William Magee Center
The William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education is dedicated to transforming students’ lives by providing education, intervention, and support services to enhance well-being and foster success at the University of Mississippi.
William's Story
William Magee was an exceptional student at the University of Mississippi in many ways, participating in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, the Croft Institute for International Studies, a social fraternity, and Ole Miss Athletics, lettering for the track team as a sprinter in the 400 hurdles. William was also shy and suffered from anxiety, and he used substances as a means of coping and trying to join in.
By his junior year in college, William recognized he was in over his head, and he wanted to stop using alcohol and other drugs. He assumed he could easily stop, as he was known for toughness, reaching the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships and earning A’s in his classes amid a rigorous schedule. But substance use was much more difficult to overcome than he thought, and after graduating from Ole Miss, William went directly into a rehabilitation center, spending months in treatment. He told his family during that time that he wanted to help others one day, so they might avoid a similar fate.
Sadly, William relapsed and died of an accidental drug overdose before that could happen. He was found by his father, David Magee, who three years later wrote a newspaper column titled “For Ole Miss freshman: My Son William’s Story” that was read online by more than 1 million people. With the help of many caring people, including students, alumni, faculty staff, and friends of the University of Mississippi, a grassroots movement to help others ensued, and the William Magee Center and the William Magee Institute opened on campus in September 2019 to change and improve students' lives with education, research, and support.
How does the William Magee Center Work?
The William Magee Center is entirely focused on improving the lives of Ole Miss students.
Here's what we offer Ole Miss students:
- Programs & Resources. Our interactive programs help students develop and maintain healthy habits at college. Students can find community with our WellRebs, help through WellChats, and enjoy our signature events throughout the semester. (This isn't even all of the programs and services we offer!)
- Collegiate Recovery Community. If you're struggling with substance use disorder, The Collegiate Recovery Community is here for you. We provide a nurturing and affirming environment so students can continue their journey to recovery, reach their academic goals, and find a caring community on and off campus.
- Wellness Resources. We know that college is tough. Sometimes things get so overwhelming that you forget to take care of yourself. Our Wellness Resources can help you prioritize your physical, mental, emotional, and social-well being.
Upcoming Events
Meet the Staff
Nicholas McAfee
- Director William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education
Shannon Richardson
- Assistant Director of Wellness Education
Katherine Ann or Kakky Brown
- Wellness Navigator
Alysia Lajune
- Program Manager
Rhonda Tompkins
- Operation Supervisor
Aala'a Matalgah
- Graduate Assistant
Colter Clayton
- Graduate Assistant
Grace Gober
- Graduate Assistant
Mason Glaze
- Graduate Assistant
Ryan Sockwell
- Graduate Assistant
Contribute to the Mission
The William Magee Center started because of stakeholders, including alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff, and businesses who care and contribute resources. We are aiming to grow, continuing to find innovative ways of making a difference in the lives of students –individually and collectively.
To learn more about supporting the William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education, contact Brett Barefoot, Senior Director of Development for Parent and Family Leadership, at bmbarefo@olemiss.edu or 662-647-4276.
External Advisory Board
Members of the External Advisory Board are focused on supporting the functions of the William Magee Center by assisting with outreach and advocacy, community engagement, and planning philanthropic events on behalf of the center. The list of members and their bios are below.
Cal Mayo, a Fellow and Regent in the American College of Trial Lawyers, has spent over 30 years in the courtroom advocating for his clients and has developed a reputation as a “go-to” lawyer in Mississippi. Over the course of his career, he has successfully represented clients in a wide range of litigated actions, including commercial, complex tort, products liability, employment, and intellectual property matters. He enjoys his “general surgeon” practice and the variety of challenges presented.
Cal founded Mayo Mallette with Pope Mallette in 2000 to create a law firm dedicated to efficiently and effectively serving the needs of its clients. As the firm has grown and expanded, Cal continues to focus his attention on his passion — trying cases to juries and judges. He is annually recognized for his work by Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation and Bet-the-Company Litigation.
Cal appreciates the opportunity to live in Oxford, one of America’s great college towns. He has served the University of Mississippi as a board member of the University of Mississippi Foundation and the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation, as a member of search committees for University executives, and as an adjunct professor in the law, accounting, and business schools. Three of his children are University graduates, and the fourth attended the University until his death on April 14, 2022.
In his role, Loren helps clients at the state and federal levels achieve policy solutions and secure business opportunities in Washington and state capitals across the country through direct lobbying before Congress, governors, state legislators and attorneys general. He is skilled at helping clients align federal and state advocacy strategies as well as enlisting state and local leaders to support clients’ federal priorities. He also helps clients to obtain grants and appropriations from federal and state agencies. Due to the quality of service and results that are consistently delivered, Loren has represented many of his clients for more than 20 years.
Loren frequently serves as the campaign manager for complex lobbying efforts that require coordinated state and federal outreach across multiple states and involving several lobbying and public relations firms. Highlights of his lobbying successes include securing federal permitting approval for the nation’s first large scale offshore wind project, Congressional appropriations for new research buildings on a university campus, legislation to carveout scrap recyclers from the Superfund program, state funding for digital skilling programs as well as discretionary economic development incentives by governors.
Quentin Whitwell, a licensed attorney and entrepreneur in Mississippi and the District of Columbia, is an experienced operator and healthcare entrepreneur. As CEO and Founder of Progressive Health Group, Quentin has been a trailblazer in supporting rural healthcare across the US. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services view him as a subject matter expert on the topic of healthcare provision in rural areas, and he has deployed the country’s first two Rural Emergency Hospitals, with more underway.
In addition to his extensive healthcare experience in management and day-to-day operations, Quentin has litigated in court and advocated in the halls of State Capitols and the U.S. Congress on numerous issues facing providers and operators. Quentin spent many years in service in Jackson, Mississippi as a Jackson City Councilman and a founding member of the Parham Bridges Tennis Foundation before moving back to his hometown of Oxford, Mississippi.
Quentin was the 2005 recipient of the MS Business Journal’s “Top 40 Under 40” award, the 2023 recipient of the MS Business Journal Top CEO Award, and is a member of the Ole Miss Hall of Fame. In addition to serving on the William Magee Center advisory board, he serves on the Board of Trustees for Oxford University United Methodist Church.