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Edward McMillan University Archives Named at Mississippi College


A Mississippi College luminary as an award-winning professor, administrator and beloved mentor to many in the MC family, Edward McMillan received another major honor on the Clinton campus.

The Edward McMillan University Archives is the new name of the information-loaded research room at the Leland Speed Library. It’s packed with books, newspaper files, photographs, portraits and other valuable materials about his alma mater.

“He’s one of our legendary professors,” says Ron Howard, vice president for academic affairs. “As a teacher and scholar, he shaped the careers of many Mississippi College history graduates. Very few professors who taught at MC had a more profound impact.”

Howard and President Lee Royce joined dozens of admirers saluting McMillan’s stellar academic career at a June 2 reception at the Leland Speed Library.

The longtime Clinton resident was touched by the warm embrace from family and university friends. “I sincerely appreciate this honor,” he said Tuesday as admirers stopped by to shake his hand. Some people attending the reception traced their friendship back to the year he joined the Mississippi College faculty in 1973.

Upon his selection as Mississippi College Alumnus of the Year in 2008, McMillan reflected upon the values he learned at the Baptist-affiliated university decades ago. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi College in 1950.

“At MC, I learned a sense of commitment, loyalty, diligence and how important it is to be dependable,” McMillan said at the time. “You do better in life if you are dependable and your friends know it.”

The former chairman of the institution’s history and political science department, the Mississippian proved to be a remarkable MC leader as vice president for graduate and special programs.

 Dr. McMillan became the successful founding father of the university’s London Semester. In addition, he served as executive secretary of the Mississippi Baptist Historical Commission from 1992 through 2012. Based at the Leland Speed Library, the association preserves key historic documents from Baptist churches statewide.

Dr. McMillan “is a mentor and role model and always a man of integrity and dependability,” said Anthony Kay, his successor at the Mississippi Baptist Historical Commission. “It is our joy to honor him.”

The list of accomplishments for the popular Clintonian is lengthy. It includes McMillan being named recipient of the prestigious Mississippi College Order of the Golden Arrow award. He earned his master’s degree at the University of Mississippi and his doctorate at Texas Tech, but MC will always remain his first love.

While he retired at Mississippi College after 25 years of service in 1998, Dr. McMillan never really left his alma mater. He’s been a faithful servant to God and a trusted friend to generations of people in the Mississippi College community.

Graduate School Dean Debbie Norris summed up his many achievements in a few words.

“Dr. Mac meant so much to so many,” says Norris, who doubles as vice president for planning and assessment. “He is the man who first approached me about traveling internationally. He was my predecessor and did so many powerful and meaningful things for the university – a true role model.”