To the Southern Miss Family,

I write this message to you as spring commencement approaches and my service as president nears its conclusion. Commencement is always a joyous time on our campus. As a university, it is the highlight of all activities we undertake. Ultimately, to graduate with a degree from The University of Southern Mississippi is indeed a significant personal and family achievement. Congratulations to our graduates!

Personally, I would like to thank you, the Southern Miss family, for the opportunity to serve this great university as your president. I am humbled and honored to have led and served. I have, indeed, spent most of my life at this beloved institution and revere the principles of higher education and the integral role it plays in shaping individual lives, powering economic opportunity and in fact, re-shaping our world. It is what we do – universities create knowledge. As your president, I am proud to have been a part of our tremendous progress over the past five years.

I now re-embrace the excitement and challenge of teaching and researching in the School of Polymer Science and Engineering. I, too, look forward to continuing progress on our Innovation and Commercialization Park at Classic Drive in Hattiesburg. Read here about another historic groundbreaking.

Thad Cochran Attends Groundbreaking at Innovation and Commercialization Park

On May 14, The University of Southern Mississippi broke ground on the first building in our Innovation
and Commercialization Park. With the Honorable Senator Thad Cochran and dignitaries from across the state and region, the groundbreaking signals the first building, totaling $20M; another $10M has been allocated in infrastructure improvements – roads, water, sewer, electricity – with work that began more than six months ago.

What is an Innovation and Commercialization Park – isn’t it just another research park?

No, this is not another university research park. At this facility, we will help companies apply research in new, innovative ways, to new product development. We will assist companies with making viable products that can be commercially sold to the greater marketplace. At Southern Miss, we are doing incredible research on campus and companies from around the globe want access to our research and to the brain-power of our faculty and students. In this new park, we will be creating new jobs, new products and new economic impact for the state and region.

Where is it? When will it be “open”?

The Southern Miss Innovation and Commercialization Park is located on Classic Drive at the former site of the golf course. Beautifully situated around lakes and piney woods, the first building is expected to be finished in approximately one year. Dozens of companies have seriously inquired about putting their operations here and we will continue to announce their arrival over the coming three to five years.

Our special thanks go out to Senator Thad Cochran for his generous financial support of this project. We also thank the Area Development Partnership (ADP), the city of Hattiesburg, Noetic Technologies (a subsidiary of the Southern Miss Research Foundation) and our Vice President for Research and Economic Development, Dr. Cecil Burge, and his staff for their work on this momentous project.

What’s Happening on Campus

There are always a lot of great things happening at Southern Miss. Here are a few:
                                 
Southern Miss Sophomore Wins National Goldwater Scholarship

 Jessica Shackleford, a chemistry major from
Senatobia, has received recognition as a
Goldwater Scholar, a prestigious national scholarship
program established for future scientists, mathe-
maticians and engineers. Shackleford is among 317
undergraduate students across the United States who
will receive a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for
the 2007-08 academic year. Shackleford is the 16th Southern Miss recipient since the scholarship program’s inception in 1986 and is one of only two winners from Mississippi this year. Read more here.

$2 Million Forensic Lab Ribbon Cutting – CSI Southern Miss

The University of Southern Mississippi’s Department
of the Administration of Justice unveiled its new
forensic science laboratory funded by a $2 million
grant from the US Department of Justice. This is the
first time that the administration of justice and
forensic science departments have been together in a building that houses a mock trial courtroom and numerous forensic science laboratories. Southern Miss is creating a nationally-recognized forensic training facility, providing assistance in areas including footwear and tire impression, blood pattern interpretation, accident reconstruction and mass disasters and human recovery. Get the full story here.

Southern Miss Teaming Up For Medical Research

The University of Southern Mississippi and Forrest General Hospital are teaming up to battle obesity-related illnesses, including one that affects more than 20 million people, diabetes. Southern Miss will provide their scientific research while Forrest General will provide medical expertise and a clinical population. This is an exciting new initiative that opens new doors for research funding and
health research expansion for our College of Health. Read the story online here.

Southern Miss One of Three in the Nation Designated as “Storm Ready “
With the start of the 2007 hurricane season less than a month away, the National Weather Service designated The University of Southern Mississippi as "Storm Ready." The designation makes Southern Miss one of only three universities nationwide to be classified as such, said Stephen Wilkinson, the Jackson-based weather service's warning coordination meteorologist. "Nowhere else in Mississippi does a (county) have three communities that are recognized as storm ready," Wilkinson said, noting that the city of Hattiesburg and Forrest County also received the designation. A community or county is deemed "Storm Ready" after the National Weather Service establishes that it has in place at least four ways to receive weather warnings, at least four ways to monitor weather events and an extensive network for disseminating warnings to residents, Wilkinson said. Hurricane season begins June 1.

Farewell and hello again

We are all excited about the arrival of Dr. Martha Saunders on May 21 as the next president of The University of Southern Mississippi. She deserves, and I know will receive, our full support as we welcome her back to her alma mater and home at Southern Miss.

As for me, I am still at home. Southern Miss is a part of my bones and the breath that I breathe…as it is for my colleague and president emeritus, Dr. Aubrey K. Lucas. I started this final message reflecting on commencement and it is, indeed, focusing on the students at Southern Miss that energizes me in my return to teaching. We have exceptional students on all campuses and teaching sites. Our students are remarkable individuals that depend on us to enlighten and enhance their lives. To the parents of these excellent students and to Southern Miss alumni around the world who have experienced student life at Southern Miss, we appreciate your continuing confidence and support as we deliver a world-class education.

Finally, my gratitude to you, the Southern Miss family, is profound and nearly indescribable. From Shirley and our family, a heart felt thank you. Please come by and see me at the Polymer Institute or say hello on campus or give me a shout at a football game. You’ll always here me say “Southern Miss To The Top” and know that I really mean it.

Sincerely,

Dr. Shelby F. Thames, President