On April 8, 2003, world famous primatologist Jane Goodall gave a presentation to the Millsaps community as part of the college's annual Nova Series and as the final speaker in the Millsaps Green Semester, an initiative to promote environmentalism among the Millsaps and Jackson communities. After greeting her audience with an impeccable imitation of a chimpanzee friendship call, Dr. Goodall discussed the highlights of her long and well-known career as a pioneering scientist in the field of chimpanzee behavior. She went on to emphasize the importance of environmental and cultural conservation in our modern, rapidly-developing world, citing the efforts of her own Jane Goodall Institute to meet the challenges of protecting endangered chimpanzees throughout Africa.

In addition to her public lecture, Dr. Goodall participated in a student-led question and answer session with a select group of Millsaps students. The Department of Sociology and Anthropology was represented by a number of students who were interested in the relationship between chimpanzee and human primates' social behaviors, among other interesting topics. Anthropology major Doc Billingsley described the discussion as "awesome and inspiring. Jane Goodall is an incredible woman -- I'm in love!"