 In 2018, following a racially charged rant on social media by an alumnus and academic building namesake, former Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter reaffirmed the university's commitment to "honest and open dialogue about its history", and in making its campuses "more welcoming and inclusive".The Mississippi Legislature chartered the University of Mississippi on February 24, 1844.The university opened its doors to its first class of 80 students four years later in 1848.