OXFORD, Miss. – Two of the most intriguing figures in recent American
history – Tom Brokaw and Rhesa Barksdale – have agreed to share their
insights and reflections with students at the University of Mississippi
next spring as visiting lecturers.
Brokaw, longtime “NBC Nightly News” anchor and one of the most
respected people in broadcast journalism, and Barksdale, a sitting
judge on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, have both been named
as Sally McDonnell Barksdale Fellows. The program’s goal is to energize
the academic environment for the entire campus, said Douglass
Sullivan-Gonzalez, dean of UM’s Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors
College.
“Our students are not simply spectators in
education,” Sullivan-Gonzalez said. “They are participants, and this
allows them to learn from two people who have helped shaped American
history.”
A special correspondent for NBC News and frequent visitor to
Oxford, Brokaw has agreed to lecture for a journalism course led by the
university’s Cook Chair of Journalism, Curtis Wilkie. The course, “The
Changing Face of America,” calls for students to read Brokaw’s books
“The Greatest Generation” (Random House, 1998), which examines the
World War II peer group, and “Boom! Voices of the Sixties” (Random
House, 2008), a reflection on the tumultuous era.
“Tom (Brokaw) is one of the smartest, most thoughtful
individuals that I’ve ever known,” said Wilkie, who met Brokaw during
the 1976 presidential campaign. “He’s equipped and in a unique position
to help show the students how to deal with changes in society, and
he’ll also provide insight into how we, as journalists, try to keep up
with those changes.”
Brother of UM alumnus and philanthropist Jim Barksdale, Rhesa
Barksdale earned his law degree from UM in 1972 and served as a law
clerk for Supreme Court Associate Justice Byron White in 1972-73.
President George H.W. Bush nominated Barksdale as a federal judge. He
was confirmed in 1990 and earned senior status this summer.
He will lecture for a political science and history course
co-taught by Bob Haws and John Winkle. The course, “Quarrels That Have
Shaped Our Understanding of the Constitution,” enables students to
examine the central role of the U.S. Supreme Court in major political
controversies that have shaped our understanding of the Constitution.
“Judge Barksdale has been directly involved in many of the cases
that have molded our society,” said Bob Haws, UM chair of public policy
leadership. “His perspectives and real-world experiences will be
extremely valuable in the classroom as he examines the role of federal
judges.”
Besides being tapped as a Barksdale Fellow, Barksdale will be
honored in the spring as the Trent Lott Leadership Institute’s
inaugural Leader-in-Residence.
With active careers and lives often dictated by world events,
both Brokaw and Barksdale are available only on a limited basis. Brokaw
is slated to be on campus for a week next spring, and Barksdale is
committed to two weeks of lectures. Both classes are taught in a
seminar format.
Course enrollments are limited to 15 to 20 students, and Honors
College students receive first choice. If any openings remain, students
must have a 3.0 grade point average to enroll, Sullivan-Gonzalez said.
For more information on the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, visit http://www.honors.olemiss.edu/.