The University of Mississippi

Office of the Chancellor

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Message from Chancellor Boyce as the Search for Jimmie ‘Jay’ Lee Continues

Letters from the Chancellor, Welcome

To members of the university community,
 
This is a distressing and difficult time for our university as the search continues for missing student Jimmie “Jay” Lee. The uncertainty that Jay’s parents, family, and friends are facing right now is unimaginable. I thank our campus and our community for keeping Jay and the Lee family close in their thoughts and prayers.
 
University officials are in contact with Mr. and Mrs. Lee to provide support and comfort. I’ve appreciated working on several initiatives that Jay is leading as a student, and I know his parents are proud of his role as a highly engaged member of our campus community.
 
To Jay’s friends and classmates, I encourage you to draw strength from coming together as a community and supporting one another. Please consider joining members of our community for the “Hope Rally for Jay Lee” organized by our Department of Social Work on Wednesday, July 20, at 7 p.m. at the flagpole in The Circle. 
 
I’m grateful to the investigators working this case, and I urge everyone to continue supporting them. They are following up on all leads. Please know that every lead matters to investigators. If you have any information that can help, you can contact the Oxford Police Department at 662-232-2400, University Police at 662-915-7234, or CrimeStoppers at 662-234-8477.
 
Drs. Charlotte Pegues and Shawnboda Mead shared a list of services and resources in a recent message for those who need support at this time. We offer those services to help you as a member of our community.
 
As the investigation continues, our university will continue to support the Lee family and the investigators in any way that we can. Our collective hope and prayer is for Jay’s safe return.   
 
Sincerely,

 

Glenn F. BoyceChancellor

Congrats 2022 Baseball National Champs!

Letters from the Chancellor, Welcome

Hotty Toddy!
 
Ole Miss is the 2022 NCAA Men’s College World Series champion! What a remarkable run through the postseason by this team to win in convincing fashion. Congratulations to our student-athletes, Head Coach Mike Bianco and his assistant coaches, Ole Miss Baseball operations, and all of Ole Miss Athletics.
 
At the University of Mississippi, we have a long history of building legacies. We’re dedicated to helping our people build their legacies to lead lives of purpose, happiness, and success. This national title reflects the legacy built over more than two decades by Coach Bianco and all of the outstanding players who built our baseball program into a perennial contender. Their success grew from the legacies created by our baseball greats from an earlier era, such as Jake Gibbs and Don Kessinger. Most importantly, the success of this program is part of a bigger picture of a thriving university that aims for nothing less than excellence across our entire enterprise.
 
Under the leadership of Keith Carter, our Athletics program is on a roll. In the last 15 months, we’ve now won our first NCAA men’s and women’s team titles after Ole Miss women’s golf captured the 2021 NCAA Championship. That was followed by the Ole Miss cheer team winning the Universal Cheerleaders/Dance Association College Nationals for the second time in the last five years.
 
These incredible performances by our students are about more than trophies and championships. They demand excellence: the drive to be the best; the discipline to do what it takes; the belief in yourself, your teammates, and the process; and, the fortitude to stay the course even when every obstacle is in your path. At the same time, those traits are enabling our student-athletes to perform better in the classroom than ever before.
 
The road to this national title showcased our passionate university family. The energy and excitement of Rebel Nation was on full display in a sea of red, navy, and powder blue that took over Omaha. You heeded the call and turned out in force in Omaha, Oxford, and everywhere in between to cheer and support our team. My wife Emily, daughters Brittany and Madeline, and I were honored to share in this magical moment with the Ole Miss family.
 
This national championship provides an opportunity for the rest of the world to see what we all know so well — the University of Mississippi leads in powerful ways, strives for excellence in all that we do, and creates lifelong connections. Every aspect of our university is experiencing tremendous momentum right now, and our national profile gained in stature through the College World Series. From the team to the fans, we shined!
 
I hope you will join our student-athletes and coaches, athletics and campus administrators, and other invited guests and honorees at the parade and celebration at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field on Wednesday, June 29.
 
Hotty Toddy, and congrats to our National Champs!

 

Glenn F. BoyceChancellor

At The Flagship, May 2022

e-Newsletter, Welcome

UM Crest, @The Flagship, May 2022, a student with a bedazzled Ole Miss logo decorating her mortar board makes her way to the commencement ceremony in the Grove

CHANCELLOR’S 3 THINGS TO KNOW

We just completed an incredible academic year marked by unbridled enthusiasm and unprecedented triumphs. Our students produced outstanding academic achievements, including three Goldwater scholars, two Truman scholars, six Fulbright recipients, three NSF Graduate Research Fellows, one Boren Scholar, and one Rangel Scholar. Our athletics teams delivered tremendous victories, and our campus experienced exciting developments. And, there’s plenty more to come in this month’s Special Section highlighting what’s going on in Oxford this summer and opportunities to connect with the Ole Miss community.
Here are three things to know right now:

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Thank You for Another Successful Academic Year

Letters from the Chancellor, Welcome

Dear faculty and staff,

As we close out the 2021-22 academic year, I can’t help but marvel at the extraordinary vibrancy of campus life. Faculty, staff, and students alike overcame the constraints of the pandemic and took on this academic year with gusto as evidenced by the energy and significant achievements. You should take great pride in delivering another successful year in the history of our university!

