Departmental Alumni of the Year named, embody best characteristics of MC Family
Special to The Clinton Courier
Each fall, individual schools and departments at Mississippi College select the most accomplished graduates of their respective programs to be recognized as Alumni of the Year. Those recognized include graduates who have excelled in a number of professional disciplines, from business, healthcare and the law to academia, ministry and the arts, and who have inspired countless students to follow in their footsteps and one day surpass their many achievements.
University leaders say those honored have represented Mississippi College with distinction, personifying the University’s values while serving others and modeling their Christian faith and embodying the best characteristics of the MC Family. Several Clinton recipients were recognized as part of the 2025 MC Homecoming festivities.
Joseph Randal Pharr, Jr. (’13, ’15) was recognized by the MC Kinesiology Department. As the current head strength and conditioning coach for Northwest Mississippi Community College, Pharr is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and a registered strength and conditioning coach through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He has trained more than 300 athletes who have signed letters of intent to four-year institutions and has served seven Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference championship clubs and one national championship team. While at MC, Pharr was named to the American Southwest Conference Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Team and the Capital One Academic All-District Team. He was voted to the Mississippi College Football All-Decade team.
Dr. Caley Cobb Stogner (’19) of Clinton was named Nursing Young Alumna. An assistant professor of nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s School of Nursing, Stogner is a specialist in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. Her nursing experience spans neonatal intensive care, pediatric pulmonary and transplant coordination, and her research centers on pediatric health outcomes and palliative care in pancreatic cancer. Stogner has developed mental health programs for students and contributes to statewide initiatives and professional development to advance healthcare in Mississippi. She serves as treasurer on the Executive Board of the Mississippi Nurses Foundation and is a pediatric nurse practitioner in the Jackson Public School Clinics.
Dr. Ivory Gray (’15, ’23), principal of Clinton Junior High School, was recognized for Teacher Education and Leadership. A dedicated educational leader whose career reflects an unwavering commitment to academic excellence and student achievement, Gray is in his second year leading Clinton Junior High School, recently recognized as one of the top middle schools in the Jackson metropolitan area. A Millsaps Principals’ Institute graduate, he obtained both his Master of Education and his Doctor of Education in educational leadership from Mississippi College. The 2023-24 Clinton Public Schools Administrator of the Year and 2015 Dr. W.B. “Bert” Thompson Scholarship recipient serves as a facilitator for Mississippi College’s revitalized Principals’ Institute, where he continues to mentor and inspire future school leaders.
