Welcome!
The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College attracts a diverse body of high-performing students to the University of Mississippi and prepares citizen scholars who are fired by the life of the mind, committed to the public good, driven to find solutions. Established in 1997 through a gift from alumni Jim and Sally Barksdale, the Honors College merges intellectual rigor with community action. It offers an education similar to that at prestigious private liberal-arts schools and universities, but at a far lower cost. Small, discussion-based classes, dedicated faculty, and a nurturing staff enable honors students to experience intellectual as well as personal growth.
News & Events
SMBHC Senior Wins Fulbright US Student Award
Congratulations to Ryan Ezelle, a student in international studies and Spanish, who will be returning to the Dominican Republic for the 2013-2014 academic year to serve as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. Stay tuned for a full story about Ryan and how he has developed a passion for teaching.
Honors College Welcomes New Freshman Class!
The Honors College welcomes 357 freshmen in its Class of 2017! The students hail from 23 states and 1 foreign country, with 62% being from the great state of Mississippi. This impressive body averages a 3.93 high school GPA and a 30.2 ACT. We look forward to meeting these students at the Honors Orientation May 22-23 or one of the regular orientation sessions. To register for Orientation, visit here.
World Cup Roster Announced
Congratulations to the seven students who will be representing the SMBHC at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil: Madeleine Achgill ’17, Maia Cotelo ’16, Vera Gardner ’17, Jessica Hiskey ’16, Jenn Miller ’16, Stephanie Trippel ’16, and Matt Williams ’14. You can check out their video and website submissions here.
Faculty Summer Stipend Competition 2013 Winners
Congratulations to the UM faculty who won summer stipends to support development of new honors courses. Hilary Becker, Mercer Bullard, John Czarnetzky, Vivian Ibrahim, Clifford Ochs, Timothy Yenter, and Alan Arrivée are this year’s recipients.
Honors Program Graduate Named to TIME’s Top 100 List
Congratulations to Hannah Gay, UMMC pediatrician and Honors Program graduate (1976), who has been named to TIME’s Top 100 List for 2013. Dr. Gay orchestrated a breakthrough in HIV treatment by treating a new-born with anti-HIV drugs hours after it was born. The child has not exhibited any signs of HIV and is off any medications. To read more, visit here.
The Lazarus Project Recovers Ancient Texts
The Lazarus Project makes news again! Members of the Honors College’s Lazarus Project class traveled to Vercelli, Italy, over Spring Break to study ancient texts at the Capitolare Library, including the Vercelli manuscript (10th century) and a Globe Map (12th century. To read more about their experience, click here. Also, check out this news story from TG-R TV in Italy (with English subtitles) to see some of their work. Note: the audio is difficult to hear, but watching these ancient texts come to life is striking!
