mississippi state alumnus summer 2003

MSU engineers think small to design cars of the future

atoms to autosAtoms to autos —

contentsSummer 2003 | Volume 79 | Number 2

USPS 354-520

PresidentJ. Charles Lee

Vice President for External AffairsDennis A. Prescott

Alumni AssociationExecutive DirectorJohn V. Correro (’62)

Mississippi State Alumnus is published threetimes a year by the Office of UniversityRelations and the Mississippi State UniversityAlumni Association at Mississippi State, Miss.Send address changes to Alumni Director, P.O.Box AA, Mississippi State, MS 39762-5526;telephone 662-325-2434; or access by webbrowser at http://msuinfo.ur.msstate.edu/alumni/alumni.htm.Editorial offices:102 George Hall,P.O. Box 5325,Mississippi State, MS 39762-5325.Telephone 662-325-3442; fax, 662-325-7455;e-mail, [email protected]

EditorAllen Snow (’76)

Associate EditorKay Fike Jones

DesignersBecky SmithErin Norwood (’98)

PhotographersFred FaulkRuss Houston (’85)

Mississippi State UniversityAlumni Association National OfficersGary Blair (’81),national president;Keith Winfield (’70),national first vice president;Joe L. Bryan (’63),national second vice president;David W. Jones (’81),national treasurer;Allen Maxwell (’78),immediate former national president.

www.msstate.edu

Mississippi State University does not discriminate onthe basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex,sexual orientation or group affiliation, age, disability,or veteran status.

Mississippi State

Harmony with the land The university’s new Center for Sustainable Design was created to meet human lifesupport needs for food, water, shelter, energy, waste-processing, and landscape man-agement. Systems planned for implementation over time include water-harvestingfor irrigation and for drinking, biological treatment of sewage, thrifty use of wildenergy, on-site food production, and landscape management.

Atoms to autosIn an approach being described as “atoms to autos,” the engineers who formMSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems are building on university expertisein computational technologies to position Mississippi at the forefront of automotivedesign and production.

Cruising to camp Twelve youths ages 9-19 cruised their way to some new communication skills during

a special summer program at Mississippi State. Camp Jabber Jaw—designedspecifically for youngsters who must use computer-like devices to communicate—is

coordinated by the university’s T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability.

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A legacy worthy of a new homeJust hearing the Famous Maroon Band belt out “Hail State” is enough to warm thehearts of Mississippi State players, fans, and students. Since the Famous MaroonBand marched at its first Mississippi A&M football game in 1924, it has becomeone of the university’s most beloved traditions. But over the course of its 102-yearexistence, the South’s oldest college band has never had a place to really call home.

On the cover: Established to enhance Mississippi's research and development efforts related to the newNissan manufacturing plant near Canton, MSU's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems is enhancing thestate's potential to attract other automotive and related industries. Story on page 8. (Photo by Fred Faulk)

Big man, big heartFormer MSU football standout and Super Bowl champion Tyrone Keys, whohas helped send more than 400 students to college, has been honored as TheTampa Tribune’s People’s Champion. Tribune feature writer Jennifer Barrs

takes an in-depth look at the big man with the big heart. 18

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A new kind of cropDr. Steven H. Elder grows things, but his aren’t the usual crops of corn, cotton, orsweet potatoes. Elder is attempting to grow cartilage. A researcher with the LifeSciences and Biotechnology Institute, Elder and his team of student assistants areseeking ways to greatly aid the field of orthopedics by making the tough, elastictissue regenerate itself.

It’s always about peopleRonnie Parker, a 1972 Mississippi State accounting graduate, CPA, and avid bass

fisherman, shifted gears early in his career and today is president and chief executiveofficer of Pizza Inn Inc. The 40-year-old restaurant chain now has 430 locations in

21 states and 10 foreign countries. Parker talks of business matters with passion andenergy, but his real priorities are firmly fixed. 14

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Campus News 26 | Athletics 32 | Alumni Activities 37 | Philanthropy 41 | Class News 46 | In Memoriam 51

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harmonywiththelandNew Center for Sustainable Design emphasizes

By Phil Hearn | Photos by Fred Faulk

la

Pete Melby believes human intrusion can be a good thing when lovingly applied to suchpursuits as, say, affairs of the heart.

TAKE FOR INSTANCE, the time he fell in love and mar-ried his next-door neighbor, Cindy, two decades and two children ago.

