Faculty Symposium Begins Mississippi College Academic Year

Dr. Blake Thompson

Mississippi College professors will discuss academic programs, classrooms experiences as well as share their walk with Christ.

The dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jonathan Randle will lead the panel discussions as the moderator of MC’s Faculty Symposium on August 22.

The program serves as a new approach to kick off MC’s 194^th academic year. The event also signals the start of the second year of the administration of President Blake Thompson.

Sharing the Swor Auditorium stage with Dr. Randle will be: business professor Sara Kimmel, David Magers of the Chemistry Department and Kristi Melancon, an English faculty member. Professors Keith Randazzo of the Kinesiology Department and Stephanie Carmicle of the Biology Department round out the panel.

The 90-minute program that Thursday begins at 1:30 p.m.

At the symposium, Dr. Thompson said he will look back in his first year, and talk about what’s ahead for Mississippi College.

The informative session is an extension of the Academic Symposium on Christian Higher Education in late March. It was part of Dr. Thompson’s Inauguration Week as the university’s 20^th president.

Expect the new symposium to touch on the institution’s vision in classrooms, the community and around the globe. The professors will explore service and experiential learning along with research opportunities. The faculty members will also discuss ways they can prepare students to succeed.

In its vision statement, Mississippi College seeks to be “a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ.”

“That’s not just a tagline, it’s the core of who we are, who our students are and who our faculty members are,” President Thompson said during 2019 Inauguration Week activities. “When your faith animates your academic and professional pursuits, that is when you find your calling.”

School of Education Dean Cindy Melton teamed with Interim Provost Debbie Norris to work out details of the 2019 Faculty Symposium.

The event happens after a series of school/department and support staff meetings on the Clinton campus starting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday August 21.

Another Thursday August 22 event will be the College of Arts & Sciences convocation to begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Jean Pittman Williams Recital Hall.

Other major activities to launch the 2019-20 academic year include the Friday August 23 faculty/staff convocation at 11 a.m. featuring lunch and fellowship time in Anderson Hall.

New students circled their calendars on August 24 for Move-In Day at the Christian university’s residence halls. The event runs from 8 a.m. through noon. That’s followed by a 3:30 p.m. convocation that Saturday for MC newcomers and family members at First Baptist Church Clinton. The fun-filled Choctaw Fanfare at 5 p.m. near the football stadium salutes MC Fall sports teams.