 Marston was chosen to be the dean of the University of Mississippi 's School of Medicine and director of the university 's Medical Center in Jackson , Mississippi in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in 1961 . Marston was hired with the tacit understanding that he would integrate the medical school and medical center to comply with Federal law and maintain the medical school 's accreditation . Under his politically understated guidance , and in the face of continued political opposition from Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett , his administration admitted the first African @-@ American medical students , hired the first black medical professor , integrated the medical center 's patients , and set new precedents for the non @-@ violent racial desegregation of Southern medical schools and teaching hospitals . Later , in 1965 , he was chosen to be the university 's vice chancellor . 
