia native Roe Stamps and his wife, Penny, the program has grown to include nearly 40 partner schools throughout the country.

To learn more about the Stamps Foundation, visit http://www.stampsfoundation.org/.

University Endowment Builds to All-time High of $715 Million

Posted on: August 29th, 2018 by erabadie

Strong investment returns, generosity of alumni and friends spurs growth

AUGUST 29, 2018 BY TINA H. HAHN

The University of Mississippi’s permanent endowment grew in its latest fiscal year to an all-time high, thanks to generous support from private donors. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

The University of Mississippi’s permanent endowment grew in its latest fiscal year to an all-time high of $715 million, thanks in part to the seventh consecutive year of new gifts of $100 million or more.

Private support totaled more than $115.8 million from 30,332 donors, giving the university essential resources to continue providing exceptional experiences for students, faculty, researchers, health care patients and providers, citizens served by outreach efforts, and visitors to all its campuses.

“Private investments are essential to fuel the work of our flagship university,” Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter said.

“The generosity of our alumni and friends ensures the university has resources needed to sustain and expand nationally prominent programs, and it enables us to deliver on our Flagship Forward strategic plan to improve learning, health and the quality of life in Mississippi. We remain grateful and inspired by their support.”

Total private giving to the Oxford campus grew by 6.5 percent over the previous year. Private support for academics increased more than 10 percent.

Eighty-seven percent of the private giving will provide current funding for donor-directed areas or directly affect those areas, while the remaining 13 percent was added to the university’s endowment, which also grew through returns on its investment strategies.

State support as a percentage of total revenues available for the university’s operations was 12.4 percent, making private support all the more crucial.

“Ole Miss alumni and friends are making major investments that transform students’ lives and continually enhance the quality of our programs,” said Charlotte Parks, vice chancellor for development. “Gifts to higher education also have a far-reaching impact on the economy of Mississippi and beyond, and the resources ultimately improve the quality of life for everyone.”

Healthy growth of the university’s endowment reflected the increase in funds invested and managed for the university, said Wendell Weakley, president and CEO of the UM Foundation. The endowment benefited from a 10 percent return on its investments.

Private giving helps UM maintain margins of excellence in a range of fields across all its campuses. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

“The endowment has now reached the historic high of $715 million, and we are on our way to realizing our long-range goal of a $1 billion endowment,” Weakley said. “We are extremely grateful to our donors who provide this permanent stable funding that can be counted on year after year and will advance the university’s mission for generations to come.”

Some of the largest gifts included: $5 million for the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College; $4.25 million for several programs including Bridge STEM, Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Initiative, College Ready Literacy, Center for Mathematics and Science Education, First Generation Scholars, Principal Corps, Upstart in the School of Dentistry and more; $4 million for new endowed chairs in geriatrics and palliative care at the Medical Center; $2 million for the College of Liberal Arts‘ departments of mathematics and sciences; $2 million for professorships in surgery and pulmonology at the Medical Center; $1.5 million for expansion of pediatric care at the Medical Center; and gifts of $1 million or more for a faculty chair in the Patterson School of Accountancy, the Flagship Constellations, Southern Foodways Alliance and the Forward Together campaign for Ole Miss athletics.

Likewise, the Medical Center’s Campaign for Children’s Hospital campaign enjoyed a third successful year with $10 million raised, which brings the total giving in the campaign to more than $66 million toward its ambitious $100 million goal. This campaign supports the construction and renovation of facilities and recruitment of 30-40 doctors and researchers.

Work has begun on a new seven-story, 340,000-square-foot tower adjacent to Batson Children’s Hospital that will also house the Children’s Heart Center.

Gifts to the campaign represent “an outpouring of love and support that runs deep and wide across all of Mississippi,” said Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “We have outstanding physicians and the best staff, and they have a passion for caring for patients. What we need now are the facilities to match that quality of care.”

Ole Miss athletics also enjoyed a successful FY 2018 both on the field and in investments made by alumni and friends. Cash gifts exceeded $30 million for the fourth consecutive year. The Forward Together campaign stands at $176 million, with plans to complete this $200 million campaign in FY 2019.

“Rebel Nation represents one of the most loyal fan bases in college sports,” said Keith Carter, deputy athletics director for development and resource acquisition. “The support shown year in and year out allows us to enhance our facilities to help our student-athletes compete at the highest level, while also providing a high-quality experience for our fans.

“We express our thanks to loyal donors and fans, and we look forward to the upcoming year as we close out the Forward Together campaign and begin new endeavors.”

To make gifts to the university, go to https://www.umfoundation.com/makeagift/ for academics, https://www.umc.edu/givenow/ for the UM Medical Center or http://givetoathletics.com/forward-together/ for Ole Miss athletics.

