Whereas the University of Mississippi began its first session on November 6, 1848, with a 4-member faculty offering a liberal arts curriculum to 80 students; Whereas the University of Mississippi established one of the first State-supported law schools in the United States in 1854, and it was the first university in Mississippi to establish a school of engineering in 1900; Whereas, in 1882, the University of Mississippi became one of the first universities in the South to admit women and, in 1885, was the first university in Mississippi to hire a female faculty member; Whereas, in 1903, the University of Mississippi began providing medical education on the Oxford campus; Whereas the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi— (1) was established by the Mississippi Legislature in 1950; (2) became the first and only academic medical center in Mississippi when it opened in 1955; and (3) was the site of the first lung and heart transplants into a human in the world, in 1963 and 1964, respectively; Whereas, in 1962, the University of Mississippi broke a racial barrier by admitting its first African-American student, James Meredith, who remains a source of inspiration today; Whereas, from its first class of 80 students, the University of Mississippi has grown to host more than 23,000 students participating in 120 programs of study across 7 campuses, including a medical center; Whereas thousands of students of all races, creeds, backgrounds, and beliefs receive world-class education at the University of Mississippi; Whereas the University of Mississippi advances academic excellence through the activity of the faculty and staff in departments and more than 75 academic, research, and community service centers; Whereas, in 2016, the University of Mississippi received a classification of R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, an honor bestowed on the top doctoral research universities in the United States