Character of Leaders Initiative (CLI)

Isabella Rocconi, from Mobile, Alabama, is an Allied Health Studies major with a minor in Psychology at the University of Mississippi. She plans to attend the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program in the fall. During her time at Ole Miss, she has served in leadership roles including Honor Chairwoman and Vice President of Chapter Development for Phi Mu.

As Honor Chairwoman, she oversaw the chapter’s conduct process, facilitating conversations centered on accountability, growth, and upholding shared values. Through this role, she developed a passion for fostering environments where individuals are challenged to grow while still feeling supported and valued. In her role as Vice President of Chapter Development, she focused on creating intentional programming that emphasized leadership development and character formation.

Her experiences in these roles have shaped her vision of ethical leadership, which centers on balancing high standards with compassion and developing strong character in both individuals and communities. Being selected for the CLI Vision Award is a meaningful honor for Isabella, and she is grateful for the opportunity to share her perspective with the broader campus community. She hopes to continue applying these values throughout her academic career and future in nursing.

Benton Donahue is studying at the University of Mississippi in pursuit of his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education with a Vocal Emphasis. He is the recipient of the Mary Donnelly Haskell Music Scholarship through the Ole Miss Women’s Council scholarship program. Benton is also an undergraduate assistant for the Living Music Resource, the recipient of the 2025 Stamps Impact Prize and Who’s Who. 

At Ole Miss he is very active within the Music Department, singing and playing for several of their ensembles. These include the University of Mississippi Concert Singers, Men’s Glee, Women’s Glee, and University Chorus. He is a member of the Ole Miss American Choral Director’s Association Student Chapter, of which he serves as President. Benton also works in the Music Department office as the Communications Assistant coordinating projects and events.

Within the community, Benton is a Conducting Fellow and has served as Pianist for the Oxford Civic Chorus. He is serving as a scholarship singer at Oxford-University United Methodist Church, has secured his American Guild of Organist membership, and is in the voice studio of Dr. Jos Milton. He also works closely with the Center Players Community Theatre as music director and rehearsal pianist for their productions.

After graduation, Benton plans to pursue his Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting. 

Cade grew up in Grenada, MS and earned a Ph.D. from Mississippi State University in Agricultural Sciences. After working 22 years for MSU and co-creating numerous leadership and community engagement programs, he joined the University of Mississippi in September 2018. He currently serves UM as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Access and Community Engagement in the Division of Access, Opportunity, and Community Engagement. His responsibilities include advancing the formation of collaborative partnerships between UM scholars and communities that result in the shared discovery, development, and dissemination of knowledge that ultimately improves learning, behaviors, and conditions across our state and around the globe. He is also responsible for building bridges across divided communities through dialogue, education, and scholarly inquiry. Cade is the father and stepfather to five adults ages 21 to 33.

Beverly is a Senior Financial Aid Advisor with over seven years of experience in higher education, working closely with students and families as they navigate the financial aid process. Her background in psychology and counseling shapes how she shows up in her work, especially in how she listens, communicates, and supports students through uncertain moments.

Outside of work, Beverly values spending time with her adult children and friends, as those connections play an important role in keeping her grounded.

Her philosophy is simple: meaningful impact often happens in small, everyday interactions where people feel seen, heard, and supported.

Dr. Eliot Parker has been a faculty member at the University of Mississippi since 2019. At the university, he serves on the university Common Read Committee, which is responsible for helping select the annual book chosen as the common reading book for freshman. Eliot serves as a faculty representative on the UM Voting Ambassador Roundtable, which is a group that promotes civic responsibility and civic engagement for students. He also serves as a faculty member of the University Judiciary Committee.

Eliot is the membership chairman of the Appalachian Studies Association and serves as a member of the Newcomers Committee and the Scholarship Committee for the College Composition and Communication (CCCC) organization. He is a Teacher Consultant with The National Writing Project. Eliot has earned the Mastery of Online Course Design badge from the Division of Outreach for his online coursework and teaching. Locally, Eliot serves as an advisory committee member for the United Way of Oxford-Lafayette County and serves as a board member of L.O.F.T.(Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow) and volunteers at the Oxford Animal Resource Center.

