Biology Archives - Philosophy

Archive for the ‘Biology’ Category

Freeman Foundation Grants Send UM Students to Other Side of the Globe

Posted on: August 22nd, 2019 by erabadie

Grant supports 20 student internships in Eastern Asia

Twenty University of Mississippi students interned in Eastern Asia this summer through a grant from the Freeman Foundation. Submitted photo

AUGUST 19, 2019 BY SHEA STEWART

Stretching from Beijing to Singapore, 20 University of Mississippi students received global work experience this summer while interning in Eastern Asia through a grant from the Freeman Foundation.

Their roles this summer varied, from an accounting internship in Bangkok to a medical internship in Shanghai, working for companies from a global truck and bus manufacturer to a Bangkok blockchain business. The students’ majors were likewise diverse, ranging from accounting to sociology.

The students interned for at least eight weeks through support from the UM Experiential Learning in Eastern Asia program. Each student received a $7,500 participation stipend from UM – with $5,000 of that coming from the Freeman Foundation grant and the other $2,500 provided by the university’s Office of Global Engagement and the students’ respective school(s) or college.

This is the second year of the program at UM after the Freeman Foundation grant was renewed in the fall of 2018. Last year, 17 students participated in the program.

“Freeman Foundation interns gain self-awareness and global awareness through participation in society, both locally and globally,” said Blair McElroy, UM senior international officer and director of study abroad. “Through this incredible program, they are gaining the skills needed to engage meaningfully with diverse people, places, challenges and opportunities.

“From providing dental health care in Vietnam, working to promote fair trade practices in Korea, creating curriculum on nutrition in China, devoting their creativity to magazines in Japan and many more amazing opportunities across the region, our students are doing significant work overseas and truly becoming global citizens.”

The students in this year’s program were:

Elizabeth Atkinson, an international studies major from Memphis
Diwas Bhandari, an accountancy major from Sharadanagar, Nepal
Anna Bruno, an international studies and Chinese major from Abbeville
Shivani Chaudhary, a managerial finance and economics major from Nepal
Amira Coger, an economics major from Olive Branch
Anna Conner, a pre-med general business major from Edwardsville, Illinois
Carter Diggs, a journalism major from Oxford
Olivia George, an international studies and Korean major from Biloxi
Lillian Gordon, a biology major from Spring Hill, Tennessee
Olivia Melvin, an international studies and Chinese major from Ocean Springs
Azaziah Parker, a biomedical engineering major from Pearl
Viviek Patel, an international studies major from Jackson
Stephanie Penn, a banking and finance, and managerial finance major from Biloxi
Shammond Shorter, a business management major from Atoka, Tennessee
Nischal Timalsina, a mechanical engineering major from Lalitpur, Nepal
Jeanne Torp, an international studies major from Biloxi
Lily Van Elderen, an international studies and Chinese major from Martin, Michigan
Emily Wang, an international studies, Chinese, Arabic and philosophy major from Randolph, New Jersey
Jessica Washington, a sociology and psychology major from Hernando
Haley Watts, a general engineering major from Hattiesburg

Diggs spent his internship with Tokyo Weekender, Japan’s oldest English magazine, where he photographed events, learned to manage the magazine’s website and smartphone application, and wrote for the magazine’s online and print publications.

“They were fantastic to work with and let me gain a wide variety of experience,” he said. “This will definitely give my resume and portfolio a hearty boost. … The experience and skills the team has passed on to me are invaluable, including being able to communicate with people from other cultures.

“Foreign internships aren’t too common on new graduates’ resumes, so I would definitely recommend other students to apply for this program if they can possibly manage it.”

Melvin put her interests in international studies and Chinese to good use this summer, interning with the Shenzhen Mangrove Wetlands Conservation Foundation based in Shenzhen, China. The foundation is China’s first environmental protection-focused organization.

“My personal goal for the summer was to find an opportunity that allowed me to grow both personally and professionally,” she said. “Being involved with a (nonprofit) that advocates for such an important global cause satisfied the first part of the criteria, and the ability to exercise my Chinese language ability while cooperating with my coworkers on a daily basis to perform various tasks both in and out of the office satisfied the latter.

