University of Mississippi
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The University of Mississippi (also known as Ole Miss) is public, coeducational research university located near Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1848, the school is composed of the main campus, with three branch campuses located in Tupelo, Southaven, and Booneville. UM maintains a field station in Bay Springs as well as the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Additionally, it is a sea-grant institute, as well as a space-grant institute.
Total enrollment on The University of Mississippi’s three campuses and The University of Mississippi Medical Center is almost 16,500. The chancellor of the University of Mississippi is currently Robert Khayat.
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Academic Divisions
The degree-granting divisions located at the Main Campus:
- School of Accountancy
- School of Applied Sciences
- School of Business Administration
- School of Education
- School of Engineering
- College of Liberal Arts
- Graduate School
- School of Law
- School of Pharmacy
The colleges in the University Medical Center in Jackson:
- School of Dentistry
- School of Health Related Professions
- School of Nursing
- School of Medicine
History
The Lyceum, built in 1848, is the oldest building on campus. It housed most of the classrooms and faculty offices of the University. It was used as a hospital during the Civil War for both Union and Confederate soldiers. It was also the site of rioting during the desegregation crisis. Today, the building is used to house the administration of the school.
Classes were interrupted with the outbreak of the Civil War, when every student and most faculty from Ole Miss enlisted in the Confederate Army. They were nicknamed the University Greys, and by war's end they had suffered a 100% casualty rate.
The school was integrated in 1962 when 29-year-old James Meredith matriculated there. President John F. Kennedy called in 20,000 National Guardsman to protect Meredith. Two died and 300 were wounded in the resulting rioting. Today, approximately 13% of the student population is African-American.
Accolades
- Ole Miss is among the top 30 public institutions with largest endowments per student.
- Ole Miss is notable for its production of Rhodes Scholars (24) and has also produced five Truman and seven Goldwater scholars since 1998.
- Ole Miss is ranked by the Carnegie Foundation as one of the top 100 Research Extensive institutions in the nation.
- The School of Pharmacy ranks 20th in the nation among schools of pharmacy for funding from the prestigious National Institutes of Health and 2nd among pharmacy schools for total federal funding.
Interesting Facts
- The University houses the largest blues music archive in the United States.
- The school grows the only US government endorsed cannabis. The National Institute on Drug Abuse[1] (http://www.nida.nih.gov/) (NIDA) contracts to the University the production of cannabis for the use in the few approved research studies on the plant as well as for distribution to the seven surviving medical cannabis patients grandfathered into the Compassionate Use Program (established in 1975 and cancelled in February 1992).
- University of Mississippi Medical Center surgeons performed the world's first lung transplant in man and transplanted the heart of a chimpanzee - man's closest genetic relation - into the chest of a dying man.
- William Faulkner's estate, Rowan Oak, is owned by the University. The town surrounding the campus is said to have inspired Faulkner and his imaginary Yoknapatawpha County
2004-2005 Facts
OLE MISS FACTS 2004-05
ENROLLMENT Total enrollment on The University of Mississippi’s three campuses and The University of Mississippi Medical Center is almost 16,500. Sixty-seven percent of undergraduates are from Mississippi, and 18 percent of all students are minorities. International students come from 66 nations.
LIBRARIES The University of Mississippi libraries house more than 1.2 million volumes, as well as monographs, microfilms, audiovisual materials, government publications, and more than 8,500 current periodical titles. The J.D. Williams (main) Library boasts several noteworthy features: the Hall of Mississippi Writers, William Faulkner Room, world-renowned Music/Blues Archive, and the national library of the accountancy profession.
TECHNOLOGY Web-based services provide instant access to vital information that enables students to apply for admission, register for classes, check grades, pay bills, and submit class assignments, as well as offer students and faculty access to millions of library materials all online. Each residence hall room is connected to the University’s computer network, and many public areas on campus provide wireless connectivity. EXPENSES
* Tuition and Fees (in-state resident) $4,110 * Tuition and Fees (out-of-state) $9,264 * Room and Board $5,610 * Personal $1,562 * Books and Supplies $900 * Transportation $1,422
Total for Mississippi Resident $13,604 (approx.)
FACULTY AND STAFF
With 2,224 full-time employees on the Oxford campus, including 591 full time faculty, Ole Miss is the largest employer in Lafayette County. More than 82 percent of full time faculty hold the highest degrees available in their respective fields. The student to faculty ratio is 21:1.
