Millsaps College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

History

The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webster Millsaps, who donated the land for the college and $50,000. William Belton Murrah was the college's first president, and Bishop Charles Betts Galloway of the Methodist Episcopal Church South organized the college's early fund-raising efforts. Both men were honored with halls named in their honor. Major Millsaps and his wife are interred in a tomb near the center of campus. The current United Methodist Church continues to affiliate with the college.

Navy V-12 program

Millsaps was chosen as one of 131 sites for the training of

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and Marine officers in the

V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...

. In April 1943, 380 students arrived for the Navy V-12 program offering engineering, pre-medical and pre- dental training. Thereafter Millsaps began accepting students year-round for the program. A total of 873 officer candidates went through Millsaps between 1943 and 1945.

Civil rights era

Millsaps College students protested the shooting of

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

student and civil rights worker Benjamin Brown, who was killed by police at a protest. The Mississippi Sovereignty Commission photographed the Millsaps protesters and identified them. The Sovereignty Commission spied on and conspired against civil rights activists and organized pressure and economic oppression of those who supported the civil rights movement in Mississippi.

Dismissal of James Bowley

Millsaps College suspended and later dismissed James Bowley, a tenured professor of politics and religion, after he emailed three students that class was cancelled to "mourn and process this racist fascist country" after

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

was elected in the 2024 United States elections. Millsaps interim provost Stephanie Rolph placed him on administrative leave, saying that it was because he " haredpersonal opinions with isstudents" using his official email. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said that the college "fabricated a policy violation" as to fire Bowley in an article demanding his reinstatement that the college called "riddled with inaccuracies". The college's faculty council president, David Wood, told ''

Inside Higher Ed ''Inside Higher Ed'' is an American online publication of news, opinion, resources, events and jobs in the higher education sphere. In 2022, Quad Partners, a private equity firm, sold it to Times Higher Education, itself owned by Inflexion Priv ...

'' that the suspension was "unfair and unsubstantiated" and the decision to ban Bowley without a hearing was done on "very poor judgment". However, he also described Bowley's past actions as "a bit reckless" and said that Bowley would "push the envelope" of the administration with controversial issues. One of these past issues involving Bowley was the defacement of the Christian Center, an academic building on campus that was set for renovation in 2017. Bowley and several students applied graffiti to the walls, and the graffiti included many politically charged comments about state and federal leaders. This was seen as an act of vandalism by the administration, and "disciplinary processes were initiated against the students and faculty owleyinvolved." A grievance panel of three faculty members called for a formal apology by Rolph, Bowley's reinstatement, and compensation to be given to Bowley. The panel writes that Rolph was unable provide a specific policy that Bowley violated and that no policy exists to regulate the use of campus emails to share personal opinions. Bowley said that he appealed his dismissal to the board of trustees.

Important dates in Millsaps history

* 1890: Major Reuben Webster Millsaps founds the college with a personal gift of $50,000. * 1901: Millsaps builds the first

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

course in Mississippi. * 1902: Mary Letitia Holloman becomes the first female graduate of Millsaps. * 1908: Sing-Ung Zung of

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

, China, becomes the first international student to graduate from Millsaps. * 1914: Old Main, one of the first buildings on campus, burns and is replaced by Murrah Hall. * 1916: Major Millsaps dies and is interred on campus. * 1931: The first night

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

game in Mississippi is played on the Millsaps campus between the Majors and Mississippi A&M (now

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

). * 1936: Millsaps College absorbs bankrupt Grenada College during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. * 1943:

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

attends Millsaps for V-12 naval officer training, entertaining his comrades with a magic and humor act. * 1944: Louis H. Wilson, who graduated from the college in 1941, received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for his actions at the Battle of Guam during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Wilson became a General and the 26th

Commandant of the Marine Corps Commandant of the Marine Corps may refer to: * Commandant of the Marine Corps (Indonesia) * Commandant of the Netherlands Marine Corps * Commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps * Commandant of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps * Commandant of th ...

in 1975. He was the first Marine Corps Commandant to serve full-time on the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

. * 1947-48: Ruth Chang of

Shanghai, China Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

becomes one of the first non-white students to attend Millsaps. * 1953:

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

and

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

judge a Millsaps beauty contest. * 1965: Millsaps becomes the first all-white college in Mississippi to voluntarily desegregate. * 1967: Robert F. Kennedy during his presidential campaign speaks at the college about the obligations of young Americans to give back to their country. * 1975: Presidential candidate

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

speaks to Millsaps students about the crisis in the Middle East. * 1988: Millsaps initiates the first campus chapter of

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

in Mississippi. * 1989: Millsaps becomes the first school in Mississippi to have a chapter of the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

honor society. * 2025: Millsaps fires tenured professor James E. Bowley for expressing his political opinions in an e-mail.

