WHAT BROUGHT YOU BACK TO MISSISSIPPI?
In the summer of 1981, Major Gen. Alton Harvey cut short his tour of duty as the Judge Advocate General of the Army to become the dean of the law school. I was a major in the Army JAG Corps working for Gen. Harvey in the Pentagon.I was honored to be a pallbearer for this great dean and respected military leader when he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery last year.
I had learned of the deanship from my brother Steve - an attorney with the Butler Snow law firm located just a block from the law school. I was scheduled to retire from the Army, and he thought the position might be a good fit. Interestingly, I called Gen. Harvey, who had retired to Florida, for advice before coming down for my interview.
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WHAT WERE YOUR GROWING UP YEARS LIKE?
Jackson was a mystical city to me when I was growing up in the southwest Mississippi town of Fort Adams. Though one of the oldest towns in the state and formerly a thriving river port, Fort Adams' population had dwindled to 50. I was raised on a farm about two miles out of town and attended school in Woodville. Dan Reneau, the current president of Louisiana Tech, and I rode the same school bus.
At that time, McComb seemed like a big city and Jackson was the other side of heaven. My 4-H livestock judging activities took me over the southern part of the state and up to Starkville for Club Congress each summer. In the fifth grade, I spent a week in Jackson as a Senate page and stayed in the King Edward Hotel. It was a majestic building, and I hope it can be restored.
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WHAT SHAPED YOU AS A PERSON?
Any success I have enjoyed in life I attribute to my mother and father and to my teachers at the Woodville Attendance Center. They instilled in my siblings and me a love of reading and a work ethic. My brothers Steve and Tom received law degrees and my sister Mary Ellen earned her masters degree at Belhaven. My youngest brother Neal has cerebral palsy and lives with my sister in our family home on the farm. He is a huge fan of any University of Mississippi athletic team!
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YOU CAME TO THE LAW SCHOOL FROM A MILITARY CAREER. HAS THIS HELPED OR HINDERED?
I can identify with President Robert Foglesong coming to Mississippi State. I am confident he will be an outstanding president and that the school will benefit from his leadership. Contrary to popular belief, the military is not an autocratic, rigid organization. I found my military experience most helpful in my current duties, which include developing a team, serving varied constituencies, managing resources, and even renovating buildings. There was no zero five hundred physical training requirement following my arrival as had been rumored!
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WHY DID THE LAW SCHOOL DECIDE TO BUILD DOWNTOWN?
I credit my two predecessors Deans Sid Moller and Larry Lee for committing to our current location and getting our expansion program under way. Combined with the support of Mississippi College's new president Dr. Lee Royce and the financial experience of Dr. Lloyd Roberts, our law school was able to commit to a five-phase building program that has brought about our new campus and transformed our block on Griffith Street.
The building program has resulted in an expanded law library, a new state-of-the-art classroom building, a new student center with an auditorium, and the renovation of the original building. One phase also included the purchase of the old Seale-Lily Dairy property that enabled us to construct an expansive parking lot that is so important for a downtown law school. As a result, our students do not have to fight for a parking spot. For those folks who would like to contribute to our recently launched building campaign, we have a number of naming opportunities!
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WHAT ADVANTAGES DOES YOUR LOCATION OFFER?
Our advantageous downtown location provides our students with so many opportunities to interact with the legal, business, and political communities. The Mississippi Bar, the Hinds County Bar and the Magnolia Bar are right around the corner, and we work well with them. We enjoy an association with many of the superb colleges and universities nearby, such as Jackson State University, Millsaps, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Tougaloo College and our parent university, Mississippi College.
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WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PROGRESS OF DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT?
I am confident the downtown area will develop in an attractive way. While Capitol Street will never again be the shopping street it was in the 1950s, there are new niches that the downtown can satisfy. I am anxious to see plans take shape for the Convention Center and Farish Street.
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WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR WORK?
Our faculty are dedicated and get to know their students; the administration and staff are the most caring and supportive I have seen; and the students are hard-working, intelligent, and filled with life and personality.
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ANY OTHER POINT YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE?
My wife Lauren and I celebrated our retirement at Fort Monroe, Va., on a Friday and drove to Jackson that weekend. I began my duties that Monday and have been going full speed ever since. We like to explore Jackson and its surrounds and enjoy the people of this area. The city is not quite as overwhelming now as it was to a farm boy from Fort Adams in 1958!