“Immersing myself in such an intense and unfamiliar environment provided the opportunity for every little trial and success to be all the more meaningful.”

“Nothing short of amazing” is how Penn described her internship as a financial analyst with Bitkub, a Bangkok company that serves as a digital asset and cryptocurrency exchange platform.

The internship allowed her to learn about discounted cash flow analysis and financial modeling in industries ranging from cryptocurrency to oil and gas to real estate. She also attended investor meetings, and gained professional skills in international marketing, sales and business development while interacting with clients from all over the world.

“This internship has prepped me for my future career in investment banking with the tasks and projects that have been assigned to me,” she said. “The international connections I have made while interning at Bitkub will also be beneficial when applying for jobs upon my graduation in December.

“This internship has taught me both hard skills when presenting pitch decks to investors, as well as soft skills when meeting with potential clients. These hard and soft skills will be extremely beneficial when entering into the workforce.”

It is exciting that so many Ole Miss students took advantage of the “generously funded” program to expand their horizons, said Oliver Dinius, executive director of the UM Croft Institute for International Studies.

“When I first submitted the application for this grant two years ago, we did not know what to expect – both in terms of the Freeman Foundation’s enthusiasm about the application and the student response,” he said. “Fortunately, both the support from the Freeman Foundation and the excitement of interning students has been wonderful.

“We expect to apply again for this grant to give another group the chance to experience Eastern Asia in the summer of 2020 through such an internship.”

The UM Experiential Learning in Eastern Asia program funds internships, not study abroad programs. Grantees must intern full time, at least 20 hours per week, for a minimum of eight weeks. The Freeman grantees are full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students in good academic standing who are not in their last year of school.

The goal of the Freeman Foundation’s grant is to help students gain real-life experience while interacting regularly with local populations.

Established in 1994 by the estate of American International Group co-founder Mansfield Freeman and based in Stowe, Vermont, the foundation’s general mission is “to strengthen the bonds of friendship between this country and those of the Far East” and “to stimulate an exchange of ideas in economic and cultural fields which will help create mutual understanding.”

For information on internship programs in Eastern Asia for 2020, go to https://croft.olemiss.edu/home/freeman-internships-in-east-asia or contact Bree Starnes at bstarnes@olemiss.edu.

From 14 to 64, UM Freshman Class Spans the Ages

Posted on: September 24th, 2018 by erabadie

Gifted teen, veteran highlight wide range of educational opportunities

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018 BY MICHAEL NEWSOM

Ryan Mays (center), is taking classes at the University of Mississippi this fall as a 14-year-old freshman, one of the youngest in the university’s history. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

One grew up in the age of “flower power” and the Vietnam War, while the other was born after the launch of Apple iTunes, but both are part of the University of Mississippi’s 2018 freshman class.

A 64-year-old grandfather and military veteran who takes all his classes online from his home in southwest Mississippi, and a 14-year old wunderkind who aspires to be a surgeon make up the extreme outliers in the incoming class that spans 50 years in age.

Ryan Mays was home-schooled by his mom, a college professor with a Ph.D., before being accepted into UM. He entered as a 14-year-old, one of the youngest students in the history of the university. The 2015 freshman class had four 15-year-olds, but it’s highly unusual to find a student Mays’ age at any university.

If his life were normal, he would be beginning ninth grade, but there’s nothing typical about Mays. From an early age, his mother, Vikki Spann, knew he was far more intellectually advanced than most peers. He’d been reading since he was 3 years old.

“It’s been very rewarding to be blessed with a son that you know has a gift,” Spann said. “You just can’t sit on that. You have to constantly seek God and ask for direction about what to do next. In that regard, only God led us to this place.”

Mays’ Ole Miss educational journey began over the summer, when he enrolled in intensive Mandarin Chinese courses as a member of Cohort 16 in the Chinese Language Flagship Program. The Mound Bayou native has a double major in Chinese and biology with a minor in neuroscience.

One of the first signs that he would be interested in foreign languages came when he was a baby. Mays would take the family’s TV remote and change the language from English to French, Spanish or Chinese and watch it.

