This blog is in response to the series : How we are perceived. In that series I asked all 11 Big Ten universities' fans their thoughts on Ole Miss. I thank the fans who took the time to answer a few questions. I was surprised at how open Big Ten fans were to talking about Ole Miss sports. This blog is a short glimpse of the Ole Miss today.
- Total enrollment on The University of Mississippi’s three campuses and The University of Mississippi Medical Center is almost 17,300. Sixty-five percent of all students are from Mississippi, and 18 percent are minorities. International students come from 68 nations. (Northwestern only has a black student population of less than 6 percent, Michigan 8.1 percent.)--The journal of blacks in higher education
- UM produced its 24th Rhodes Scholar in 1998. Since then, it has produced five Truman Scholars, seven Goldwater Scholars, a Marshall Scholar and five Fulbright Scholars. UM was named one of three 2004 Truman Foundation Honor Institutions in the nation.
- 1,286 students have participated in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College since it opened in 1997 and the Barksdale Honors Scholarship has provided more than $1.3 million. Reader's Digest calls the Honors College one of the nation's three finest.
- The Lombardi Program on Measuring University Performance ranks UM among the nation's Top 50 public research universities.
- External funding for research, service and education projects on the Oxford and Jackson campuses topped $100 million each of the past six years. UM is home to more than 30 research centers.
- The American Academy of Forensic Scientists ranks the UM degree in forensic chemistry among the top five in the country.
- The University's endowment stands at $421.4 million, placing it among the nation's best endowed public institutions per capita.
- The School of Business Administration's insurance risk management program is ranked among the top five in the country.
- Sports Illustrated rates tailgating in the Grove as one of America's premier college events, placing it No. 3 on a list of 100 things to do before graduating.
- UM is home to the world's largest blues archive, Living Blues magazine (the country's longest-running magazine dedicated to blues music) and "Highway 61," a blues radio show produced weekly for Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
- University of Mississippi Medical Center surgeons performed the world's first lung transplant in man and transplanted the heart of a chimpanzee - man's closest genetic relation - into the chest of a dying man.
- One of the South's first universities to admit women, and the first to hire a female faculty member.
I invite y'all to take a trip to Oxford. Oxford is one of the most unique places you will ever visit. Here is a bit about Oxford from oxfordms.com: (I also suggest taking the time to watch the video of oxford found on this website.)
- Oxford has earned the distinction as a Designated Retirement Community by the state of Mississippi’s Hometown Retirement program and was named one of Money magazine’s top six retirement communities in July 2001. Oxford has also been highlighted by Where To Retire, Fortune, Travel 50 And Beyond, Men’s Journal, Modern Maturity, Time magazine and many other national and regional publications as being an ideal retirement destination. The Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation’s Retiree Attraction Program offers information and tours for interested retirees who want to learn more about the town. Visit www.retire.oxfordms.com to contact the Retiree Attraction Program Director or for additional information on retirement in Oxford.
The most well known sports related event at Ole Miss is tailgating in the Grove. The Grove has been named in numerous sports list as one of, if not, the best tailgating in college football. Take the time to read a few articles on the Grove experience. Then come on down, you will love it. :
- At Ole Miss, the Tailgaters Never Lose--New York Times
- Road Trip: University of Mississippi--Sports Illustrated
- CNN Video from 2003 on the Grove
- The Grove Part I & Part II