MC’s Order of the Golden Arrow to Honor Attorney, Choctaw Tribal Chief

Despite their varied backgrounds and current settings, MC Order of the Golden Arrow recipients Joy Dowdle and Chief Cyrus Ben are united by the relationships they foster.

The two individuals selected to receive the Order of the Golden Arrow at Mississippi College’s Homecoming this weekend have remarkably similar qualities.

Relationships are at the heart of what they do. They are both driven to help people achieve their greatest ambitions. And they credit their alma mater with uniquely equipping them.

Yet the settings in which each has chosen to practice their expertise couldn’t be more different.

Joy Fain Dowdle ’02, ’05, a summa cum laude graduate with highest honors at MC and a summa cum laude graduate of the Law School, is a partner in the Litigation Department of Paul Hastings. Based in the firm’s Houston, Texas, office, and vice chair of the firm’s Lifesciences and Healthcare practice, Dowdle represents corporations across sectors in understanding and mitigating their regulatory compliance risk – building and defending compliance programs, leading transactional due diligence and integration, and representing clients in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and other global regulators. Dowdle serves on both firms’ governing and pro bono committees.

Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben ’01, a member of the varsity football squad while at MC, is the fifth – and youngest – democratically elected chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. A lifelong resident of Neshoba County, Ben was officially sworn into office on July 9, 2019. He is guided in his leadership and service to the Choctaw people by five key initiatives: respect of others; fairness and equity to all; accountability in all areas; efficiency in practices; and support and appreciation of all employees and tribal members.

Corporations across industries turn to Dowdle for practical advice and defense before global regulators. She regularly leads projects across the U.S. and around the world. “I have the great pleasure of partnering with clients, many of whom I am privileged to call friends, in executing their global business strategy and doing so in a way designed to promote transparency and reduce corruption.”

Choctaws throughout Mississippi turn to Ben for the careful education and mentoring of their children and strong, thoughtful guidance of their community. The MBCI is the only federally recognized tribe in the state of Mississippi. It is a sovereign nation with more than 11,000 tribal members. Tribal Lands encompass more than 34,000 non-contiguous acres. There are eight tribal communities, with Pearl River serving as the headquarters of the tribal government.

The Order of the Golden Arrow honors individuals, alumni, or friends of the University who have made outstanding personal or professional achievements in their professions, businesses, or careers. It recognizes exceptional performance or leadership beyond the ordinary.

Jim Turcotte, vice president and executive director of alumni affairs at MC, said the award definition is an apt description of both recipients.

“Joy Dowdle was an outstanding student who has gone on to accomplish much in her career,” Turcotte said. “She is recognized as a top lawyer and a trusted legal counselor. She loves this University and is very deserving of this award.

“Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben played football at MC and has a deep love for the college. We are very proud of his accomplishments, and we are excited to connect with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. It’s quite fitting that he would also receive this award.”

During a July visit by administrative leaders to Tribal Lands in Neshoba County, MC President Blake Thompson and Ben signed a memorandum of understanding that solidified the Christian University’s special relationship with the only federally recognized American Indian tribe living in Mississippi.

The MOU created a valuable tuition assistance program for Choctaw students, and established an expanded cultural exchange between MC and the MCBI. MC will host MCBI students and leaders on the Clinton campus for cultural exchange and educational programs designed to address the academic interests of MCBI members and their descendants.

To emphasize the agreement, Ben plans to deliver the official Tribal Flag of the MBCI to Robinson-Hale Stadium during pregame ceremonies at Homecoming. The flag will be displayed in perpetuity as a symbol of the University’s relationship with the Choctaw people.

“One thing I am looking forward to at Homecoming is seeing the Tribal Flag raised at the field and on campus for the first time,” Ben said. “We worked on and completed the MOU with the hope that we can build a relationship that includes expanding the education of Choctaw history and culture to the faculty, staff, and students at Mississippi College.

“The MOU is the start of a relationship that will educate our Choctaw students that one of Mississippi’s great universities wishes to incorporate our culture and history onto the campus.”

Ben attended East Central Community College in Decatur before visiting MC.

“Mississippi College had a great educational reputation,” he said. “I always pushed myself academically, and so it ended up being a great fit. I made some great friends and, of course, received a wonderful education.

“As an alumnus, you create this lasting network with faculty and students. You are also able to apply the educational experiences to your life and career.”

He was elected Tribal Chief about the same time as Thompson became MC’s 20th president.

“We both have made an effort to build a relationship between the Tribe and school, and I look forward to building a lasting connection between the two,” Ben said. “It is my hope that the MOU will not only help MC students, faculty, and alumni develop a better understanding and appreciation for our tribe, our culture, and our heritage, but help facilitate that understanding and appreciation to others within our state and country.”

Ben said he has great respect for those who have been recognized as recipients of the Order of the Golden Arrow at MC.

“To be honored side-by-side with those before me is a wonderful feeling,” he said. “I like to say that I am Choctaw by blood and Choctaw by education. I am a proud member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and now a proud member of the Golden Arrow honorees.”

Ben and his wife, TaRita, raise their children, Brodie, Eden, and Selah, in the Pearl River Community. Because of his leadership, future generations of native Choctaws will have the opportunity to follow in their tribal chief’s footsteps at a university that values their tribe and culture.

“MC is a great institution that is right here in Mississippi,” he said. “For any students thinking about college, MC should be at the top of their list.

“It’s good for a person to have a foundation in Christ and have an education. You can’t do anything in life if you don’t have both. Having an education and having Christ in your life are both important.”

