University of Mississippi
Encyclopedia
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

 university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 located in Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....

. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...

 in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville
Booneville, Mississippi
Booneville is a city in Prentiss County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 8,625 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Prentiss County....

, Grenada
Grenada, Mississippi
Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County.-History:...

, Tupelo
Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo is the largest city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. It is the seventh largest city in the state of Mississippi, smaller than Meridian, and larger than Greenville. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city's population was 34,211...

, and Southaven
Southaven, Mississippi
-Households And Families:As of the census of 2000, there were 28,977 people, 11,007 households, and 8,134 families residing in the city. The population density was 857.9 people per square mile...

 as well as the University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Mississippi Medical Center is the health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi and is located in Jackson, Mississippi...

 in Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

. It also operates the University of Mississippi Field Station in Abbeville
Abbeville, Mississippi
-Education:The Town of Abbeville is served by the Lafayette County School District.The University of Mississippi also owns and operates the University of Mississippi Field Station, which is located in Abbeville. It is a natural laboratory used to study, research and teach about sustainable...

. Additionally, it is both a sea-grant and space-grant
Space grant colleges
The space-grant colleges compose a network of 52 consortia, based at universities across the United States, for outer space-related research. Each consortium is based in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico and consists of multiple independent institutions, with one of the...

 institute. Sixty-nine percent of undergraduates are from Mississippi and nineteen percent of all students are minorities. International students come from sixty-six nations. Ole Miss is the second largest university in the state of Mississippi, behind Mississippi State, with a total enrollment of 20,822 in Fall, 2011.

History

The University got its nickname "Ole Miss" via a contest in 1897. That same year, the student yearbook was being published for the first time. As a way to find a name for the book, a contest was held to solicit any suggestions from the student body. Elma Meek, a student at the time, submitted the winning entry of Ole Miss. The name Ole Miss originated from a term of respect for a plantation owner's wife that the slaves were forced to use. This sobriquet was chosen not only for the yearbook, but also became the name by which the University is now known.

The Lyceum, built in 1848, is the oldest building on campus. In its first year, it housed all of the classrooms and faculty offices of the university. The Lyceum is now the home of the university's administration offices. The columned facade of the Lyceum is represented on the official crest of the university, along with the date of establishment.

The School of Medicine, which was originally located at the eastern gate of the campus, was used as a hospital during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 for both Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 and Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 soldiers, especially those who were wounded at the battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...

. Soldiers who died in the campus hospital were buried in a mass grave located at the northeast corner of the Coliseum which was built nearly 100 years later as a venue for concerts and basketball games. The School of Medicine, then providing the first two years of pre-clinical education and granting medical certificates, was moved to the western edge of campus into Billy S Guyton Hall in 1934. After the medical school moved to the new University Hospital in Jackson, Guyton Hall housed the ROTC units. After a complete renovation in 2005 it currently houses the School of Education.

The School of Medicine is now located in Jackson, Mississippi. The original building, renamed Brady Hall in honor of a former head nurse, served first as a dormitory for male students, and then as the home of the Music Department in its last years before being condemned in the early 1970s. It was replaced by a new Chemistry building in the mid 1970s.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, classes were interrupted when the entire student body and many faculty from Ole Miss enlisted in the Confederate army. Their company, Company A, 11th Mississippi Infantry, was nicknamed the University Greys, and suffered a 100% casualty rate during the Civil War. A great number of those casualties occurred during Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...

 at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

 on July 3, 1863, when the University Greys made the deepest encroachment into Union territory. Some of the soldiers actually crossed the Union defensive fortification wall, only to be killed, wounded or captured. On the very next day, July 4, Confederate forces surrendered
Battle of Vicksburg
The Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C...

 at Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...

; the two battles together are commonly viewed as the turning point in the war. When Ole Miss re-opened, only one member of the University Greys was able to visit the university to address the student body. The university was led, during the post-war period, by former Confederate general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 A.P. Stewart, a Rogersville, Tennessee
Rogersville, Tennessee
Rogersville is a town in Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. It was settled in 1775 by the grandparents of Davy Crockett and is the second-oldest town in the state. It is named for its founder, Joseph Rogers....

 native, who was President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 from 1874-1886.