The bright, soft-spoken youth completed his home-school curriculum through a 12th-grade level, but has also been a student and member of the Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures at Mississippi Valley State University since 2013. There, he was exposed to Arabic, French, Chinese and Russian languages.

He also studied abroad in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Limon and San Jose, Costa Rica.

He is a member of the Tri-County Workforce Alliance Health Mentorship Program, where he has had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Gregory Norwood, an OB/GYN. Before joining the mentorship program, he interned with Dr. Timothy Lloyd, a veterinarian. He hopes to shadow a surgeon soon.

So far, his age doesn’t come up here in class much, except when one professor uses him as an example of good study habits for others to follow, he said.

He doesn’t find himself overwhelmed with going from a class of one to large college classes. He’s trained himself to handle it.

“I wasn’t really that nervous, since I had taken classes beforehand,” Mays said. “I just sort of ignore the sheer amount of people in the classroom and focus on maybe one person at a time in the classroom, whoever is sitting next to me, or just the teacher.”

Mays hopes to become a multilingual surgeon. His mother is an adjunct at MVSU, seeking employment in the Oxford area to eliminate their nearly three-hour daily commute to campus.

John Smith, of Gloster, is a University of Mississippi freshman this fall. The grandfather, who is retired from the military, is taking online classes toward a philosophy and religion degree. Photo by Nicole Hester for Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

John Smith, of the Amite County town of Gloster, graduated from high school in 1973, but several mitigating circumstances preventing him from attending college.

“I don’t think a lot of people in America think about it, but college was not an option for people who didn’t have the correct income bracket when I was growing up,” Smith said. “My dad was pretty successful considering he didn’t complete the fifth grade. It just wasn’t an option for me.

“One of the main reasons is I just didn’t have the money to pay the tuition, much less for an apartment or any other housing. I didn’t have a scholarship.”

Instead, he embarked on a 30-year military career, that started in the U.S. Air Force, where he was active duty for eight years, and then he spent 22 years in the Mississippi Air National Guard. During his military career, he took some community college classes.

He retired as a senior master sergeant in 2007 and went to work for a defense contractor based in Atlanta for nine years. Smith spent the bulk of his time on the road.

When he decided to leave that job, it was time to work on a goal that had been on the back burner for many years: finishing college.

He decided to pursue a degree through Ole Miss Online, which offered him flexibility, convenience and access to the university’s faculty from the comfort of his home, 265 miles from Oxford.

He had taken about 30 hours of coursework at community college that he transferred to UM. He’s taking a law class, Writing 102, Religion 101 and Philosophy 101 this semester. He’s aiming for a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religion.

He motivates himself to stay on top of his classwork.

“It is not that hard to stay disciplined,” Smith said. “You have a goal of staying in there and making sure you follow up and stick with it.”

For him, college is about finishing something. He said he doesn’t intend to pursue another career.

He and his wife of 44 years, Linda Smith, have five young grandchildren, and he wants them to be there when he walks across the stage at his graduation. This will hopefully show them the importance of education at an early age, he said.

“I’m looking forward to earning a degree that says, ‘Ole Miss’ on it,” Smith said. “That is my No. 1 goal.”

Mays and Smith are a reminder of how many different kinds of people make up the Ole Miss community, said Brandi Hephner LaBanc, UM vice chancellor for student affairs.

“Ryan and John’s journeys to Ole Miss remind us of the diversity and complexity of those students we educate and serve,” Hephner LaBanc said. “The wonderful privilege of working on our campus – physically or virtually – is the opportunity to engage with and observe students of all backgrounds and skills find their niche and excel.”

UM Delves into Ethics to Prepare Students to Debate Society’s Issues

Posted on: May 17th, 2018 by erabadie

New courses and competitions equip participants to engage in civil discussion

MAY 16, 2018 BY MICHAEL NEWSOM

UM Ethics Bowl team member Madison Bandler (second from left), discusses the question, ‘Should the standard of sexual consent be an affirmative verbal yes?’ during the Great Debate of 2018. Photo by Marlee Crawford/Ole Miss Communications

The University of Mississippi Department of Philosophy and Religion has created new classes, and conducts an annual Ethics Bowl and a Great Debate with the goal of equipping students to respectfully grapple with some of life’s most pressing questions.

