To the UM Community:
We are writing about a disturbing incident and the path forward. On Wednesday, the namesake of our journalism school, Ed Meek, posted a comment on Facebook that we condemned as having highly offensive racial overtones.
This social media post was deeply hurtful because of the sentiment conveyed about the presence of African-Americans in Oxford and at Ole Miss. We are outraged that photographs of two of our female African-American students were used to make this point. University leaders have been in contact with the students to give them support and assistance.
The University’s Senior Leadership Group met in emergency session about this incident and its impact on our community. We have important decisions to make, and they will be made in a thoughtful and intentional manner.
As part of this process, we are hosting a listening session for the UM community this evening at 7:30 p.m. at Nutt Auditorium. It is important to come together as a community. We support all members of our community and respect the dignity of each person.
Jeffrey S. Vitter
Chancellor
Noel Wilkin
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Will Norton
Dean, School of Journalism
UPDATES:
Click to read the most recent update on the process on School of Journalism name change on Tuesday, Oct. 9.
Read the statement from Chancellor Jeffrey S. Vitter outlining the process to consider a name change on Tuesday, Sept. 25.
Read a response to a statement issued by Ed Meek on Saturday, Sept. 22.
Click here to read a letter sent to the UM community from Chancellor Jeffrey S. Vitter on Friday, Sept. 21.