During the 1930s, an attempt by Mississippi Governor Theodore G. Bilbo
Theodore G. Bilbo
Theodore Gilmore Bilbo was an American politician. Bilbo, a Democrat, twice served as governor of Mississippi and later was elected a U.S. Senator . A master of filibuster and scathing rhetoric, a rough-and-tumble fighter in debate, he made his name a synonym for white supremacy...

 to move The University of Mississippi to Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

, was prevented by then Chancellor Alfred Hume
Alfred Hume
Alfred Hume was the Chancellor of the University of Mississippi from 1924 to 1930, and from 1932 to 1935.-Biography:He was born in Tennessee in 1866. He received a PhD from Vanderbilt University. He taught mathematics and astronomy at the University of Mississippi, until he served as its Chancellor...

 by giving Mississippi legislators a grand tour of Ole Miss and the surrounding city of Oxford. It so impressed the legislators that the move was defeated.

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, UM was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...

 which offered students a path to a Navy commission.

Desegregation

Desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...

 came to Ole Miss in the early 1960s with the activities of United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 veteran James Meredith
James Meredith
James H. Meredith is an American civil rights movement figure, a writer, and a political adviser. In 1962, he was the first African American student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi, an event that was a flashpoint in the American civil rights movement. Motivated by President...

 from Kosciusko, Mississippi
Kosciusko, Mississippi
Kosciusko is a city in Attala County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,372 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Attala County....

. Even Meredith's initial efforts required great courage. All involved knew how violently Dr. William David McCain
William David McCain
William David McCain was a recognized leader of the Mississippi political establishment and a leader in its struggle in the 1950s and 1960s to maintain the segregated "southern way of life" against the forces of integration...

 and the white political establishment of Mississippi had recently reacted to similar efforts by Clyde Kennard
Clyde Kennard
Clyde Kennard was a Civil Rights pioneer and martyr, born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In the 1950s, he attempted several times to enroll at Mississippi Southern College to complete his undergraduate degree started at University of Chicago...

 to enroll at Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Mississippi).

Meredith won a lawsuit that allowed him admission to The University of Mississippi in September 1962. He attempted to enter campus on September 20, September 25, and again on September 26, only to be blocked by Mississippi Governor Ross R. Barnett, who proclaimed that "...No school in our state will be integrated while I am your Governor. I shall do everything in my power to prevent integration in our schools."

After the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...

 held both Barnett and Lieutenant Governor Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
Paul Burney Johnson, Jr. was a United States Democratic Mississippi politician and son of former Mississippi Governor Paul B. Johnson, Sr.....

 in contempt with fines of more than $10,000 for each day they refused to allow Meredith to enroll, Meredith, escorted by a force of U.S. Marshals
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...

, entered the campus on September 30, 1962.

Segregationists had gathered and rioted at the school; there were more people from around the South than students. Thousands of students, residents from the surrounding area and many from out of state, many armed, were involved. Many Mississippi citizens joined in on "their battle against 'Catholic, Communist, Northern'" intervention in Mississippi white people's business. The protesters swarmed the campus in a violent effort to prevent Meredith's enrollment and enforce segregationist laws of Mississippi at the time.

Two people died during the riot, including a French journalist. One-third of the US Marshals, 166 men, were injured, as were 40 soldiers and National Guardsmen.

After control was re-established by federal forces, Meredith, thanks to the protection afforded by federal marshals, was able to enroll and attend his first class on October 2. Following the riot
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...

, elements of an Army National Guard
Army National Guard
Established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code, the Army National Guard is part of the National Guard and is divided up into subordinate units stationed in each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia operating under their respective governors...

 division were stationed in Oxford to prevent future similar violence. While most Ole Miss students did not riot prior to his official enrollment in the university, many harassed Meredith during his first two semesters on campus.