“I moved her over to my house in a wheelbarrow,” he saidwith a grin. “She could sweep a driveway like nobody’s business!”

On the other hand, the St. Louis native feels human intrusioncan be a bummer—particularly when imposed upon naturalhabitat without consideration for its scenic beauty, ecologicalefficiency, or potential for innovative development.

For Melby, that too is a heart-felt issue—and a challengefor his profession.

“I’ve always been concerned about human intrusion uponnatural environments,” said the Mississippi State professor oflandscape architecture and co-creator of the university’sunique Center for Sustainable Design, now housed in an aca-demic complex that is among only a few truly self-sustainingfacilities in the nation.

“When I was in high school I wanted to design facilitiesthat allowed for wildlife, clean water, and natural-lookinglandscapes,” he added. “This whole idea of sustainabilitybasically deals with how you develop the land, yet retain thestrength of the land.”

AFTER ATTENDING the University of Missouri, thenearning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in landscape archi-tecture from Louisiana State University, Melby worked in hischosen profession for eight years in Atlanta before decidinghe wanted to teach. He joined the MSU faculty in 1978because, “The people here were just incredible. . . .

“Our dean was not overly impressed with my beard andlong hair, but he and I became great friends,” said Melby,whose first name actually is Philip.

Pursuing his burgeoning interest in sustainable design,Melby joined forces with Beth Miller, an MSU human sci-ences professor who specializes in interior design, and TomCathcart, an MSU professor of agricultural and biologicalengineering with a keen knowledge of thermal dynamics. He also built a close relationship with former NASA environ-mental scientist Bill Wolverton of Picayune, an expert insewage treatment.

IN 1995, MELBY AND MILLER began teaching a jointclass that mixed bioengineers, interior designers, and land-scape architects in projects to design sustainable landscapes.His partnership with Cathcart led to their 1997 co-foundingand co-directorship of the Center for Sustainable Design, andco-authorship of a 2002 book, Regenerative DesignTechniques: Practical Applications in Landscape Design.

Practicality, not academic exercise, drives the MSU effort.“This campus spends about $30,000 a month sending

sewage to the Starkville sewage treatment plant,” said Melby.“The projected world population growth convinced us thatwe’ve got to start looking at things to help close the loop.Over the next 50 years, the world’s population is expected todouble from 6 billion to 12 billion.”

WITH ENCOURAGEMENT FROM MSU interimresearch vice president Jonathon Pote, at the time head of theuniversity’s Water Resources Research Institute, Melby and afacility planning committee composed of faculty in hisdepartment charted a course that would turn their concept ofa campus-based, sustainable center into a living laboratory.They also were motivated by a desire to move the 30-year-old landscape architecture department—with its 250 students,nine faculty, and three staff—from Montgomery Hall, built in1903, to a newer facility with some land around it.

Their efforts led to procurement of a three-acre site just offStone Boulevard on the western side of campus. Facultythen created a design illustrating how a center could fit wellinto the area. When state Sen. Hob Bryan of Amory, chair ofthe Senate Appropriations Committee, guided a $3.6 millionbond bill to passage in 2000 authorizing construction of afacility with energy conservation features, Melby and hisplanning committee were ready.

“We programmed all the buildings and the site, and thedesign team that was selected for the project took our ideasand our program,” said Melby.

He said the Jackson architectural firm of Dale andAssociates of Jackson did an excellent job in designing afacility intended to exist in harmony with its surroundings,while reflecting the unique flair and feel of the Deep South.Dale put Ron Hartley, a graduate of the MSU landscapearchitecture department, in charge of the project.

The brick-and-glass complex of three buildings—whichhouses MSU’s landscape architecture and landscape contract-ing academic programs—was occupied last December. Itwas officially dedicated May 5 in ceremonies that featuredSteven A. Williams, director of the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService; Bryan; MSU President Charles Lee; and Vance

A L U M N U SSummer 2003

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buildinglearning

mississippi

“This outstanding new building

complex is providing an exceptional

environment for teaching, learning,

and research that already is benefiting

our students in landscape architecture

and landscape contracting, and the

people of Mississippi.”

MSU President Charles Lee


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Watson, interim vice president of the university’s College ofAgriculture and Life Sciences. Melby also was there, watch-ing in quiet satisfaction.

