This is a special day for me and my family. I am grateful to everyone here for all the attention, and for your participation in these festivities.
The inauguration of a new president is really a celebration of the university she serves. I am honored today to serve my alma mater, Southern Miss, one of the finest institutions of higher learning in the world.
My sincerest thanks go:
to Governor Barbour, for taking the time to celebrate with us today.
to all on the platform who have brought greetings.
to all the elected officials and members of the IHL Board who are in attendance.
to President Frank Brown from Columbus State who tried his best to make me a good vice president, and still managed to resist using words like “hardheaded” and “willful” in his remarks.
to the members of my inauguration committee who volunteered so much of their time to make this a special day for me. Inaugurations are a lot of work, but they made it look like play as they organized, re-organized and amended problem areas. I owe a special debt of gratitude to the co-chairs of the committee, Dr. Stan Hauer and Dr. Aubrey Lucas, two of the bossiest men I’ve ever known, who didn’t seem to agree on anything, but managed to make this a first class event. And to Mary Dayne Gregg who successfully refereed most of their disagreements. If you want something done right, these are the folks you want on your team.
to my friends who are here today. From the Florida coast to the lower edge of the Arctic Circle, you have always been there for me…applauding madly.
to the fair number of my kinfolk here today, at least the ones we let out in public. You’ve given me a lot of good stories to tell over the years.
to my mother and sister. I would give anything if Daddy could be with us. He would probably be restless by this point in the program and asking when it was going to be over, but he would have loved all this.
to my children. Thank you for growing up to be good people. There were days when I had my doubts about you, but you rose beyond my expectations. I bless every minute we have had together.
to my husband, Joe, who took me on with my houseful of boys even as I was in the midst of my dissertation, and who has been called “St. Joe” a few more times than I would wish. Lord Chesterton wrote: “There are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It may be conceded to the mathematician that four is twice two. But two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one.” Joe, you have been my one ally, my partner in adventure and my friend. I thank you.
Titling This Speech
I usually work better when preparing remarks if I set the title first. But as I tried to find something appropriate for today’s talk, I had trouble getting started.
I thought about calling my speech, “You Really Can Go Home Again,” or “I Hope This Is The Last Time I’m the First Woman Anything,” but nothing seemed to work.
To be honest, I really struggled with this and had about decided to let my remarks go untitled until I had a moment of inspiration from the most unlikely of sources – ESPN news.
You see, over the December holiday break, a newsman from that illustrious sports network, apparently was attempting to fill dead air by prattling on and on about changes he either did not like or did not understand among many of the university athletic programs in the country, including ours. I usually stop listening when people talk a lot about things of which they know only little, but I snapped to attention when he posed the following question because he had just given me the title I had been looking for. He said: “Just who does Southern Miss think it IS?” A provocative question to be sure, but as we move to the close of our first 100 years of service to the state of Mississippi, I’m thinking now might be a really fine time to answer that question:
Just Who Does Southern Miss Think It Is?
The University of Southern Mississippi is a comprehensive research extensive university. A national university, our primary mission is to cultivate intellectual development and creativity through the generation, dissemination, application, and preservation of knowledge.
We began in 1910 as Mississippi Normal College to meet a great need – to provide better training for the teachers in the public schools of this state. I note that we came into being after one of the most contentious legislative fights in state history. The driving force for the establishment of the college was the State Teachers Association, a formidable group intent on having the students in their schools taught by fully qualified teachers. As the elected officials here today can tell you, one must never underestimate the power of an organized group of teachers. They are hard to resist.
We grew in our service to education from the Mississippi Normal College, to the State Teachers College, to Mississippi Southern College, to our current designation as The University of Southern Mississippi.
So who does Southern Miss think it is? In its 98th year, Southern Miss is a place characterized by five distinct forces of innovation bridging us from where we have been to where we will go.
A spirit of humanity characterized by kindness, compassion, respect and support for others. At Southern Miss, people look people in the eye. They greet friends and strangers alike. People are real here…and gracious.
A powerful sense of self-efficacy stemming from a belief in our ability to produce results. Our slogan, freeing the power of the individual, emerged from our belief in the potential in ALL people to do more with their lives.
A balance between the collective good and the good of the individual as seen in our connections with the community and emphasis on giving back by sharing our gifts.
A traditional culture with long-established customs and beliefs. We recognize the power of a positive environment and the beauty & power of being at home in The South.
A diverse culture. We enjoy a rich racial, ethnic, socio-economic and disciplinary diversity. As a dual-campus university with six teaching and research sites, we also embrace a unique geographic diversity.