Specialized ethics classes have become more common at universities around the country over the last 20 years against the backdrop of many high-profile scandals that involve unethical behavior. The department has courses on medical, environmental, professional and business ethics, among others.

Deborah Mower, an associate professor of philosophy, came to UM in 2016 and specializes in moral psychology, applied ethics and public policy, and moral education. Unlike many academic subjects that deal only with professional situations, the curriculum can be applied to all aspects of life, said Mower, whose work is supported by the Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hume Bryant Lectureship in Ethics Endowment.

Deborah Mower, associate professor of philosophy

“Everything is an ethical issue,” Mower said.

Films, books, the legal system and other aspects of our culture all have ethical theories imbued in them, so people pick up a variety of beliefs, but they can become a hodgepodge. Those beliefs don’t all fit together nicely, and in some context, one might apply one principle but ignore it in another situation.

This idiosyncrasy is problematic, Mower said.

The value of an ethics class is not just applying what is learned, but also figuring out how some of your beliefs fit into single coherent theories, she said. Seeing students figure this out is always rewarding, Mower said.

“You always get that moment in the semester when you are teaching them some particular theory and they get this ‘aha!’ look on their face where they’ve realized, ‘I’m a Kantian and I never knew it,’ or, ‘I’m a virtue theorist and I never knew it,’” she said.

Mower also praised the students on the first two UM Ethics Bowls teams, which competed in 2017 and 2018. They spent hours each week practicing, which included being questioned about specific topics by experts and applying their teachings to the answers they gave.

The UM Ethics Bowl participants also held a Great Debate of 2018 earlier this semester.

At the Great Debate, two groups handled the topic “Should the standard of sexual consent be an affirmative verbal ‘yes’?” One team spoke in favor of the “affirmative, verbal ‘yes’” while another spoke against it.

Their presentations were followed by judges’ questions and a question-and-answer session with emphasis on how to address specific claims and arguments civilly for a productive conversation. A reception afterward allowed students to discuss the issue further with attendees.

Madison Bandler, a senior biology major from Decatur, Illinois, completed a fellowship last year in which she worked at the UM Medical Center in Jackson. There, she learned about ethical issues surrounding medicine, which led her to begin taking classes under Mower.

Mower urged her to become involved with the Ethics Bowl, but she wasn’t immediately on board.

“I thought, ‘Oh, that sounds really complicated and intense; I don’t know,’” Bandler said. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I came to the first practice, but it ended up becoming one of the most influential and inspiring parts of my academic career.”

The team studied issues ranging from quarantines, euthanasia, a ban on Muslims and psychiatrists diagnosing someone with mental illness through television and without seeing them in a clinical setting, which is also known as “the Goldwater rule.” Exploring so many diverse topics with such great depths challenged her.

The coursework and competitions will serve the aspiring physician well, she said.

“I want to go to medical school, so I’ve always had an interest in medicine,” Bandler said. “To mold that with an interest in humanities and ethics is really something I’m passionate about.”

Ethan Davis, a senior philosophy major from Laurel, said he enjoyed the Ethics Bowl and Great Debate for one reason that might sound weird. He believes formal academic debate has grown stale, but the Ethics Bowl offers something new and different.

It is designed to begin a conversation, rather than win an argument. It rewards friendliness and the ability to engage the opposing team’s viewpoint in interesting ways. Ethics Bowl teams can actually agree.

“You find yourself using your response time to say things like, ‘We completely agree with your position, and here are some elements that we think are important that you didn’t get a chance to speak about. Could you elaborate on them?” Davis said.

Samantha Priest, a senior philosophy and psychology major from New Albany, said the Ethics Bowl taught her the importance of listening to other people’s opinions with a charitable mind, with the goal of finding the strongest, most rational interpretation of a speaker’s argument.

“It is not civil to ignore the strong points in another’s argument and focus on the weak points,” Priest said. “Focusing there only causes negative discourse, but being charitable allows for a positive discussion among people who disagree.”