Eliot is also the author of five thriller novels and two collections of short stories. His latest collection, Table for Two, won the 2025 Eric Hoffer Prize for Best Short Story Anthology. His thriller novel A Final Call was named a “Best Book to Discover” by Kirkus Magazine and was a finalist for the Hawthorne Prize for Fiction. He’s a recipient of the West Virginia Literary Merit Award as well as the Pencraft and Feathered Quill book awards for his work and he was inducted into the West Virginia Literary Hall of Fame in 2025. He also hosts a podcast program called “Now Appalachia”, on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network that profiles authors and publishers with connections to the Appalachian region.

Justin Moody is an Instructional Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice & Legal Studies at the University of Mississippi, where he teaches courses in criminal law, civil procedure, contracts, and legal reasoning.

Before entering academia, he spent several years working within the court system, serving as a law clerk or staff attorney for various state and federal courts. That experience continues to shape his teaching, particularly his emphasis on disciplined reasoning, professional responsibility, and the real-world consequences of legal decision-making.

He earned his J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2015 and a B.S. in Social Sciences and Education from Mississippi University for Women in 2010. He is currently working towards a Doctor of Science in Public Safety at Middle Georgia State University, with an expected completion date of Summer 2026.

His research interests include judicial decision-making, judicial ethics, and policy/program evaluations. He is a member of the Mississippi Bar and remains active in professional service and mentorship, with a particular focus on helping students and young professionals navigate the transition from the classroom to the practice of law.

David H. Holben, PhD, RDN, LD, FAND, is a Professor of Nutrition, Gillespie Distinguished Scholar, and Director of the Office of Food and Nutrition Security at the University of Mississippi. He is Program Director and Principal Investigator for LEARN Science (learn-science.org), an NIH-funded program focused on nutrition-based life science education for children across Mississippi via community public libraries. As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Fulbright Scholar, and former US Army Dietitian, Dr. Holben has extensive experience working with disadvantaged individuals and households in rural communities, including Appalachia, the Southern United States, and Canada. He has published dozens of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters related to nutrition science, public health nutrition, and social determinants of health. LEARN Science grew out of his involvement in FoodMASTER (Co-investigator, NIH SEPA-funded grant), which was recognized in 2024 by the White House as the Challenge Winner for Open Science to Advance Education (Office of Science and Technology Policy). He has had over $4.0 million in Federal (NIH, USDA), State, and industry funding for his work in nutrition-based STEM education for youth and food insecurity. Dr. Holben’s career accomplishments were recognized in 2020 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics with their Medallion Award. When he is not in the classroom or research lab, Dr. Holben is often seen volunteering at The Ford Center on campus.

Dr. Molly Pasco-Pranger is Professor and Chair in the Department of Classics. She earned her A.B. in Latin at Oberlin College and her Ph.D. in Classical Studies at the University of Michigan. She taught Classics at the University of Puget Sound (1998-2002) and Wesleyan University (2002-2006) before joining the University of Mississippi faculty in 2006. She has been an affiliate of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies throughout her years at UM and has served as departmental chair since 2013. In 2018, she was awarded the Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen.

Dr. Pasco-Pranger's early research on Ovid’s Fasti and its engagement with the Roman religious and political calendar culminated in a book, Founding the Year: Ovid’s Fasti and the Poetics of the Roman Calendar (Brill 2006). She has since published one set articles on gender, writing, and desire in Roman amatory verse, and another set centering on the literary and social persona of Cato the Elder. This last is connected to an ongoing research interest in masculinity and aging in ancient Rome. Another recent article treats women’s public nudity in the early Roman empire in connection with a set of ritual contexts and social spaces. She is currently engaged with a pair of poems preserved in copies of a late fifth-century anthology that may be the work of a female poet active in the first-century CE who is mentioned in the poems of Martial.

