Bill Text: MS SC518 | 2014 | Regular Session | Enrolled

Mississippi Senate Concurrent Resolution 518 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Recognize Mississippi State Senior Donald "Field" Brown as first Rhodes Scholar since 1911.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2014-02-11 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC518 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2014-SC518-Enrolled.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2014 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Hopson, Butler (38th), Carmichael, Clarke, Frazier, Gandy, Jackson (11th), Jackson (15th), Jackson (32nd), Jolly, Lee, Longwitz, Parker, Simmons (12th), Watson

Senate Concurrent Resolution 518

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND EXTENDING THE CONGRATULATIONS OF THE LEGISLATURE TO MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SENIOR DONALD "FIELD" BROWN AS THE UNIVERSITY'S FIRST RHODES SCHOLAR SINCE 1911.

WHEREAS, Donald "Field" Brown, a Mississippi State University senior and Vicksburg native who co-founded a literary magazine at the school, has been named a Rhodes Scholar; and

WHEREAS, the Rhodes Trust announced November 24, 2013, the English and philosophy major was one of 32 people from the United States who will enter Oxford University next October. The winners were selected from 857 applicants. The scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the prestigious university in England; and

WHEREAS, Brown, 22, is the university's second Rhodes Scholar and the first since 1911; and

WHEREAS, in addition to co-founding The Streetcar, a literary magazine, Brown served as President of the Philosophy and Religion Club, has been a member of the school's Roadrunners team, which recruits prospective students, and has been active in intramural sports; and

WHEREAS, Donald hopes to seek a doctorate in African-American literature; and

WHEREAS, the 2010 Vicksburg High School graduate said he has loved literature since his family was reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" together. His father, Willie Brown, cried over the death of character Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of raping a young white woman. "I really knew then that books had a lot of power," said Brown, who plans to pursue parallel master's degrees in American and English literature at Oxford, focusing on its interaction after World War II; and

WHEREAS, Mississippi State University officials first suggested he consider applying about two years ago. "He's got great charisma and great humility," said Christopher Snyder, the school's Honors College Dean. "Pair that with great intellect, and we all had hopes he would do well." Like many universities, the school grooms candidates for prestigious postgraduate scholarships, but with its emphasis on engineering and agriculture, it has had fewer students win Rhodes Scholarships; and

WHEREAS, Mississippi State President Mark Keenum, who taught Brown in a leadership class in 2012, said he hoped Brown's victory would promote the university's strength in the humanities. "It certainly demonstrates the outstanding education you can get at Mississippi State"; and

WHEREAS, Brown credited his parents for encouraging him to maximize his potential; and

WHEREAS, Rhodes Scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of British Philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. Winners are selected on the basis of high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and physical vigor. The value of the scholarships average about $50,000.00 per year; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we pay tribute to this outstanding Mississippi citizen whose record of achievement brings honor to his hometown of Vicksburg, his university, his friends and family and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and extend our best wishes to Donald and his family on this prestigious honor.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Donald "Field" Brown, transmitted to Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.