Bridge Program Giving Incoming Freshmen Preview of STEM

Posted on: July 6th, 2018 by erabadie

UM summer session courses offer future scholars head start on academic success

JULY 5, 2018 BY EDWIN B. SMITH

Participants in the 2017 Mississippi Bridge STEM Program meet in the Circle. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

Up to 25 incoming freshmen at the University of Mississippi are getting a head start on science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors, thanks to a summer session program.

The Mississippi Bridge STEM Program, funded by the Hearin Foundation under the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation, or LSAMP, began June 26 and runs through July 26. Participants are recent graduates of Oxford, Terry, Ridgeland, Houston, Southaven, Lamar, Germantown, Byhalia, South Panola, Hattiesburg, Pontotoc and Bartlett high schools, and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. Students are staying in Pittman Hall.

“All the students are required to take a math course of their choice and EDHE 105,” said Jacqueline Vinson, co-principal investigator of the Bridge STEM Program, EDHE 105 instructor and project coordinator for Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education, or IMAGE. “Students will also attend various seminars, including health promotion, career center, financial aid, counseling center, student organizations and so forth.”

IMAGE was born from the Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation, which is funded through Jackson State University by the National Science Foundation’s LSAMP. These programs began with the recognition that more could be done to stimulate growth in the number of STEM-educated professionals in the country.

“Congressional leaders recognized that we were coming up with a shortage of trained people in the sciences, and we were importing,” said Donald Cole, assistant provost and associate professor of mathematics. “Some forward-thinking individuals recognized that there was a need to increase the number of STEM graduates in the U.S., and they noticed that a big untapped market of that were minority students.”

IMAGE offers tuition stipends ranging from $500 to $1,000 that increase when students excel. One of the program’s major goals is to establish a sense of community among underrepresented students.

“Aside from supplementing students academically and financially, we’ve found that it’s very important to make sure they develop socially here as well,” Cole said. “We put quite a bit of emphasis on participation.

“The idea behind the summer retreat is to get away from the campus and to create an atmosphere for students to take the reins, show leadership. Out of that come our leaders.”

Together, the programs function as a pipeline, helping students transition through college and graduate school. Recent participants have gone on to earn doctorates across the STEM disciplines, and many have become leaders in their fields.

LSAMP supports sustained and comprehensive approaches that facilitate achievement of the long-term goal of increasing the number of students, particularly from populations underrepresented in STEM fields, who earn doctorates.

For more information about LSAMP, visit https://lsmamp.blog.olemiss.edu/.

UM Hosts Rebel Upward Bound Institute

Posted on: June 26th, 2018 by erabadie

Program helps 32 students from area schools better understand math

JUNE 26, 2018 BY EDWIN B. SMITH

Audra Parsons, a graduate student in the Center for Mathematics and Science Education, instructs RUBI students during a recent classroom session. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Communications

Thirty-two students from area schools benefited from a new summer math program at the University of Mississippi.

The Rebel Upward Bound Institute, which ran June 1-22, was conducted by UM’s Department of Mathematics and the Center for Mathematics and Science Education. The outreach project, affiliated with the federally funded education program Upward Bound, met on Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Jackson Avenue Center, Room B01. Participants were rising freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors from Bruce, Calhoun City, Coffeeville and Vardaman high schools.

“The program was created for underserved communities to have an opportunity to expand their understanding of mathematics,” said Audra Polk of Mobile, Alabama, a master’s student in the CMSE who served as RUBI’s event organizer and an institute instructor. “We are focusing on critical-thinking skills and mathematical perseverance in problem solving, which are important in any higher-level math course.”

Each session focused on a different aspect of mathematical knowledge. Topics included algebra, geometry, probability and statistics.

UM faculty serving as instructors in the program included James Reid, chair and professor of mathematics; Laura Sheppardson, associate professor and associate chair of mathematics; and Thái Hoàng Lê, assistant professor of mathematics and co-lead instructor of the institute. Michael McCrory, an assistant professor of mathematics at Blue Mountain College, was the other co-lead instructor.

“Summer programs like this keep students engaged in math and give them a head start on the fall semester,” said McCrory, who earned his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. in mathematics from UM. “We try to keep it fun and engaging while remaining educational.”

The students said they enjoyed RUBI.

“I came because I wanted to begin preparing for college,” said Marissa Petitgout, a sophomore from Bruce High School. “It’s taking me out of my comfort zone. I’m learning how to better work with numbers.”

Tavarius “Bob” Ford, a sophomore at Calhoun City High School, said he sees the program helping him achieve his personal goals one day.

“I want to go to college (on) an athletic scholarship, playing either basketball or football,” Ford said. “Here, I’m learning how to manage money and be more mature. Those skills will definitely be useful when I start my own business in the future.”