It also drove home the importance of knowing that she not only needs to look at an issue from all perspectives, but also to consider solutions, she said.

“It is not enough to voice an opinion about an issue if the goal is progress,” Priest said. “Progress takes solutions, and the best way to get to progress is start by not only talking about the issues, but figuring out how to solve the issue in the most ethical way possible.”

UM Students, Faculty Take Learning on the Road

Posted on: October 23rd, 2017 by erabadie

Study USA program gearing up for hands-on Wintersession courses in four exciting locales

OCTOBER 18, 2017 BY PAM STARLING

UM geological engineering faculty members Bob Holt, Dennis Powers and Doug Granger visit the Clinton P. Anderson overlook outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, with students during the ‘Geological Engineering Design Field Camp’ course offered through UM’s Study USA program in August. During Wintersession 2018, students will again have opportunities to travel with UM faculty members as they study biology, education, English, gender studies, hospitality management, philosophy, political science and more. Submitted photo

Students during the ‘Geological Engineering Design Field Camp’ course offered through UM’s Study USA program in August. During Wintersession 2018, students will again have opportunities to travel with UM faculty members as they study biology, education, English, gender studies, hospitality management, philosophy, political science and more. Submitted photo

Whether students are capturing biological field samples in nature or capturing the essence of a culture, the eye-opening experience of experiential learning will be on full display through the University of Mississippi’s Study USA Wintersession 2018 classes.

This year’s offerings are: “Writing Gender and Sexuality in the Crescent City” in New Orleans; “Californian STEAM: Microbial Science, Conservation and Society” in Riverside, Monterey Bay and San Francisco, California; “Las Vegas Resort Course” in Las Vegas; and an honors course in “Biomedical Ethics” in Washington, D.C.

New Orleans native Jaime Cantrell is among the UM faculty members leading a Study USA learning adventure in January. A visiting professor of English and faculty affiliate for the university’s Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, she said she wants to share her knowledge of the community and culture with students.

“Like its gumbo, New Orleans is richly diverse,” Cantrell said. “It’s our plan for this course to highlight those transnational, multicultural and indigenous legacies.”

The dual-listed course can be taken for Writing 398 or Gender Studies 395 course credit. Participants will travel to New Orleans Jan. 4-9 and conduct a virtual presentation on Jan. 12.

Cantrell said she hopes the course will prepare students to understand how their university educational experience parallels communities, publics and subcultures outside their learning walls.

“This can be seen where people work together in meaningful, creative and unexpected ways to transform lives and preserve historical and cultural memory,” she said.

Students who are interested in the teaching and exploration of the scientific process have an opportunity to get their hands dirty during the “Californian STEAM” course set Jan. 4-14 in various Californian coastal areas.

“California is a hotbed for both microbial sciences, conservation research and STEM education,” said Erik Hom, UM assistant professor of biology. “This course is looking at how microbes are everywhere and affect all areas of life.”

Hom, along with Renee Cunningham, assistant professor of education, will lead the class in conducting field samples and exploring conservation issues at various Pacific coast locations, including Monterey Bay and Joshua Tree National Park.

Students interested in education, environmental science, biology, premedicine, pharmacy, chemistry, biochemistry, geoscience, ocean sciences and engineering are all encouraged to take part in this course.

Hospitality management and business majors have a chance to learn more about the business of managing resorts and tourism while interacting with industry leaders during the Las Vegas resorts course set for Jan. 3-8.

Led by Jim Taylor, associate professor of hospitality management, the class will offer informative meetings with upper-level management to discuss how various amenities of a resort property add to the overall guest experience.

“Las Vegas is a real-world laboratory for hospitality management,” Taylor said. “Where else can students see a destination that was once a desert and has now become one of the premier convention, vacation and dining locations in the United States?”

Students will learn more about large-scale hotel operations and how lodging components interact with resorts. They will also find out more about how different facets of resorts work together to increase productivity and customer satisfaction.

Students from the UM Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College can dive into ethical theories and principles at work in our nation’s health care system during “Biomedical Ethics,” led by philosophy professor Neil Manson.

