From the Chancellor

ongratulations on the recent successful Black Alumni and Family Reunion weekend on campus. The record-setting and broad attendance exceeded everyone’s expectations, and the weekend was a historic moment for the Black Alumni Advisory Council and Ole Miss Alumni Association. By sharing your experiences at Ole Miss, you created a positive atmosphere of learning and thoughtful reflection that will continue improving our university community.

The 2008-09 academic year included other milestones as well. We hosted the first presidential debate of 2008 and were proud to have been a part of a process that led to the election of Barack Obama as our country’s first black president. Gen. Colin Powell, former secretary of state, visited our campus and gave an eloquent address to a standing-room-only crowd, and the National Symphony honored us with a performance at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts. We congratulated our 25th Rhodes Scholar and our 13th Truman Scholar, and the number of National Merit and National Achievement Scholars applying to UM continues to grow.

However, no milestone has honored us more this year than welcoming Rose Jackson Flenorl as our first African-American UM Alumni Association president. I hope all of you join me in feeling a sense of warmth and achievement—of progress and positive change—and a renewed commitment to our university.

We hope you will continue the momentum created by this year of transformation and exceeding expectations by staying connected with the university and your Alumni Association. We welcome your voice in all matters that concern our university, and we look forward to seeing you on campus again soon.

Warmest Regards,

Robert C. Khayat
Chancellor