1962 James Meredith became the first black student at The University of Mississippi.

 1967 Reuben V. Anderson became the first African-American graduate of the Ole Miss School of Law and went on to become the state's first supreme court justice and first black president of the Mississippi Bar.

 1968 The Black Student Union was created to African-American students with opportunities for interaction to establish black awareness and to unify and maintain black identity.

 1968 Robert Walker, who became mayor of Vicksburg, became not only the University's first black teaching assistant but also the first black student to receive a master's degree. It was in history.

 1969 Edgar Lee Caples became the first black graduate of the Ole Miss School of Engineering.

 1970 The Black Law Students' Association was created as a support group for minority students in law school. It also sponsors seminars and speakers on events affecting minorities and the population as a whole.

 1970 Coolidge Ball became the first black athlete to sign a basketball scholarship at Ole Miss.

 1970 Ole Miss established the Afro-Americans Studies Program to offer course work on the black experience in the United States, especially in Mississippi and the South. A core of 20-plus courses includes studies of Afro-American history and the African-American literary tradition.

 1970 Jeanette Jennings became the University's first black faculty member when she joined the Department of Social Work as an assistant professor.

 1971 Robert "Ben" Williams and James Reed became the first black athletes to sign football scholarships with Ole Miss.

 1971 The Black Student Union Gospel Choir was formed by students commited to spiritual enhancement through song. Now The University of Mississippi Gospel Choir, it is open to all students wishing to sing and praise through traditional gospel music and provides concerts and services for the University and other communities.

 1972 Coolidge Ball became the first black Ole Miss basketball player to be selected to All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors.

 1973 Omega Psi Phi became the first black fraternity chartered at Ole Miss.

 1973 Ben Williams became the first black Ole Miss football player to earn All-SEC honors.

 1974 Alpha Kappa Alpha became the first black sorority chartered at Ole Miss.

 1974 Harold Eugene Reynolds became the first black student inducted into the Student Hall of Fame.

 1975 Ben Williams became the first African-American elected by the student body as Colonel Rebel. the same year, he was the first black Ole Miss footnall player to earn All-American honors, to be chosen as a team captain for the football quad, and to play in a post-season football all-star game.

 1976 Dr. Lucius Williams became the University's first black administrator when he came to Ole Miss as assistant to the vice chancellor for Academic Affair. During his 14 years on campus, he headed the Black Students Concerns Group, served as affirmative action officer for academic affairs and helped organize the 20th anniversary commemoration of the admission of James Meredith.  

1976 Ben Williams became the first black Ole Miss athlete selected in the National Football League draft and the first Ole Miss black athlete to play in the NFL.

 1976 Peggie Gillom became the first black female basketbal player at Ole Miss.

 1977 The University held its first annual Mississippi Achievement Conference for high-ability African-American high school students. Now in its 20th year, guests participate in career exploration, financial aid workshops, social activities and other programs.

 1979 Rose Jackson (Flenorl) became the first black female inducted into the student Hall of Fame.

1980 Peggie Gillom became the first black female Ole Miss basketball player selected to an All-American team.

 1981 Elston Turner became the first black Ole Miss basketball player to be selected in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft.  

1981 Eugenia Conner was the first black female Ole Miss basketball player selected All-SEC.  

1982 John Hawkins became the first black cheerleader at Ole Miss.

 1982 The Black Faculty and Staff Organization was created to further the University's missions

and goals and to enhance the black experience on the campus and within the Oxford community by promoting activities, issues and programs that support recruitment, retention and success of black Ole Miss faculty, staff and students.

 1983 Runner Ralph Spry became the first black Ole Miss athlete to win a NCAA individual championship.

 1983 The Center for the Study of Southern Culture began publishing Living Blues magazine, dedicated to growing and expanding African-American blues music.

 1983 Reuben Anderson and Rose Jackson Flenorl became the first alumni appointed to The University of Mississippi Alumni Association's Board of Directors.

 1983 Dr. Marsha Williams, not only one of the first blacks in computer science in the country but also one of the first black women, became the first black engineering professor at Ole Miss.

 1983 The Affirmative Action Office (now Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance) was created to implement, monitor and evaluate the University's affirmative action and equal opportunity programs.

 1984 The University of Mississippi Blues Archive opened. B.B. King has since donated his personal record collection, including more than 3750 LP's, 2400 78's and 500 45's of jazz, blues, soul, R&B, rock, pop and country.

 1984 The Alumni Board of Directors formed a University Affairs Subcommittee to identify minority alumni and encourage their involvement in the Alumni Association and Ole Miss.

 1985 Freddie Joe Nunn became the first black Ole Miss athlete drafted in the first round by the NFL.

1985 Receptions were held in alumni club areas to encourage minority participation in alumni activities.

1985-86 The University held its first annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation honoring the slain Civil Rights Leader.

1986 The Gannett Foundation, now the Freedom Forum, provided Ole Miss a $100,000 grant to endow scholarships to recruit promising minority students interested in journalism.

