Honors College
50th Anniversary Speaker Bios
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Christopher Anderson, Academic Surgeon and Surgical Educator and USM Alumnus
Dr. Anderson is an Academic Surgeon and Surgical Educator at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). He has served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at UMMC since 2015. He currently holds the James D. Hardy Endowed Chair in Surgery, is Medical Director for the Transplant Service Line at UMMC, is the Surgical Director for the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA), and serves as the Vice-Chair of the Council of Clinical Chairs at UMMC.
Byron Glick, Honors College Alumnus
Byron Glick (1981) is a member of the 1976 University of Southern Mississippi Honors College inaugural class. Glick earned a degree in American Literature before pivoting to computer science in graduate school and then spending thirty-eight years in IT working for large tech vendors, universities, and start-ups. Since retirement, Glick has pursued his love for storytelling, pathfinding, and peace-making. He has published five books and writes two blogs. He and his wife, Michele Gast, also share photographic and literary collaborations on their nature-forward web site, Prairie Star Studios.
Paula Mathis, Former Honors College Advisor
Paula Mathis is the Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at The University of Southern Mississippi, where she leads a vibrant community of adult learners committed to intellectual curiosity, creativity, and connection. A two‑time Southern Miss alumna who earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the university, Paula spent nearly two decades working in the Honors College, first supporting freshmen and sophomores and later mentoring upper‑level students through the research phase of their academic journey. Her work at OLLI continues the Honors College tradition of fostering curiosity, community, and meaningful learning.
Maureen Ryan, Former Honors College Dean
As dean from 1991 until 2002, Dr. Maureen Ryan is the longest-serving dean of the
Honors College. In later years she was Interim Dean of the Graduate School and also
Dean of the College of Arts and Letters. During her long career at Southern Miss,
she was Professor of English and taught, primarily, modern and contemporary American
literature. Maureen’s scholarly publications include books on the literature of the
Vietnam War and on the fiction of Jean Stafford, as well as numerous essays about
a range of 20th century American literature. In 2020, Maureen Ryan retired from USM as University
Distinguished Professor of the Humanities.
Andy Wiest, Honors Faculty Fellow
Dr. Andrew Wiest is University Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Southern Mississippi and has served as a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in the United Kingdom and as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Warfighting Strategy at the United States Air Force Air War College. Dr. Wiest is the Founding Director of the Dale Center for the Study of War and Society and the Founding Co-Director of the Center for the Study of the National. Guard at Southern Miss. In addition, he has taught for the Honors College in all three versions of the Honors curriculum. He has published more than 20 books, and he has also been nominated for an Emmy Award for his work based on his book The Boys of ’67. His new book, Dogwood: A National Guard Unit’s War in Iraq was released in May.