Browsing: People

I moved from Mississippi to Massachusetts on September 7, 2025. Eager to finally embark on a new journey, I did not know how much of a cultural shock I would experience. Below are three of the first differences I have noticed within nearly a month of arriving. 

When one walks into the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs, the odds are that they will immediately be met by the museum’s own Ginny Garlotte. A native of D’Iberville, Mississippi and long-time patron of the arts, Garlotte is not only the face of visitor services and inquiries at the front desk of WAMA, but she is also one of the Gulf Coast’s most humble visual artists. A well-read and passionate researcher,  Garlotte has created a theme of artwork that is both strong in beauty and amusement.  

The world lost one of the most influential conservationists of the past century with the passing of Dr. Jane Goodall. Her love of the natural world and subsequent call for us to champion a balance in the way we view nature began with her ground-breaking research on chimpanzees in the forest of Tanzania, Africa. She was a household name, right up there with Mr. Rodgers, and Big Bird. She carried herself with dignity and was a forceful voice for the creatures and places she loved.

Opera Mississippi in Jackson is celebrating 80 years, highlighting Mississippi’s rich history of Opera. It is the state’s only professional opera company and the ninth-oldest continuously operating opera company in the U.S., dating back to its 1945 founding. For eight decades, Opera Mississippi has worked to produce accessible, high-quality Opera, musical theatre, and popular music experiences. Over the years, Opera Mississippi has featured notable national and international artists, including its latest executive director, John Christopher Adams from Fannin, Mississippi. 

Belhaven University is once again searching for aspiring writers to award a full-ride scholarship. In honor of well-known author and alumna Angie Thomas ’11, the University will present the Angie Thomas Writers Scholarship to one incoming creative writing major.

A medical condition called pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) caused Cathy Maberry to lose her sight partially in 2017. Within three years, Maberry went completely blind. Despite her circumstances, Maberry never lost sight of her goal to complete her degree at Jackson State University (JSU) and pursue her life’s purpose. 

Mississippi’s greatest treasures are her people. They always have been, and they always will be. No matter where a person travels within the borders of our state, I can guarantee that there will be some kind, hospitable Mississippians to greet and help that traveler along the way. Seriously, kindness and hospitality are absolutely part of our Mississippi DNA.

Among its distinguished holdings, the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection is honored to house the papers of H.A. and Margret Rey, creators of Curious George. This fall, the de Grummond Collection at The University of Southern Mississippi will welcome members of the Rey family to Hattiesburg for a reunion and host a series of events Oct. 23-28 to celebrate their first visit to the Rey Collection and de Grummond.

The late Floyd Sulser spent 40 years building a rare collection of work by Eudora Welty, an American short-story writer, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, photographer and Mississippian. Now, scholars and fans can enjoy the works at the University of Mississippi’s J.D. Williams Library.

The University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association will induct seven of its most dedicated and distinguished alumni into its Hall of Fame.

In 2009, Anne Reed and Leigh Gentry-Hickman met during a women’s Bible study in Tupelo, Mississippi. Their friendship began quietly, but a spark of connection was formed. Years later, that spark grew into something extraordinary.

Two Mississippi State University senior ROTC cadets are being recognized after placing in the top 1% at this summer’s U.S. Army ROTC Advanced Camp.

Neurodegenerative diseases remain among the most complex and least understood conditions in modern medicine, with few effective treatments available for patients and families facing diagnoses such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and frontotemporal dementias (FTDs). At The University of Southern Mississippi, Dr. Vijay Rangachari, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, has been investigating the molecular mechanisms that underlie these disorders, particularly how certain proteins misfold and aggregate in the brain to drive disease progression.

Dr. Kimberly Ward, an associate professor in The University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Speech and Hearing Sciences, has been elected to serve a three-year term as vice president for academic affairs on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Board of Directors.

Mississippi State graduate Ginny Walker Shurlds debuts her first children’s book “Mississippi State From A to Z,” with a special signing at Starkville’s Book Mart on Main Street Friday [Sept. 5] 2–5 p.m. She’ll continue signing copies Saturday morning when the store opens at 9:30 a.m.

Southern Miss marine science professor Dr. Kristina Mojica and Ph.D. student Rachel Lancaster participated in the largest marine debris removal effort in Southeast Alaska earlier this summer. Their work supported the NOAA-funded Ocean Plastics Recovery Project, which removed an estimated 3,600 pounds of marine debris per day from the region’s shorelines aboard the R/V Steadfast.