{"id":154992,"date":"2026-01-20T13:51:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T19:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=154992"},"modified":"2026-01-20T13:51:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T19:51:56","slug":"speakers-edge-showcases-ethical-leadership-strategic-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/speakers-edge-showcases-ethical-leadership-strategic-communication\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaker’s Edge Showcases Ethical Leadership, Strategic Communication"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Students work with world-class communication coaches during winter intercession course<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

University of Mississippi<\/strong> graduate students demonstrated persuasion, ethical reasoning, and leadership during the Speaker’s Edge<\/strong> competition January 15-16, 2026, at the Jackson Avenue Center<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two-day event is the finale of an intensive winter intercession course where graduate students from the\u00a0School of Business Administration<\/a>,\u00a0Patterson School of Accountancy<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0and\u00a0School of Law<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0tackle real-world scenarios through team pitches, marketplace presentations and ethical dilemma cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaker’s Edge<\/a>\u00a0challenges young professionals to discover public speaking strengths because these skills are a linchpin to a successful life, said Elizabeth Moore<\/strong>, program coordinator and director of the university’s\u00a0Speaking Center<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For graduate students studying business, law and accountancy, the knowledge is already there,” she said. “This course teaches them how to communicate it clearly, confidently and under pressure. That is what makes the experience so transformative.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judges voted Jane Granberry<\/strong>, an MBA candidate from Hattiesburg<\/strong>, as this year’s overall winner. Katherine Anderson<\/strong>, a\u00a0Trent Lott Leadership Institute<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0board member, sponsored a $1,000 prize that Granberry received at the awards ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I like to bring the fun to my pitches,” Granberry said. “I was able to use these last two weeks to find middle ground because I realized that I don’t have to be a carbon copy of other business leaders or entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I can be myself and bring my essence into any speech, and we all learned the effectiveness of how to do that, which come in handy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Granberry also won first place in the ethical dilemma category. This segment challenges students to respond to complex leadership scenarios where legal compliance, financial pressure and reputational risk intersect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During preliminary and final rounds, students addressed scenarios such as whether to disclose a costly product recall during the sale of a chemical manufacturing company, how to handle a potential conflict of interest involving vendor incentives and how to respond when a colleague publicly behaves inappropriately while representing a company brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional cases required students to weigh environmental impact against profitability when developing land near family farms, confront gender inequity in informal promotion practices and respond to internal billing practices that fell short of contractual obligations while charging full fees to clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Marketplace Pitch competition, MBA candidate Omobola Obasanjo<\/strong>, of Greenwood<\/strong>, stressed that college students nationwide are creating too much waste, most of which they leave behind as they move out of their dorms and apartments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obasanjo’s “Grove Treasure Vaught” initiative won the Marketplace Pitch award. Focusing on the university’s sustainability commitment, he proposed collecting and repurposing unwanted student furniture each year. The university can offer it for free to students the following semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Team Pitch award recipients presented an innovative approach called Draft Queens<\/strong>, aimed at helping the popular Draft Kings<\/strong> service target and reach a largely female audience. Instead of betting on sports, the platform draws in new audiences by offering betting options on reality or awards shows, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The team included five Ole Miss MBA candidates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n