These forces of innovation have been with us since the very beginning. Our first president, Joe Cook, not only built a college, he made us a family. Students called him “Daddy Joe” and to many of the faculty and students he was a real second father.
In her book, Southern: As I Saw It, one of the original faculty members, Alma Hickman, reported: “President Cook never gave a written contract, but for sixteen years he gave the faculty an almost perfect security. Only two persons left the college because he did not recommend them for re-election. He was honest, fair dealing, fearless and a treasured friend to all who worked with him.”
Through the years, our connection with community has sustained us through many hard times. When in 1931, due to the Great Depression, the state was unable to pay faculty salaries, Hattiesburg banks arranged signature loans for hard-pressed faculty members, and grocery stores extended credit. I note that same spirit of compassion held in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. While universities in neighboring areas also hit by the storm laid off scores of faculty and staff because of financial crunch, no jobs were lost at Southern Miss. True to our core values, we sheltered and protected our people.
At Southern Miss, we have always believed in ourselves and the promise of the future. During the darkest days of World War II, as enrollment plummeted to around 300 because students and faculty members had joined the military, then-President George looked to the future and established a trust fund to provide scholarships for returning veterans. He believed they would come home and he believed they would be ready to get back to work.
So Just Who Does Southern Miss Think It IS? Southern Miss is a place that has always and will continue to meet, head on, the intellectual and human issues of the day.
And what does Southern Miss think it WILL be in 10, 20, or 30 years?
Our strategic planning initiatives for the next planning cycle embrace four areas of emphasis:
image development
connection with the community
top flight educational experiences, and
a culture of healthy minds, healthy bodies and healthy campuses.
Our emphasis on image development stems from an awareness that people outside of Mississippi might not know just how good we are. As most public relations experts will tell you, being good is only good if other people know it. As a result, we will be reaching for the national story, encouraging student and faculty representation on national boards, maintaining our exceptional scores on professional exams, and establishing ourselves as thought leaders for business and industry.
Our connections with the bigger world will be reflected in the numbers of experiential offerings for our students; our partnerships and collaborations with local, state and federal agencies and the number of endowments. We will continue to inspire business start ups and job creation. Our graduates will stay in the state and work to improve our communities.
We will maintain an unrelenting commitment to top-flight educational experiences and we will do this, in part, by reducing, then eliminating, barriers to student success. Getting admitted, getting registered, getting financial aid and getting parking should be easy. The biggest challenge our students should ever feel should be in the classroom. Their academic experiences should bring out the best in them. We will attract and retain top faculty and staff by paying them competitive wages and investing in their professional development. We will put technology to its highest use, thus providing access to those unable to enjoy the traditional college experience. We will connect our campuses and research centers toward more meaningful dialogue and increased productivity.
As we promote a culture of healthy minds, healthy bodies and healthy campuses, we will embrace the tenets of sustainability. Southern Miss is going green. We will think ecologically with a commitment to actions that reduce, reuse and recycle. Our buildings will be designed with the environment in mind. Our physical plant will re-think operations to minimize our environmental footprint. Good for the environment, yes, but these actions will mean bottom line savings. More students and employees will participate in campus supported fitness activities. Collaborations with community agencies will enhance health services and our programs will teach the mechanics of green practice.
Summing It Up
So Just Who Does Southern Miss Think It IS? I can sum it up in three words: Creative. Bold. Determined.
In closing, as I am surrounded by such a distinguished array of educators, I want to emphasize that the real question before us is not “Who does Southern Miss think it is?” but “Who do we in higher education think we are and what are we going to do in the face of the complex problems of today?” I believe that the forces of innovation that make Southern Miss, Southern Miss, are much the same as those that make Mississippi, Mississippi, and the Gulf South, the Gulf South. There is a spirit of humanity here, as evidenced in our resourceful response to Hurricane Katrina. There is a belief that we can do anything we set our minds to…with or without permission. We understand better than most that if we are going to make things happen for ourselves, we are going to have to link arms as a team and pull together. The pressure is on this country to produce more quality college graduates who inspire the entrepreneurial spirit that makes America, America.
Our differences open our options for innovative solutions, while our traditions keep us grounded in common purpose. We can bring out the best in our students, our communities and ourselves, but we are going to have to hurry.
An old Irish saying tells us why: “If you do not use your power, it will leave you for someone who will.”
An old Mississippi saying tells us how: “Keep your hand on the plow and press on.”
Thank you for your kind attention.
May God bless Southern Miss for all it has been and for all we will make it – together.