State Treasurer Lynn Fitch will join the faculty of Millsaps College next semester as an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department, teaching a course titled, “Women in Politics.”
“I am very excited to have this opportunity to teach at Millsaps,” Fitch said in a press release. “We are living in such an interesting time for women in politics, in Mississippi, the nation, and even abroad, and I am excited to work with students trying to navigate the ever-changing landscape.”
“As one of only four women elected to statewide office in Mississippi’s two-hundred-year history, I want to share with them not only what I have learned, but also what I have experienced,” said Fitch, who is in the middle of her second four-year term as state Treasurer.
At her state office, Fitch uses a desk formerly used by Evelyn Gandy, who in 1959 became the first woman elected to statewide office in Mississippi when she was selected by voters to be state Treasurer. Gandy later held office as state Insurance Commissioner and Lieutenant Governor.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for the students at Millsaps College to study with one of the state’s great political leaders,” said Dr. Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps.
“This partnership with Treasurer Lynn Fitch will provide our students with a unique perspective on politics, and is another example of both the value of Millsaps’ location within our capital city and the level of engagement that comes with a Millsaps education,” he said.
Women in Politics will be a four-credit undergraduate course. The college said that the course is offered as part of Millsaps’ continuing commitment to using its proximity to state government to enrich its students’ learning experience through special class topics, internships, and speakers.