From Founders Day to Dance Marathon, Exciting Activities Pack MC’s Spring Semester

Legendary country music artist Reba McIntyre is set to headline the Spring 2022 Scholarship Banquet, one of many exciting events planned for the new semester at Mississippi College.

The excitement permeating Mississippi College as students return to the Clinton campus and MC faculty and staff prepare for the resumption of classes on Jan. 10 may only be overshadowed by the anticipation of upcoming events that promise to make this semester one of the most enjoyable in the Christian University’s history.

Celebrity appearances, historical ceremonies, stage and musical performances, and, of course, Gulf South Conference athletic competitions highlight a cornucopia of late winter and spring activities certain to appeal to a variety of tastes among the Choctaw faithful.

Many of the exciting events scheduled for the MC campus this semester include:

On Tuesday, Jan. 25, Founders Day will pay homage to MC’s rich history, refined during almost two centuries in Clinton. From its chartering in 1826 as Hampstead Academy through the lean years of wartime and the Great Depression to the more prosperous developments of the modern era, the second-oldest Baptist-affiliated academic institution has a rich history that’s well worth celebrating.

A full slate of athletic events is scheduled this spring, as the Choctaws basketball, baseball, softball, track, soccer, tennis, and golf teams pursue their respective Gulf South Conference championships. Former Georgia and Miami head football coach Mark Richt, one of the most admired sports figures in America, will be the featured speaker during MC’s annual Dr. Don Phillips Athletics Dinner on Tuesday, Feb. 8. The popular ACC Network analyst will share his inspirational story of faith and spiritual awakening that helped him recover from a near-fatal heart attack and come to terms with a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.

Following Spring Break March 14-18, MC will be the setting for a number of theatrical performances open to the public. The Music Department’s newly branded Lyric Stage @ MC pulls together the University’s opera and musical theatre productions under one exciting brand. Its inaugural offering will be a performance of Godspell, a fresh vision of Jesus’ life and parables by Broadway legend Stephen Schwarz, scheduled from Thursday to Sunday, March 31 to April 3.

In addition to its theatrical productions, the department has lined up a number of musical performances throughout the spring. MC’s Symphonic Winds will welcome orchestra lovers to spring concerts on Monday, Feb. 28, and on Sunday, April 24, in Swor Auditorium in Nelson Hall. Also, be on the lookout for spring performances by the Choctaw Chorus, the MC Singers, and the MC Jazz Band.

At long last, Reba McEntire, one of the most successful female recording artists in history, will headline the Spring 2022 Scholarship Banquet, the largest fundraising event at Mississippi College. The Country Music Hall of Fame member was initially scheduled to take the dais in 2020, but the pandemic postponed those plans. Reba will visit the Clinton campus on Tuesday, April 12, to help raise important scholarship funds for the Christian University.

After the University’s observance of the Easter holiday from Friday to Monday, April 15 to 18, the Mississippi College Dance Marathon, a fun-filled evening of continuous dancing that culminates MC students’ efforts to support Children’s of Mississippi patients, will heat up the dance floor on Thursday, April 21. Participants will dance for six consecutive hours to honor the way hospitalized children fight for their health every day. In its sixth year, the event has raised almost a quarter of a million dollars for the only hospital in the state devoted exclusively to the care of sick or injured children.

MC will honor its 2022 graduates during Spring Commencement May 5-7. But one of the signal events of the year for the University – and the Clinton community – is scheduled to take place later in 2022: the dedication of the Gore Arts Complex.

Envisioned by internationally known artist Dr. Samuel M. Gore and posthumously named in his honor, the complex will preserve many of the original Clinton Junior High School building’s architectural elements while providing much needed studio space for student artists studying a number of mediums. Filled with artwork produced by Gore’s former students as well as the master artist himself, the complex will be a fitting tribute to the man known as the “Founding Father” of the MC Art Department.