MC at a Glance

• Mississippi's oldest institution of higher learning, established in 1826 as Hampstead Academy.
• With nearly 4,900 students, MC is the state's largest private university.
• MC is the nation's second oldest Baptist college.
• The first coeducational college in America to grant degrees to women, with two graduating in 1831.
• U.S. News & World Report's 2009 "America's Best Colleges" guide ranks MC 29th among Southern universities - master's level. It lists MC as a "Best Value" in the South. The university is 52nd nationwide in the percentage of students receiving merit-based aid.
• Forbes.com listing of "America's Best Colleges" ranked MC 129th among 569 undergraduate institutions surveyed. The survey accounts for student comments, the success of alumni, costs and academic quality.
• In recent years, about 73 percent of MC students who have applied to medical school have been accepted to exceed national averages.
• The School of Law's new executive law program allows working professionals to earn their degrees in five years instead of the traditional three.
• The M.B.A. program in the School of Business is the oldest and largest such program in metro Jackson. It offers a concentration in management information systems as well as finance and accounting.
• MC began its engineering/physics program in 2008.
• MC fielded an equestrian team for the first time in 2007 with senior Meredith Guider of Utica ranked as the fourth best collegiate rider in the nation.
• A new on-line nursing program allows students to work full-time while pursuing a nursing degree.
• Fifteen students are enrolled in the university's first doctorate in education leadership program.
• The United States Water Fitness Association has awarded MC's aquatic program its number one ranking among U.S. colleges for more than a decade.

Distinguished alumni include

• Republican Third District Congressional nominee Gregg Harper of Pearl
• All-American receiver Jake Allen, who now is a member of the Green Bay Packers practice squad
• Five governors
• Director of the International Mission Board
• Flight Director of two Apollo missions
• Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant
• Three former chief justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court and the current chief justice
• Presidents of several Southern Baptist College seminaries
• Six Southern Baptist Convention Presidents
• Executive Director of the Mississippi High School Activities Association
• WLBT-TV 3 news anchor Maggie Wade, meteorologist Barbie Bassett and general manager Dan Modisett
• University of Mississippi Medical Center Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Dr. Dan Jones, who is also dean of the School of Medicine
• University of Mississippi School of Education Dean Dr. Tom Burnham
• Pearl River Community College President Dr. William Lewis
• Mississippi High School Activities Association Executive Director Dr. Ennis Proctor
• Johnny Franklin, education advisor to Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour
• George Dale, who recently stepped down as Mississippi insurance commissioner since the mid-1970s, and was the longest tenured insurance commissioner in the nation
• Mike Kent, superintendent of the 11,500-student Madison County public schools
• Dr. Milton Baxter, executive director of the Jackson-based Mississippi Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
• Peggy Carlisle, a Pecan Park Elementary teacher in Jackson, who was the Wal-Mart and Sam's Club 2007 National Teacher of the Year