“This outstanding new building complex is providing anexceptional environment for teaching, learning, and researchthat already is benefiting our students in landscape architectureand landscape contracting, and the people of Mississippi,”Lee said during the ceremony. “The successful operation ofthis building is going to help us learn how to better manageour spiraling energy costs.”

The complex of buildings—which make full use of naturaldaylight—provides space for classrooms, studios, and admin-istrative offices.

Energy-reducing features include:ground-source heating and cooling expected to reduce utility bills by as much as 50 percent;large building overhangs designed to keep buildings 8-10 degrees cooler in the summer;wall and roof designs that prevent summer heat from penetrating the structure;a bank of photovoltaic solar panels, provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which will generate “green power” from sunlight for the Starkville city grid that could meet all electrical needs of the MSU center;functioning windows that make heating and air-condition-ing unnecessary during milder months in the spring and fall; andconcrete floors inside the structures that assure there are no emissions of volatile organic compounds or, in some cases, floor coverings of either recycled rubber tire or natural soy bean-based materials.

“Dadgummit, it works!” Melby exclaimed. “It’s very comfortable.”

THE FACILITY WAS DESIGNED to meet human life sup-port needs for food, water, shelter, energy, waste-processing,and landscape management. Systems planned for implemen-tation over time include water-harvesting for irrigation andfor drinking, biological treatment of sewage, thrifty use ofwild energy, on-site food production, and landscape manage-ment consistent with the site’s plant communities and cycles.

Utilizing a biological waste disposal system designed byWolverton, Melby said urine from restrooms will be funneled into two plumbed planters, where it will be cleansed by the microbes on rocks and plants. Then it will flow outside to aseptic tank, where solids will settle and liquids will continueflowing to rock-reed treatment beds. In the beds, the liquid

“...the grounds will produce vegetable gardens,prairie grass, and themed gardens, with very little mowed grass. Wetland treatment cells, cisterns for harvesting water, and three designedpools of water also are planned.”

effluent will be treated with ultraviolet light for final disin-fecting of all living organisms, then flow into the site’s outdoor irrigation system.

“Here is an opportunity to take the collection and treatmentof sewage from a human development, keep it on site withoutany smell or danger, and use the water and nutrients from thesewage to grow plants and gardens,” said Melby.

He said the grounds will produce vegetable gardens,prairie grass, and themed gardens, with very little mowedgrass. Wetland treatment cells, cisterns for harvesting water,and three designed pools of water also are planned.

“We’re going to have some food-producing plants such aspear trees, fig trees, and blueberry bushes,” he said. “Someof the beds will grow squash, okra, and tomatoes. We wantto demonstrate on this site how you can blend food-producingplants with more attractive traditional plantings.”

MELBY SAID LONG-RANGE PLANS call for construc-tion of an outdoor amphitheater and an additional classroombuilding on the site, if an estimated $1 million in privatefunding can be obtained. He said he also hopes to activate a$25,000 energy audit system, which was built into the wallsbut is not yet operational.

Even the center’s parking lot can be made more environ-mentally friendly without sweeping, which may be goodnews to Cindy Melby. A separate plan has been developed toremove wastewater and automobile byproducts from that area.

“We’re so excited the university gave us this chance,” saidMelby. “This is the beauty of Mississippi. If you have agood idea and it’s reasonable, the people of Mississippi willgive you a chance to try it.”


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TWELVE YOUTHS AGES 9-19 cruised their way tosome new communication skills during a special June programat Mississippi State.

Camp Jabber Jaw is designed specifically for youngsterswho must use computer-like devices to communicate.Coordinated by the university’s T.K. Martin Center forTechnology and Disability, this year’s residential assemblyadopted a cruise ship theme.

“‘Cruising to Camp’ was our sixth annual Jabber Jaw,”said camp founder Janie Cirlot-New. Participants “exploredthe cultures of Mexico, Italy, Australia, and China throughmeals and special activities,” the Martin Center directoradded.

WHILE PRIMARILY SUPPORTED through 2004 withstate funding, future camps will need private donations tocontinue, Cirlot-New said.

Jabber Jaw pairs kids who use communication devices topeers with typical speech abilities. Accompanying parents,caregivers, and siblings also learn from the structured expe-riences.

“By being around others who use similar devices, thecampers learn to communicate better,” Cirlot-Newexplained. “Most are the only ones in their school districtsor communities who use computer-based voice outputdevices, and this camp helps them interact with others andlearn to actively participate in conversations in a timelymanner.”

