Education

Mississippi schools seeking to supplement their art programs don’t have to look far thanks to a no-cost program at the University of Mississippi Museum that delivers inspiring lessons directly to classrooms. The museum’s Traveling Trunks program provides K-12 educators with everything they need to give their students a unique art lesson. The trunks are linked to the museum’s permanent exhibitions, with a trunk each for Greek ...

Nurses, physicians, engineers, computer analysts and pharmacists—all these professionals will be indispensable in building Mississippi’s future workforce. That’s why the University of Mississippi is committed to advancing its programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and in STEM education. Alice M. Clark, vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs, directs the university’s Innovations in STEM Education Initiative, which received support through a grant from the National ...

A little school in Tunica County has something to shout about, thanks in part to a University of Mississippi program dedicated to helping literacy instructors excel. Dundee Elementary, a 179-student elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, received a Star rating in 2011, earning the Mississippi Department of Education’s highest performance classification, and received “high performing” status in 2012. Improving literacy instruction is a central concern of ...

Building the workforce of tomorrow begins with teaching children how to prepare for mathematics and science careers. With that goal in mind, the UM Center for Mathematics and Science Education, or CMSE, is developing ways to help improve mathematics and science education in Mississippi K-12 schools. That mission includes educational development, professional development, research and science, technology, engineering and mathematics outreach. Launched in December 2006 with a ...

Jason Ritchie, associate professor of chemistry and assistant dean of undergraduate research at the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, learned firsthand the benefits of undergraduate research. Ritchie earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1994 at the University of California at San Diego. Under the mentorship of an excellent adviser, Ritchie performed research on conducting polymers, an experience that revealed to him a much broader, deeper ...

A new collaborative effort between the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University aims to attract exceptional students to the teaching profession—and to keep them there. Launched in fall 2012, the Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program (METP) provides fully funded undergraduate scholarships to students who commit to teaching in Mississippi’s public schools for at least five years following graduation. Each university sponsors twenty new fellows a ...

A school ultimately will be no stronger than its principal. Results from the Barksdale Reading Institute have demonstrated that although the path to transforming a school’s culture may be daunting, a dynamic leader can change that ethos and the school can experience skyrocketing student performance. In its 14th year, the Barksdale Reading Institute is applying its experience and educational research to demonstrate what can be accomplished ...

When Landon Pollard arrived on the University of Mississippi campus in 2002, he had no idea he’d soon be launched on a major leadership trajectory. In less than a decade, Pollard’s participation in two UM programs transformed him from an inexperienced college freshman into the principal of Byhalia Middle School in Marshall County. A native of Birmingham, Ala., Pollard thrived as a student in the Sally ...