Endowed Professorships

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Enabling Faculty to Inspire the Next Generation of Students

T.W. Bennett, Jr. Distinguished Professor in the Sciences

Supported by the T.W. Bennett Endowment, the professorship was established through the USM Foundation by Mr. and Mrs. T.W. Bennett, Sr. in honor of their son and his passion for the sciences. He was declared missing in action on December 22, 1972, while serving in the United States Air Force. The endowment supports the Bennett Professor’s research activities and the sponsorship of the Biennial Bennett Symposium, a research conference featuring a keynote talk.

2023-25 
Dr. Jeffrey Wiggins (Polymer Science and Engineering)
Project: Molecules to Mechanics – Fundamental Research with a Purpose

2021-23 
Dr. Julie Cwikla (Mathematics Education)
Project: Investigating the Ways Humans Develop Quantitative and Scientific Understanding

2019-21
Dr. Sarah Morgan (Polymer Science and Engineering)
Project: Bioinspired And Sustainable Polymer Research

2017-19
Dr. Alan Shiller (School of Ocean Science and Engineering)
Project: Trace Elements in Natural Waters

2015-17
Dr. Mohamed Elasri (Biological Sciences - Microbiology)
Project: The elucidation of the Regulatory Mechanisms of the Human Pathogen Staphylococcus Aureus.

2013-15
Dr. Robson Storey (Polymers and High Performance Materials)
Project: Alternative Polyurethane Polymers Cured via Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition

2011-13 
Dr. Vernon Asper (Marine Science)
Project: Use of Undersea Robots to Study Water Conditions in Antarctica's Ross Sea

2009-11
Dr. Sabine Heinhorst (Chemistry & Biochemistry)

2007-09 
Dr. Roger Hester (Polymers and High Performance Materials)

2005-07 
Dr. Stephen Ross (Biological Sciences)

2003-05
Dr. Gordon Cannon (Chemistry & Biochemistry)

2001-03
Dr. Charles McCormick (Polymers and High Performance Materials)

1999-01
Dr. Frank Moore (Biological Sciences)

1997-99
Dr. Anselm Griffin III (Polymers and High Performance Materials; Chemistry & Biochemistry)

Charles W. Moorman Distinguished Professor in the Humanities

Named in honor of the late Dr. Charles Moorman, a professor of English and Vice President for Academic Affairs at USM, the professorship is supported by the USM Foundation and through a matching grant from the Phil Hardin Foundation. It is awarded biennially for a two-year term to a senior professor in English, history, foreign languages, or philosophy to support their research efforts. At the end of the two-year term of appointment, the Moorman Professor will present his or her research with the Moorman Lecture.

2023-25 
Dr. Monika Gehlawat (English)
Project: Intersections Between Literary Works and the Visual Arts

2021-23
Dr. Heather Stur (History)
Project: Gen. Buford “Buff” Blount and the U.S. Army Third Infantry Division’s 2003 invasion of Iraq

2019-21
Dr. Andrew Haley (History)
Project: Re-Pasts: Community Cookbooks as Collective Memory

2017-19
Dr. Jameela Lares (English)
Project: Milton for Mississippi: Celebrating the Literary Achievements of John Milton

2015-17
Dr. Susannah J. Ural (History)
Project: The Challenges of War and Memory: Three Case Studies from the American Civil War

2013-15 
Dr. Angela Ball (English)
Project: New York School Poetry and the South

2009-11
Dr. Andrew Weist (History)
Project: The Boys of ’67: Charlie Company’s War in Vietnam (General Military)

2008-10
Dr. Michael H. DeArmey (Philosophy & Religion)
Project: Cosmopolitanism and Evil

2004-06
Dr. Maureen Ryan (English)
Project: Woodstock Nation: The Vietnam Antiwar Movement in American Fiction

 

Major General Buford “Buff” Blount Professor in Military History

Founded in honor of General Buford “Buff” Blount, a 1971 USM graduate who had a distinguished career in the U.S. military, including leading the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division into Baghdad in 2003, the professorship funds the research of a member of the Department of History. This individual is engaged in developing a major study in the field of War and Society. At the end of their two-year term, the holder of the Blount Professorship will present a lecture based on their research findings.

2023-25 
Dr. Andrew Wiest
Project: The U.S. National Guard During the War on Terror 

2021-2023  
Dr. Douglas Bristol
Project: War as Labor: Black GIs in the Army Service Forces in World War II.

2019-2021
Dr. Allison Abra  
Project: Love and War: An Emotional History of British Espionage during World War II

2017-2019
Dr. Heather Stur
Project: The U.S. Military and Civil Rights Since World War II and Saigon at War: South Vietnam and the Global Sixties

2015-2017
Dr. Kenneth Swope
Project: On the Trail of the Yellow Tiger: War, Trauma, and Social Dislocation in Southwest China during the Ming-Qing Transition

2013-2015
Dr. Susannah J. Ural
Project: Hood's Texas Brigade: The Soldiers and Families of the Confederacy's Most Celebrated Unit