Ole Miss and Chancellor Jeff Vitter have taken a meaningful step this week in announcing the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on History and Context.

First, the committee members chosen including the likes of Dr. Andy Mullins, Rose Jackson Flenorl, Dr. Jay Watson, Dr. Anne Twitty, Dr. Donald Cole, Dr. David Sansing and others show that Vitter and Ole Miss are serious about providing historical context to buildings, statues and other important sites on campus in a manner that serves all people.

Second, the move shows that Ole Miss continues to emerge in a contemporary, transparent light that is supportive and sensitive in race and diversity from  a historical perspective. Such action is becoming of one of America’s great institutions of higher education.

Chancellor Vitter may be new at Ole Miss, barely through a half-year of service, but he has shown already an openness in communication and a desire to build an inclusive university that makes all associated proud.

He recognizes that physical structures which serve Ole Miss students and faculty have stories to tell, but that how those stories are told is vital in learning, and respect for one another.

We celebrate this accomplishment by Chancellor Vitter and Ole Miss and look forward to the contextual and historical vignettes that emerge.