Graduation '99

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Millsaps held its 105th Commencement on Saturday, May 8. Dr. William R. Ferris, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C., delivered the commencement address. An award-winning author, folklorist, filmmaker, and teacher, Ferris coedited the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and was founding Director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. In his speech, which is excerpted on the following pages, he encouraged students to learn about their past in order to shape a better future.

Following Ferris’s address, President Harmon presented him with a Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his “tireless dedication to the celebration of the humanities.” Dr. John Hope Franklin of Durham, North Carolina, author of From Slavery to Freedom and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, was awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters degree for being “a pioneering scholar and leader for social change.” Dr. Mary D. Garrard, Professor of Art History at The American University in Washington, D.C., was awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters degree for “advancing the ideals of education through her lifelong study of the history of women in the arts.” Mundell Lowe of Monterey, California, Music Director of the Monterey Jazz Festival and gifted composer and performer, received the Doctor of Arts degree for his “contributions to American jazz and for helping to establish it as an international art form.”

Dean Richard Smith recognized the contributions of professors Roy Alfred Berry Jr. of the chemistry department, Lucy Webb Millsaps of the art department, and Michael Hanna Mitias of the philosophy department and granted each emeritus status. He also awarded the Founders Medal to Suzanne Wahrle.

Dean of Student Aid Financial Planning Jack Woodward, who is retiring from Millsaps after 38 years of service, presented the Baccalaureate Address on Friday, May 7. (See Faculty and Staff News for profiles of Dean Woodward and emeriti professors.)

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