Becky and Al Moreton
Becky and Al Moreton believed in service to others, and their work for the university stretched back decades. Al Moreton served as assistant US attorney for the northern district of Mississippi from 1962 to 1963 and 1969 to 2004. In his first months on the job, he prosecuted rioters trying to block the integration of the university by James Meredith.
Becky earned a PhD in linguistics from Tulane University, and worked as a linguist at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC in the 1960s. After returning to Oxford in the 1970s, she taught French and linguistics in the Department of Modern Languages. Outside of campus, she worked for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and helped plan a better Oxford as a member of the Pathways Commission.
To honor her memory and her deep love for education, the Moreton family has established the Rebecca “Becky” Moreton UM Linguistics Fund. It will support the linguistics program, ensuring that their good works continue long after the Moretons’ deaths from a car accident in 2016.
“Becky Moreton was one of the finest linguistic minds I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and it is a beautiful tribute to her and her husband, Al, that they are being honored in this way,” said Donald Dyer, associate dean of liberal arts and distinguished professor of modern languages. “The department and the university will forever be grateful for this fund in memory of Becky and Al.”
MAKE A GIFT: Caroline Hourin, cehourin@olemiss.edu, 662-915-3995