Zoe Moore currently serves as the administrative assistant for the Department of Teacher Education, coming from a background in theatre management and business administration. Graduating Magna Cum Laude from Rhodes College, she earned a B.A. in Theatre with a concentration in Stage Management and a minor in Commerce and Business. In May of 2024, Zoe graduated with her Master of Business Administration from the University of Mississippi. Her capstone case study, Enhancing Enrollments, focused on the strategic decisions behind fostering post-secondary enrollment growth. Prior to her role in Teacher Education, Zoe served as the Office Manager for Conway Design Group, Resident Stage Manager for Cazateatro, and Costume Shop Student Supervisor at the McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College.

Annabelle Harris is the Coordinator of Student Recruitment for the College of Liberal Arts. Annabelle received her B.A. in English and Classics (magna cum laude), focusing in Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology from the University of Mississippi in 2023. She is currently pursuing an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with emphases in Classics and Art History.

Her duties with the dean’s office include selecting and coordinating the CLA student ambassadors, attending recruitment events on and off campus, meeting with prospective students and informing them of CLA programs, scheduling departmental visits for prospective students, and editing and creating recruitment materials. She also handles social media and other communications from the CLA.

As a former CLA Student Ambassador herself, Annabelle has a special love for the program. Every year, her goal is to take it to the next level, whether that be more opportunities to create a community of ambassadors and prospective students, or ensuring that the ambassadors also benefit by hosting professional development or team-building events. Her door is always open to the ambassadors, and she is always happy to have a chat, offer advice, or be their biggest cheerleader as they navigate their education.

Matt Ward is the Operations Manager for the Department of Psychology and a lifelong Mississippian. A longtime Ole Miss fan and occasional visitor, he never truly knew Oxford and the university until his daughter enrolled as an undergraduate in 2010. Little did he know that only three years later he and his wife would follow—joining the Ole Miss family in 2013.

After eight years with the Department of Biology, Matt found his “forever home” with the Department of Psychology in 2021. He can often be found in his office working with faculty, staff, and students—helping navigate rules and policies, solving problems, or simply offering a laugh or a bit of encouragement on a tough day.

When asked what he does for the department, Matt always gives the same answer: “I remove the obstacles that keep us from doing the good stuff.”

Brianna S. Richmond is a 5th year experimental psychology PhD Candidate at the University of Mississippi under the supervision of Dr. Joseph D. Wellman.

Alejandro Garcia is a third-year doctoral student in the Experimental Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Mississippi. He conducts research in the Lay Beliefs & Culture Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Grace Rivera, where he examines authenticity, belonging, collective action, respectability politics, and the social consequences of zero-sum beliefs. Alejandro also serves as the lab manager, coordinating multiple research projects, undergraduate training, and interdisciplinary collaborative work with Mississippi school districts through the Department of Justice funded Connections Program.

Alejandro is also the founder of Rebels in Research, a student-led initiative that began as a speaker series designed to build meaningful connections between undergraduate students and active research in the department. It has since expanded into a broader program that provides graduate-school preparation through mentorship, workshops, and resource development. His work inside and outside the lab reflects his commitment to equity, student empowerment, and building supportive pathways for first-generation and historically underrepresented scholars.

Emily Davis is a senior Exercise Science major with a minor in Psychology from Benton, Louisiana. She currently serves as the student director for the READY Inclusive Higher Education Program, president of Ole Miss Special Olympics, and president of the Pre- Occupational Therapy Association. Emily is also a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, an Ole Miss Ambassador, an Ole Miss Cru student leader, and a proud Kappa Delta. After graduation, she will pursue her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy and marry her high school sweetheart! Emily has deeply loved her time at Ole Miss and is grateful for the opportunities that have shaped her journey.

Rebekah E. Smith is professor and chair of the Department of Psychology. She previously served in leadership positions as chair of the faculty senate and department chair at the University of Texas San Antonio, where she also served as member of the University of Texas System Faculty Advisory Council. She earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics from Tulane University and her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, followed by postdoctoral appointments at Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research centers on memory in adulthood, especially prospective memory and false memory. She is a Fellow of the Psychonomic Society, the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Psychological Association.

