Fall has come to Oxford, and with it we welcome cool weather and fall colors. The semester is well under way with record numbers of students enrolled in Southern Studies classes at both graduate and undergraduate levels. Our two new James and Madeleine McMullan Professors Kathryn McKee and Robbie Ethridge are well settled into the University, and their courses on literature and cultural anthropology are exciting additions for our students.

Enhancing classroom lectures this fall is the historic acquisition of the Rochelle and Kenneth Goldstein Folklore Collection. Over 7 tons of books, records, taped recordings, and personal papers in the collection are now being processed by library staff. Highlights of the collection include rare broadside ballads from the British Isles dating from the 18th century and over 50,000 ballads, country music, and blues performances recorded by Kenneth Goldstein in the British Isles, Newfoundland, and the United States. The Universitys purchase of the Goldstein Collection was made possible in part by a generous challenge grant of $100,000 from the Hardin Foundation. We are especially grateful for the support of Tom Wacaster and his colleagues who have assisted our Center in so many important ways over the years.

We mourn the loss of dear friends whose lives have touched ours in special ways. Buddy Bain, whose much loved Mornin' Show television program was watched by thousands of viewers throughout North Mississippi each weekday morning, visited my Southern folklore class each fall and with his wife, Kay, performed and discussed the history of ballads and country music.

Dardanelle Hadley gave memorable jazz concerts at the Center. Her piano and vocal performances were thankfully preserved on CDs, and her reminiscences of childhood in the small Mississippi Delta community of Avalon were captured in a memorable series on Public Radio in Mississippi.

Judge Lucy Somerville Howorth towered like a great oak above all our work at the Center. For over a century her voice spoke out eloquently and forcefully for human rights and for the rights of women. Judge Lucy's courage, intelligence, and humor will not be forgotten.

Hite McLean generously supported our Center's work over the years and was forever cheerful and supportive of all our efforts. With his beloved wife, Keith, at their home on Dockery Farms he celebrated life each day and cherished this world to the fullest.

And Lucian Ferris, my father's brother, was an unswerving supporter of the Center's work. While he practiced medicine all his life, Uncle Lucian's first love was dixieland jazz, and he played drums with a twinkle in his eye. Each spring he traveled to the University to participate in the music department's annual jazz reunion, and he counted among his friends Pete Fountain and Al Hirt.

To each of you we say thanks for all you did to support our work at the Center over the years. We carry your memories in our heart and are forever grateful for your friendship and generous support.

As many of you already know, President Clinton has nominated me for the position of Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. A background check will be followed by confirmation hearings. Needless to say, I am overwhelmed by this honor and the recognition it bestows on the important work that the Center's faculty and staff have done over the past two decades.

Should I be selected to head the Endowment, I will request a leave of absence from the University while I am working in Washington. I have discussed plans for a smooth transition of leadership at the Center with Chancellor Robert Khayat, Provost Gerald Walton, Ann Abadie, Charles Wilson, and all Center faculty, staff, and students. The Center is blessed with exceptional depth of faculty and staff, and careful planning will assure that the Center continues to build outstanding programs on the American South into the next century.

Hundreds of letters, phone calls, faxes, and e-mail messages have poured in with support for my nomination from all parts of the nation. I want each of you to know from the depth of my heart how much I appreciate your belief in me and in the work that we are doing at the Center.

William Ferris