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Mississippi College’s future shines bright in the early 21st Century as MC marks its 190th anniversary.
That’s the view shared by students taking part in the Christian university’s Founder’s Day activities on January 26. There are plenty of good reasons to showcase a growing institution enrolling 5,152 students during the Fall.
“MC means community,” says sophomore Khrysten Glass, 20, of Canton. “It’s a place I can find spiritual support, academic excellence and growth in Christ.”
A future teacher, Glass points to many positives with Mississippi College making advances for nearly two centuries. It speaks volumes, she said, “the fact that we are still here and thriving. We’ve evolved without changing what we are about.”
An elementary education major, she was among hundreds of students packing First Baptist Church Clinton for Tuesday’s chapel program to spotlight Mississippi College’s birthday.
For sophomore Emily Peebles, 19, of Biloxi, Founder’s Day remains a key date in the life of America’s second oldest Baptist college. And she’s delighted she invested in a Mississippi College education.
“MC means family to me,” says Emily, a psychology and counseling major. “It feels like home. It is loving and warm. There’s so much joy here.”
In his keynote address, Mississippi Baptist Convention Board executive director-treasurer Jim Futral touched on MC’s birth as Hampstead Academy in 1826 and its history through 2016.
MC produced thousands of lawyers, physicians, educators, missionaries, nurses, political leaders and other professionals around the globe since its early days. MC was birthed the same year that John Quincy Adams served as the nation’s president and railroad service was just beginning. The first internal combustion engine was invented that year.
After 190 years, new Mississippi College graduates will join the alumni ranks for generations to come. “What incredible opportunities God has in store for us,” Futral told students.
Following his talk on a rainy winter day, MC family members enjoyed slices of cake, with Blue & Gold icing on top, and freshly-brewed coffee at the cafeteria.
Freshman Hayden Mays, 18, believes the Baptist-affiliated university has so much to offer students in 2016. “MC means a great deal to me,” says the Choctaws soccer player from Olive Branch. “And that’s its Christian life,” he said. “It’s something that people live through.”
President Lee Royce and his wife, Rhoda, Vice President for Christian Development Eric Pratt and other school leaders joined the one-hour program at the church sanctuary. Dr. Royce read portions of the institution’s 1826 charter to the audience. Mississippi College kept its doors open despite severe financial hardships during the Civil War and Great Depression.
“The reason we survived,” Royce noted, is largely because of the Christian university’s long relationship with the Mississippi Baptist Convention dating back to 1850. Today, there are more than 2,100 churches across the Magnolia State affiliated with the Baptist convention based in Jackson.
While Mississippi College remains a vibrant institution, that wasn’t the case for a number of other schools on America’s higher education landscape, he said. “Many colleges have come and gone.”
Photo: Baptist leader Jim Futral served as keynote speaker at Tuesday’s chapel program to celebrate Mississippi College’s 190th anniversary. Joining him: MC student Joshua Bedford of Brandon and Baptist Student Union Director Mandy Phillips.
