OXFORD, Miss. – A close-up look at the planets and beyond is offered amateur stargazers and other interested people Friday night (Dec. 5) during an open house at the University of Mississippi’s Kennon Observatory. The viewing, from 5:15 to 8:30 p.m., is to look at Venus, Jupiter and Uranus using several of the university’s telescopes.Read the story …

Click the image to view a slideshow Carlos Pettis, a fifth-grader at Oxford’s Della Davidson Elementary School, reads to his reading coach, University of Mississippi senior education major Ashley Hilton. UM photo by Tobie Baker. OXFORD, Miss. – Fifth-grader Carlos Pettis wants to throw a goodbye party at the end of the semester for readingRead the story …

OXFORD, Miss. – The heartwarming story of Oliver Twist is to be retold onstage Dec. 13 at the University of Mississippi’s Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Hailed as one of the best-loved family musicals of all time, Lionel Bart’s “Oliver!” brings memorable scores such as “Food, Glorious Food,” “Consider Yourself at Home” and “WhereRead the story …

The Steel Drum Orchestra performs in the Grove. Courtesy photo. OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi Steel Drum Orchestra and Hi-Grade Band are slated to perform Caribbean and Christmas music in the styles of soca, calypso, ska and reggae Wednesday (Dec. 3). Tickets for the 8 p.m. concert in the Music Building’s Nutt AuditoriumRead the story …

Madison Halbrook (left), Jitin Chatlani and Sederia Gray attend an honors college alumni dinner at the Kennedy Center. Courtesy photo. OXFORD, Miss. – What began months ago as a discussion around a kitchen table in Oxford among three University of Mississippi honors students ended in October with a dinner at the Kennedy Center in Washington,Read the story …

Scott Knight, research ecologist at the USDA National Sedimentation Laboratory, gives students from Oxford’s Della Davidson Elementary School a hands-on look at the vast diversity of pond life. UM photo by Michelle Edwards. OXFORD, Miss – On a recent beautiful fall day, the entire fifth-grade class at Oxford’s Della Davidson Elementary School got out ofRead the story …

Steve Castleman shares an Ole Miss memory with his daughter Erin. Courtesy photo. OXFORD, Miss. – For University of Mississippi alumnus Steve Castleman, it’s not the historic Lyceum, the iconic Grove or even tailgating before football games that he loves most about Ole Miss. “I’ve been away for over 30 years now, and the bestRead the story …

OXFORD, Miss. – Novelist and short story writer Barry Hannah and his wife, Susan, have been honored by their friends Howard and Sylvia Lenhoff of Oxford with a scholarship endowment in their name at the University of Mississippi, where Barry Hannah is a writer-in-residence and Howard Lenhoff is an adjunct biology professor. The Lenhoffs’ giftRead the story …