UM officials describe the support as a key step toward establishing an endowed professorship in the emerging cultural studies field of foodways, a discipline in which SFA is recognized nationally. SFA has been described by the Atlantic Monthly as “this country’s most intellectually engaged (and probably most engaging) food society.”

The Chisholm Foundation resources will support a postdoctoral fellow, with the recipient teaching foodways classes within the Southern Studies curriculum and foodways-focused courses in other disciplines. For example, the inaugural holder of the fellowship, Angela Jill Cooley, will teach an undergraduate history class this spring using foodways to understand home-based race relations.

The course, “Historicizing ‘The Help,’” will contextualize Katherine Stockett’s novel “The Help,” the basis of a recent hit movie. Cooley, who earned her doctorate at the University of Alabama, is an adjunct assistant professor of Southern studies.

“We anticipate this generous Chisholm Foundation grant playing a pivotal role in the creation of curriculum examining the role of food as both a cultural artifact and form of expression,” said Ted Ownby, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture and professor of history and Southern studies. “This support will allow the center to extend foodways classes introduced this academic year for two more years, during which time we will pursue funding for a permanent endowment supporting this position.

“The Chisholm Foundation is helping both the center’s academic programming and also the work of the Southern Foodways Alliance. We appreciate the confidence the Chisholm Foundation expresses in our work by providing these financial resources.”

SFA funded the fellowship for the 2011-12 academic year, and the Chisholm Foundation gift assures the continuation through 2014. During the fall semester, Cooley taught a course on Southern foodways for graduate students, with the response exceeding class capacity. Each holder of the fellowship also will be encouraged to transform his or her doctoral dissertation into a book, expanding scholarly literature exploring the foodways.

“Of late, more and more students have arrived at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture with an interest in foodways,” said John T. Edge, director of the SFA, which is supported by more than 1,000 academics, chefs, artisans, farmers and others. “This gift from the Chisholm Foundation ensures that we will be able to serve their classroom needs and, in turn, inspire a new generation of scholars.”

Ownby said the Chisholm Foundation support reflects positively on SFA’s momentum.

“Receiving this gift is an indication of the success our Southern Foodways Alliance has had over the past decade in establishing the University of Mississippi as the best place to study humanities issues related to food. Through its offerings, the SFA has encouraged a wealth of new thinking about the meanings of food in relation to cultural life,” he said.

The study of foodways has become a central approach to understanding issues of race, class, gender, economy and identity for scholars of cultural life. In the past generation, growing attention to the body, the senses, health and gender has combined with scholarship on globalization, ethnicity and identity to elevate foodways studies’ place in the humanities, Ownby said.

Individuals and organizations interested in providing private gifts to a permanent endowment for the faculty position in foodways studies should contact development officer Nikki Neely at nlneely@olemiss.edu or 662-915-6678.

The Chisholm Foundation is a charitable organization founded in 1960 by Alexander F. Chisholm, a businessman, philanthropist and churchman of Laurel. The foundation’s mission focuses on nurturing and supporting meaningful endeavors in education, the arts and religion. Since the 1974 death of Alexander F. Chisholm, three generations of his family have carried out his mission and continue to provide grants to worthy organizations.

The Southern Foodways Alliance documents, studies and interprets the diverse food cultures of the changing American South. An institute of the UM Center for the Study of Southern Culture, the SFA has been a leading force in foodways studies since its founding in 1999. A membership-supported institute, the SFA directs an annual Southern Foodways Symposium, as well as numerous lecture series, film screenings and other events. The SFA’s oral history program, widely recognized as the most innovative in its field, has collected nearly 600 interviews, while the SFA film initiative has produced more than 30 films. SFA is expanding its work into UM classrooms. The UM Center for the Study of Southern Culture investigates, documents, interprets and teaches about the American South. CSSC emphasizes academic programming as the foundation of its work, offering both undergraduate and graduate programs in Southern Studies through more than 60 courses taught by faculty in 10 departments. CSSC houses two institutes, the Southern Foodways Alliance and the Media and Documentary Projects Center. By teaching classes in foodways, the CSSC seeks to expand on the academic and educational strengths developed since its founding in 1977.

UM faculty, staff and students set a campus goal of $160,000 for United Way of Lafayette-Oxford-University. By the campaign’s end, the UM community raised $155,000 and counting. The previous year’s total was $150,000.

“Anything that we collect in January will go toward this campaign,” said Lucile McCook, co-chair of the United Way campus committee. “All those end-of-the-year donations are welcome.”

