Lucille “Cille” McHenry Litchfield (BSCS 77) is the chief systems information officer for the Department of Finance and Administration for the state of Mississippi.
McHenry earned her Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and was one of the first people in the program at Ole Miss.
“Back then computers weren’t the commodity they are now,” she says. “A lot has changed in 30 years.” McHenry still insists that she took a lot from her education. “The program has come such a long way, but that is really just a measure of the times. We only had six people in our program and that was following the first class of one person”.
As the 1977 Class Marshall Litchfield graduated summa cum laude and was also the recipient of a Taylor Medal and Taylor Medal Citation in Computer Science, the highest academic honor awarded at Ole Miss.
After graduation, Litchfield went on to have a successful business career. She worked for a computer vendor for a couple of years and then spent 10 years in the banking business. In 1989 she started working for the state government.
She worked in partnership with IBM to develop a statewide data warehouse to give all users instant access to the latest information and was featured in an article published by IBM in 2001. In 1999, Litchfield was recognized by the Mississippi Business Journal as one of the state’s 50 leading business women.
Litchfield’s success is not just limited to a classroom or office. She constantly gives of herself to her community and church. Along with her husband Steve, whom she married in 1989, Litchfield remains very active in her church choir. She has served as president, vice president and logistics chairman of her 350-member choir at the First Baptist Church in Jackson. Each Christmas, she donates her time to coordinate the choir in presenting their program, “Carols by Candlelight,” to more than 18,000 people in live concerts. She also coordinates the televised program shown nationally and on in-state stations as well.
“That’s my passion. I manage information technology projects because that is how I make a living, but music is my passion,” she says. “I was a member of the band at Ole Miss and I still get so much joy from music.”
Her friends will tell you that Litchfield is one of the hardest working individuals they know, and that she has maintained the highest integrity in her personal and professional life. She perfectly represents the ideals and standards set forth by the University of Mississippi in every aspect of her life.
