After five of the most professionally enriching years of my career, I have decided to step down as President of The University of Southern Mississippi for personal reasons. It has been an honor to serve with you as we, together, have moved our beloved university forward to record enrollments, increased private giving and exciting new building projects. I believe I am leaving Southern Miss better than I found it and look forward to being a part of its future as a member of the faculty.
Archive for 2012
A Chat with the President: Hattiesburg Hall Turns 100, Century Park South Plans Announced
This week we are honoring Hattiesburg Hall’s 100th birthday. Dr. Joe Paul, vice president for Student Affairs, recently sat down with me to discuss plans to celebrate and also reveals exciting information about Century Park South.
To properly mark this celebration, the Department of Residence Life is throwing a grand birthday party for the campus community to attend. The event will be held April 12, at 3 p.m. in the lobby of Hattiesburg Hall.
During our discussion about this historical moment, Dr. Paul takes me through Hattiesburg Hall’s past, telling me that when it was first occupied in the fall of 1912, it served as a residence hall for female students and housed the campus clinic. He says this changed in the late 1970s when it transitioned into a place for young men to live on campus, and it continues to serve that purpose today.
Dr. Paul also shares the university’s exciting plans for Century Park South, which will be a 956-bed, multi-building community for freshmen and Luckyday Scholars located south of W. Fourth Street. This addition will enhance our beautiful campus and provide a state-of-the-art space for students to live and gather.
The groundbreaking is slated for this November with plans to welcome students in the fall of 2014.
I encourage the campus community to join the celebration of Hattiesburg Hall’s centennial birthday. You won’t want to miss the cupcakes and lemonade.
45th Annual Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival
Since its beginnings in 1967, the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival has piqued the interest of students, educators, librarians, artists and many others across the region with vested interests in the field of children’s literature.
Ellen Ruffin, curator for the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at The University of Southern Mississippi, took a few minutes to share the details of this year’s event and discuss how the festival has evolved over the past 45 years. She gives me a historical perspective, telling me the festival began as a vision of Dr. Lena de Grummond and Dr. Warren Tracey, noting that it has seen continued growth each year due to the dedication of those at the School of Library and Information Science who host it each year.
According to Ellen, this year’s event will have more than 500 attendees who gather together April 11-13, to hear distinguished speakers and participate in awards ceremonies honoring recipients of the Southern Miss Medallion, Ezra Jack Keats Book Awards (new to the university this year), Coleen Salley Storytelling Award, Kaigler-Lamont Award and Magnolia Award.
While it is always exciting for the university to serve as a catalyst for bringing together and acknowledging brilliant minds in the field of children’s literature, Ellen shares the university’s delight at the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation’s choice to move the presentation of the New Writer and New Illustrator Book Awards to the de Grummond Collection.
Undoubtedly this year’s event will be an incredible experience for all who participate. I am certainly looking forward to it and invite anyone interested to visit the children’s book festival registration page.
Denis Wiesenburg Named Provost
Vice President for Research Dr. Denis Wiesenburg has been named as the university’s next provost, pending approval by the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.
He will be charged with reorganizing the Office of the Provost to include the research function, thus centralizing the leadership for both academic affairs and research in one office. As teaching and research constitute the preponderance of activities of the faculty, vesting authority for academic and research programs in one office assures a strong linkage between them.
I have tremendous confidence in Dr. Wiesenburg’s ability to provide academic and research leadership to foster excellence in teaching, research and service. He is a quintessential scholar with myriad accomplishments to his credit. He has built a reputation on solid values and integrity.
Statement on Student Behavior at Today’s Game
We deeply regret the remarks made by a few students at today’s game. The words of these individuals do not represent the sentiments of our pep band, athletic department or university. We apologize to Mr. Rodriguez and will take quick and appropriate disciplinary action against the students involved in this isolated incident.
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