Dr. Jeffrey S. Vitter

A lot has happened in the almost three years since Dr. Jeffrey Vitter took the helm as Chancellor of the University of Mississippi. Ole Miss is the Flagship University of the state, considered the best-known college in the state with the largest enrollment, just over 23,258. With an annual budget of $2.5 billion, it is also an economic powerhouse.

Recent accomplishments include:

• In fiscal 2018, external research funding on the Oxford campus was up twenty-three percent, and overall at the university it was up 8.5 percent to a total of $134 million.
• Total fundraising for the Oxford campus in 2018 was up almost 8 percent. Private donations across the university were nearly $117 million, the seventh year of more than $100 million, which helped the Ole Miss endowment climb to a record high of $715 million.
• About $1 billion in new construction has recently been completed, is underway or is planned.
• Ole Miss has been named the twelfth fastest-growing university in the country in the past decade.
• Economic development through entrepreneurship and technology commercialization continues to bear fruit. The nineteen-acre Insight Park is home to twenty-one companies, several based upon technology developed at the university.
• At the state's only academic medical center, the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), new space is being opened for clinical trials and translational medicine.

"It all comes down to our mission of transforming lives, communities and the world," Vitter says. "Within the system of higher education, flagship universities have special responsibilities to lead and serve their home state. Serving as Chancellor of the University of Mississippi is an awesome responsibility because of the opportunity we have to raise the standard of living for Mississippians through the power of education."

Under his leadership, Ole Miss has implemented the Flagship Forward strategic plan. "It is our roadmap of excellence," Vitter says. "We have created amazing programs, and the recognition we are getting is very rewarding."

The University of Mississippi has earned the Carnegie R1 Highest Research Activity designation, held by only the top 2.5 percent of colleges and universities nationwide. Vitter said that such a designation means that the university excels in innovative research, and what is particularly exciting is when those innovations can be further developed into practical technologies, treatments, or cures.

"Effective treatments and cures are what our world desperately needs, and we are leading the way in research on the diseases like Alzheimer's and diabetes that impact Mississippians most," Vitter says.

In addition to the main campus, Ole Miss has satellite campuses in DeSoto, Tupelo, Booneville, and Grenada. Recent lean budget times for Mississippi have resulted in cuts to higher education. For Ole Miss only one out of every $8 in operating revenue comes from state appropriations. Vitter says that Ole Miss works hard to ensure access and affordability, particularly for Mississippi students.

"The positive approach is that our university has been entrepreneurial," Vitter says. "We understand the state has had revenue shortages, and we appreciate the strong support of legislators and statewide leaders who value higher education, but they don't have the revenues to fully support it. We have been proactive in raising other forms of revenues, for example, attracting out-of-state students who subsidize the education of in-state students."

"In today's world, the grand challenges we face are highly multidisciplinary," Vitter says. "No one discipline has all the answers. We need a collaborative approach from across many fields."

"I feel blessed to have grown up in a family that was very close and loving," he said. "My parents were my role models. Both were tremendously strong advocates of higher education. They instilled in my siblings and myself a real appreciation and passion for higher education."

"Flagship Forward." It's the simple, yet profound strategic plan for The University of Mississippi, and one UM's top official is immensely proud of.

Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter was among the Ole Miss royalty at the Crossroads Arena as the BancorpSouth Rebel Road Trip made its seventh stop in Corinth, drawing more than 400 Rebel faithful.

"This is an amazing turnout and definitely the biggest crowd we have had so far," Vitter told those in attendance. "It is great to see so many passionate Ole Miss Rebels here, and it's even greater to be able to share with everyone the momentum we have right now across our entire flagship university."

"It is our roadmap of excellence," Vitter said of the strategic plan. "It is our mission to transform lives and communities throughout the world. It's based on four pillars of everything we do." The "Flagship Forward" plan is anchored on academic excellence, healthy and vibrant communities, people, places and resources, and athletics excellence.

"I am so excited and passionate about what we are doing at Ole Miss that I keep a copy of the strategic plan in my back pocket wherever I go," he said.