IN ADDITION TO ART, dance, crafts, and games, theprogram involves participants in swimming and horsebackriding, among other activities. The 2003 camp culminatedwith a public play in the Mitchell Memorial Library SmallAuditorium.

In addition to Martin Center staff, this year’s Jabber Jawstaff included speech pathology majors from MississippiUniversity for Women and the universities of Mississippi andSouthern Mississippi. Also assisting were an occupationaltherapist from the University of Alabama in Birminghamand current and former MSU students with disabilities.

cruisingtocamp‘Jabber Jaw’ campers hone communication skillsBy Aga HauptPhotos by Russ Houston

atomsautosTO


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By Maridith Walker GeuderPhotos By Fred Faulk


9c'Cradle-to-grave' defines MSU road map to automotive research

TO BUILD THE CARS OF THE FUTURE, a group ofMississippi State researchers believes a good place to start isby thinking small. Very small. As in atoms.

In an approach being described as “atoms to autos,” theengineers who form MSU’s Center for Advanced VehicularSystems are building on university expertise in computationaltechnologies to position Mississippi at the forefront of auto-motive design and production.

From the “atoms” approach—materials modeling thatbegins at the atomic level to develop lighter-weight, strongermaterials—to improving the ways drivers interact with theauto, MSU research is helping create what one researchercalls a paradigm shift. The old road maps no longer apply.

Established in 2001 by the state to enhance Mississippi’sresearch and development efforts related to a new Nissanmanufacturing plant near Canton, CAVS has a goal ofenhancing the state’s potential to attract other automotive andrelated industries, said J. Donald Trotter, director of the centerand MSU associate vice president for strategic initiatives.

“We have considerable industrial experience on our man-agement team that blends well with academic research in

targeted areas,” hesaid. A researchfacility at MississippiState and a Canton engi-neering extension center,both now under construction, areexpected to open later this year.

“In addition to engineering expertise, CAVS has a strongcommitment to apply advanced technologies to workforcedevelopment, in partnership with community colleges andother Mississippi institutions of higher learning,” Trotteradded. “Both in applied research and in workforce education,we feel that higher education can offer major benefits to thestate.”

CAVS is a broad approach to today’s “new way of doingbusiness,” Trotter explained. “We’re trying to anticipatewhat will be needed to lead well into the future, not just say‘me, too.’”

With leadership in mind, Trotter has assembled a highlyregarded team, including the first MSU endowed chairholderfor automotive research. Together, the research leaders arefocusing on critical areas that include computational manu-facturing and design, alternative power, and enterprise systemsand human engineering. All have a goal of reducing productdevelopment time, improving automobile efficiency, and


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designing the automobile—and the production process—withthe human operator in mind.

DESIGNS ON THE FUTURELighter-weight materials will be a key part of realizing an

industry goal of developing vehicles that can travel up to 80miles on a gallon of gas, said Mark F. Horstemeyer, whoholds the CAVS Chair in Computational Solid Mechanics.

“Today, we’re using computational techniques to try toreduce vehicle weight by 25 percent while increasingstrength by 50 percent,” he said. To work toward achievingboth efficiency and vehicle safety, his research group is start-ing literally at the most basic level. “Computational tech-

nologies will help us characterize the physics of materi-als from the atomic scale up,” he explained.

The multi-scale analysis—which begins atthe nanoscale—can be applied to a variety ofindustries, ranging from automotive componentsto weapons systems and aircraft.

Formerly with Sandia NationalLaboratories in Livermore, Calif., Horstemeyer has

gained wide recognition for his workin the mechanics of materials

and related topics such asdamage evolution, frac-

ture, fatigue, andimpact. He wasamong nationalexperts called onto assist theColumbiaAccident

Investigation Boardin analyzing the

impact of fallingfoam debris following

last February’s space shut-tle tragedy.

The research effort he is direct-ing at Mississippi State is, among other

things, modeling the stress-induced changes to materialsthroughout the life of an automobile. Called “cradle-to-grave” modeling, the technique using complex geometry willallow the research team to derive information about the auto-mobile structure at any point in its history, determining the“optimum” design methodologies.

Supporting research is concentrated in the broad areas ofmaterials modeling, manufacturing processes, and structure

In CAVS labs at Mississippi State, engineers haveenvisioned the car of the future, and, whiletoday it sounds like science fiction, the reality isjust around the corner.

simulation. Specific focus areas range from crash simula-tions and materials evaluation to casting processes and manu-facturing equipment.