Originally from north Georgia, Dowdle was the first in several generations of her family not to attend the University of Georgia, opting instead for a smaller college setting in which to pursue her two loves: music and political science. MC proved to be a perfect fit.

“I played the piano in high school and learned about Mississippi College from several faculty members who served as judges in competitions in which I participated,” she said. “Upon their recommendation, I visited MC. I loved the size of the school and the feel of the campus. From the ‘new’ MC Kugel, dorms, and Healthplex, to the major renovations across campus, there was incredible energy for the school. While the fresh paint and new buildings were impressive, the renovated campus wasn’t the major draw. From upper-class members of the student government (one of whom I later married), giving tours, to Bettye Coward’s patience with my bajillion questions, to Ralph Taylor’s gentle, yet persistent, sell of the music department, it was MC’s community that I found compelling.”

Dowdle hit the ground running, serving in student government, joining Laguna Social Tribe, marching in the band, playing in the BSU’s Adopted ensemble, and serving as a resident assistant and member of the Student Judicial Counsel. While she continued to study music throughout her time at MC, Dowdle quickly focused on law.

“My father was a judge in Georgia, and his love of the law and passion for justice is contagious,” she said. “I have been around the law all of my life. I love music, but as I went further in college, I realized I am better positioned to make a joyful noise and do something else for a living.”

When asked her favorite aspect of her time at MC, Dowdle quickly and unequivocally responded, “the people.”

“From the dorms to Laguna to student government, I developed lifelong friendships and met the greatest life partner I could ever have hoped for. But beyond the students, I remain awed by the commitment and involvement of the faculty, administration, and staff in the lives of students. From untold hours laughing with Doc Quick to Dr. Todd’s ‘now Joy’ reactions to my ‘helpful’ suggestions, to Ron Howard and Angela Leigh’s countless hours of support on my honors project, to Jeffrey Jackson and Lee Hetherington coming from the law school to help a student they did not know prepare for the Truman Scholarship finals, to Ms. Daisy’s daily greeting in the cafeteria, it was the investment in my life by so many people that made MC such a special place for me.”

The student body vice president applied to law schools throughout the Southeast and obtained a scholarship offer to attend law school closer to home at the University of Georgia. She was also a finalist for a law scholarship at MC. When she saw how faculty members at the MC School of Law were willing to help prepare her for the interview and essay portion of the application, she realized the same sense of community she adored about her undergraduate career was evident at MC’s campus in downtown Jackson.

Then-student body vice president, Dowdle once again chose to be a Choctaw. The deal was “sealed,” Joy explained, “when Bettye Coward, who was preparing to become president of Blue Mountain College, offered to let me rent her home in Clinton in a deal too good to refuse. And Dade was also a major draw.”

Dade Dowdle ’00 was student body vice president when she arrived as a freshman at MC. “I spotted him in orientation and – as both my grandmother, and Doc Quick would attest – I never looked back.”

The Dowdles are each graduates of MC Law, where Joy was a member of the Moot Court Board, and both served on the “Mississippi College Law Review,” of which Joy was editor-in-chief. “I was so grateful for the involvement of the faculty in my undergraduate experience and found the same to be true at the law school,” she said. “I still bother Judy Johnson with sentencing guideline questions and Celie Edwards on complicated business structures.”

Upon graduation from law school, Joy served as a law clerk to the Hon. E. Grady Jolly on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, after being introduced to him when he served as a judge in the Law School’s moot court competition finals. Her clerkship began the day Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, where the court is based.

“It was an interesting time to be working with the court, not just because of the disruption of the storm, but because the court was hearing the Enron matters and other major white-collar cases,” she said. “From Congress to the courts to the public, America was grappling with how to deal with corporate crime and a new era of regulation of our markets.”

She found it fascinating and formative, and on the recommendation of Jolly, started her post-clerkship legal practice focused on white-collar crime, first in Washington D.C., then in London while Dade pursued an L.L.M. at the University of London, and now in Houston.

“Together, we have taken on the next thing – and four states, two countries, three postgraduate degrees, and three children later, it has proven a journey beyond my wildest imagination.

“I just love what I do,” she said. And it shows: Dowdle has been recognized by “The Legal 500,” “Chambers USA,” and for numerous years as a Rising Star and Texas Outstanding Young Lawyer.

“A great truth I have come to appreciate is that from the beginning, God created work – and it was good. No matter what we do, our work is an opportunity to contribute to the good and created order. That is what makes MC unique. Students are not just being educated for education’s sake – as I was, they are equipped to live out their good purpose.”

The couple has remained connected to MC, even naming their second son Jackson. “From a date in the clock tower of Nelson to campaigning on the Quad to late nights in the library, MC is a special place with so many memories. And I count among my professional accomplishments of which I am most proud serving as a substitute instructor for Ron Howard’s American constitutional development class in Jennings Hall.”

Dowdle is excited to return to the Clinton campus to not only receive the award, but to join her classmates in celebrating their 20th reunion during Homecoming. “To receive this award is a great honor; to do so while celebrating with so many great friends just makes it even more special,” she said.

The couple has three children, Jay, Jackson, and Georgia, and are looking forward to experiencing Homecoming with them.

Dowdle and Ben will receive the Order of the Golden Arrow during the Homecoming Brunch, scheduled from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, in Anderson Hall on the second floor of the B.C. Rogers Student Center. Tickets to the brunch cost $25 apiece, and RSVP is required. For more information, visit mc.edu/homecoming/.