According to Vitter, Ole Miss is the tenth fastest growing university in the country over the past 10 years. He also highlighted the university's elevation to the Carnegie R1 Highest Research Activity classification, placing Ole Miss in the top 2.5 percent of colleges and universities nationwide.

Hear from Ole Miss Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter on the university's efforts to provide more context for its historical landmarks, monuments, and named buildings. The Chancellor interview begins at 4 minutes and 45 seconds.

University of Mississippi Chancellor Jeff Vitter told Columbus Rotarians that nothing is more vital to the state's future than higher education. Vitter, who had served as chancellor for a little longer than a year, said the university is improving on several fronts, from growing enrollment to record-high ACT scores and grade-point averages for incoming students.

However, Vitter said the University of Mississippi — and all universities in the state — must grapple with the reality of tightening state budgets.

"We're being cut to the bone, frankly," Vitter said. "It's something easy to lose. It's hard to build once you lose that. I heartily believe that there is nothing more important to the future of our state than higher education because it is what creates opportunities and it is what attracts businesses and starts new businesses in our state."

During a question-and-answer session, Vitter encouraged people to contact state senators and representatives to continue supporting Mississippi's higher education institutions. He touted the university's status as an R1 research university — the highest rating in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education — and noted the university's role in economic development through attracting out-of-state students.

"Mississippi, as a state, gets the benefit of students that they did not have to pay K-12 education costs for," Vitter said. "It's actually the cheapest route to well-trained citizens, is to import citizens. We are doing that. That's allowed us to grow, but we fundamentally need support from our state at the same time."

During his first year in office, University of Mississippi Chancellor Jeffrey S. Vitter accomplished something no other leader of a university in the state has: appointing a vice chancellor for diversity and community engagement.

"Diversity is a multifaceted component — academics, race, profession, sexual orientation, etc. It is in these areas where you bring different ideas and perspectives that make us a more imaginative and innovative community," says Vitter.

Vitter used his 100-day Flagship Forum — conversations held with more than 200 groups on campus, around the state and across the nation — to "listen and learn" firsthand about the state of the university. "We talked as a community about how we can become even greater … and what things are so great that we cannot change because it is crucial to the identity of the university," says Vitter.

His Flagship Constellation Initiative, introduced in Vitter's investiture address, is the open and shared responsibility of university faculty and staff to recruit and retain a diverse group of faculty to enhance the university's leadership in resolving some of the nation and world's large issues.

Faculty Senate Chairman Dr. Brice Noonan commended Vitter's approach: "Over the past year, he has proven an open and communicative leader through his constant engagement with the faculty and the faculty senate in particular."

Vitter is optimistic about the future, particularly around technology and data science. "When you have over 24,000 students, not to mention faculty and staff, you can't interact with everyone on a daily basis," says Vitter. "But transparency is important and I use Twitter and Facebook as an opportunity to reach out and connect with UM family."

Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter conducted his first inspection of University of Mississippi ROTC programs at the annual Pass in Review ceremony on the Circle in front of the Lyceum Building.

"It is an honor to be standing here today amongst a group of heroes, our students who have put aside their personal interest for the sake of serving something larger than themselves," Vitter said. "The University of Mississippi and our ROTC programs have a long and proud heritage of service to our university, state and nation. I applaud you — cadets and midshipmen — for upholding that proud legacy."

Vitter also thanked all veterans present who answered the nation's call in a time of need. The Army ROTC program has commissioned 1,740 officers since its inception at Ole Miss in 1936. The Navy/Marines ROTC program has commissioned about 400 midshipmen, and the Air Force ROTC program has commissioned more than 375 graduates, including distinguished alumni Lt. Gen. James E. Sherrard III and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker.

Dr. Jeffrey S. Vitter submitted his vision for the University of Mississippi during his formal investiture as the university's 17th chancellor at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

"Learning from our past, we will create a vibrant future," he said. "We will transform lives, communities and the world. Just imagine what we will do."