The class will meet Jan. 2-6 in Oxford and Jan. 7-13 in Washington, D.C.

“Students will get to meet with experts addressing some of the most interesting issues in medicine right now,” Manson said. “They will be discussing questions like ‘What can we do with a person’s genetic information’ and ‘How should the American health care system be structured?’

“Also, ‘Is medicine just about restoring people to “normal” health, or should we feel free to use medical technologies to enhance human abilities?’”

Manson said he hopes the class helps students learn how to be professional, prepare, ask intelligent questions, overcome their fears and feel comfortable interacting with experts in the workplace.

“I also hope they get some sense of how Washington works – not just the branches of government, but the think tanks and the lobbyists,” Manson added. “Whether or not they aspire to careers in or near government, there is just no substitute for seeing up close how the system works.”

The application deadline for Study USA’s Wintersession 2018 courses is Nov. 9. Some scholarship opportunities are available. For more information, visit http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/studyaway.

UM Seniors Inducted into Hall of Fame

Posted on: April 10th, 2017 by erabadie

Recipients honored for achievement, service and potential for success

APRIL 7, 2017 BY CHRISTINA STEUBE

The 2017 Hall of Fame inductees are front row ( L to R) Acacia Santos, Leah Gibson, Yujing Zhang, Alex Martin. Back Row (L to R) Austin Dean, Chase Moore, Austin Powell, Miller Richmond, John Brahan, James Roland Markos. Photo by Robert Jordan UM Communications

Ten University of Mississippi seniors have been inducted into the university’s 2016-17 Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors afforded students at UM.

The inductees were honored Friday (April 7) in a ceremony at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. A committee in accordance with policy developed by the Associated Student Body chooses Hall of Fame members. Selections are based on academic achievement, community involvement and potential success.

This year’s Hall of Fame members are John Brahan of Hattiesburg; Austin Dean of Hammond, Illinois; Leah Gibson of Starkville; James-Roland Markos of Jackson, Tennessee; Jane Martin of Madison; Chase Moore of Horn Lake; Austin Powell of Corinth; Miller Richmond of Madison; Acacia Santos of Southaven; and Yujing Zhang of Oxford.

“The students who are inducted into the Hall of Fame are leaders, scholars and community servants,” said Mindy Sutton Noss, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students. “Their combined list of accomplishments and contributions to the university community is impressive and inspiring.

“They each leave a legacy at Ole Miss, and I know they will all go on to make a difference in the world around them. I believe we will hear more about the achievements of these individuals throughout their lives.”

The 10 students were among 150 Ole Miss seniors recognized for inclusion in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. They are to be listed in the national publication’s 2017 edition.

Brahan, pursuing a double major in public policy leadership and theatre arts, is a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and a Trent Lott Institute Scholar. He served in several roles over the course of his education, including ASB vice president; director of Greek affairs for RebelTHON, the Miracle Network dance marathon benefitting the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital; and vice president of standards for the Interfraternity Council. Brahan served the community as a Leap Frog tutor and mentor. He’s performed in theatrical productions of “Clybourne Park” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and plans to pursue a career in the entertainment industry upon graduation. His parents are Tammy Kolbo and John Brahan of Hattiesburg.

An integrated marketing communications major, Dean has served as vice president of the Columns Society, an organization of 24 of the top students who serve as official hosts for the university. He also served as vice chairman of the University Judicial Council in the Office of Conflict Resolution and on the board of the directors for The Big Event, the largest community service project at the university. Dean was awarded Excellence in Integrated Marketing Communications and the Christine Wallace Service Award. After graduation, he plans to move to Washington, D.C., to work for a firm focused on running campaigns for legislation and political candidates. His parents are James Dean and Christy Amey of Hammond, Illinois, and Katrina and Tyrone Wilkins of Atwood, Illinois.