According to first person accounts chronicled in Nadine Cohodas's book The Band Played Dixie, students living in Meredith's dorm bounced basketballs on the floor just above his room through all hours of the night. When Meredith walked into the cafeteria for meals, the students eating would all turn their backs. If Meredith sat at a table with other students, all of whom were white, the students would immediately get up and go to another table

In 2002 the university marked the 40th anniversary of integration with a year-long series of events. It was entitled, " Open Doors: Building on 40 Years of Opportunity in Higher Education, and included an oral history of Ole Miss, various symposiums, the April unveiling of a $130,000 memorial and a reunion of the federal marshals. It culminate[d] in September 2003 with an international conference on race." That year 13% of the student body was African American, and Meredith's son Joseph graduated as the top doctoral student at the school of business.

The site of the riots, known as Lyceum-The Circle Historic District
Lyceum-The Circle Historic District
The Lyceum-The Circle Historic District is a historic district in Oxford, Mississippi that includes eight buildings and several monuments lining University Circle which surrounds "The Circle" on the campus of the University of Mississippi...

, was designated as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

 by the United States Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...

 on October 7, 2008. The district includes:
  • The Lyceum
  • The Circle
  • Croft Institute for International Studies
    Croft Institute for International Studies
    The Croft Institute for International Studies offers a B.A. degree in international studies in conjunction with the University of Mississippi's college of Liberal Arts...

    , also known as the "Y" Building
  • Bernard Hall
  • Carrier Hall
  • Shoemaker Hall
  • Ventress Hall
  • Bryant Hall
  • Peabody Hall


Additionally, on April 14, 2010, The University campus was declared a National Historic Site by the Society of Professional Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...

 to honor reporters who covered the 1962 riot. One of the two people killed was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 reporter named Paul Guihard
Paul Guihard
Paul Guihard, was a French journalist covering the Civil Rights Movement in the United States in the 1960s. He was murdered in rioting at the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford after James Meredith attempted to enroll at the all-white school. He was shot in the back at almost...

.

Presidential debate

The University was chosen to host the first presidential debate of 2008
United States presidential election debates, 2008
The bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates sponsored four debates for the 2008 U.S. presidential general election, which took place at various locations around the United States in September and October 2008...

, which was held September 26, 2008. This was the first presidential debate to be held in Mississippi.

Mascot change

The University of Mississippi is adopting a new on-field mascot for athletic events. The university has not used an on-field mascot since 2003, when it retired "Colonel Reb" from the sidelines. The mascot issue has been a source of controversy since. Some students and alumni found the "Old South" imagery conjured by Colonel Reb to be offensive, while others cherished Colonel Reb as a representation of regional pride and the Southern gentleman. In the spring of 2010, students at the university voted on participating in the mascot selection process; 23% of students voted to have a voice in the choice. On October 14, 2010, the mascot-selection process ended with the committee submitting "Rebel Black Bear" concept to the university administration. The university administration turned over the concept to the athletic department for further development before official implementation. Regardless of the official on-field mascot fielded by the university, all the university's sports teams will still be referred to as the Rebels. Students are less than enthusiastic about the new mascot.

Some students jokingly suggested using the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

 character Admiral Ackbar
Admiral Ackbar
Admiral Ackbar is a fictional character in the Star Wars science fiction saga. A member of the amphibious Mon Calamari species, Ackbar was the foremost military commander of the Rebel Alliance who led major combat operations against the Galactic Empire and was later integral in the formation of the...

 as the new mascot. They were unable to get permission from George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...

.

Divisions of the University

The degree-granting divisions located at the Main Campus in Oxford:
  • School of Accountancy
  • School of Applied Sciences
  • School of Business Administration
    University of Mississippi School of Business Administration
    - School of Business Administration :The School of Business Administration at the University of Mississippi is a leading business school in the South.- Overview :...

  • School of Education
  • School of Engineering
  • College of Liberal Arts
  • Graduate School
  • School of Law
    University of Mississippi School of Law
    The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The School of Law opened in 1854 and is the fourth-oldest state-supported law school in the country...

