University Employees Honored for Exceptional Student Service

A committee appointed by Chancellor Glenn Boyce evaluated dozens of nominees before selecting Katherine Ann "Kakky" Brown, assistant director of student support for the William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education, and Meng-Chieh Lin, an instructor in the Chinese Language Flagship Program, as the honorees.

Boyce announced the winners Monday (May 4) at the annual spring faculty meeting. They each get $1,000 and will be recognized May 9 during Commencement.

"Every year, this award reminds me of what makes Ole Miss special," Boyce said. "Kakky Brown and Meng-Chieh Lin represent a genuine calling to serve. Whether Kakky is sitting with a student in one of their hardest moments or Meng-Chieh is going the extra mile to make sure a student feels supported, their care for the people in front of them is evident to our students and community. 

"We are thankful and fortunate to have them here."

The Frist Student Service Awards were established with a $50,000 gift from the late Dr. Thomas F. Frist, of Nashville, a 1930 UM graduate.

Brown graduated from Ole Miss in 2013 and worked as an educator at Oxford High School until 2022. She returned to campus in 2022 as a graduate student in the clinical mental health counseling program.

She joined the Magee Center the following year as a full-time wellness navigator and transitioned to her current position in fall 2025.

A nominator wrote that Brown "exemplifies service and support toward students" and cited her assistance to the Collegiate Recovery Community, which supports students in recovery from substance use and addiction disorders. Another stated that, "If the world had a million more Kakky Browns, we might begin healing."

A third nominator, an undergraduate student, related a personal story. He was treated for a his long-term substance use at the Oxford Treatment Center, and the staff there put him in contact with Brown upon his discharge.

"Kakky was eager to do whatever she could to help me and work with me," he said. "Within 20 minutes, Kakky and I had a plan in place for me to remain in recovery, stay involved in school and get plugged into campus resources.

"I can confidently say, if I had not met Kakky in January of 2024, I would not still be clean today."

Brown's involvement marked a major turning point in his life, the student wrote.

"Katherine Brown did not just help me; she saved my life," he continued. "If I had not met Kakky when I did, I would have dropped out of school and gone right back to the drugs. Kakky made such a big difference in my life, I decided to stay in school, stay clean and dedicate my life to helping other people, just like she did for me."

Brown said she views working with students as "a privilege to have the opportunity to play even the smallest role in their stories." She said she is grateful and humbled by the award, and she credited the support of administrators, colleagues and her family with helping her to make a difference.

"To serve students well, I have to keep my daily intention on just that: serving the students," she said. "That's why I am here. I am here to listen, to guide, to share information, to connect them to resources.

"I cannot do that well if I don't view each student interaction as important or purposeful. They all are. I try to remember the value in depth over distance, quality over quantity in my role and interactions with students."

Lin joined the faculty in the Department of Modern Languages in 2020. She explained her love for teaching language by explaining that she sees it as "a gateway to intercultural literacy" that allows students to become better global citizens.

"It helps students develop cultural awareness, question their assumptions and build the resilience to communicate across difference," she said. "Language humbles us because it reminds us that there is always more than one way to see, think and express meaning."

A student wrote that Lin "embodies the Ole Miss spirit through her unwavering dedication to the holistic well-being and cultural growth of her students." The nominator shared that Lin frequently invites students to join her for dinners, which she uses as mentorship opportunities to prepare them for study abroad programs.

The student shared that she experienced Lin's dedication to her students during a post-freshman study abroad program in Taiwan.

"During my time abroad, I faced significant physical and mental health challenges due to homesickness and the inaccessibility of my U.S.-prescribed medications," she wrote. "When I shared these struggles with her, she did not simply direct me to a program coordinator; she instead took a personal interest in my health, accompanying me to the doctor on two separate occasions and providing the guidance and emotional support I needed to persist in the program.

"This level of care is typical in her approach to education because she understands academic success is impossible without personal stability."

Lin said serving students involves "offering a steady presence as they find their footing, take risks and move beyond what feels familiar." This includes helping them discover the boundaries of their capabilities, she said.

"This award means a great deal to me because it reflects the kind of care I hope to offer students: the freedom to explore, question, stumble and grow, knowing that someone is there to listen, encourage them, and help them move forward," Lin said.

Top: Chancellor Glenn Boyce (left) presents Katherine Ann 'Kakky' Brown with this year's Frist Student Service Award for staff members during the annual spring faculty meeting Monday (May 4) in Fulton Chapel. Brown, assistant director of student support in the William Magee Center for AOD and Wellness Education, was selected from dozens of nominees across campus for going above and beyond to serve students. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services