House Commends The University of Southern Mississippi On 100 Years

100 years ago today, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed HB 204, which established Mississippi Normal College. The bill passed the Senate a week later and on March 30, 1910, Governor Edmond F. Noel signed the new college into law (with no appropriation- it seems we were doing unfunded mandates back then as well).

Today, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed HR 67, a resolution commending The University of Southern Mississippi on its first century of existence. Out of the several resolutions I've written over my my first three years in the Legislature, this proved to be the most enjoyable. Many thanks to Rules Committee Chairman Joe Warren (D-Mount Olive) for working with me on the timing of taking up the bill, as well as the McCain Library Archives for much of the information that went into the resolution. To read HR 67, you can click here.

Pictured above are all of the Mississippi House members (and one of our clerks) who either graduated or attended Southern Miss (except the Speaker, whose parents both attended when the university was known as the State Teachers College).