Articles in "Arts and Letters"

J. Theresa Bush, assistant professor of costume design at The University of Southern Mississippi, played an instrumental role in helping the renowned stage production “Fly” garner eight nominations for the 27^th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards. The awards will be presented on Feb. 26 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif.

The University of Southern Mississippi Speech and Debate team had a successful performance at a recent tournament in Shreveport, La. and looks forward to its next event. The team will host the British National Debate Team Friday, Nov. 10 in the International Center, room 101 at 3:45 p.m. on the Hattiesburg campus. The free event is open to the public, and will feature a debate on artificial intelligence.

Rahul Shankar, a doctoral student in polymer science and engineering, took home the title of Grand Champion in the 4^th Annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition held Nov. 1-3 on The University of Southern Mississippi’s Hattiesburg campus. Shankar, a native of Mumbai, India, also collected a cash prize of $1,000.

Sheena Allen knew the Silicon Valley CEO stereotype when she moved out west a few years ago. She knew that stereotype looked very little like her. She came from a different place and did not receive an Ivy League education.

She knew those differences could be — in marketing speak — her unique selling proposition. And it was clear that Sheena Allen Apps was never going to be the typical Silicon Valley tech company.

Two history professors at The University of Southern Mississippi gathered leading scholars of women and minorities in the military to investigate military integration. They sought to answer three questions: “Why and how did the military change the way it dealt with service personnel who were not white, heterosexual men between World War II and the present?”; “How did minorities and women adapt to being part of an institution that had once been closed to them?” and “How similar was the military experience of African Americans, Japanese Americans, Native Americans, women and LGB+ people?”

Edited by Dr. Philip C. Kolin, Distinguished Professor of English (Emeritus) at The University of Southern Mississippi, the diverse contributions to the fall 2017 general issue of The Southern Quarterly explore the importance of the visual—in photography, cinema, music, jazz, poetry—as it sheds light on Southern authors, landscapes and texts.

The acclaimed songwriter-producer, Mac McAnally, recently put an orchestral spin on some of his most familiar songs with album Southbound.

His latest compilation features the FestivalSouth Orchestra consisting of faculty, students and alumni from The University of Southern Mississippi and a rhythm section that includes MacAnally’s colleagues in Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefer Band. Proceeds from the CD benefit the USM Symphony Orchestra and Extra Table. 

In a special series of events titled, “A Celebration of Southern Photography,” The University of Southern Mississippi will host a lecture by renowned Southern studies expert Dr. William R. Ferris, as well as two exhibitions on campus and a special issue of The Southern Quarterly.

Winning the war on terror and advancing democratic ideals around the world cannot happen on the cheap or with quick fixes, but rather with a sustained commitment to those goals and implementation of sustainable strategies with global partners.

That was the assessment given by retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, former commander of the Surge in Iraq and U.S. Central Command and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), of how America needs to approach foreign policy goals going forward in his 2017 Lt. Col. John H. Dale Distinguished Lecture in International Security and Global Policy, given Sept. 26 at the historic Saenger Theater in downtown Hattiesburg.

Music from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, Star Wars, and more get a super special treatment when internet-sensation James Nova of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, who arranges John Williams’ scores for trombone and records all the parts, takes the stage of Bennett Auditorium with The University of Southern Mississippi Trombone Choir Monday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m.

Dr. Andrew Wiest, a University of Southern Mississippi professor and one of the country’s leading experts on military history, is serving on the Department of the Army Historical Advisory Subcommittee (DAHASC).

As The University of Southern Mississippi’s cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s mega-hit musical The Phantom of the Opera rehearses for their upcoming opening, they will be guided by a Broadway vet who spent nearly four years playing Christine on Broadway. Jennifer Hope Wills will be in Hattiesburg for several days this week working with the cast and primarily with students portraying the Phantom and Christine.