Trotter points out that the computational manufacturingresearch has implications for many industries, especially forthose involving products made of metal. “CAVS researchcan be extended to other industrial processes to increase pro-ductivity and reduce product development time,” he noted.

‘IMMERSIVE’ APPROACHIn CAVS labs at Mississippi State, engineers have envi-

sioned the car of the future, and, while today it sounds likescience fiction, the reality is just around the corner.

In the future, here’s what to expect: a next-generationvehicle that is lightweight and uses fuel cell technology. Itwill be able to travel 250-300 miles before repowering andwill have interactive wireless communication so that it can‘talk’ to other vehicles, gleaning information about potentialobstacles or even the best travel route to a destination.

Interactive communication—using multiple electronicssystems—also means that the vehicle could alert drivers topotential system failures, link with emergency personnel ifneeded, provide in-vehicle connection to the Internet, andaccess local information or current movies. Telematicsresearch is assuring that the driver can safely and effectivelymake use of these systems.

Expect to see this futuristic vehicle driving on the nation’shighways by 2010, the CAVS team says. Limited-range fuelcell vehicles currently are being tested in major cities aroundthe world.

Such a vehicle would be a major step in reducing depend-ency on traditional petroleum-based fuel supplies and wouldcontribute to a cleaner environment, they say. It also offers a

higher degree of driver safety.The “immersive technology”

which helps create the vehicle means that the design, productionand performance of the car havebeen extensively tested with the

help of complex computational

aExpect to see this futuristic vehicle driving on thenation’s highways by 2010, the CAVS team says.Limited-range fuel cell vehicles currently arebeing tested in major cities around the world.

simulations. To paraphrase a philosophical tenet, essenceprecedes existence: a virtual environment can yield a betterreality.

“There’s in a sense a ‘debugging’ of the design,” explainedCAVS research manager Zach L. Rowland. “In one researcharea, we’re working to improve the efficiency of the manu-facturing process, even putting human models into a simulat-ed production line,” he said. “The computer simulations can‘see’ potential production problems and correct them beforehumans actually are at work building vehicles and systemshave to be retooled. Not only does such troubleshooting pre-vent production bottlenecks, but it helps improve workersafety,” he said.

He notes that there is now a paradigm shift in the approachto vehicle design. The cradle-to-grave model calls for adesign in which the whole product life cycle is managed.“Computer tools now being embraced by manufacturers canlook at the implications of design without actually making

the product first,” he said. “The tech-nology, which is like an advancedvideo game, has tremendous costbenefits in building prototypes andincreasing speed to market.”

Virtual tools also are helping ensureimproved safety of automobiles oncethey’re in use, Rowland said. “We now can per-form computer simulations that simulate the crash testsrequired by the federal government,” he noted. “A cluster ofsupercomputers can calculate the effect of crashes onhumans”—data required by the National Highway TrafficSafety Administration. NHTSA annually provides consumerswith a measure of the relative safety potential of vehicles infront and side crashes, using crash-test dummies.

CAVS also is developing computational tools for work-force training and development. A CAVS team is integratinginto a distributed Web-based environment adaptive learningtechnologies with commercial engineering tools exploiting 3-D modeling and simulation. The teams also are using com-mercially available software tools to capture real-timemotion. “We will be looking at optimal motion for real-timetasks, with an objective of training a work force in a virtualenvironment,” Rowland explained.

With a wealth of information stored in knowledge bases,


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the computerized system will offer the capability of pullingtogether highly customized lesson plans. “This effortinvolves a number of community colleges, and we’re seekingto involve other institutions as well,” Rowland said. “We’rehopeful that this will be a model for helping the Mississippiworkforce become technologically aware and prepare thestate to move to the next level.”

BEYOND THE GAS PUMP—A NEW VISION OF FUELThink past the gas-guzzling autos of today, with their

accompanying emissions, fluctuating fuel costs, and environ-mental risks. Hydrogen and air may very well power the carsof the not-too-distant future, the CAVS researchers say.

Featuring no moving parts, fuel cells are electrochemicaldevices that burn hydrogen. Water—instead of greenhouseemissions—is the byproduct of the chemical process that creates electricity used to power the vehicle. Automotivemanufacturers around the world are investing in fuel cellresearch, which promises far less pollution, as well as a sig-nificant enhancement in fuel efficiency compared with traditional combustion engines.

