Millsaps College has presented the 2007 Alumnus of the Year award to Dr. T.W. Lewis III, B.A. 1953, in recognition of his devotion and leadership as a professor and inspiration to generations of students, his moral and spiritual guidance, and his overall dedication to the betterment of the College.
The award was presented on Saturday, March 10, at the annual College Awards and Recognition Dinner in the Leggett Center on campus.
The Livesay Awards, which were also announced, went to Demethous (Dee) Morris Chambliss, B.S. 1986; Steve and Melinda Hendrix, the parents of a Millsaps alumnus and a current student; and Dr. Virginia Anne (V. A.) Jones Whitley, B.A. 1968. The award honors the spirit of commitment in which Jim Livesay (1920-2001) served the College as an alumnus, a member of the administration, and a volunteer.
Lewis accepted the call to leadership and service when he was a Millsaps student, and he continues to serve Millsaps as well as the United Methodist Church and the larger community of Jackson. Professor emeritus of religious studies and a longtime, beloved faculty member, Lewis has been a powerful mentor to generations of students and a devoted graduate of the College. Lewis taught steadily at Millsaps from 1964 until his retirement in 1996.
Some of his most outstanding contributions as a professor were to curriculum innovation and renewal. In the mid-1960s, he was a member of the three-person committee that proposed and designed the Heritage program. He was an advocate for retaining classical studies, a leading proponent of writing across the curriculum, and a pioneer in the development of an interdisciplinary Core Curriculum.
Alluding to the lifelong friendships he had forged during his long association with the College, Lewis said in his acceptance speech that he sensed among Millsaps professors “a legacy of the spirit that nourished and challenged students to do their very best. Friendships, professors—through these it was here that the life of the mind and the spirit was awakened, and it was here that I finally discovered my true vocation.”
Recalling the names of a few students from his first term on the Millsaps faculty in the fall of 1959, he said they had helped bring about a “sea change” in his life. “I am among those blessed people who have loved their life’s work and would not exchange it for anything in the world,” he said.
“T.W. both leads and supports and speaks for justice for all people, no matter the artificial boundaries that often split us up like race and class and gender,” said Frances Lucas, president of the College. “He is considered a ‘gentle authority’ on theology, humanities and social justice, and no account of his career would be complete without acknowledging his moral and spiritual leadership. He marched with students in the cause for civil rights and counseled students and faculty at times of personal distress, and he stood for honor and integrity in many situations of institutional crisis.”
Lucas said Lewis was fondly remembered by Brad Chism, B.A. 1982, who went on to become a Rhodes Scholar. “ ‘T. W. Lewis taught me The Teachings of Jesus in 1981,’ Brad said. ‘I’ve watched him live the teachings of Jesus ever since. In his lifelong study on the meaning of God’s message to us all, in his soft-spoken wisdom on how to deal with life’s daily challenges, and in his commitment to reconciliation and his belief in redemption for everyone,’ Brad said. ‘I want to be like T.W. Lewis when I grow up.’"
“And T.W.,” Lucas said, “so do I.”
A Livesay Award recipient, Dee Chambliss is an example of the ideals of service and community involvement that distinguish the College’s most outstanding alumni. She has been committed to education since her graduation from Millsaps with a B.S. in biology in 1986. Currently serving as assistant secretary of state for education and publications for the state of Mississippi, she is also completing a Ph.D. in education from Delta State University.
Chambliss began her career in education as a teacher with the Academic and Performing Arts Complex (APAC) of Jackson Public Schools (1986-91), followed by St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Ridgeland (1991-97). After earning certification in educational administration, she returned to JPS as an instructional specialist, then executive director of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Dee is involved in numerous volunteer activities for education and leadership.
Chambliss acknowledged her mentors in the biology department, Dr. Dick Highfill and Dr. Jim McKeown. She said Highfill had supported her decision to enter the field of education, rather than to go to medical school. “He made me feel so good about my decision to teach, which has always been in my heart,” Chambliss said. “He embraced that and encouraged me and gave me many opportunities to come back and do wonderful research.”
The parents of Tal, B.S. 2006, and sophomore Tait Hendrix, Steve and Melinda Hendrix are steadfast supporters of Millsaps College, their church, and the greater community. They are currently serving their second term on the Parents Council and were recently named to the Council’s Executive Committee. For the past several years, they have given of their organization skills to ensure that Move-In Day runs smoothly.
The Hendrixes have also been especially supportive of athletics at Millsaps, annually serving dinner to the Millsaps baseball team during spring break. Steve, an attorney with Forman, Perry, Watkins, Krutz, & Tardy in Jackson, currently serves on the M-Club Council. The couple recently organized the first annual M-Club Dinner for Champions fund-raiser, held in February 2007, raising over $100,000 for Millsaps Athletics.
“The academics here are something that you can’t get anywhere else,” Steve Hendrix said. “The relationships both of our boys have had with their professors—Tal’s gone through the biology department and is going to go to medical school, Tait’s in the business school—we’ve seen it from a couple of different angles, and we couldn’t have asked for any more. And heck, they even got to play on the same baseball team for a year.”
Virginia Anne (V. A.) Jones Whitley has demonstrated outstanding leadership of and support for Millsaps College. A French major, V. A. spent a summer doing coursework in Clermont-sur-Sauldre, France, before graduating cum laude in 1968. She earned a master of library science degree from Emory University and had a career as a librarian and teacher before turning to medicine in the mid-1970s. She received her M.D. in l981 from the University of Tennessee’s College of Medicine, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology.
She practices at The Woman’s Clinic in Jackson and is on staff at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, where she has served as chief of gynecology and on the executive medical council. Whitley is also on staff at St. Dominic and River Oaks hospitals. In addition, she has given of her time and expertise to Millsaps College, its students and alumni, for almost 20 years. As part of the Millsaps Pre-Med Initiative, Whitley was instrumental in organizing the Medical Connections Weekend in 2001, which brought medical and dental alumni back to campus. She continues to be active in this initiative, inviting one Millsaps student each semester to shadow her at her medical practice.
In her acceptance speech, Whitley emphasized professional mentoring. “Many alumni are giving their time and experiences to have the students shadow them in their respective professions,” she said. “It is one of the most rewarding activities you’ll ever do. The students you meet are so wonderful and appreciative of your time. Many of the mentoring ideas came from Dr. Raymond Martin, who gave over $1 million for the pre-med endowment and started the pre-health professions program at Millsaps, allowing Millsaps students great preparation. He and others who mentored students at UMC pushed me, without probably realizing it, toward helping the students.
“That’s what’s so special about Millsaps. It’s that bond between classmates, alumni young and old, faculty and administration. Jim Livesay would certainly agree that Millsaps is truly Mississippi’s first and only honors college.”
Kicking off the evening’s program, Colleen Fagan, assistant director of annual giving, presented the Class Participation Award to the Class of 1958 for its 57 percent participation in the Annual Fund in the 2005-2006 year.
(L to R: Melinda and Steve Hendrix, T. W. Lewis III, Dee Chambliss, V. A. Jones Whitley)
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