Mississippi, University of

▪ university, Oxford, Mississippi, United States

byname  Ole Miss 

      public, coeducational institution of higher learning based in Oxford, Mississippi, U.S., with its Medical Center in Jackson and regional campuses at Tupelo and Southaven. Academically divided into one college and eight schools (including the Medical Center), it offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. The university manages more than 15 research units; notable among them are the Center for the Study of Southern Culture (established 1977), the Center for Wireless Communications (1985), the Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics (1986), and the National Food Service Management Institute (1989). The campus library system includes the Blues Archive, a collection of black American music. The Oxford campus is noted for its Georgian and Greek Revival architecture. Enrollment at the main campus exceeds 10,000 students.

      Chartered in 1844, the school opened in 1848 with a general curriculum in the liberal arts. The School of Law, established in 1854, is one of the oldest public law schools in the United States. The university was closed during the American Civil War, when it was occupied by federal forces; it reopened in 1865.

      Women first joined Mississippi as students in 1882 and as faculty members in 1885. Although graduate degrees were conferred in the 19th century, the Graduate School was not formally established until 1927. The Medical Center at Jackson, which began enrolling students in 1955, contains schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, and Health Related Professions; the world's first human lung transplant was performed there in 1963. In 1962, over the objection of state officials, the U.S. Supreme Court forced the university to accept racial integration and admit African American student James H. Meredith (Meredith, James). The School of Accountancy, established in 1979, was one of the first schools of its kind in the nation.

      Notable faculty members included educator Frederick Barnard (Barnard, Frederick), who served as president in 1856–61, and jurist Lucius Q.C. Lamar (Lamar, Lucius Q.C.), who taught law in 1866–73. Author William Faulkner (Faulkner, William) attended classes at Mississippi, and the university operates his Oxford home, Rowan Oak, as a museum.

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