Gibson, a journalism major, is a member of the Columns Society and a McLean Institute Innovation Scholar, a distinction awarded to students with interest in entrepreneurship and economic development in Mississippi’s rural communities. She is Miss University 2017. Gibson served as station manager of Rebel Radio at the Student Media Center and special events coordinator of the Black Student Union. After graduation, she will compete in the 60th anniversary Miss Mississippi pageant in June and plans to spend a year traveling abroad. Her ultimate goal is to work as a television host on her own network. Her parents are Kelvin and Tamara Gibson of Starkville.

Markos is completing a triple major in public policy leadership, biological sciences and biochemistry. He is a student director of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and a Trent Lott Institute Scholar. Markos is president of Sigma Nu fraternity and served as president of the UM Interfraternity Council in 2015. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the UM Undergraduate Research Journal, a yearly, peer-reviewed publication of research articles written by UM undergraduate students. Markos was awarded a Taylor Medal, an award given to fewer than 1 percent of students each year for outstanding scholarship in their field. Upon graduation, Markos will attend the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, to pursue M.D. and Master of Public Health degrees to prepare for a career as a clinical physician. His parents are George and Clare Markos of Jackson, Tennessee.

Martin is double-majoring in international studies and mathematics. She is a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Croft Institute for International Studies. Martin has served as executive director of The Big Event, managing editor of the UM Undergraduate Research Journal and ASB director of academic affairs. She has been inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and was awarded a Taylor Medal. Martin plans to work as a research assistant at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and pursue a career in economics research. Her parents are Trey and Rebecca Martin and Traci Tigert of Madison.

A business management major and member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, Moore founded and served as president of Student Affairs Leaders of Tomorrow. He served in the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate achievement program, designed to prepare students for graduate research. Moore also served as student assistant for the Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement, director of the UM Gospel Choir and an ASB senator. After graduation, Moore plans to attend Ohio State University to pursue a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs, with hopes of later earning a doctorate in management. His parents are Milton and Phyllis Moore and the late Nigela Patreece Moore of Horn Lake.

Powell, completing a double major in public policy leadership and philosophy, He served as ASB president during the 2016-17 academic year. He is a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and a Trent Lott Institute Scholar, and he was a Rhodes Scholar finalist last spring. Powell also served as assistant director for The Big Event and is a member of the Columns Society. He has been accepted to graduate school at the University of Oxford in England and will pursue a master’s degree in criminology. His parents are Eric and Gwen Powell of Corinth.

Richmond is an international studies major and a member of both the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Croft Institute for International Studies. He served as executive co-director of The Big Event and chief of staff for the ASB. Richmond is also a member of the Columns Society and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He also conducted research with Syrian refugees in Jordan while studying abroad during the 2015 fall semester. He plans to continue his work globally in the public health field and attend medical school in the future. His parents are Jim and Jennifer Richmond of Madison.

A mechanical engineering major, Santos is a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence. During her time at Ole Miss, she has served has president of the Columns Society, community assistant for the Department of Student Housing and an orientation leader for incoming students. In 2016, Santos was elected Miss Ole Miss by the student body. She also served as committee chair for recruitment and retention for the Black Student Union. After graduation, Santos plans to go to Disney World, catch up on sleep and then attend graduate school at Boston University. Her parents are Paula Santos of Southaven and Francisco Santos Jr. of Bremerton, Washington.

Zhang is a pharmaceutical sciences major and is member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. She is a member of the Columns Society, served as RebelTHON director of catering and was a member of the Honors College student senate. Zhang also was awarded a Taylor Medal and inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. Upon graduation, she plans to attend the UM School of Pharmacy to pursue a Doctor of Pharmacy. Her parents are Darryl Scott and Jinping Stevens of Oxford.

Fellowship Gives Students Taste of Doctors’ Real-World Ethical Dilemmas

Posted on: September 25th, 2014 by erabadie

Dr. Didlake

Emma Willoughby

Undergraduate humanities students make the rounds at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, observing patients and physicians while getting an up-close look at emerging ethical issues in modern medicine.

“The idea is to develop a population of humanities scholars who have a meaningful exposure to the modern biomedical enterprise and who will help us better understand health care in a broad sociocultural context,” said Dr. Ralph Didlake (BS zoology ’75), director of the UMMC Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, and chief academic officer.

