Chancellor Glenn Boyce Speaker for Virtual UM Fall Convocation

Glenn Boyce, the University of Mississippi’s 18th chancellor, will deliver the keynote address to the institution’s first-year and transfer class Tuesday (Oct. 6) during the annual Fall Convocation, which will be hosted virtually this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virtual event begins at 7 p.m. on the university’s official Facebook page and YouTube channel. 

Others scheduled to appear on the program include Noel Wilkin, provost and executive vice chancellor; Charlotte Pegues, interim vice chancellor for student affairs; Brent Marsh, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students; and Joshua Mannery, Associate Student Body president. The university’s academic deans also will briefly appear.

“Fall Convocation is one of our most important and beloved traditions that allows us to formally commemorate the beginning of a college journey,” Boyce said. “It’s an honor for me to address students and encourage them to seek out every opportunity they can during their time on campus to make these next few years memorable and meaningful. 

“While this class is coming to our university in an unprecedented time in our world, I look forward to witnessing how they begin to build their personal legacies at Ole Miss.”

Incoming freshmen and transfer students each can receive a free, limited edition commemorative 2024 challenge coin, distributed by staff members of residence halls on Sunday (Oct. 4) and Monday (Oct. 5). As students watch the program, Pegues will ask them to pull out the coins and accept the challenge.

Those who live in a residence hall but did not receive a coin can check with their CA/GCD or email the Center for Student Success and First-Year Experience at fye@olemiss.edu. Those not living in a campus residence can email the center to schedule a pickup date in the spring when they return to campus.

New students earlier received an e-book of Mona Hanna-Attisha’s “What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City” (Random House, 2018). The best-selling memoir was selected earlier this year as the 2020 Common Reading Experience, and new students were instructed to read the volume before the start of classes.

In “What the Eyes Don’t See,” Hanna-Attisha discusses how she, alongside a team of researchers, parents, friends and community leaders, discovered lead in the community tap water of Flint, Michigan, and then battled their government, enduring a brutal backlash to expose the truth. 

To watch the Fall Convocation, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/7110664962889 or https://www.youtube.com/olemiss.

For more information on the Common Reading Experience, visit http://umreads.olemiss.edu/.

By Edwin B. Smith