Presidents

* William Belton Murrah, 1890–1910 * David Carlisle Hull, 1910–1912 * Alexander Farrar Watkins, 1912–1923 * David Martin Key, 1923–1938 * Marion Lofton Smith, 1938–1952 * Homer Ellis Finger, Jr., 1952–1964 * Benjamin Barnes Graves, 1965–1970 * Edward McDaniel Collins, Jr., 1970–1978 * George Marion Harmon (1978–2000) – After 22 years of leading Millsaps College, Harmon announced his resignation in the spring of 1999. His last day as president of Millsaps College was June 30, 2000.The Magnolia Gazette: Southern ties launch a new era for Millsaps
* Frances Lucas (2000–2010) – Lucas was the first woman to hold the post at Millsaps.The Clarion-Ledger: Millsaps installs 1st female leader
Lucas resigned on April 23, 2009. Lucas cited disagreements with faculty as the reason for her resignation. * Howard McMillan, Dean of Millsaps' Else School of Management took over as Interim President in August 2009. * Robert Pearigen, Vice President of University Relations at

The University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee, Sewanee, Tennessee, United States. It ...

, was selected to serve as the eleventh president of the college. He began his term in office on July 1, 2010. * Frank Neville, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff at Georgia Institute of Technology, was selected to serve as the twelfth president of the college. He began his term in office on June 17, 2024.

Rankings and distinctions

Millsaps is one of 40 schools in

Loren Pope Loren Brooks Pope (July 13, 1910 – September 23, 2008) was an American writer and educational consultant, best known for his book, '' Colleges That Change Lives''. He was also the education editor of ''The New York Times.'' Background Born ...

's '' Colleges That Change Lives''.

Athletics

The school's sports teams are known as the Majors and their colors are purple and white. They participate in the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

and the Southern Athletic Association. Women's sports include Basketball, Cross-country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field, and Volleyball, while Men's sports include Baseball, Basketball, Cross-country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, and Track & Field.

Notable faculty and alumni

* Rodney J. Bartlett, quantum

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

* Michael Beck, actor * Jim C. Barnett, surgeon and politician * James E. Bowley, Hebrew scholar (fired) * Gary Burghoff, actor *

, longtime host of ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'' * Turner Cassity, poet * Roy Clyde Clark, Bishop of the

* Lisa D'Amour, playwright * David Herbert Donald, historian * Shannon Rogers Duckworth, bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana * Nancy Plummer Faxon, organist and composer * Ellen Gilchrist, author * James E. Graves Jr., judge,

Supreme Court of Mississippi The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the Supreme court, highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in 1818 per the terms of the first constitution of the state and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appeals from 1832 to 1 ...

* Winifred Green, activist from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

during the civil rights movementJackson, MS
Winifred Green , Jackson Free Press , Jackson, MS
, access-date: February 21, 2016 * Scott Tracy Griffin, author * Ben M. Hall, author * William Hester (1933), president of the

United States Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tenn ...

from 1977 to 1978 * Alan Hunter,

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

VJ * James Kimbrell, poet * Clay Foster Lee Jr., Bishop of the

* Robert William Lowry (pastor), LGBTQIA+ activist * Ray Marshall, Secretary of Labor during the Carter administration * Robert S. McElvaine, history professor * Myron S. McNeil, Mississippi state legislator * Greg Miller, poet * Lewis Nordan, author * Kiese Laymon, professor * Christopher Lee Nutter, author * Claude Passeau, baseball player * Rubel Phillips, Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1963 and 1967 * Paul Ramsey, ethicist *

Tate Reeves Jonathan Tate Reeves (born June 5, 1974) is an American politician serving as the 65th List of governors of Mississippi, governor of Mississippi since 2020. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Reeves served as the ...

Governor of Mississippi The governor of Mississippi is the head of government of Mississippi and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Mississippi National Guard, military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either appro ...

* Robert Robbins, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon, former President/CEO of

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a List of neighborhoods in Houston, neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States. It is immediately south of the Houston Museum District, Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 6 ...

, former President of The University of Arizona * Stokes Robertson Jr., Justice of the

from 1966 to 1982Fall-Winter 2006 Millsaps Magazine
(December 6, 2010), p. 53. * Vic Roby, former

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

staff announcer * Julian Rush, clergyman, playwright, non-profit administrator * Kevin Sessums, author * Otis Singletary, historian and 8th President of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

* Donald Triplett, first person to be diagnosed with autism *

Eudora Welty Eudora Alice Welty (April 13, 1909 – July 23, 2001) was an American short-story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the American South. Her novel '' The Optimist's Daughter'' won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numerou ...

, author * Cassandra Wilson, jazz musician * Louis H. Wilson Jr., Medal of Honor recipient

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{Portal bar, Mississippi Buildings and structures in Jackson, Mississippi Education in Hinds County, Mississippi Education in Jackson, Mississippi Universities and colleges established in 1890 1890 establishments in Mississippi Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Liberal arts colleges in Mississippi Universities and colleges in the Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi Private universities and colleges in Mississippi