  • School of Pharmacy
  • School of Journalism and New Media

The colleges at the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus in Jackson:
  • School of Dentistry
  • School of Health Related Professions
  • School of Nursing (with a satellite unit at the main campus)
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences


University of Mississippi Medical Center surgeons, led by Dr. James Hardy
James Hardy (surgeon)
Dr. James D. Hardy was an American surgeon, famous for the first human lung transplant and the first animal-to-human heart transplant.- Early life :...

, performed the world's first human lung transplant, in 1963, and the world's first animal-to-human heart transplant, in 1964. The heart of a chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...

 was used for the heart transplant because of Dr. Hardy's research on transplantation, consisting of primate studies during the previous nine years.

The University of Mississippi Field Station located in Abbeville is a natural laboratory used to study, research and teach about sustainable freshwater ecosystems.

Since 1968, the school operates the only legal marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...

 farm and production facility in the United States. The National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institute on Drug Abuse
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a United States federal-government research institute whose mission is to "lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction."-History:...

 (NIDA) contracts to the university the production of cannabis for the use in approved research studies on the plant as well as for distribution to the seven surviving medical cannabis
Medical cannabis
Medical cannabis refers to the use of parts of the herb cannabis as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine...

 patients grandfathered into the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program
Compassionate Investigational New Drug program
The Compassionate Investigational New Drug program, or Compassionate IND, is a United States Federal Government-ran Investigational New Drug program that allows a limited number of patients to use medical marijuana grown at the University of Mississippi. It is administered by the National...

 (established in 1978 and canceled in 1991).

The university houses one of the largest blues music archives in the United States. Some of the contributions to the collection were donated by BB King who donated his entire personal record collection. The Mamie and Ellis Nassour Arts & Entertainment Collection, highlighted by a wealth of theater and film scripts, photographs and memorabilia, was dedicated in September, 2005. The archive includes the first ever commercial blues recording, a song called "Crazy Blues" recorded by Mamie Smith
Mamie Smith
-External links:* African American Registry* with photos* with .ram files of her early recordings* NPR special on the selection on "Crazy Blues" to the 2005...

 in 1920.

Student media

  • The Daily Mississippian
    The Daily Mississippian
    The Daily Mississippian, commonly called The DM, is the student newspaper of the University of Mississippi.It is operated as an independent student-run newspaper, and is the only college newspaper in Mississippi that is published five times a week.It publishes Monday through Friday during the fall...

     is the student-published newspaper of The University, established in 1911. Although The Daily Mississippian (DM) is located on the Ole Miss campus, it is operated largely as an independent newspaper run by students. The DM is the only college newspaper in Mississippi
    Mississippi
    Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

     that is published five times a week. The editorial staff consists of approximately 15 students, along with a staff of 15-20 writers and 5 photographers, though these numbers vary from year to year and semester to semester. There is also an entire department devoted entirely to advertising sales and production. With a circulation of 15,000, it is one of the largest college newspapers in the country.
  • The Ole Miss student yearbook is a 416-page color book produced by students with faculty advice. It has won various awards including the Gold Crown.
  • WUMS-FM
    WUMS-FM
    WUMS is a student-run formatted college radio station in University, Mississippi. WUMS is owned and licensed by the Student Media Center of the University of Mississippi . WUMS serves University/Oxford, Mississippi and the surrounding area in Lafayette County with an ERP of 3,000 watts...

     92.1 Rebel Radio, operated by students, is a 3,000-watt FCC-commercially licensed radio station.
  • NewsWatch is the only student-produced, live newscast in the state of Mississippi. Broadcast through the Metrocast cable company, it is live at 5:30 Monday-Friday.


These five publications are a part of the S. Gale Denley Student Media Center at Ole Miss. Current director of student media is Patricia Thompson.

Athletics

Archie Manning
Archie Manning
Elisha Archibald "Archie" Manning III is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League, playing for the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982, then for the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings...

's uniform number, 18, has become the official speed limit of the Oxford campus.