Ben S.Y. Choe, research professor of electrical and com-puter engineering, says that CAVS fuel cell modeling seeksto overcome some of the current barriers in implementingfuel cells commercially.

“The initial cost of using fuel cells now is higher than thatof internal combustion engines,” he explained. “There alsocurrently are issues of durability and efficiency.”

Because water is a fuel cell byproduct, for instance, con-trolling water vapor in the gas stream is a critical issue to fuel cell efficiency. Being able to monitor and control thefuel stack by developing effective sensors will be critical inpreventing a destructive phenomenon known as “thermal runaway.”

MSU’s computational tools are being applied to theseissues, with a goal of supporting the development of viablefuel cells for industry. “Our vision for the future is a technol-ogy that also can be used by utility companies for residences,by the military for its vehicles, and by consumers for mobilephones, personal computers and personal digital assistants(PDAs),” Choe said.

High-resolution simulation and modeling are providing a

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basic understanding of fuel cells and systems. Computingcapabilities allow the development of advanced design toolsthat can mean improved efficiency and durability for animportant future source of alternative fuel.

DELIVERING THE GOODSA central goal of the CAVS effort is to transfer the benefits

of the university’s research to industry, says C. DeanNorman, CAVS research professor of civil engineering.

“We’re committed to providing useful research and devel-opment products for Nissan, its suppliers, and other smalland medium-sized Mississippi businesses,” he said. “Thiscenter is all about moving research directly into industry.”

In a 23,000-square-foot extension facility adjacent to theNissan plant in Canton, the CAVS team has a multi-prongedeffort to assist the state’s competitiveness. Focus areas aredirect engineering support, education and workforce training,manufacturing extension partnership, and research and devel-opment technology transfer.

Working with Norman are Clay Walden, manager of engi-neering extension, and Victor Branch, manager of training.Walden says that work under way at the extension facilityseeks “to ensure our research is relevant to the needs ofindustry. We support activities to solve real problems,” he noted.

For Nissan, Walden’s team has created a computer modelof the manufacturing process from start to finish—fromwelding the first part, through assembly, painting, and pre-delivery auto tests, to vehicle exit. The model evenincludes the time spent waiting. “Because there are randomoccurrences, we’ve developed a dynamic model,” Waldenexplained. The goal is to model variability and to ensure thatmanufacturing processes avoid potential problems.

Because the CAVS team began their research 18 monthsbefore the plant startup, Nissan was able to respond to pre-dicted bottlenecks. “They made a design change in the plantbased on our study,” Walden said.

The engineering outreach effort that Walden manages alsowill extend the benefits of research to other Mississippiindustries. Already, the Canton engineering extension centerhas assisted Delphi Automotive Systems of Brookhaven, andWalden says, “We want to apply what we’ve learned to othersmall manufacturers.”

CAVS also is a part of the federally funded ManufacturingExtension Partnership, which in collaboration with state com-munity colleges will provide technology resources for smallExtension Partnership, which in collaboration with state community colleges will provide technology resources for smallmanufacturers.

Making the results of CAVS research available commercially is a final goal of the automotive effort at Mississippi State.

“The partnership allows us to leverage state dollars formaximum benefits,” Walden explained. “Through MEP, wegive small manufacturers access to high-end resources andtechnology they otherwise wouldn’t have.” The goal, he said,is for the partnership “to be a guide and to assist businessesso they can realize the value of technology.”

Walden said some resources already exist, but a smallmanufacturer may not have known of them; in other cases,the partnership will introduce leading-edge technology whereappropriate.

Making the results of CAVS research available commer-cially is a final goal of the automotive effort at MississippiState. “We will assist Mississippi companies in bringing newproducts and services into the marketplace through licensingand services generated by CAVS research,” explained WayneH. Causey Jr., manager of technology development for commercialization.

Potential technology that may be commer-cialized is MSU-developed training software which, Causey noted, “can be applied to worker training in anycomplex manufacturing environment.”CAVS research is generating the possi-bilities for many applications: software to test fuel cell efficiencies, computationalmaterials design to reduce weight and cost,and comprehensive evaluations of automobiles for potential import, just for starters.

“The potential applicationsrange across all of the technicaldisciplines at Mississippi Stateinvolved in automotiveresearch,” Causey said.

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alwaysit’s

aboutpeopleRONNIE PARKER SMILES politely when asked the stock

question he’s probably been asked more times than he canremember and—with the genteel air that typifies him—givesa straightforward answer.