Jazz music greeted guests — a nod to Vitter's birthplace, New Orleans — but there was plenty of traditional pomp and circumstance. Presentations of insignia of the office came from representatives of the student body, faculty, staff, alumni and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

In a memorable moment, when Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Glenn F. Boyce asked Vitter if he would accept the unique responsibilities of the university, Vitter responded with the opening lines to Hotty Toddy: "Hell yes. Damn right."

With great emotion, Vitter acknowledged his deceased parents and his supportive family members. "Ole Miss is a family," said Vitter.

When Ole Miss invests Jeff Vitter as Chancellor this week, it is a moment for all who live and love the goodness our flagship university brings to the state and beyond to celebrate, together.

Jeff Vitter is his own man. His talents are special, including an engaging intelligence and facts-based pragmatism that combines with a tech-based growth mentality that will lead Ole Miss to great heights from the foundation our former leaders have established.

Some people speak first. Vitter listens first, and last. And, he processes, like a computer, making computations to determine the best moves. Vitter also empowers, putting decisions into the hands of vice chancellors, while providing coach-like guidance along the way.

Jeff is quite comfortable in social media, a realm he studies and embraces first person. Those tweets you see? He follows social activity about Ole Miss and Mississippi seven days a week. He reads tweets. He reads emails. He responds. He engages, and there's no team doing it all for him. It's just Jeff.

He's the right man for the job at Ole Miss, ready to lead the University to its next chapters as a great American institution of higher learning. We can all embrace his investiture as a moment to celebrate. Ole Miss is a proud institution with a wonderful legacy. And the best is yet to come.

On the first night of 2016, Ole Miss fans lit up the Superdome in New Orleans after watching their beloved Rebels win a Sugar Bowl for the first time in decades. Standing near them, united in celebration, was Jeffrey Vitter — on his first day as chancellor of the University of Mississippi.

Few people saw it at the time, but the night was indicative of what the university community would come to realize as the year continued: Vitter was all in.

New Orleans is his hometown and filled with the memories of family and the lessons he learned from his father and older brother. "Al influenced me a great deal, but even in high school I was enamored with the love and beauty of mathematics," Vitter says. "It's the amazing elegance of the order among chaos that mathematics represents."

Vitter's academic and consulting work attracted the attention of several companies often trying to convince him to leave academia for other opportunities. "I was fascinated by academia because I had the freedom to define my own vistas and explore any area that beckoned to me," Vitter admitted. "Unlike an industry job or a startup company out in Silicon Valley, once you are in those environments you are only contained in those specific parameters."

IBM almost succeeded in the 1980s, but in the end, academia won. "What I've found is people who are best at making a difference in the world are those who understand the theoretical underpinnings of what they do," he says. "Their approaches tend to be more elegant and not just ad-hoc."

Brown, Duke, Purdue, Texas A&M and Kansas are among the institutions he has called home, but he insists Oxford is unlike anything he has experienced before. "People are doing truly innovative things to make a difference in this world," Vitter says, "from saving lives and making life safer … all the way to our underpinnings as people, how we relate, how we move forward as a society dealing with difficult issues."

"It did help that my first day on the job was pretty good," Vitter said. "Now I get to wear this gaudy ring as a reminder."

You've now been Chancellor for a little over nine months — talk about how life in Oxford has been.

Being from New Orleans, I knew I would be right at home with the people, the food, the attitudes and especially the weather. Even with those expectations, it has been amazing how quickly Sharon and I have felt at home, how quickly we became part of the Ole Miss family.

What were some of the goals you wanted to achieve coming in?

My priority coming in was to listen and engage in conversation with university stakeholders — students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends. I wanted first-hand insight on the state and momentum of the university. So I embarked on a 100-day listening tour called the Flagship Forum where I interacted with over 200 groups on campus, and around the state and country.

What direction do you want to see the campus moving forward?

We will establish a multidisciplinary research and education program in data science, data analytics, big data, cybersecurity, and precision medicine. But it is important to recognize that the intersections of arts and sciences, humanities and technology is where truly creative innovations emerge.