Student housing

Approximately 4,386 students live on campus in the fourteen residence halls available. All freshmen (students with less than 30 credit hours) are required to live in campus housing their first year unless they meet certain commuter guidelines. The Department of Student Housing and Residence Life is an auxiliary, meaning that it is self-supporting and does not receive appropriations from state funds. All rent received from students pays for housing functions such as utilities, staff salaries, furniture, supplies, repairs, renovations and new buildings. Most of the residence staff members are students, including day-to-day management, conduct board members and maintenance personnel. Upon acceptance to The University of Mississippi, a housing application is submitted with a processing fee. On Campus Housing cost ranges from $1730 to over $5000(the highest price being that of the new residential college) per semester depending on the occupancy and suite type. Students (with more than 30 credit hours) have the option to live off campus in unaffiliated housing.

Greek life

Despite the relatively small number of Greek-letter organizations on campus, many students participate in Greek life at Ole Miss. The tradition of Greek life on the Oxford campus is a deep-seated one. In fact, the first fraternity founded in the South was the W.W.W. (or Rainbow Society), founded at Ole Miss in 1848. The fraternity merged with Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...

 in 1886. Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...

 followed shortly after at Ole Miss in 1850, as the first to have a house on campus in Mississippi. Delta Gamma
Delta Gamma
Delta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...

 national sorority was founded in 1873 at the Lewis School for Girls in nearby Oxford. Today, sorority chapters are very large, with many boasting of around 250 active members. Recruitment is fiercely competitive and potential sorority members are encouraged to secure personal recommendations from Ole Miss sorority alumnae in order to increase the chances of receiving an invitation to join one of the 9 NPC sororities on campus. Fraternity recruitment is also fierce with only 14 active Fraternity chapters on campus.


NPC Sororities
  • Alpha Omicron Pi
    Alpha Omicron Pi
    Alpha Omicron Pi is an international women's fraternity promoting friendship for a lifetime, inspiring academic excellence and lifelong learning, and developing leadership skills through service to the Fraternity and community. ΑΟΠ was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College on the campus...

     1958
  • Chi Omega
    Chi Omega
    Chi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....

     1899
  • Delta Delta Delta
    Delta Delta Delta
    Delta Delta Delta , also known as Tri Delta, is an international sorority founded on November 27, 1888, the eve of Thanksgiving Day. With over 200,000 initiates, Tri Delta is one of the world's largest NPC sororities.-History:...

     1904
  • Delta Gamma
    Delta Gamma
    Delta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...

     1927
  • Kappa Alpha Theta
    Kappa Alpha Theta
    Kappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...

     1979
  • Kappa Delta
    Kappa Delta
    Kappa Delta was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School , in Farmville, Virginia. It is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university...

     1927
  • Kappa Kappa Gamma
    Kappa Kappa Gamma
    Kappa Kappa Gamma is a collegiate women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted that October 13, 1870 should be recognized at the official Founders Day, because no...

     1947
  • Phi Mu
    Phi Mu
    Phi Mu is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. It was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The organization was founded as the Philomathean Society on January 4, 1852, and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same year...

     1926
  • Pi Beta Phi
    Pi Beta Phi
    Pi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330 alumnae organizations across the United States and...

     1962

No Longer active Chapters:
  • Alpha Delta Pi
    Alpha Delta Pi
    Alpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...

     1961, inactive since 1995
  • Alpha Xi Delta
    Alpha Xi Delta
    Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...

     1971, inactive since 1976
  • Delta Zeta
    Delta Zeta
    Delta Zeta is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Today, Delta Zeta has 158 collegiate chapters in the United States and over 200 alumnae chapters in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada...

     1928, inactive since 1953
  • Zeta Tau Alpha
    Zeta Tau Alpha
    Zeta Tau Alpha is a women's fraternity, founded October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia. The Executive office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...

     1939, inactive since 1999


NPHC Organizations
  • Alpha Kappa Alpha
    Alpha Kappa Alpha
    Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...

     1974
  • Alpha Phi Alpha
    Alpha Phi Alpha
    Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...

     1978
  • Delta Sigma Theta
    Delta Sigma Theta
    Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...