Kirsten Dellinger is Associate Dean for Access and Strategic Initiatives in the College of Liberal Arts and Professor of Sociology at the University of Mississippi (2018-present) and served as Department chair in Sociology and Anthropology from (2007-2018). She received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. degree in psychology from Rollins College. She is dedicated to making the keys to academic success more transparent and readily available for students, staff, and faculty. Her research and teaching interests focus on the complexity of gender dynamics in workplace settings and have resulted in publications and the mentorship of students and faculty doing research in these areas and others. She was recently PI and Co-PI (respectively) on a Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant and an NSF ADVANCE Catalyst grant with a focus on fostering broader participation in STEM through effective institutional policies and processes.  She has been actively involved in campus and national organizations that promote opportunities for all. She served on the executive committee for the Southern Sociological Society and has been an eber for academic journals including Gender & Society, Social Problems, and Social Contexts.

Tressie Johnson is a dedicated member of the custodial team at the University of Mississippi, bringing over 11 years of service. She is committed to performing at a high standard with kindness and a genuine love for the community she serves. Taking great pride in maintaining a clean, safe, and welcoming environment for students, faculty, and staff, she strives to lead through her actions and set an example of dedication and commitment.

In her spare time, Tressie enjoys crafting and networking with others. She finds joy in creating thoughtful gifts for her coworkers on their birthdays and during the holidays, believing that everyone deserves to feel remembered and appreciated. Her passion for service extends beyond the workplace as well—she serves as a youth leader at her church, where she supports and guides young people with compassion, patience, and encouragement.

Tressie believes in treating everyone with respect and fairness. She lives by the principle of good stewardship, caring for people, spaces, and responsibilities with a grateful heart. Through her quiet leadership and genuine care for others, she aims to make a positive impact each day and help build a stronger, more supportive community.

Kim Chrestman began her career at the University of Mississippi in 1997 as a secretary in the Office of Research, earning $3.50 per hour. Over the years, she has held several titles, including Senior Secretary, Administrative Secretary, Staff Assistant, Senior Staff Assistant, Staff Assistant II, and Administrative Coordinator I.

Currently, Kim serves as the Operations Coordinator II in the Department of Higher Education within the School of Education. She found her professional home in the School of Education in 2006, working with the Department of Leadership and Counselor Education, which includes the Higher Education programs.

An active member of the Mississippi Association of Educational Office Professionals (MAEOP) since 1999, Kim has held leadership roles including Publicity and Advertising Chair and served as president of the Ole Miss chapter. She is passionate about professional development and has helped recruit office professionals to participate in MAEOP’s conferences and workshops.

Kim has also served on the UM Staff Council and is deeply committed to the university community. Outside of work, she is a proud mother of three daughters and one son, and grandmother to five grandchildren. She shares a special bond with her father, having helped him build houses and repair cars—skills that reflect her hands-on spirit and dedication.

Abolfazl Afshin is a PhD student in Civil Engineering and currently serves as both a Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant in the Department of Civil Engineering. His research spans construction materials, pavement infrastructure systems, and 3-D concrete printing, with a particular emphasis on applying machine learning to advance sustainability in the field. He also mentors undergraduate students and supports teaching in related civil engineering courses.

Noah Watts, from New Albany, Mississippi, is a first-generation college student set to complete his Master’s Higher Education/Student Personnel in May 2026. He also finished his Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Ole Miss in 2024. Further, Noah plans on pursuing a PhD in Higher Education at the University of Mississippi following his Master’s program. Over the last few years, the campus has grown into another home for Noah. Having the privilege of serving in so many different capacities such as a Graduate Assistant and Team Manager for Pre-College Programs, a Residential Assistant for Housing, and an Executive member of multiple clubs across campus has introduced Noah to the many amazing people who make up the University of Mississippi.  Being selected for the CLI Exemplar Award is a great honor, and Noah hopes to continue serving the University of Mississippi in a positive manner.