Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson,Mississippi. Founded in 1890 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church,Millsaps is home to 985 students.
Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi,located primarily in Forrest County and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census,with the population now being 48,730 in 2020. Hattiesburg is the principal city of the Hattiesburg Metropolitan Statistical Area,which encompasses Covington,Forrest,Lamar,and Perry counties. The city is located in the Pine Belt region.
Jackson State University is a public historically Black university in Jackson,Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of student enrollment. The university is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and classified among "R2:Doctoral Universities –High research activity". Jackson State University's athletic teams,the Tigers,participate in NCAA Division I athletics as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The university is also the home of the Sonic Boom of the South,a marching band founded in the 1940s. Their accompanying danceline,the Prancing J-Settes,are well known for their unique style of dance,known as J-Setting.
Mississippi Valley State University is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State,Mississippi,adjacent to Itta Bena,Mississippi. MVSU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland,Mississippi,in the Mississippi Delta.
Clyde Kennard was an American Korean War veteran and civil rights leader from Hattiesburg,Mississippi. In the 1950s,he attempted several times to enroll at the all-white Mississippi Southern College to complete his undergraduate degree started at the University of Chicago. Although the United States Supreme Court had ruled in 1954 that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional,the college rejected him. Kennard was among the thousands of local activists in the 1940s and 1950s who pressed for their rights.
Robert Laurent Caret is an American academic and the former chancellor of the University System of Maryland. He became chancellor on July 1,2015. Caret,a native of New England,became chancellor of the University System of Maryland after completing presidencies at San Jose State University,Towson University and the University of Massachusetts.
Mississippi Delta Community College is a public community college serving the Mississippi Delta region with its main campus in Moorhead,Mississippi. It also offers courses at locations in Greenville,Greenwood,and Indianola. Its mascot is the Trojan warrior. It has an enrollment of 3,491 students.
The University of Southern Mississippi is a public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg,Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's,master's,specialist,and doctoral degrees. The university is classified among "R1:Doctoral Universities –Very high research activity".
Edythe Evelyn Gandy was an American attorney and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1976 to 1980. A Democrat who held several public offices throughout her career,she was the first woman elected to a statewide constitutional office in Mississippi. Born in Hattiesburg,she attended the University of Mississippi School of Law as the only woman in her class. Following graduation,she took a job as a research assistant for United States Senator Theodore Bilbo. She briefly practiced law before being elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives,where she served from 1948 to 1952. Defeated for re-election,she worked as director of the Division of Legal Services in the State Department of Public Welfare and Assistant Attorney General of Mississippi until she was elected State Treasurer of Mississippi in 1959.
Frances Lucas is the president of Frances Lucas Consulting. Previously,she served as president of Millsaps College,becoming the first female head of the college in 2000.
Vernon Ferdinand Dahmer,Sr. was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement and president of the Forrest County chapter of the NAACP in Hattiesburg,Mississippi. He was murdered by the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan for his work on recruiting African Americans to vote.
Sanford Rose Leigh,also known as Sandy Leigh was an activist during the Civil Rights Movement and the director of the largest project in Mississippi Freedom Summer,the Hattiesburg Project.
Grady C. Cothen,Sr.,was a pastor,state convention executive secretary-director for the Southern Baptist Convention,author,university president,and seminary president.
The McCain Library and Archives is the chief reserve library for The University of Southern Mississippi. It houses the items in Southern Mississippi's possession that are not available for checkout. Besides being the archives,the building also houses the office of the President Emeritus,and the universities audio visual department. The Archives also house the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection,one of the largest collections of children's literature in the world.
William David McCain was an educator,archivist and college president. He was a recognized leader of the Mississippi political establishment and a leader in its struggle in the 1950s and 1960s to maintain the "southern way of life" including racial segregationism. He served as Mississippi state archivist,a Major General in the Mississippi National Guard,longtime leader and promoter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans,fifth president and major architect of Mississippi Southern College.
Raylawni Branch is a black Mississippi pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement,a professional nursing educator and US Air Force Reserve officer. She is best known for her leading role in the integration of the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg) in 1965,which was peaceful as opposed to the violent riot triggered by white racism after the enrollment of James Meredith at the University of Mississippi (Oxford) in 1962.
Rivalry in Dixie is the name given to the Louisiana Tech–Southern Miss football rivalry. It is a college football rivalry game between the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
First Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian congregation in Hattiesburg,Mississippi,founded in 1882 by Rev. A. B. Coit. It was the first church in the town and predated Hattiesburg's own incorporation by two years. In 1973 it left the Presbyterian Church in the United States to become a charter member of the more theologically conservative Presbyterian Church in America.
Rodney D. Bennett is the current President of the University of Southern Mississippi. Bennett received his Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication,Master of Education,and Education Specialist degrees from Middle Tennessee State University and earned his Ed.D. from Tennessee State University in Educational Administration. Bennett served as Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Georgia,and in 2013 Bennett was appointed the 10th President of the University of Southern Mississippi. Shortly after his appointment,the Hattiesburg campus of the University of Southern Mississippi was struck by an EF4 tornado,which did not involve any loss of life due to a students' break for Mardi Gras holiday. In 2017,William Carey University,also located in Hattiesburg,Mississippi,was struck by a tornado,and Bennett's leadership in providing temporary space at the University of Southern Mississippi later resulted in him being honored with a doctor of humane letters,honoris causa,from William Carey. He was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa in 2019 at the University of Southern Mississippi.
