The University of Mississippi will rename its political science department the Ray Mabus Department of Political Science, the Institutions of Higher Learning board of trustees approved Thursday, April 16, the university said.
The university said Mabus and more than 120 donors — including alumni, friends, foundations and businesses — contributed to an endowment to support the department’s teaching, research and student opportunities.
The university’s announcement summarized Mabus’s decadeslong public service. It said he served as Mississippi state auditor in 1984, was elected governor in 1988 as the state’s youngest governor in 150 years, served as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 1994 and was appointed by President Barack Obama as the 75th secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. The university said his Navy tenure was the longest since World War I.
Chancellor Glenn Boyce praised Mabus’s career and the donor support. “Alumnus, former Mississippi governor and former secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus is one of our highest examples of a lifetime of achievement,” Boyce said in the university statement. Mabus, who graduated summa cum laude from Ole Miss in 1969, said the naming was “deeply touching.”
The university quoted supporters who said the endowment will expand opportunities for students and faculty. John Bruce, chair of the political science department, said the gift will help “support students, retain faculty, bring distinguished speakers to campus and pursue new opportunities,” and former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson praised Mabus’s leadership and character in the university release.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
