Each season at The University of Mississippi offers so much to celebrate and enjoy, especially the spring when the azaleas and dogwoods bloom and our campus is bustling with activities leading up to Commencement. For spring 2019, we enjoyed a special treat when alumnus and current president of the Alumni Association, Gen. Leon Collins, shared lessons from a life in leadership as speaker for the university’s 166th Commencement. It is truly special when alumni share their experiences, insight and knowledge to the newest Ole Miss graduates.Read More
Letters from the Chancellor
Important Update for our Campus Community
Dear students, faculty, and staff,
The university’s administration condemns racism, bigotry, and hatred. These concepts run contrary to our values, our principles, and our mission to educate. Our educational mission and our stewardship of this physical campus call us to work toward eliminating prejudice and discrimination. While some may disagree with how this should be done, we remain steadfast in our commitment to this goal.
A Letter from Interim Chancellor Larry D. Sparks
Faculty, Staff, and Students,
Welcome to the spring 2019 semester at the University of Mississippi. I am honored to serve our university community as interim chancellor. It is a great responsibility, and I will do my best to serve as an effective steward and facilitate a smooth transition period until we welcome our next chancellor.
A Letter of Appreciation
It is bittersweet to write this note after announcing on Friday my decision to step down as chancellor and return to the faculty. Serving as your chancellor has been the greatest professional privilege of my life. We have dealt with taxing challenges and big opportunities, and we have built a solid foundation and momentum for the future. At the same time, I have concluded that the time is right for someone new to take the helm.Read More
NCAA Appeals Committee Overturns Recruiting Sanction, Closes University’s Case
The NCAA Appeals Committee released its decision today, bringing the nearly six-year process to an end. The university prevailed in its appeal of the most onerous sanction, the penalty restricting unofficial visits.
Visit www.umncaacase.com for a more detailed letter from university leadership and other related public documents.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey S. Vitter
Chancellor and Distinguished Professor
Letter from UM Chancellor on Next Steps for Community
Our leadership team has heard a lot of input — both in the last 48 hours and prior to that time — about the environment at Ole Miss and in Oxford as both the university and the town have grown. Our community has long taken pride in providing a welcoming environment for all who come here to study or visit. However, a number of students eloquently stated at last night’s campus listening sessions that our community does not always feel welcoming to them. We heard you.
The university’s leadership team will utilize a two-pronged process to enable our community to address an array of concerns emanating from the unacceptable social media posts published earlier this week by a prominent donor to the university. The near-term prong, which involves consideration of a name change for an academic unit, is governed by existing university process.
In light of calls by some in our community to change the name of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media, it is important to explain the university’s long-established process to consider whether to modify the name of an existing academic unit. All of the following steps must be completed in order to make a name change:
- The faculty committee of the academic unit must approve a recommendation to make a name change.
- If that faculty group recommends a change, the matter must be taken up by the Undergraduate and Graduate councils. These councils have faculty from across the entire university and one voting student representative on each council.
- The actions of the councils are then considered by the Council of Academic Administrators, which is chaired by the provost. Its voting members include all deans, the Faculty Senate chair, faculty representatives, the three vice chancellors within Academic Affairs, the ASB president, and the Graduate Student Council president.
- If the Council of Academic Administrators recommends a change, the matter is referred to the Chancellor, who would decide whether to make a request to the IHL Board for consideration and a final vote.
This process is, by design, thoughtful and intentional. It is open to input from students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and it meets all accreditation requirements for changing organizational units on campus, including a unit’s name. We will follow this approach to consider any name change.
The other, longer-term prong will include expedited acquisition of additional feedback and consideration of new actions and strategies to address concerns around university and community climate. This initiative will be led by Katrina Caldwell, vice chancellor for diversity and community engagement, and informed by input from students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
I want to close by reiterating my thanks to the students who shared many emotional comments and perspectives at last night’s listening sessions. Your willingness to step forward and discuss how this week’s events affected you in a frank and civil manner reflected the best of what we want for our university. It is the constructive way for families to deal with the tough stuff in life, and it’s how our university family will address these issues going forward.
Jeffrey S. Vitter
Chancellor
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.
Read the message sent from UM leadership about posts made by a UM donor on Thursday, Sept. 20.