The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College celebrated 25 years of the Barksdale family’s generosity at this year’s Fall Convocation on Oct. 13 in the Ford Center.
The event included words from Dean Ethel Young Scurlock; Associated Student Body President Lila Osman; Edrei Peña and Deshauna Lee Vaughn, co-presidents of the Honors College Minority Engagement Council; Andy Flores, president of the First Generation Student Network, and Sepp Cecil, director of the Honors Senate.
The honored speakers for the night were three college alumni: Markeeva Morgan, Patrick Woodyard and Sarah Barch-Gill.
Scurlock, dean of the honors college and associate professor of English and African American Studies, welcomed the audience to convocation.
“My goal is to lead the charge in showing our deep gratitude for all of those who’ve shared their time, talent and treasure with our honors college. The success that we’ve experienced is not because of one person, one vision or one idea,” she said. “We are celebrating this milestone because of the hard work and diligent efforts of many people like our faculty director Dr. Elizabeth Payne, our first dean, Dr. Douglass Sullivan-González, our world-class faculty members, our dedicated staff members and of course our remarkable students. We are fortunate to have a supportive senior leadership team at our university, led by Chancellor Glenn Boyce and Provost Noel E. Wilkin.”
Scurlock specifically thanked Jim Barksdale for his family’s contributions, as the college was founded through an endowment from Jim and Sally Barksdale, both UM alumni.
“Mr. Barksdale would never boast about how much he’s given to any organization, but tonight I want to take a moment and boast about what he’s given to our honors college. Since our inception in 1997, the Barksdale family has given over $36 million to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. These funds have helped us pay for scholarships, small honors courses, student research, travel and so much more,” Scurlock said.
Osman, an honors student, expressed her appreciation.
“As a member of the Sally McDonnell Honors College, the honors college building has seen me at my best and my worst. Regardless of what type of mood I’m in or what I’m studying for, I’ve always viewed the honors college as a safe haven of some sort,” Osman said.
Osman described the overall experience of a SMBHC student.
“We’re there for each other at our best and at our worst, which is what defines us as an institution,” she said.
Peña and Lee Vaughn introduced Markeeva Morgan, ho
nors college alumnus and Boeing Company senior program director for executive transportation services and support.
“Twenty-five years ago, I was a bright-eyed freshman from rural Tate County, Mississippi, honestly questioning whether I had made the right decision coming to the University of Mississippi, but my first-semester experience removed all doubt,” Morgan said.
Morgan spoke about what experiences opened his eyes to the individuality of the honors college and the university.
“While the experience here might not be unique, it certainly is not common. I discovered that this experience provides our students with humble confidence that enables us to overcome fear and press forward through whatever challenges lie before us,” Morgan said.
Morgan listed many experiences in his career that he feels were influenced by his experiences at the university.
“This helped me prepare for a fiery beginning of my career, fierier than I could have ever anticipated. In my mid-20s, it helped me lead a development program that changed the way the Navy designed systems,” Morgan said.
Morgan closed his speech with a statement on the importance of an honors community.
“Establishing preeminent honors education here has been more than transformative. It is revolutionary, producing a growing stream of citizen scholars who are challenging their parts of the world,” Morgan said.
Flores introduced Sarah Barch-Gill, honors college alumna, poet and M.F.A. candidate at the University of Arkansas.
Before reading her poem, Barch-Gill expressed her gratitude to the audience.
“I cannot tell you enough how grateful I am to the Barksdales, to the honors college and all of you. I always wanted to be a writer when I was a kid, but I had completely given up on that idea when I got to college. The honors college and all of my incredible mentors not only encouraged me and taught me to do what I wanted to do, but they also gave me space to grow not just as a writer but as a person,” Barch-Gill said.
Sarah performed a poem called “Ode to Ourselves,” which talks about the experience of being a student at the honors college.
Cecil introduced Patrick Woodyard, honors college alumnus and Nisolo Founder and CEO.
“There are three messages that I want you to walk away with when you leave here. First, living our lives with a purpose beyond our self-interests is not only what matters most, but it’s also what makes us happiest in life,” Woodyard said. “Secondly, bringing you with the purpose behind Nisolo I want you to walk away with a better understanding of how broken the fashion industry is today, what it has to do with every single one of us, and of course what each of us can do to change it. Finally, I want you to be encouraged to lean into your education in the honors college and realize that what you’re learning is going to initiate your future in ways you cannot imagine today.”
Woodyard spoke about the faults in the fashion industry and how we can work with brands like Nisolo to create a better climate and environment for those who work in the manufacturing industry in different countries.
Scurlock closed the event with another moment of gratitude to all faculty and staff within the honors college and the Barksdale family. This year’s convocation was a momentous occasion to recognize the scholars, entrepreneurs and creatives that the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College creates at the University of Mississippi.