McCook said that while faculty-staff payroll deductions constitute the majority of the funds received in the campaign, proceeds from student-sponsored events have been significant this year.

Despite a less-than-stellar season on the gridiron, parking at home football games netted almost $13,000 for the campaign. “That was a nice amount,” McCook said. “We hope we can count on even more volunteers for next year.”

“The United Way breakfast brought in the most money we’ve ever taken in, $1,240,” McCook said. “We want to express our deepest thanks to Ole Miss Catering for underwriting the breakfast, allowing us to keep 100 percent of the proceeds made. We hope to do even better next year.”

More than 99 percent of the money raised remains in the area to help with community needs.

“The money raised here in Oxford stays here in Oxford,” said Kathy Sukanek, United Way’s local executive director. “The campaign helps support several different local organizations.”

UM employees can contribute to United Way by making a one-time donation or pledging through payroll deduction.

“Each year, the success of the campaign depends on us,” said Thelma Curry, co-chair of the campus committee. “The agencies supported by the United Way are a big part of the stability and well-being of the local community.”

Organizations receiving funds from the campaign include Leap Frog, Family Crisis Services, American Red Cross, Interfaith Compassion Ministry, Pantry, Salvation Army, Exchange Club Family Center, Literacy Council, North Mississippi Kidney Foundation, Meals on Wheels, Boys & Girls Club, Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts of America, Health Services in Action, Very Special Arts and Lafayette County 4-H.

For more information about United Way, contact Sukanek at 662-236-6971 or visit http://unitedway.oxfordms.com.

Elizabeth Anne Payne edited the volume “Writing Women’s History: A Tribute to Anne Firor Scott,” (University Press of Mississippi, 2011) which includes essays by seven woman who are at the forefront of contemporary scholarship on American women’s history.

Payne said Scott, the 90-year-old W. K. Boyd Professor Emerita of History at Duke University and the first woman chair there, has been a mentor for many years.

“In 1970, when she published ‘A Southern Lady,’ I was in Chicago and went to her book signing,” Payne said. “At that time, she had short hair, flat shoes and studied women’s history. I thought it was wonderful.”

When it was published more than 30 years ago, Scott’s book, “The Southern Lady: From Pedestal to Politics, 1830-1930,” (University of Chicago Press) stirred a keen interest among historians in both the approach and message of her book. Using women’s diaries, letters and other personal documents, Scott brought to life Southern women as wives and mothers, as members of their communities and churches, and as sometimes sassy but rarely passive.

In her introduction to “Writing Women’s History,” Payne writes, “She challenged me to think more seriously about the nature and shape of feminist influence in the 1920s and 1930s. I will always be grateful not only for her mentoring but for her friendship, which has enriched my life.”

“Writing Women’s History: A Tribute to Anne Firor Scott” is based on papers originally presented at the university’s 32nd annual Chancellor Porter L. Fortune Symposium in Southern History in 2008. Choosing Scott’s work and its impact on women’s history made sense, as each writer regards “The Southern Lady” as having shaped her historical perspective and inspired her choice of topics in important ways. The essays together demonstrate that the power of imagination and scholarly courage manifested in Scott’s and other early American women historians’ work has blossomed into a gracious plentitude.

Contributors including Laura F. Edwards, Crystal Feimster, Glenda E. Gilmore, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, Darlene Clark Hine, Mary Kelley, Markeeva Morgan, Anne Firor Scott, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and Deborah Gray White.

The book is available in hardback and showcases artwork of an appliquéd Bible quilt made in 1885 by Harriet Powers on its cover. The quilt hangs in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and is the focus of Ulrich’s essay.

“The quilt is a moral and religious cosmology of women’s lives in Athens, Ga.,” Payne said.

Scott visited the UM campus in 2000 to teach a course in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, where Payne was a founding director. Scott visited again in 2002 for the SMBHC commencement address.

“This splendid volume contains essays from several of the leading practitioners of American women’s history over the past two generations, as well as from scholars at earlier stages in their careers, all of whom demonstrate the lasting influence of Anne Firor Scott’s pioneering work,” said Joseph Ward, chair and associate professor of history. “Elizabeth Payne has made an important contribution to the field by bringing together such an impressive range of research into a single book.”

Payne is also the author of “Reform, Labor and Feminism: Margaret Dreier Robins and the Women’s Trade Union League” and coeditor of volumes one and two of “Mississippi Women: Their Histories, Their Lives.”