     1974
  • Iota Phi Theta 2008
  • Kappa Alpha Psi
    Kappa Alpha Psi
    Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...

     1983
  • Omega Psi Phi
    Omega Psi Phi
    Omega Psi Phi is a fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. The founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos...

     1973
  • Phi Beta Sigma
    Phi Beta Sigma
    Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...

     1975
  • Sigma Gamma Rho
    Sigma Gamma Rho
    Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...

     1994
  • Zeta Phi Beta
    Zeta Phi Beta
    Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...

     1976


Other Sororities
  • Sigma Phi Lambda
    Sigma Phi Lambda
    -History:Sigma Phi Lambda was founded in 1988 at the University of Texas at Austin by Patricia Adams Hogan, Robin Maegen, Gina Williams Goveas, Jacqueline Goveas and Eileen Howell Barlow....

     2005


IFC Fraternities
  • Alpha Tau Omega
    Alpha Tau Omega
    Alpha Tau Omega is a secret American leadership and social fraternity.The Fraternity has more than 250 active and inactive chapters, more than 200,000 initiates, and over 7,000 active undergraduate members. The 200,000th member was initiated in early 2009...

     1927
  • Beta Theta Pi
    Beta Theta Pi
    Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...

     1879
  • Delta Psi 1855
  • Kappa Alpha Order
    Kappa Alpha Order
    Kappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...

     1900
  • Kappa Sigma
    Kappa Sigma
    Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...

     1926
  • Phi Delta Theta
    Phi Delta Theta
    Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...

     1877
  • Phi Kappa Psi
    Phi Kappa Psi
    Phi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...

     1857
  • Phi Kappa Tau
    Phi Kappa Tau
    Phi Kappa Tau is a U.S. national collegiate fraternity.-History:Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity was founded in the Union Literary Society Hall of Miami University's Old Main Building in Oxford, Ohio on March 17, 1906...

     1969
  • Pi Kappa Alpha
    Pi Kappa Alpha
    Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...

     1927
  • Sigma Alpha Epsilon
    Sigma Alpha Epsilon
    Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...

     1866
  • Sigma Phi Epsilon
    Sigma Phi Epsilon
    Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...

     1927
  • Sigma Chi
    Sigma Chi
    Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...

     1857
  • Sigma Nu
    Sigma Nu
    Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...

     1927
  • Sigma Pi
    Sigma Pi
    Sigma Pi is an international college secret and social fraternity founded in 1897 at Vincennes University. Sigma Pi International fraternity currently has 127 chapters and 4 colonies in the United States and Canada and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee...

     1957-1971, 1974–1991, 2009–Present


No Longer Active Chapters:
  • Phi Pi Phi
    Alpha Sigma Phi
    Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is a social fraternity with 71 active chapters and 9 colonies. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest fraternity in the United States....

     1927, merged with Alpha Sigma Phi in 1938, currently inactive
  • Chi Psi
    Chi Psi
    Chi Psi Fraternity is a fraternity and secret society consisting of 29 active chapters at American colleges and universities. It was founded on Thursday May 20, 1841, by 10 students at Union College with the idea of emphasizing the fraternal and social principles of a brotherhood...

     1858, currently inactive
  • Delta Kappa Epsilon
    Delta Kappa Epsilon
    Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...

     1850, currently inactive
  • Delta Tau Delta
    Delta Tau Delta
    Delta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...

     1886-1912, 1926–1942, currently inactive
  • Phi Epsilon Phi 1935, merged with ZBT nationally in 1961, currently inactive
  • Phi Gamma Delta
    Phi Gamma Delta
    The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...

     1855, 1868–1879, 1994–2000, currently inactive
  • Phi Kappa Sigma
    Phi Kappa Sigma
    Phi Kappa Sigma is an international all-male college social fraternity. Its members are known as "Phi Kaps", "Skulls" and sometimes "Skullhouse", the latter two because of the skull and crossbones on the Fraternity's badge and coat of arms. Phi Kappa Sigma was founded by Dr. Samuel Brown Wylie...

