As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Honors College, the first honors college in the state of Mississippi and the sixth oldest honors college in the nation, we want to celebrate the students over the past fifty years who chose to pursue their path to academic excellence through the Southern Miss Honors College, and we want to continue to support students who want to take their education to the next level.
University Forum is turning 50!
Provocative. Creative. Life-changing. At University Forum lectures, Southern Miss students, faculty, staff, and community members hear from and interact with some of the most respected cultural, scientific, and artistic voices in the world. The premier Southern Miss speaker series since 1974, University Forum lectures are open to the public, and all students are encouraged to sign up for HON 321, a class where students earn credit for attending University events.
Dr. Andy Weist
Professor, History
Cali Rinehart
Honors College Presidential Scholar
Dr. Maureen Ryan
Professor Emerita and Former Honors College Dean
Support the Honors College
We recruit the best and the brightest students in Mississippi and beyond, and we want them to take advantage of all that Honors College offers—smaller classes, dedicated advising, scholarships, the Honor House, and Honors Forum, to name a few. We are especially interested in encouraging our students to take part in experiential learning opportunities, like study abroad, undergraduate research, University Forum, and active learning trips, as they work to become the researchers, creators, and visionaries who will one day transform Mississippi, the nation, and the world.
64% of our students receive federal or state aid. They rely on our support to make experiential learning possible, and we rely on the generosity of our donors to make that possible. Our fundraising goals for our 50th anniversary are:
- to endow a $50,000 Golden Anniversary Fund
- to engage 50 new donors to the Honors College
- to raise $500,000 in donations and pledges to the Honors College (Golden Anniversary Fund, Honors College Development Fund, or Cannon-Heinhorst Undergraduate Research Fund)
Please consider a gift to the Southern Miss Honors College this year as we celebrate our past and look forward to a long future of graduating proud honors students with the confidence to pursue their passions, the tools with which to chart a fulfilling future course, and a lifelong commitment to using their capacities for the public good.
