Ole Miss named Political Science Department for former Governor Ray Mabus

• In 1988, Mabus was elected as Mississippi’s youngest governor in 150 years. He previously served as state auditor in 1984. Mabus went on to as a U.S. Ambassador and the Secretary of the Navy.

Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus has been called “one of the outstanding public servants of our time.” Now his legacy at the University of Mississippi is being acknowledged with the naming of its Department of Political Science in his honor.

The Institutions of Higher Learning board of trustees approved the naming of the Ray Mabus Department of Political Science in its monthly meeting Thursday (April 16). Mabus, along with more than 120 donors – including alumni, friends, foundations and businesses – made significant contributions to establish an endowment to support the department’s teaching, research and student opportunities.

“One of the tremendous hallmarks of our alumni is how they take their Ole Miss education and build lives of service and purpose,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce said. “Alumnus, former Mississippi governor and former secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus is one of our highest examples of a lifetime of achievement.

“We are grateful to him and the many alumni and friends who generously contributed to this deeply meaningful naming of our Department of Political Science.”

Mabus’ career spanned decades of public service. Appointed by President Barack Obama, he served as the 75th U.S. secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017, the longest tenure in that role since World War I.

President Bill Clinton appointed him U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 1994. In 1988, Mabus was elected as Mississippi’s youngest governor in 150 years. He previously served as state auditor in 1984.

As secretary of the Navy, Mabus oversaw an annual budget approaching $200 billion and led nearly a million active-duty and civilian personnel. His tenure brought sweeping reforms, including opening all combat roles to women, advancing alternative energy as a warfighting strategy and overseeing the construction of more than double the number of ships built in the previous eight years.

He also helped develop the Gulf Coast Restoration Plan after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

It was during Mabus’ leadership that Navy SEALs carried out the mission that killed Osama bin Laden. Among his many honors, Mabus was named one of America’s top 50 CEOs by Glassdoor – the only government leader to receive the distinction.

“This naming is deeply touching,” said Mabus, who graduated summa cum laude from Ole Miss with majors in political science and English in 1969. “This has moved me in ways very few other things have.

“To have my name associated with the school that gave me my start – the school that I love and remain closely connected to – means the world to me.”

A native of Ackerman, Mabus also earned a master’s degree at Johns Hopkins University as a Woodrow Wilson fellow. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1976 and served as a Navy officer aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock.

Jeh Johnson, former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and former general counsel of the Department of Defense, worked closely with Mabus and praised his leadership and character.

“I have known Ray Mabus since 2009, when I was general counsel of the Department of Defense and he was secretary of the Navy,” Johnson said. “We became fast friends, natural allies. Several years later Ray asked my wife to be the sponsor for the USS New Jersey, a Virginia-class submarine.

“Harvard-educated, Ray returned home to Mississippi to make a difference. As governor, Ray was a charismatic reformer, governor of all the people. If there were 50 public servants like him, the country would be in much better shape.” 

From 1980 to ’84, Mabus worked as legal counsel and legislative assistant to Gov. William Winter and helped draft the landmark Education Reform Act of 1982, one of the most significant education measures of the decade. In 1990, Fortune magazine named Mabus one of the nation’s top 10 education governors, and he received the Social Responsibility Award from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

He is CEO of the Mabus Group, a leading strategic advisory firm that focuses on national security, defense technology and innovation; serves as vice chair of InStride, a public benefit education company; and sits on the boards of two public and two private companies. He also serves on the boards for the nonprofits: Chef Josẻ Andrẻs’ World Central Kitchen and the Environmental Defense Fund.

He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Explorers Club and the Screen Actors Guild. Among many adventures, Mabus has thrown out the first pitch at all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums, stood on both poles and visited more than 190 countries and territories.

Lee Cohen, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, praised Mabus’ career as a model of what a liberal arts education makes possible.

“Secretary Mabus has long embodied the value of a liberal arts education,” Cohen said. “A liberal arts foundation equips individuals to communicate effectively, work as part of a team, analyze data and evidence thoughtfully, approach problems with flexibility of thought, and engage constructively with people holding different perspectives.

“Those capacities have clearly served him well throughout a lifetime of leadership and service to others.”

John Bruce, chair of the political science department, said the naming carries special meaning because Mabus is both a former governor and an alumnus who worked in the department as a student, earning $1.25 an hour through work-study.

“This endowment will significantly expand our ability to support students, retain faculty, bring distinguished speakers to campus and pursue new opportunities,” Bruce said. “Private support like this allows us to put our best foot forward across the full range of departmental activities.”

Former state Rep. Cecil Brown, who chaired the House Education Committee during his tenure in the Mississippi Legislature, also praised the honor.

“Very few Mississippians have achieved Secretary Mabus’ level of success in both state and national politics,” Brown said. “I admire his commitment to making this state and nation better places for all of us in every position he has held.”

Mabus remains humbled by his accomplishments and hopes future generations will follow in his footsteps and urged Ole Miss students to serve beyond themselves.

“Do something to make a difference,” he said. “Give back to this unique nation of ours. Help people who may never know you or realize what you did. 

“Public service isn’t the easiest or most lucrative path, but I can’t think of anything more fulfilling.”

This article is courtesy of Ole Miss.