     1859, 1949 currently inactive
  • Phi Kappa Theta
    Phi Kappa Theta
    Phi Kappa Theta is a national social fraternity with over 50 chapters and colonies at universities across the United States. "Phi Kaps", as they are commonly referred to colloquially, are known for diversity among their brothers and a dedication to service.-History:Phi Kappa Theta was established...

     1971-1988, currently inactive
  • Pi Kappa Phi
    Pi Kappa Phi
    Pi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...

     1927, currently inactive
  • Tau Kappa Epsilon
    Tau Kappa Epsilon
    Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...

     Colonized in 1984, currently inactive
  • Zeta Beta Tau
    Zeta Beta Tau
    Zeta Beta Tau was founded in 1898 as the nation's first Jewish fraternity, although it is no longer sectarian. Today the merged Zeta Beta Tau Brotherhood is one of the largest, numbering over 140,000 initiated Brothers, and over 90 chapter locations.-Founding:The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was...

     Colonized in the 1980s, currently inactive


Other Fraternities
  • Sigma Alpha Iota
    Sigma Alpha Iota
    Sigma Alpha Iota , International Music Fraternity for Women. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public...

     1937
  • Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
    Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
    Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...

     1962
  • Beta Upsilon Chi
    Beta Upsilon Chi
    Beta Upsilon Chi,or ΒΥΧ , is the largest Christian social fraternity in the United States. Since its founding at the University of Texas in 1985, ΒΥΧ has spread to twenty-four campuses in twelve states...

     2007

Associated Student Body

The Associated Student Body (ASB) is the Ole Miss student government organization.

Noteworthy alumni

  • Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner
    William Faulkner
    William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...

     attended.
  • Mahesh Bhupathi
    Mahesh Bhupathi
    Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament...

    , Indian Tennis Star - Winner of 11 Grand Slam Titles
  • Best-selling legal thriller writer John Grisham
    John Grisham
    John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...

     received his Juris Doctor degree at Ole Miss Law
    University of Mississippi School of Law
    The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The School of Law opened in 1854 and is the fourth-oldest state-supported law school in the country...

    , but his undergraduate degree from rival, Mississippi State University
    Mississippi State University
    The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...

    .
  • Charlie's Angel
    Charlie's Angels
    Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...

     Kate Jackson
    Kate Jackson
    Kate Jackson is an American actress, director, and producer, perhaps best known for her role as Sabrina Duncan in the popular 1970s television series Charlie's Angels...

     and long-time "As the World Turns
    As the World Turns
    As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...

    " star Anthony Herrera
    Anthony Herrera
    Anthony Herrera was an American actor.-Career:Among roles in various movies, he is most known—and most hated—for his role as the evil James Stenbeck on the soap opera As the World Turns, a role he has played off and on from 1980 to 1984, from 1986 to 1989, in 1996, from 1997 to 1999, in 2001 and...

     attended the university.
  • Former NFL
    National Football League
    The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

     quarterback Archie Manning
    Archie Manning
    Elisha Archibald "Archie" Manning III is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League, playing for the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982, then for the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings...

     attended Ole Miss and played football for the Rebels. He met his future wife Delta Gamma
    Delta Gamma
    Delta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...

     Olivia Manning at Ole Miss.
  • Super Bowl Champion and Archie Manning's youngest son, Eli Manning
    Eli Manning
    Eli Nelson Manning is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He is the younger brother of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning...

    , also played quarterback at Ole Miss and is now the starting quarterback for the New York Giants
    New York Giants
    The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

    .
  • The University has produced three Miss America
    Miss America
    The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

    s: Susan Akin
    Susan Akin
    Susan Akin, is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Meridian, Mississippi who won Miss America 1986. Born in 1965, she was a member of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women at the University of Mississippi....

     (1986 and a member of Pi Beta Phi
    Pi Beta Phi
    Pi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330 alumnae organizations across the United States and...

    ), Mary Ann Mobley
    Mary Ann Mobley
    Mary Ann Mobley is a former Miss America, actress, and television personality.-Career:After serving her reign as Miss America 1959, Mobley embarked on a career in both film and television...

     and Lynda Lee Mead
    Lynda Lee Mead
    Lynda Lee Mead Shea attended the University of Mississippi, where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority, and won the Miss America pageant in 1960...

