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College of Liberal Arts

University of Mississippi

English

Kiese Laymon has been named the inaugural holder of the Hubert H. McAlexander Chair of English created by the late Lester Glenn “Ruff” Fant and his wife, Susan. A recipient of many literary awards including the Los Angeles Times Book Award, Laymon is recognized for being a powerful literary voice for social justice and education.

Laymon Named to McAlexander Chair

Donor Ruff Fant Remembered for Commitment to Lifelong Friendship and Education JULY 8, 2020 BY MARY STANTON KNIGHT Each moment in the classroom is an opportunity for professors to connect with students and to significantly impact their education as they encounter the world during and beyond college. University of Mississippi English professor Kiese Laymon did […]

Traute and James Langmesser of Alexandria, Virginia, have committed an unrestricted $1 million gift to the UM College of Liberal Arts, strengthening such areas as graduate student support, faculty support and facility modernization. James Langmesser, a native of Chicago, Illinois, studied university catalogs to choose his college home, and his younger brother also graduated from UM.

Langmessers Make Major Commitment to College of Liberal Arts

A Gift for Future Academic Opportunities JUNE 30, 2020 James Langmesser – who, with his wife, Traute, has committed a $1 million planned gift to the University of Mississippi – becomes reflective and animated when talking about the course offerings he encountered as a student on the Oxford campus. “It was a veritable feast to […]

English professor Beth Ann Fennelly has been honored as a poets laureate fellow by the Academy of American Poets. Photo by Mike Stanton

English Professor Awarded Fellowship by Academy of American Poets

Beth Ann Fennelly will use part of $50,000 grant to support 2021 Glitterary Festival JUNE 29, 2020 BY THARANGI FERNANDO Beth Ann Fennelly, professor of English at the University of Mississippi and Mississippi’s poet laureate, has been honored as a poets laureate fellow by the Academy of American Poets, the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated […]

Praveen Kolimi, a doctoral student in pharmaceutical sciences, is using his grant to continue his research into the topical application of itraconazole in skin cancer treatment. Submitted photo

Graduate Students Awarded Grants to Fund Further Research

Program also helps participants gain critical grant-writing skills JUNE 23, 2020 BY SHEA STEWART Sixteen University of Mississippi graduate students are continuing their exploration into research and creative scholarship pursuits such as Alzheimer’s disease, skin cancer and young adult literature in Mississippi classrooms as recent recipients of Graduate Student Council Research Grants. The students each […]

UM English professor Ann Fisher-Wirth will use a new National Endowment for the Humanities Grant to expand the university’s environmental studies minor program. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

Grant to Help Expand Environmental Studies Program

UM English professor receives National Endowment for the Humanities funding APRIL 29, 2020 BY SHEA STEWART A University of Mississippi English professor will direct a multidisciplinary National Endowment for the Humanities grant to help further the university’s interdisciplinary minor in environmental studies. Ann Fisher-Wirth, professor of English and director of the university’s environmental studies minor, is principal […]

English Professor Awarded Prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship

Aimee Nezhukumatathil, first seated faculty member of color to win Guggenheim Fellowship at UM APRIL 23, 2020 BY ABIGAIL MEISEL Aimee Nezhukumatathil, a University of Mississippi English professor, has been named a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Established in 1925, the fellowship is granted to people across artistic and academic […]

Spring breaks forth on the University of Mississippi’s Oxford campus in front of Ventress Hall, home of the College of Liberal Arts.

Supporting Research

College of Liberal Arts Receives Boost to Research APRIL 17, 2020 BY BILL DABNEY A recent major gift to the University of Mississippi will help the College of Liberal Arts continue to attract and retain top faculty. The stock-transfer gift of $250,000 from a donor who wished to remain anonymous supplements a faculty research grant […]

Melissa Ginsburg, a UM English professor, sits with her family dogs, Zimmy (center) and The Punisher.

Seeking a Friend for the Pandemic

UM English professor pens essay on his new pal, Zimmy, ‘The Quarantine Dog’ APRIL 15, 2020 BY MICHAEL NEWSOM Chris Offutt hails from the mountains of eastern Kentucky, which he describes as pragmatic world where all animals have a purpose and the motto there is “humans in the house, animals out.” But many deeply held […]

Dr. Damon Moore

Voices and Ideas

Dr. C. Damon Moore on Mentorship, Education, and Service MARCH 25, 2020 BY JACQUELINE KNIRNSCHILD for The Key Reporter, Phi Beta Kappa’s Publication for News and Alumni Relations Dr. C. Damon Moore, who is a Virginia-based pediatrician and the first African American Rhodes Scholar from Mississippi, will be inducted into the University of Mississippi chapter […]

Ronnie Frith

Quality Control Chief

English-major alum Ronny Frith makes legislative language unimpeachable MARCH 16, 2020 BY ABIGAIL MEISEL Write clearly. Write concisely. Write for your audience. For Ronny Frith ’74, these are words to live by.  As a lawyer for the Legislative Services Office of the Mississippi House of Representatives, Frith drafts the bills and amendments that will be […]