A simple “thank you” is not sufficient for your incredible efforts that form the backbone of our university’s success. Our standard is nothing less than sustained excellence. We can only meet and exceed that standard because of the talent, dedication, and hard work of our people, coupled with the caring and personal approach ingrained in our university DNA. It is how we fulfill our mission and serve our students. I’m deeply grateful for how you inspire our students to pursue their passions, and for your commitment to paving the paths to their bright futures.

Commencement marks the grandest time of our academic year. Commencement, and all that it symbolizes, is the celebration of why we are here – our students. And what remarkable students we have! I’ve been inspired by reading many of their stories in our annual Journey to Commencement series. A common theme permeating the observations of our graduates is their recognition and gratitude for how faculty and staff support and encourage them to build their legacies. You play a leading role in each of these stories. I hope you’ll take a few moments to read them and soak in the inspiration that they radiate. Our students’ successes are fueled by your investments in them — don’t ever forget that their stories would not be possible without you!

As we wrap up this academic year, I hope you will take a moment to revel in all your successes. And, I encourage you to take time to recharge over the summer. Looking ahead, I know you join me in anticipation of all the ways that we will deliver another great academic year in fall 2022.

Happy Commencement, and Hotty Toddy!

Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor

Celebrating Commencement

Letters from the Chancellor, Welcome

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

The pinnacle of our academic year is almost upon us – Commencement! We’re eager to celebrate more than 5,000 graduates and their families on May 4-8. I’m deeply grateful to our faculty and staff who will be on hand and help to make Commencement special. I would like to encourage all of our graduates to take a moment to thank the faculty and staff who helped them reach this major milestone in their lives.

We’re excited to welcome our graduates’ families and friends to our beautiful campus and the best college town in America. Many guests will travel long distances to celebrate their loved ones. To ensure that everyone enjoys the celebration, please read this news article about Commencement so you will be well prepared for where to park, where to eat on campus, and how your loved ones who cannot attend in person can watch closed-captioned livestreams of the ceremonies. The university’s Commencement website offers information on all of this and more.

Most of this year’s ceremonies will be hosted in the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. Parking will be available at and around the SJB Pavilion and the Ford Center. We will operate shuttles to and from these venues, and to Convocation in the Grove. The Commencement website details information on parking, including information about ADA-accessible parking and shuttles.

We’re so proud to welcome alumnus Bradford Cobb (BA 96), a celebrated music industry executive, as our Convocation speaker for Convocation on Saturday, May 7. We look forward to hearing more about his journey from Ole Miss to Los Angeles, managing musicians such as Katy Perry, Tracy Chapman, Steve Perry and the B-52’s.

This year’s graduates are an inspiring class, but don’t just take it from me. You can read about their hard work, character, and potential in the 2022 Journey to Commencement series that profiles more than 20 members of the graduating class.

I know you share my pride in a job well done as we celebrate our graduates and the bright futures before them. We’ll see you at Commencement!

Hotty Toddy!

 

Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor

Celebrating Commencement

Letters from the Chancellor, Welcome

Dear students,

It’s hard to believe that the end of the academic year is upon us. Your energy, resilience, and thirst for learning made this an incredibly rewarding, fun year on our campus. You inspired me by the ways in which you engaged in the full Ole Miss experience with zeal, ranging from amazing academics and countless activities offered across our campus to enjoying the richness of Oxford.

I’m continually amazed by the talent and dedication that our students bring to their endeavors on the path to greatness. I commend our entire student body for the vibrancy you infuse across campus.

This year has been special for many reasons. Our freshman class was the biggest in several years. We all got a shot of energy as our campus life came back to normal after the restrictions of the pandemic. Collectively, our student body reenergized our campus to make this school year a memorable one. All of your accolades and successes deserve a big “Hotty Toddy!”

As we take part in various Commencement celebrations this week, let me share a note of congratulations to our 5,000-plus outstanding graduates — we know you are going to take the world by storm and make us proud! Now that you have reached this major milestone, it is a great time to thank the faculty and staff who invested in you to help you get here. Let them know how much you appreciate them.

To our returning students, I hope you take time over the summer to tackle something new, go on a grand adventure, or gain invaluable experiences. We can’t wait to welcome you back next fall as you continue to pursue your passions and fulfill your potential. Know that we are here, ready to support and encourage you in everything you do from classes to campus life and everything in between.

Happy summer and, as always, Hotty Toddy!

Glenn F. Boyce
Chancellor