Fall greetings to all,

We have passed the halfway mark for the fall semester and are enjoying some fine autumn weather. Activity is high at all of our campuses, teaching and research sites. 

The First Lady and national recognition

On November 2, we celebrated at the Southern Miss Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs. It was special to welcome our First Lady, Laura Bush, along with cabinet member, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, and our governor, Haley Barbour. It was a wonderful day for the university as our J.L. Scott Marine Education Center was designated a Coastal Eco-System Learning Center. It is one of only 21 in the country. It has brought a great deal of positive attention to the fine work of the center and all of our staff there is to be commended.

News and notes

The latest report of the National Survey of Student Engagement ranks Southern Miss significantly above the average of its Carnegie peers by approximately 10% when measuring the degree of student engagement in the classroom and beyond. This means that our faculty and staff are creating engaging learning experiences and giving personal attention and support to students outside the classroom.

We completed eleven Campus Dialogues in Hattiesburg and various sites on the Gulf Coast. Nearly 350 people participated in sessions designed to identify the strengths, hopes and dreams for our university.  We are currently looking for a day in late November or early December to present the report from the sessions to the campus.

Were getting national attention almost on a daily basis. Most recently, our story on receiving the $3.5 million Homeland Security Grant in our Department of Human Performance and Recreation was featured in Forbes Magazine and ABC Money online, and was picked up by the Associated Press for national distribution. Read more about the Homeland Security Grant here.

The Provost search is coming along nicely with more than 50 qualified applicants to date.  The search committee will begin the screening process this month with a goal of concluding the search by the end of February.

We hosted approximately 120 high school senior scholars and their parents at Honors Day recently and are aggressively recruiting high ability students, including National Merit semifinalists, to be a part of our acclaimed Honors College.

More campus news

Ranked #56 in nation
The National Science Foundation announced rankings for research and development in chemistry at universities and colleges nationwide. Ranked #56 on the top 100 listing, Southern Miss was ranked in the company of Yale, Princeton, Virginia Tech, the University of Southern California, Ohio State and ahead of others such as Duke, Clemson, Emory, Vanderbilt and Boston University. Southern Miss was the highest ranked university in Mississippi.

Eagle Achievement Program Started with Hattiesburg Schools
Southern Miss is leveraging its cultural, educational and athletic resources to support the Hattiesburg school districts initiative to reward students who exhibit positive behavior and good citizenship. As the Hattiesburg Public School District implements its Positive Behavior Support plan, the university is supporting the effort with its Eagle Achievement Rewards program that provides students with opportunities to attend sporting and cultural events at the university. Read more about this special program here.

Students attend prestigious national conference
Two students are attending the U.S. Military Academys prestigious National Conference on Ethics in America this week at West Point, N.Y., after being selected based on their academic standing and involvement in student government. Melissa Cirino, a junior from Hattiesburg majoring speech communication and sociology, and Kenneth Busby, a sophomore molecular biology major from Mobile, Ala., will participate with other students from universities across the country. Get the full story here.

Alumni photojournalists honored
Two alumni whose photographic coverage of Hurricane Katrinas impact helped earn their newspapers a shared Pulitzer Prize for public service for coverage of Hurricane Katrina say recovery from the storm is slow, but evident. Tim Isbell and Ted Jackson, both news photographers for the Sun Herald and Times-Picayune newspapers, respectively, were inducted into the universitys School of Mass Communication and Journalism Hall of Fame. Read more on their remarkable perspectives here.

Iron Chef and Alumna Cat Cora Comes Home
Living to Love Your Roots was the title of the lecture given on campus as Cat Cora, the first female chosen as an Iron Chef on the popular Food Network show Iron Chefs of America, outlined her recipe for success. She told of the opportunities she seized and challenges she overcame in pursuit of a dream, all the while never forgetting where she came from. Following her graduation from Southern Miss, Cora decided to focus on making that dream a reality. After learning that famed cook Julia Child would be in Natchez for a book signing, she made up her mind to meet her and get her advice about how to become a chef and succeed in the restaurant industry. Read more of the story of our proud Southern Miss alum here.

Closing notes

Our athletes continue to have success not only on the field, but in the academic area. We recently received the Halbrook Award, which goes each year to the university in Mississippi with the highest graduation rates in men and womens sports. We have won the mens award three straight years. This year, we also won the womens award, making us the first institution in Mississippi to win the men and womens award in the same year. This is a wonderful tribute for our Southern Miss student-athletes and the professors who teach them.

As we move towards Thanksgiving, I continue to be grateful for the warm welcome that Joe and I are receiving. I deeply appreciate my family, my colleagues and being back in my hometown. I wanted to express my personal gratitude in this special season for all that you have done to throw open your arms to me and I wish you and your family much to be thankful for going forward.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the Southern Miss family!

Dr. Martha D. Saunders
President