Community

In situations where Mississippians need legal help but can't afford it, the UM Civil Legal Clinic is doing its part to fix the problem while preparing the next generation of Mississippi lawyers to blend public interest practice into their legal careers. Operating as a class in which students can enroll for credit, gain professional experience and learn how to apply the theories they have learned ...

Growing the number of health care professionals in the state, reducing health disparities, improving education and making economically sound development choices—all are goals that can be tackled more effectively through teamwork. Through the Institute for Community-Based Research, a multi-organizational collaborative of academic researchers, students and nonprofit leaders, the University of Mississippi’s Center for Population Studies is providing assessment, evaluation and developmental guidance for a portfolio ...

In the nation’s poorest state, alleviating poverty is a complicated task and will require a collective effort. The University of Mississippi’s McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement aims to improve quality of life for all Mississippians by fighting poverty through education and serving as a cohesive force for building partnerships on and off the UM campus. “The McLean Institute has an opportunity to expand ...

Starting a business is a major risk. With hard work and dedication, the rewards may be great, but the path to success is often paved with unforeseen obstacles and setbacks. A resource to smooth out that road is the University of Mississippi’s Applied Research and Innovation Hub, which opened its doors in January 2012. The Applied Research and Innovation Hub is housed at Insight Park, the ...

Persevering for more than 130 years in one of the nation’s most economically fragile regions, Mound Bayou has a fascinating history: it was the first all-black community established by freed slaves in the Mississippi Delta. The University of Mississippi’s Department of Social Work has launched a program to work with the community in preservation and development efforts with the ultimate goal of fostering healthy lifestyles, ...

Mississippi bears the heavy weight of history when it comes to race relations. According to the William Winter Institute, this history gives Mississippi both the opportunity and responsibility to lead the nation’s continuing path toward equality. For more than 10 years, the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation has been a partner in Mississippi’s efforts to learn, grow and heal. That path toward progress includes confronting ...

Although the small businesses that have weathered the recession may get little press or praise, there’s no denying their importance or the critical duty of helping them stay afloat. The UM-based Mississippi Small Business Development Center provides this life raft, counseling small business owners as they start, develop and sustain their companies. “We’re a state of small businesses,” said Robert Forster, chief operations officer of the ...

Persevering for more than 130 years in one of the nation’s most economically fragile regions, Mound Bayou has a fascinating history: it was the first all-black community established by freed slaves in the Mississippi Delta. The University of Mississippi’s Department of Social Work has launched a program to work with the community in preservation and development efforts with the ultimate goal of fostering healthy lifestyles, ...

Fifty years ago, prosecutors could rely on paper trails and crime scene photos to provide courtroom evidence. But the transition from a paper-based world to a digital one has brought many murky questions. In today’s digitized society, where does privacy end and what are the limitations of a search warrant? Questions like these represent the core of the Cybercrime Initiative led by the University of ...

With more than 650 people incarcerated per 100,000 residents, Mississippi has one of nation’s highest per capita incarceration rates, and it’s a harrowing fact that some of those people are serving time for crimes they did not commit. Since its establishment in 2007, the University of Mississippi-based Mississippi Innocence Project has provided legal aid and expertise to exonerate nine innocent men. Wrongfully convicted for murder, rape, ...

On the model factory floor of the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence, freshmen from three different University of Mississippi schools test their chops, learning the basics of manufacturing techniques in plastics, welding, 3-D printing and more. The CME students aren’t planning to work on the line, but the experiences will inform their expertise as they assume professional roles. Entering the workforce, they will be graduates ...