The health sciences campus in Jackson employs 7,450 people full-time, including 741 faculty. The University of Mississippi Medical Center is the second-largest employer in Hinds County; 100 percent of faculty hold the highest degrees available in their respective fields.
STUDENT HOUSING Ole Miss has 15 traditional residence halls and two apartment complexes that house more than 3,700 students. One- and two-bedroom apartments and efficiency apartments are available for married students, graduate students and undergraduate students who are of junior standing or above.
More than 28 fraternity and sorority houses are located on the UM-Oxford campus, and more than 35 percent of the student body belongs to a Greek letter organization.
ATHLETICS With a long and storied history in intercollegiate athletics, the University competes at the highest level in 18 men’s and women’s sports. The football team has had the highest graduation rate in the SEC, and 630 student-athletes received all-conference academic honors from 1995-2004. Nine of the 18 teams advanced to post-season play in 2002-2003 and 2003-2004.
ALUMNI Nearly 104,000 living Ole Miss alumni and friends represent every state in the nation and 80 foreign countries. The University awards approximately 2,724 degrees annually, and more than 125,000 degrees have been awarded since 1848.
CAMPUS Ole Miss is located in the rolling hills of North Mississippi about 80 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The historic, wooded campus encompasses nearly 1,000 acres and includes 220 major buildings. The Lyceum, opened in 1848, is the institutional landmark and is the theme of the University’s logo. The University also operates campuses at the DeSoto Center in Southaven, the Advanced Education Center in Tupelo, and The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
source: http://www.olemiss.edu/info/stats_facts.html
Athletics
ColReb.jpg
Ole Miss' sports teams, nicknamed the Rebels, compete in the competetive twelve-member Southeastern Conference (West Division) of the NCAA's Division I. The schools colors are red and blue, decidedly from the Crimson of Harvard, and the Blue of Yale-- 2 of the most prestigious schools at the time of choosing. In 2003, the administration eliminated the Colonel Reb mascot in an attempt to rid the university of the negative connotations still associated with the university.
Ole Miss' athletic rivals are Louisiana State University (the Tigers) and instate rival Mississippi State University (the Bulldogs).
"Difference between Ole Miss and the University of Mississippi"
There is a valid distinction between The University and Ole Miss even though the separate threads are closely interwoven.
The University is buildings, trees, and people. Ole Miss is mood, emotion, and personality. One is physical, and the other is spiritual. One is tangible and the other intangible.
The University is respected, but Ole Miss is loved. The University gives a diploma and regretfully terminates tenure, but one never graduates from Ole Miss.
-Frank E. Everett, Jr., B.A.'32 LL.B.'34
Noteworthy alumni
- Haley Barbour (Former Republican National Chairman and current Mississippi Governor)
- Jim Barksdale (Netscape CEO)
- Larry Brown (Author)
- Thad Cochran (US Senator)
- Charlie Conerly (Former NY Giant QB)
- David Delucci (Arizona Diamondbacks Outfielder)
- Ben Ferguson (Nationally syndicated talk-radio show host)
- John Grisham (Author)
- Paul Hester (Air Force General, Head of Pacific Air Force)
- Kate Jackson (Actress)
- Robert Khayat (Former Washington Redskins kicker, currently the University's chancellor)
- Trent Lott (Former Senator Majority Leader)
- Archie Manning (Former New Orleans Saints QB)
- Eli Manning (New York Giants QB; youngest son of Archie)
- Deuce McAllister (Running Back for New Orleans Saints)
- John S. McCain, Sr. (Admiral, USN)
- Gerald McRaney (Actor)
- Mike Moore (Former Mississippi Attorney General, noted for starting major lawsuits against tobacco industry)
- Willie Morris (Writer-in-Residence at Ole Miss; Wrote My Dog Skip
- Ronnie Musgrove (Former Governor of Mississippi and Current UM Professor)
- Bill Parsons (Head of NASA's Spaceship Programs)
- Roosevelt Skerrit (Prime Minister of Dominica and one of the youngest heads of state in the World)
See also
External links
- Ole Miss Web Site (http://www.olemiss.edu)
- Official Ole Miss athletics site (http://www.olemisssports.com)
- University of MS Medical Center (http://www.umc.edu)
Further reading regarding the desegregation of the University and the role that incident played in the US civil rights movement:
- An American Insurrection: The Battle of Oxford, Mississippi, 1962, William Doyle, Doubleday, 2001, hardcover, ISBN 0385499698