Two attendees had participated in a previous Upward Bound program in Coffeeville and joined this summer’s program partly to share what they had learned.

“Without Upward Bound, I wouldn’t have chosen to go to college at all,” said Joshua Bailey, a junior finance major at Jackson State University. “I’m a first-generation college student. Upward Bound changed my life.”

Tonesha Johnson, a recent JSU graduate who earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education, agreed.

“Thanks to Upward Bound, I was able to attend and graduate from college debt-free,” she said. “I wouldn’t have known I could even do that without this program.”

Planned Gift Will Award UM Math and Science Departments Over $2 Million

Posted on: June 15th, 2018 by erabadie

Alumnus provides STEM support

Ken and Carol Lackey at home with Hunter

JUNE 15, 2018 By Bill Dabney

Having served as a university president among other high-level positions in the state of Oklahoma, University of Mississippi alumnus Ken Lackey of Tulsa knows first-hand the importance of private support to public institutions of higher learning.

“I’m at a point in my life where I needed to make decisions about my estate, so after a thorough review of my plan and provisions for my wife and daughter, I thought of Ole Miss,” said Lackey, who with his wife, Carol, recently designated UM as the beneficiary of a planned gift estimated at more than $2 million. The gift will support the departments of mathematics and science within the College of Liberal Arts.

“Science and mathematics have played an important role in my life, and today science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are both the current underpinning and future of our society,” said Lackey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UM in 1965 followed by a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas in Austin.

“Ole Miss is lucky to have a chancellor who is grounded in and committed to STEM. I wanted to make a commitment which would place my goals in parallel with his vision for the university,” he continued.

Ole Miss Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter says the feeling is mutual: “We are fortunate to have esteemed alumni like Ken Lackey who know how private support strengthens our academic programs as well as our standing among our peer institutions nationwide. We greatly appreciate the Lackeys’ passion in designating this generous gift to our great university.”

The Lackeys hope their gift will encourage more individuals to select Ole Miss for the quality of STEM offerings.

“A gift of this magnitude will help transform our math and science departments by making them more competitive. Specifically, we will be able to better attract outstanding faculty members. Growing the strength of our faculty will help both our research and teaching missions,” College of Liberal Arts Dean Lee M. Cohen said. “We are extremely grateful to Ken and Carol for their generosity and support.”

A Jackson, Mississippi, native, Lackey enrolled at UM in 1962 and moved into Barr Hall (B).

“Barr B was a subculture within the university and we had lots of fun. Even though I joined a fraternity, some of my best personal relationships were made at Barr B,” said Lackey, whose dorm buddies include Netscape founder Jim Barksdale of Jackson and Palm Beach, Florida, attorney John Gary.

At Ole Miss, Lackey received a U.S. Army commission through the Ole Miss ROTC and, after graduate school, served two years on active duty from 1967 to 1969. For his service, the first lieutenant was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.

Now, Lackey is chairman of the board and the former CEO and president of the Tulsa-based NORDAM Group, which provides a range of aerospace components, manufacturing and repair services for private, commercial and military aircraft.

Previously, Lackey served as president of the University of Oklahoma in Tulsa and senior vice president of the OU System from 1999 to 2001. He was a member of Gov. Frank Keating’s administration, serving as his chief of staff from 1997 to 1999. From 1995 to 1997, he served as the Oklahoma Cabinet Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Before his service in state government, Lackey held the position of president of Flint Industries, a privately-owned, international company with interests in oil and gas services, manufacturing and commercial construction. Earlier, he held management positions with Skelly Oil (NYSE) and Kin-Ark Corp. (ASE). He continues to serve on a number of business and community boards in Tulsa.

Carol Lackey, a native of Columbus, Nebraska, graduated from the University of Nebraska and has enjoyed a successful computer career, working for Apple and subsequently Sun Microsystems.

In their spare time, the couple enjoys easy weekends at their lake home in northeastern Oklahoma as well as traveling extensively. A fifth trip to Africa is next on the calendar.

The Ken and Carol Lackey Excellence Fund, a scholarship established by the Lackeys in 2012, is open to gifts from individuals and organizations. To contribute, send checks with the endowment name noted in the memo line to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655; or visit www.umfoundation.com/makeagift.

For information on supporting STEM at Ole Miss, contact Denson Hollis, executive director of development, at 662-915-5092 or dhollis@olemiss.edu.

Planned gifts award donors membership in the 1848 Society, named for the year the university welcomed its first students. The society recognizes those who thoughtfully provide for the university through bequests and deferred gifts. For information on including Ole Miss in long-term estate planning, contact Sandra Guest at 662-915-5208 or sguest@olemiss.edu.