For more information, visit the UM Department of History.

A pioneer historian of American women is the inspiration for a book of essays edited by a University of Mississippi history professor.

Elizabeth Anne Payne edited the volume “Writing Women’s History: A Tribute to Anne Firor Scott,” (University Press of Mississippi, 2011) which includes essays by seven woman who are at the forefront of contemporary scholarship on American women’s history.

Payne said Scott, the 90-year-old W. K. Boyd Professor Emerita of History at Duke University and the first woman chair there, has been a mentor for many years.

“In 1970, when she published ‘A Southern Lady,’ I was in Chicago and went to her book signing,” Payne said. “At that time, she had short hair, flat shoes and studied women’s history. I thought it was wonderful.”

When it was published more than 30 years ago, Scott’s book, “The Southern Lady: From Pedestal to Politics, 1830-1930,” (University of Chicago Press) stirred a keen interest among historians in both the approach and message of her book. Using women’s diaries, letters and other personal documents, Scott brought to life Southern women as wives and mothers, as members of their communities and churches, and as sometimes sassy but rarely passive.

In her introduction to “Writing Women’s History,” Payne writes, “She challenged me to think more seriously about the nature and shape of feminist influence in the 1920s and 1930s. I will always be grateful not only for her mentoring but for her friendship, which has enriched my life.”

“Writing Women’s History: A Tribute to Anne Firor Scott” is based on papers originally presented at the university’s 32nd annual Chancellor Porter L. Fortune Symposium in Southern History in 2008. Choosing Scott’s work and its impact on women’s history made sense, as each writer regards “The Southern Lady” as having shaped her historical perspective and inspired her choice of topics in important ways. The essays together demonstrate that the power of imagination and scholarly courage manifested in Scott’s and other early American women historians’ work has blossomed into a gracious plentitude.

Contributors including Laura F. Edwards, Crystal Feimster, Glenda E. Gilmore, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, Darlene Clark Hine, Mary Kelley, Markeeva Morgan, Anne Firor Scott, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and Deborah Gray White.

The book is available in hardback and showcases artwork of an appliquéd Bible quilt made in 1885 by Harriet Powers on its cover. The quilt hangs in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and is the focus of Ulrich’s essay.

“The quilt is a moral and religious cosmology of women’s lives in Athens, Ga.,” Payne said.

Scott visited the UM campus in 2000 to teach a course in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, where Payne was a founding director. Scott visited again in 2002 for the SMBHC commencement address.

“This splendid volume contains essays from several of the leading practitioners of American women’s history over the past two generations, as well as from scholars at earlier stages in their careers, all of whom demonstrate the lasting influence of Anne Firor Scott’s pioneering work,” said Joseph Ward, chair and associate professor of history. “Elizabeth Payne has made an important contribution to the field by bringing together such an impressive range of research into a single book.”

Payne is also the author of “Reform, Labor and Feminism: Margaret Dreier Robins and the Women’s Trade Union League” and coeditor of volumes one and two of “Mississippi Women: Their Histories, Their Lives.”

For more information, visit the UM Department of History.

In what is becoming a new tradition at the University of Mississippi, the Gingerbread House Village is on display in the Ford Center’s studio theatre through Dec. 16. A visit to the eight-piece “village,” created by a variety of local bakers, is a charming, free way to get into the holiday spirit, said Norm Easterbrook, Ford Center director.

“This is our second year displaying the village,” he said. “It gets bigger and better each season.”The Gingerbread Village is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, with extended hours until 6:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays. Santa himself plans to drop by from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 10), and visitors are encouraged to bring cameras for pictures.

Beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 11), Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan will be on hand for photos with guests visiting the village before the 3 p.m. performance of “Sounds of the Season.”

The gingerbread village is free and open to the public, and guests are encouraged to bring a contribution to provide food for the Oxford Pantry.

Professional and amateur bakers were encouraged to enter gingerbread houses for this year’s display. The only restrictions were that houses could be no larger than 3 feet square, and submissions must not be made from a kit.

This year’s submissions include a gingerbread likeness of “Whoville,” plus a true-to-life cookie and candy version of the Ole Miss Grove’s “Walk of Champions” designed by the freshmen EDHD 105, section 23 class. One gingerbread neighborhood, designed by the UM Department of Biology, features cottages for Louis Pasteur, Ivan Pavlov and Charles Darwin.

