Southern Miss Honors College

Say cheese, graduates! 📸 Although commencement season is over, we are still cheering you on and celebrating your big achievement!

Congratulations to our most recent class of Honors College Alumni!

Honors College students don't just read books and discuss big ideas; they learn by going outside the classroom, by putting their ideas into action and their values into practice. This semester, students in Dr. Joseph Peterson's Honors Seminar, "Incarceration in Mississippi," spent time researching the history of incarceration firsthand in USM's Special Collections, and traveled to the Mississippi State Penitentiary (at Parchman), visiting and conversing with residents in a seminary class there as well as with residents on “Death Row.”

Supported by USM's Center for Community Engagement, students also volunteered at Big House Books in Jackson, reading correspondence and filling book orders for incarcerated readers; and volunteered at Interlude House (a sober-living community for women in recovery), helping to raise money, plant flowers, and perform other maintenance. Some students even volunteered to go behind bars and work as “peer facilitators” in classes run by the Mississippi Prison Arts and Education Project, completing some of the same assignments and earning the same certificates alongside incarcerated scholars.

The Honors College is utterly proud of our students, Vinny Halsey and Landon Murin, as they have been selected as the 2026 Beckman Scholars! Learn more about their national recognition and research projects through the link in our bio.

Dr. Gordon Cannon, vice-president of research emeritus and husband to former dean, Dr. Sabine Heinhorst, was one of the most ardent advocates for undergraduate research at Southern Miss. The Honors College owes so much to Dr. Cannon's vision and generosity over the years, and he will be missed by his Honors College family.

Southern Miss mourns the loss of Dr. Gordon Cannon, professor emeritus and vice president emeritus for research. Dr. Cannon was an accomplished scientist and educator whose career touched the lives of colleagues, students, and the University community.

He joined Southern Miss as an assistant professor in 1987 and went on to serve in several leadership roles, including vice president for research in 2012 and later as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. Throughout his career, Dr. Cannon played a vital role in advancing the University’s research enterprise and strengthening its presence along the Gulf Coast.

Working closely with research teams and industry partners, he was instrumental in expanding the University’s teaching and research sites, including facilities for marine education and ocean engineering. His leadership supported Blue Economy initiatives and contributed to the University’s advancement to R1 status.

His many accomplishments earned him recognition as a T.W. Bennett Distinguished Professor and a recipient of the Southern Miss Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Cannon’s vision, leadership, and service left a legacy that will be remembered for years to come.

Last week, Freshman Honors Colloquium students from numerous different sections took an afternoon tour of Lake Thoreau Environmental Center. Students enjoyed the outdoors while learning about active research on turtles, frogs, and fish! They also saw a demonstration from a Mississippi State University extension agent about fire's role in forest health. 🌳

Special thanks to USM's School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences for introducing us to this really special place!

Congratulations to Shelby Clark whose critical essay, “Hometowns, History, and Hate in Eudora Welty’s The Golden Apple and Toni Morrison’s Paradise,” was awarded the 1st Place Prize for the Isabel Sparks President’s Award for American and Multicultural Literature at the Sigma Tau Delta conference this year!

Who was your Dean?🧐 Our Golden Anniversary is only TEN DAYS away! Make sure you register for our upcoming events and celebrations through the link in our bio. Last day to register is tomorrow, April 9!

Last week, Honors Colloquium students enjoyed an in-class presentation by James Ray Polk about the musical elements that appear in the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Mr. Polk is an architect and musician who has taught at the Frank Lloyd Wright school, designed numerous buildings in Hattiesburg and the region, and will soon be releasing an album of songs inspired by Wright's architecture.

Students were regaled with images of architectural spaces and song selections that Mr. Polk played on his mandolin--not to mention his musings on the creative process and the importance of following one's passions. The presentation was attended by students in the classes of Drs. Ashley Allen and Matthew Casey.

Last week, Dr. Matthew Casey and his Colloquium class delivered the keynote address, “Teaching with Archives and Special Collections to Discover a ‘Lost’ Mississippi Neighborhood,” at the Society of Mississippi Archivists’ annual meeting. Honors students highlighted their impressive research on Baptist Bottoms, a neighborhood in Hattiesburg, that has few archival or online records, in the early 20th century.

The students’ research has discovered that contrary to the scant newspaper sources available, the neighborhood was a vibrant community filled with shops, churches, and other neighborhood institutions. The class has been working closely with Southern Miss archivists, especially Prof. Jennifer Brannock, who also routinely teaches Honors classes.

We are less than 3 weeks away from our Golden Anniversary! 🎊 Register for all the exciting events happening the weekend of April 18 through the link in our bio!