The Center is pleased to have the support of G. Leighton Lewis of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Lewis recently gave a donation to the Friends of the Center in memory of his father, the late Dr. Arthur B. Lewis, who served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 1957 until 1967. The Lewis family has a long history within the University’s College of Liberal Arts, especially with Barnard Observatory. “As a student in the 1920s and later as a physics professor, my father spent many happy days in that building,” explains Lewis. “Barnard meant a great deal to him.”

In fact, Dr. Lewis was instrumental in preserving the historical accuracy of Barnard during its renovation in the early 1990s. He spent hours with the architectural team on walks through the building, recalling architectural details as well as memories of his time spent there. Another former Liberal Arts dean, Gerald Walton, and another former physics professor, Lee Bolen, assisted with the project and recorded interviews with him. Dr. Lewis went on to give the dedicatory address at the reopening of the building on October 10, 1992, upon the completion of its renovation.

G. Leighton Lewis chose to give a donation to the Friends of the Center in memory of his father because, he said, “Southern Studies is an amazing, interesting, very worthwhile program. It is unique and worthwhile to the University. Ole Miss is very dear to my heart, having grown up literally on the campus, and I am thankful for the wonderful foundation it and my parents gave me for
future years.”

Angelina Altobellis

Dr. Arthur B. Lewis demonstrating 19tth-century instruments to celebrate the restoration of Barnard Observatory