Joe Ann Allen of Oxford said the replica of the Powerhouse Community Arts Center, designed by Andy Douglas, is one of her favorites, because it doesn’t have the typical gabled roof. “I’m so glad I came; this is the first time it’s felt like Christmas,” she said.

Her daughter, Paige Allen, marveled at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s gingerbread likeness, and said, “It smells great in here. Can I eat it?”

Easterbrook said he’s heard similar comments from the busloads of children who have visited the Ford Center since the village opened Dec. 1.

“The houses are fragile, so no touching and no eating,” Easterbrook said. “Boy, I feel like the Grinch when I say that.”

The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory of Oxford is giving visitors a chance to win its gingerbread creation. Tickets to win the 24x24x18-inch edible house cost $5 each, with proceeds going to the Scott Center PTA for children’s activities. The raffle concludes Dec. 16. Call Gena Ivy at 662-232-1906 or 662-816-5181 for tickets or more information.

Other creations were provided by Holli’s Sweet Tooth, Cypress Lake Soap, Fogerty Brothers Painting and Nest Paper Studio.

For a complete schedule of events or for assistance related to a disability, call the Ford Center at 662-915-2787.

A shared interest among the science educator community in Mississippi is whether we are doing an adequate job in preparing future generations in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Ideally, the STEM “pipeline” is filled with a flow of eager, bright students being taught by capable, challenging teachers, from K-12 through graduate school.

Unfortunately, reality is less than the ideal. In our regional context, STEM Education issues include the level of preparedness of our students, the training and support for science/math teachers, the underrepresentedness of minority students, and the mission of the UM in preparing bachelors and graduate school graduates. This discussion will focus on a variety of STEM Education access issues, will give an overview of some of the successful programs at UM, and will envision what we science educators can do to further enhance the STEM pipeline.  Everyone is invited, and children are welcome.

Oxford Science Cafe is sponsored by the physics and astronomy department and the office of the provost.  In February, the topic will be how cancer drugs work. Dr. Randy Wadkins will lead the conversation that month.  If you have any questions, please call 662.915.7046 or email: oxfordsciencecafe@phy.olemiss.edu.

Eminent domain issues have had a tumultuous history in the state. For example, in 2001, with the Canton Nissan plant, the state government tried to take the private land of Madison County resident Lorenzo Archie through the use of eminent domain and sell it to Nissan. Archie fought the state from taking his land and won.

In 2009, Gov. Haley Barbour vetoed HB 803, a bill that would have restricted the government from taking private land and selling it to businesses. Barbour would not back down on his stance against the initiative, believing it would hinder economic development in the state.

Jonathan Winburn, assistant political science professor, said he thinks the initiative will not necessarily hamper economic development, but it may slow down the process of bringing in business.

“The initiative was vague enough for there to be ways to work around it,” he said. “It may not be as simple or straightforward, but I think it may be a roadblock. I don’t think it will necessarily stop anybody.”

The issue of government taking land to sell for private use under the pretense of economic development isn’t a new issue. In the 2005 Supreme Court case Kelo v. New London, it was ruled that the government could buy land to sell to private bidders, if it fit under the fair and public use clause of the Fifth Amendment.

This allowed the government in the city of New London, Conn., to take the land of Susan Kelo and sell it to the developer who wanted to purchase it. This case would set a precedent for other states, like Mississippi, on how to handle the issue.

On election night many Oxford residents voiced their opinions on Initiative 31. An overwhelming majority of residents voted in favor of the initiative. This can be reflected in the poll numbers — 683 Oxford residents voted yes while only 123 voted no.

“I voted for it,” said Jennifer West, an Oxford resident for 36 years. “The main reason is that I think that capitalism should rule out; the government shouldn’t get involved.”

Danny Dickey, a longtime Oxford resident, also voted yes on the issue.

“I don’t like the idea of someone or the government taking my land,” he said.

While many who voted in favor of the initiative understood that the government wouldn’t be able to take their land to sell for private use, they may not have known that the government can still take private land under eminent domain for public use, if it benefits the community. Some examples of exemptions found in the initiative include airports, bridges, roads and abandoned or condemned properties.

“A lot of people just think that the government can’t take my land; this is what they are trying to stop,” Winburn said.

“I think there are folks who understand it on some basic level, but I don’t think there is a lot of detailed understanding of what this initiative is trying to accomplish. The idea behind that — the way I understood it — was to prevent that. It doesn’t stop eminent domain; it just stops them from taking it and reselling it for private economic development.”

from DM Online by Ross Cabell