Lightning round: Favorite food? Oyster loaf, dressed. Dream job if not Chancellor? Food critic. Favorite music? George Jones and Van Morrison. Interesting hobby? Family genealogy — our online database at Vitter.org has entries for about 14,000 people, some of whom are actually related to me.

Furthering his efforts to increase and improve internal and external communications, University of Mississippi Chancellor Jeffrey S. Vitter launched the university's first Town Hall meeting, drawing several hundred UM faculty, staff and students to the Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom at the Inn at Ole Miss.

"During the Flagship Forum in the spring, I spent 100 days in over 200 group interactions," Vitter said. "I saw firsthand the amazing things we do at Ole Miss and that we are truly a great university. All great institutions share one thing in common: a drive and will to get even better."

Participants expressed opinions and suggested ideas focused on four themes: academic excellence; healthy and vibrant communities; people, places and resources; and athletics excellence. The ideas gathered were to be compiled and shared online as the foundation for the university's strategic planning process.

"I think Chancellor Vitter is to be commended for his openness to the input of the university's many constituents," said moderator Ronnie Agnew, UM journalism alumnus and executive director of Mississippi Public Broadcasting. "Let's work together and get behind his vision to make the University of Mississippi the greatest university in the nation."

University of Mississippi Chancellor Jeff Vitter addressed the Oxford and Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce's First-to-Know Breakfast, narrowing the university's distinction to three reasons: Ole Miss changes lives; Ole Miss changes communities; and Ole Miss is one of the top 2.5 percent research universities in the nation.

"Having grown up in New Orleans, I have been long aware of the university's stellar reputation," he said. "The Ole Miss brand is very, very strong. Its programs have national and international appeal. This university truly is synonymous with excellence, opportunity, family and community."

Vitter spoke on the university's record enrollment figures — 24,800 students enrolled, including roughly 20,000 on the Oxford campus — and record private donations of $194 million in the past fiscal year.

"The value of the Ole Miss degree keeps going up," he said. "With these donations, we can do new things, better things — not just to shore up existing programs but for us to go forward and truly be a flagship university."

He also noted scientific breakthroughs coming from UM researchers, including work at the forefront of discovering a functional cure for HIV and faculty engaged in confirming Einstein's prediction of gravitational waves. "That's Ole Miss," he said.

University of Mississippi Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter stands apart from other leaders in high-ranking public roles through his genuine, personal engagement with social media — reading tweets, responding directly to emails and Facebook posts, opening dialogue with students and community members in a way that is unprecedented at Ole Miss.

When a student recently took issue with what he felt was a lack of student representation on the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on History and Context, he tagged Vitter in a Facebook post. Vitter responded, opening a conversation about his decision-making that otherwise would be lost or trapped on an editorial page with no open dialogue.

Opening that direct line of communication is unprecedented at Ole Miss. And it is indicative of what is to come as the university moves forward and Oxford moves right along with it.

Sharon Vitter is the new First Lady of the University of Mississippi. Already she is embracing the town of Oxford, the Ole Miss community, and what she believes will be warmer weather than in Lawrence, Kansas, where the Vitters resided before Chancellor Vitter's appointment.

"We were here for the game last weekend, and we got to go to downtown Oxford," she said. "It's a quaint, beautiful little town. We're looking forward to coming here, and I'm looking forward to this being my last move."

A native of Kansas and a graduate of the University of Kansas, Sharon Vitter has been back at KU since 2010. She noted similarities between Lawrence and Oxford: "The quaintness and the way alumni love to come back to the university and be a part of it are similar."

"Jeff's leadership style is that we've always entertained and played a prominent role in doing things," she said. "We plan to entertain hopefully quite a bit in the house, have the public in, have people in to get to know us and get to know their university and their house. It's a beautiful house. We're looking forward to getting settled and getting in there."

She described Jeff's personal qualities as a husband and father: "What I admire personally about Jeff is that as a husband and father, he is loving, kind, and supportive. When our kids were growing up, he always made the time to read to them, play with them, attend their school and sporting events, and take them on a fun outing. He was the fun parent! He has a great memory and recall for people, places, and events. He reminds me of a chess player who plays out every move to try and produce the best outcome."