1987 Jennifer Gillom became the first black Ole Miss athlete selected SEC Female Athlete of the Year.

1987 Damon M. Moore, a May 1986 Ole Miss Honor Graduate and first-year student at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, became Mississippi's first African-American Rhodes Scholar and the University's 23rd Rhodes Scholar.

1987 Awards of Distinction wer created to honor six African-American native Mississippians each year for outstanding records of achievement. Recipients include James Earl Jones, Early Clark, Unita Blackwell, Aaron Henry, William Raspberry, Richard Wright, Medgar Evers, Charley Pride, Margaret Walker Alexander, B.B. King and Morgan Freeman.

1987 The University made a commitment to minority graduate education. Since then, there has been an eight-fold increase in the number of graduate degrees awarded to minorities. (Prior to 1987, 44 were awarded; afterward, 400 have been awarded.)

1987 Tyrus McCarty, now associate professor of mechanical engineering, became the first African-American to earn a Ph.D in engineering from Ole Miss.

1987 At the University's first Minority Outreach Conference, more than 100 students from historically black universities in the Southeast were introduced to the graduate program at Ole

Miss. In its 10th year, the conference provides participants with information on admissions, finances and personal experiences of current graduate students, as well as opportunities to spend time in departments of their choice.

1988 Phi Beta Sigma became the first black fraternity to move onto Fraternity Row.

1988 The first Black Alumni Reunion and first Black Alumni Career Forum were held on the Oxford campus.

1988 Jennifer Gillom became the first black female from Ole Miss selected to the U.S. Olympic team.

1988 The Alumni Association established the Black Alumni Advisory Council to link the University's black alumni and the Association's governing board.

1989 Carl Powell became the first African-American elected an Associated Student Body Officer.

1989 Elvin Knight became the first black pharmacy student to be president of his class.

1989 A 23-member Task Force on Minority Participation and Campus Life was established to

oversee development of programs and policies designed to increase minority participation in all of campus life.

1990, 1991 Ole Miss received the prestigious Peterson's Award for Excellence in Graduate

Admissions for Minority Students for its national leadership in developing a successful program to provide opportunities to engage fully the academic potential of African-American students.

1990 Gerald Glass became the first black Ole Miss athlete selected in the first round of the NBA draft.

1990 Kimzy O'Neal became the first black "Miss Ole Miss."

1990 Katrina Howard became the first black editor of the yearbook.

1990 Lee Eric Smith became the first African-American editor of The Daily Mississippian.

1991 The University dedicated the Lucius L. Williams Learning Center in honor of the late

assistant vice chancellor who established the facility and served as its director for 10 years. Dr.  Williams became Ole Miss' first black administrator in 1976.

1991 Coolidge Ball became the first black Ole Miss athlete inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame.

 1991 Ole Miss joined some of the country's most prestigious universities by becoming a part of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, which provides assistance for minorities pursuing graduate degrees in those two disciplines.

 1991-92 Ole Miss' black alumni established a Minority Scholarship Endowment. In 1996, it was

renamed the Robert "Ben" Williams Minority Scholarship Endowment.

 1992 Tony Dees, the first black male from Ole Miss selected to the U.S. Olympic team, brought

home the silver medal in the 110-meter hurdles.

 1993 Ole Miss hired its first black vice chancellor, Dr. Donald Peters, to head Student Life.

 1994 Ole Miss hired its first black dean, Dr. Louis Westerfield, to lead the School of Law.

 1994 Ole Miss hired its first black department chair, Dr. Erskine Smith, to head the Department of Home Economics (now Family and Consumer Sciences).

 1995 Reuben Anderson became the first black alumnus named to the University's Alumni Hall of Fame.

1995 Through the only program of its kind in Mississippi, 20 minority students from Alcorn State, Rust and Tougaloo Colleges, and Ole Miss participated in University's first Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, enabling them to take a graduat-level course and engage in research.

1996 The University's 2033 full-time faculty and staff included 417 (20.5 percent) African Americans.

1996 Ole Miss experienced a record minority enrollment (1156 black U.S. citizens, or 11.2 percent of the student body).

1996 Student Debbie McCain became the first African-American to the title "Most Beautiful."

1996 An African-American student ranked No.1 in the School of Law, with two others among the Top 10.

1996 The University's IMAGE (Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Eduacation) program pursues minority students wanting to study science, engineering and mathematics at the undergraduate level by fostering an environment that supports the total well-being of the student.

1997 Ben Williams became the first black Ole Miss athlete inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

1997 University ROTC instructor Ivory Taylor became president of the Oxford-Lafayette NAACP.

1997 Carissa Alana Wells became the first black "Miss University."

1997 Two black Ole Miss pharmacy students are national officers of the Student National

Pharmaceutical Association--the first time two students from the same school have done this.

Montez Carter is national president, and Erica Bolden is national secretary.

  *** Please report any other milestones to bgpsa@olemiss.edu.