Welcome from the Dean, Winter 2026

Hello to our Graduates, Students, Colleagues, and Friends of the Graduate School!

As we send out the winter newsletter for the 2025-2026 academic year, our campus faced an extremely challenging situation. The severe winter storm in Oxford left many without power or water, even as the temperatures remained frigid. For those in the area, we hope you are well on your way to recovering from the extreme disruption (and, in many cases, damage). Outside our region, we hope you are safe and warm as we await the arrival of spring.

The academic year to date has been one of records. Overall enrollment on campus is higher than ever, and our football team made its first appearance in the College Football Playoffs. In the midst of these exciting developments, we are pleased to share some of the wonderful things happening within the Graduate School.

We held our 2025 Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition in mid-November. The competition is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the fascinating research and scholarship that graduate students do on campus. We kick off our winter issue with a set of stories in which you can read about our winners and other strong competitors. The poise, skill, and clarity with which they competed (along with many other strong graduate students) illustrate the strength of our university as a research-intensive institution.

This year, five individuals served as judges in our final round. They had the challenging task of helping us select a single winner. We thank each of them for taking the time on a busy fall evening to be part of the event! Our judges for the final round were:

• Dr. Mike Edmonds, a doctoral graduate of our institution, was faculty member and then an administrator at Colorado College for many years until he recently retired. His expertise includes effective communication (he holds multiple accolades related to speaking). Edmonds regularly returns to Oxford and supports educational and faculty initiatives across the campus.
• Erik Skaggs, an engineer by training, serves as President of the Toyota Manufacturing Mississippi Plant. The plant he oversees produces the Corolla, Toyota’s highest-volume-selling vehicle globally. Skaggs serves on the board of the UM Center for Manufacturing Excellence and is a member of several boards serving the state and city of Tupelo.
• Dr. Harish Chander earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at UM. After serving on the faculty at another school (one with cowbells) for several years, he became the UMMC Associate Dean of Research and Innovation. Not only does he have over 100 publications and significant grant funding, but Chander himself is also a previous UM 3MT® winner.
• Amy Lowe Lewis joined the university in 2003 and is the Executive Director of Federal Relations at UM. She has helped the university secure significant federal research funding and build relationships with key agencies and policymakers. A double UM grad, she co-founded the Double Decker Arts Festival in 1996 prior to her current role.
• Dr. Steven Holley is the University of Mississippi’s Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer. He joined the institution in 2021, bringing his financial and operational expertise, and oversees a range of units. He is a graduate (with a master’s in accountancy) of the UM Graduate School and a proud first-generation college student.

We could not have hosted such a successful competition without our judges.

Within this issue, you will also find two stories that relate to professional development activities for graduate students on campus. Graduate students share their experiences with a new online platform designed to support career exploration, networking, and more. We also have a number of graduate students completing internships (some as part of our new Humanities Catalyst Fellowship Program), and it is exciting to learn how they translate their degree-based learning into applied opportunities.

Our final story introduces you to several students doing research on and with artificial intelligence (AI). Learn about the different ways students from many different fields at our university contribute to the knowledge base about AI and read their tips for those interested in working with AI themselves.

We hope that when you are next in Oxford, you will stop by to visit. To our graduates, we love hearing where your career and life have taken you. Email at gschool@olemiss.edu. Of course, if you have any questions about the activities featured in this issue, we welcome you to reach out.

We also invite you to join us in the Graduate House on February 25, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm for our 3^rd annual Image of Research Competition. This visual competition challenges our students to use imagery to depict their research. The opportunity to see their creativity is inspiring.

Best wishes for the spring season,

Annette S. Kluck, Ph.D.

Dean of the Graduate School