'Tougaloo Nine' played historic role in desegregation

Tougaloo College

Freedom Trail marker to honor 9 students

When nine determined African-American students from Tougaloo College held a sit-in in the old Jackson Municipal Library on March 27, 1961, the police and the all-white library staff reportedly told the students they were not welcome and did not belong in the library.

Fifty-six years later, the Jackson Hinds Library board has chosen to honor the Tougaloo Nine by funding a Freedom Trail Marker to be unveiled on Thursday at 10 a.m. in front of the old Jackson Municipal Library in the 300 block of State Street.

Tougaloo Nine members include Joseph Jackson Jr., Albert Lassiter, Alfred Cook, Ethel Sawyer, Geraldine Edwards Hollis, Evelyn Pierce (deceased), Janice Jackson, James “Sammy” Bradford and Meredith Anding Jr.

Tougaloo President Beverly Hogan will also speak at the dedication, as well as a representative of the library system and several other dignitaries.

After the unveiling, a special reception for the Tougaloo Nine will be held across the street from the new marker at the Eudora Welty Public Library at 300 State St., where members of the Tougaloo Nine will be given an opportunity to reminisce about the sit-in, the effect it had on their lives and their place in civil rights history. Most of the living Tougaloo Nine are expected to return to Jackson for the ceremony. Family members of Evelyn Pierce, the only deceased member, will be present on her behalf.

“We are so proud of the Tougaloo Nine and their historic role in the desegregation of all public libraries in the South. Their efforts were recently recognized in an article in the June issue of American Libraries as being one of three groups whose sit-ins in a public library were influential in the subsequent integration of all public libraries in the South,” Jackson Hinds Library System Executive Director Patty Furr said in a news release.

A recently published book by Wayne Wiegard, titled "Desegregating Libraries in the American South: Forgotten Heroes of the Civil Rights History," also featured the Tougaloo Nine prominently and gave them a great deal of credit for leading the way in the desegregation of other public libraries in the South.

MSU

Genetics study receives $1.2M NSF grant

A colorful tropical butterfly is helping researchers at Mississippi State University and Puerto Rico investigate genetics and evolution through a collaboration sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Scientists at the Starkville land-grant university and the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras will be studying the relationship in organisms between genetic material, or genotype, and physical characteristics resulting from gene expression and environmental influences, or phenotype.

Brian Counterman, an associate professor of biological sciences, leads the MSU research team. Ryan Range, assistant professor of biological sciences, as well as Jovonn Hill and Federico Hoffman, both assistant professors in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, also are part of the study that will examine genotype-phenotype relationships using color patterns of the Heliconius butterfly.

Counterman noted that groundbreaking 19th-century naturalist Charles Darwin found Heliconius to be “‘the most striking example’ of natural selection in the wild” because it has the ability to “work with other butterflies to train predators that they are toxic.”

More than $1.2 million is being provided over four years through the NSF’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, known as EPSCoR.

According to EPSCoR Head Denise Barnes, “Over the past several decades, scientists and engineers have made massive strides in decoding, amassing and storing genomic data.”

For that reason, the federal agency is providing resources for future discoveries that may help improve food-crop yields, better predictions for human disease risk and new drug therapies.

“This award will support foundational work at the cutting edge of genetics and evolution,” said Angus Dawe, head of MSU’s Department of Biological Sciences in a news release.

MC

President Royce announces retirement

Mississippi College alumni and others have been sending in expressions of thanks to President Lee Royce since he announced his plans earlier this month to retire in May.

Royce, 65, has been MC’s chief executive since 2002.

“I have so admired our president’s steady, cheerful spirit of leadership during the 15 years I have been privileged to know him,” Ridgeland attorney and MC alum Andy Taggart is quoted in a news release as saying.

From the academic world to athletic fields, the 65-year-old Vanderbilt University alumnus has touched many lives in the Blue & Gold community since arriving.

Added Athletic Director Mike Jones: “He has been a tremendous supporter of Choctaw athletics. He has been a wonderful mentor to me, and he will be truly missed.”

Improvements for MC Choctaws sports facilities during Royce’s tenure have ranged from the A.E. Wood Coliseum to Robinson-Hale Stadium to the university’s soccer fields, baseball stadium upgrades and work on the track.

When Royce began his presidency in 2002, there were nine international students enrolled. Today, there are more than 300 from nearly 40 nations. Overall enrollment has risen from 3,200 students in 2002 to about 5,200 in 2017.

Royce worked closely with Stan Baldwin as MC’s new Medical Sciences Building construction project went up and a new Physician Assistant program opened in 2011, and now is nationally accredited.

William Carey

Construction begins on 2 buildings

William Carey University in Hattiesburg has broken ground for the new Tatum Court and the Asbury Academic Building.

The new 28,909-square-foot Tatum Court will replace the historic 1914 building, the oldest on campus, that was declared a complete loss after the tornado that hit campus Jan. 21.

The first floor of the three-story administration building will include a reception area and offices for financial aid, registrar and financial affairs. The second floor will include offices for the president, academic vice president, provost, human resources and marketing. The third floor will provide space for special events and banquets. The estimated cost, including architectural fees, is $9.3 million.

Tatum Court is named in honor of W.S.F Tatum, a wealthy lumberman, who acquired the property and offered it as a gift to the Mississippi Baptist Convention in 1911 to establish what was then the Mississippi Woman’s College.

The 12,000-square-foot Asbury Academic Building will house the Ralph and Naomi Noonkester School of Arts and Letters classrooms and faculty offices that were in the old Tatum Court. It also includes space for the Lucile Parker Gallery. The building on Tuscan Avenue that previously housed the gallery and apartments was destroyed in the tornado. The new building is being named in honor of the Asbury Foundation, which gave $2 million to the university’s tornado recovery efforts. The building will cost approximately $2.2 million.

The theater department, which also was located in Tatum Court, will move to a new addition being constructed at the Tatum Theatre.

Landry and Lewis Architects PA of Hattiesburg is the architect, and Hanco Corp. of Hattiesburg will be the contractor for both buildings. Construction should be completed in summer 2018.

Belhaven University

New degree prepares students for PR

Students who want to pursue a career in public relations, journalism, sports broadcasting and electronic communication can now earn a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Belhaven University.

“Public relations is among the fastest-growing career fields, and we're excited to be helping prepare the next generation of PR professionals,” said Bill Moak, chairman and assistant professor of public relations.

Majors transition into careers that specialize in social media, television or radio management, marketing, advertising or journalism, and they handle communications for a wide spectrum of companies and organizations.

“With our society's current focus on the role of the media and discussions about authenticity and trustworthiness, the PR field needs people with a solid professional and ethical foundation,” Moak said in a news release.

JSU

General counsel accepts post out of state

Matthew Taylor, who has served as general counsel for Jackson State University for over four years, has accepted a similar position out of state and will be leaving effective Tuesday.

Prior to joining the university, he spent several years as a partner with Scott Sullivan Streetman & Fox and was a founding member of the firm Gladden, Ingram & Taylor.

Taylor is a 2005 graduate of the International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy at Stanford University.

Jackson State’s Associate General Counsel Edward O. Watson has been named interim general counsel. Watson has served JSU for three years and has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Tougaloo College. He earned his law degree from Mississippi College School of Law.

Watson previously was in private practice as a founding member of the firm Alexander & Watson P.A., representing various colleges and universities as outside litigation counsel. He spent several years as an assistant attorney for Hinds County and was the prosecutor and attorney for his hometown of Terry.