The pace slows in the Meek School after graduation in May, but it certainly doesn’t stop. There are actually five academic terms before the fall semester starts. There are two-week intersessions in May and August, two four-week terms in June and July and the eight-week full summer term. There are only a few days on this campus when classes of some type are not in session.
The shorter terms provide the opportunity to bring in working professionals and visiting professors for short courses. In 2011, it was Shepard Smith of Fox News. In 2012, it was Tom Clarkson, Baghdad-based public information officer for the Corps of Engineers during the fighting in Iraq. This summer, Mickey Brazeal, an integrated marketing specialist and guru from Roosevelt University in Chicago, taught a special class for two weeks.
Once or twice a week, incoming students attend two-day orientation sessions, often with their families, to become familiar with life at Ole Miss. As part of their intensive schedule, the students and their families meet with the deans about the school’s academic programs and with the director of advising to create their first class schedules.
There is much work to be completed in the awarding of scholarships, meeting individually with high school students considering Ole Miss for their higher education, plus routine maintenance and updates to the school’s classroom technology.
Since admitting its first class in 2009, the Meek School has grown at a rapid rate. It’s always part of the summer routine to be ready for even more freshmen. As its fifth year begins, the Meek School has almost twice as many majors as it did when its doors opened.