Launched in 2010, the five week Student Fellowship in Bioethics is a collaboration between UMMC and the UM Department of Philosophy and Religion.

The immersion experience program designed for juniors or seniors in the College of Liberal Arts introduces the fellows to the real-world ethical issues and challenges that face medical professionals, said Steven Skultety, professor and chair of philosophy.

“Much like students in medical school, our biomedical ethics fellows are assigned to ward teams, where they observe patients as they experience their illnesses, the environment in which their care is given, as well as the physicians, nurses and other staff as they provide that care,” Skultety said.

Besides interacting with medical and nursing students, the fellows attend selected classes and meetings of review boards, participate in tutorials and small group discussions, and write an essay that analyzes an ethical, cultural, or social issue encountered during the experience.

With rapid medical discoveries and technological advancements, bioethical issues are becoming more prominent in society. “One only has to hear one newscast to be convinced that ethics training is needed in many areas of our society, and this is clearly part of what we want to achieve with the fellowship,” said Didlake. “Beyond that, we want to fully understand how social and cultural issues impact health and health care.”

Emma Willoughby, (BA sociology and liberal studies with concentrations in anthropology, biology, and psychology ’14) currently at the London School of Economics for a master’s in international health policy, was a recent bioethics fellow.

“I’m very passionate about social disparities in health-care delivery methods and access,” Willoughby said.

Last June she conducted research for her thesis on trust relationships between patients and staff at a community health center in the Mississippi Delta. “I was learning about trust relationships between patients and providers,” Willoughby said. “At this health center, strong community bonds created a welcoming, nurturing atmosphere. In Jackson, at UMMC, things were very different—the medical system was much larger, more impersonal, and disparities between patients and providers were starkly clear to me. Contextualizing what I had experienced at the Delta clinic in the bigger picture of health care proved to be critically important for my thesis research and analysis.

“As we know, health care is linked to many facets of society and therefore requires the input from many different kinds of people, including philosophers and ethicists, economists, psychologists, social workers, policymakers and lawyers, managers, those in marketing, and countless others. But it’s important that these folks are all on the same page about what influences and shapes our health care delivery—socially, politically, and economically—if we really want to improve the health care system we’ve created.

“While the typical biomedical framework likes to say that medicine is equal and fair and just because it’s ‘science,’ this just isn’t true. We can’t extract our social relationships from health care, because it’s inevitably social as well.”

“Our intent is to grow a population of humanities scholars who can apply the skills of their disciplines to a better understanding of the challenges we meet in health care,” said Didlake. “Emma absolutely exemplifies what this fellowship is about.”

Environmental Professor Speaks October 16

Posted on: October 15th, 2012 by erabadie

Author Katharine Wilkerson will speak Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 5 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom at the University of Mississippi as part of the National Science Foundation funded Climate Literacy Partnership in the Southeast (CLiPSE) project.

Wilkerson will discuss and sign her book entitled “Between God and Green,” a study of evangelical Christian viewpoints toward the environment and climate change.

“Dr. Katharine Wilkerson studies the emerging perceptions and attitudes of many in the evangelical Christian community toward environmental issues in general and climate change more specifically,” said David Rutherford, executive director of the Mississippi Geographic Alliance and assistant professor of public policy and geography.

“Her book, titled ‘Between God and Green,’ emerges from her extensive research on this topic. This talk and book signing are part of the Climate Literacy Partnership in the Southeast (CLiPSE) project that seeks to improve understanding of climate science and implications in the Southeastern U.S. through respectful dialogue, critical thought, and effective communication among leading theologians, scientists, agricultural groups, educators, and culturally diverse communities,” he added.

For more information contact David Rutherford, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Geography and Executive Director Mississippi Geographic Alliance, at druther@olemiss.edu, 662.915.1337 and 662.915.3776

College of Liberal Arts Launches Environmental Studies Minor

Posted on: March 16th, 2009 by erabadie No Comments

With more people at UM becoming environmentally aware, it was just a matter of time before that awareness showed up in the curriculum. That day arrived in the fall of 2008, with the introduction of a new academic minor in environmental studies.

(more…)