University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Fan Feature: Nancy New
8/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Education and Southern Miss have been the center of Dr. Nancy New's ('74) life since she graduated with her Bachelor's degree in English Education in 1974. Her professional career started as a teacher, then administrator, then community coordinator for educational services and then starting her own private schools, the New Summit School.
"I received all of my training for that type of work from Southern Miss," New said.
New's influence and expertise goes beyond the halls of her own schools. She has served on Southern Miss Boards including Athletics, Education and Psychology, and is currently on the Athletic Foundation Board.
The community's education is important to New as well. She started the Mississippi Community Education Center. The MCEC provides schools, communities and families with educational services and training programs on a statewide basis. New also founded Women For Southern Miss, an organization that works to raise involvement from the community with a specific focus on involvement from women.
Family brought Nancy to campus for the first time. New was raised in the Mississippi Delta and most of her family and friends remained in that region of the state. However, her sister attended Southern Miss and Nancy came to visit her. Her one visit had her hooked as the campus was fresh and different.
All this work, which she considers a pleasure, keeps her very busy, but she never misses an opportunity to support Southern Miss. "I don't miss any [home games] unless it's a family emergency." New and her two children, Jess ('03) and Zach (`06), their wives and five grandchildren always look forward to football and baseball game days.
"The whole campus is such a community of a strong family feeling," New said. "Everyone is a part. There are different groups, but it's not like people aren't invited and included. Everyone is just one big happy family."
New first fell in love with the campus when she first came to visit her sister, who was a student at the time. Southern Miss was relatively unknown to New growing up in the Mississippi Delta, so her visit was new and unique. She noticed that the uniqueness was found in the class offerings, environment as a whole and within the colleges inside the University. This hooked New and she received not only her Bachelor's from Southern Miss but her Master's and Doctorate degree from Southern Miss too.
Family is what brought New to Southern Miss in the first place and the family atmosphere is what continues to bring New to campus week in and week out for athletic and academic events for the university that she loves so dearly.