     (1959 and 1960 roommates and both members of Chi Omega
    Chi Omega
    Chi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....

    ).
  • Baltimore Ravens
    Baltimore Ravens
    The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...

     Left Tackle Michael Oher
    Michael Oher
    Michael Jerome Oher is an American football offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Mississippi for the Ole Miss Rebels...

     - Drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. Also see The Blind Side (film)
    The Blind Side (film)
    The Blind Side is a 2009 American semi-biographical drama film. It is written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The storyline features Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who plays for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL...

  • United States Senators Trent Lott
    Trent Lott
    Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....

    , Roger Wicker
    Roger Wicker
    Roger Frederick Wicker is the junior U.S. Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party. In December 2007 he was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour to fill the seat vacated by Trent Lott. He subsequently won the 2008 special election for the remainder of the term. Wicker served...

      and Thad Cochran
    Thad Cochran
    William Thad Cochran is the senior United States Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1978, he is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and was its chairman and 2005 to 2007.-Early life:He was born in Pontotoc,...

     earned their undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Mississippi.


Noteworthy alumni in fiction

  • Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
    Leonard McCoy
    Leonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...

    , a character in Star Trek
    Star Trek
    Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

  • Suzanne Sugarbaker, a character in Designing Women
    Designing Women
    Designing Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...

     (she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority)
  • Ellen Roark, a character played by Sandra Bullock
    Sandra Bullock
    Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...

     in the 1996 movie A Time to Kill
    A Time to Kill
    A Time to Kill is a 1989 legal suspense thriller by John Grisham. Grisham's first novel, it was rejected by many publishers before Wynwood Press eventually gave it a modest 5,000-copy printing...

    , based on the novel by real alumnus John Grisham
    John Grisham
    John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...

  • William Faulkner
    William Faulkner
    William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...

    's estate
    Estate (house)
    An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...

    , Rowan Oak
    Rowan Oak
    Rowan Oak, also known as William Faulkner House, is William Faulkner's former home in Oxford, Mississippi. It is a primitive Greek Revival house built in the 1840s by Robert Sheegog. Faulkner purchased the house when it was in disrepair in the 1930s and did many of the renovations himself. Other...

    , is owned by the university. His Nobel Prize for Literature is held in Archives and Special Collections at J. D. Williams Library on the Ole Miss campus. The town of Oxford surrounds the campus which is located in Lafayette County and inspired Faulkner and his imaginary town of Jefferson, the county seat of Yoknapatawpha County
    Yoknapatawpha County
    Yoknapatawpha County is a fictional county created by the American author William Faulkner, based upon and inspired by Lafayette County, Mississippi and its county seat of Oxford, Mississippi...

  • Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, the central character of Kathryn Stockett
    Kathryn Stockett
    Kathryn Stockett is an American novelist. She is known for her 2009 debut novel, The Help, which is about African American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s.-Career:...

    's novel The Help
    The Help
    The Help is an American situation comedy television series which premiered on The WB on March 5, 2004. The show was a raunchy comedy that focused on the hard-lucked life of a beauty school dropout, who now must work for the wealthy and spoiled Ridgeway family. The rest of the hired help are also...

     and the film based on the book
    The Help (film)
    The Help is a 2011 comedy-drama film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel of the same name. The film is about a young white woman, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, and her relationship with two black maids during Civil Rights era America in the early 1960s...

    , graduated from Ole Miss before writing a book in which she told the stories of the African-American maids who worked for white families.

See also

  • Mississippi Teacher Corps
    Mississippi Teacher Corps
    The Mississippi Teacher Corps is a two-year teaching program that recruits college graduates to teach in "critical-need areas" of Mississippi...

     – based at the university
  • University of Mississippi School of Law
    University of Mississippi School of Law
    The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The School of Law opened in 1854 and is the fourth-oldest state-supported law school in the country...


External links


*
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