“Actually, I have two favorites: our bacon cheeseburgerpizza and our chicken fajita pizza. They’re different, andvery good.”

The 1972 Mississippi State accounting graduate and avidbass fisherman shifted gears early in his career, and today ispresident and chief executive officer of Pizza Inn Inc. The40-year-old restaurant chain now has about 420 locations in21 states and 10 foreign countries.

The same month that Parker graduated from MississippiState, he went to work as an auditor for Arthur Andersen &Co. in New Orleans and became a CPA. Thus began a promising—if rather predictable—career with one of thenation’s largest and most prestigious accounting and financialconsulting firms.

Little more than two years later, the ink on his diplomabarely dry, Parker was offered a job with Chart House Inc.,an Andersen client and the largest franchisee of Burger KingRestaurants in the country.

A decade later, he left his position as chief financial officerfor Chart House’s largest operating unit and moved to Dallas

to help manage Bonanza Restaurants Inc. “I went to Bonanza as a vice president, subsequently was

named senior v.p. and executive v.p., and stayed for 10 years.We sold the company in 1989, but I stayed there as generalmanager for three years and ran the company for the newowner,” Parker says.

“In 1992, I was offered a position with Pizza Inn as execu-tive vice president. I became president of Pizza Inn aboutthree years ago, and became president and CEO last August.”

Recently, having driven all night from his home inMcKinney, Texas, to fulfill Super Bulldog Weekend commit-ments and to answer that favorite-pizza question, Parkerrecalled his college days.

That the Charleston native would attend Mississippi Statewas never really in doubt.

“I wanted to come to Mississippi State from a very earlyage,” he says. “My parents live about an hour and fifteenminutes from here and my grandparents lived about 10 minutesfrom here, so it was an easy decision for me.”

Parker’s parents, C.W. and Dot, still live in Charleston.His father, a Purple Heart veteran of World War II, earnedbachelor’s and master’s degrees at Mississippi State in 1947and 1954, respectively, and taught high school for more than30 years.

Ronnie Parker’s simple philosophy

By Allen SnowPhoto by Russ Houston

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AS A FRESHMAN, Parker decided to major in mathemat-ics in the College of Arts and Sciences. During his junioryear, he changed his major to accounting in the College ofBusiness and Industry.

“I found the whole business school staff to be very careeroriented and pragmatic, and they would give you genuine,honest advice any time. That made a difference for me.

“I had a number of outstanding professors. One in particu-lar, accounting professor Billy Simmons, comes to mind.He’s been acknowledged for a long time as a very prominentaccounting professor and citizen of the community. ProfessorsBill Cross and Joe Curry were others. Economics professorRoland Jones was very active in the university, and peopleknew him to be a friend. He was very accessible to studentsand very proactive,” Parker recalls.

An avid Bulldog sports fan, Parker manages to get back tocampus for three or four football games and several basketballand baseball games a year, despite his hectic schedule.

His commitment to the university runs deep. He is a mem-ber of the Bulldog Club board of directors, recently completeda six-year term on the Alumni Association board, and has justbeen named to the MSU Foundation board.

Parker also is proud of the fact that he’s a member of theCotton Bowl Athletic Association board of directors.“Because of my interest in university life and student activi-ties, as well as athletics, I’ve derived a lot of pleasure in that.”

His guiding philosophy is simple and unwavering.“We all need to do what we say we’re going to do. It’s

about personal integrity, it’s about telling the truth, and it’sabout making sure we’re there for our people,” he says withconviction. “Whether it’s my business life or my personallife, it’s always about people. I work very hard on teamwork.

“We spend a lot of time talking about corporate culture andabout truly satisfying the customer and listening to the cus-tomer. I think one of the attributes that has been diminishedin the last few years is the skill of listening. I’ve actuallybrought in consultants to teach listening skills.”

PIZZA INN COMPETES with some heavy hitters. PizzaHut, Domino’s, Papa John’s, and Little Caesars are nationaland they are the four best-known players in terms of size.

“We’re known as a regional chain, although we are in 21states,” Parker says. “We’re fiercely competitive, and actually,in the states where we compete, we compete very favorably,both in quality and perception of quality, and in loyalty ofour customers.

“We have a broad menu, a lot of variety. At the end of theday, it’s about two things: attracting and satisfying cus-tomers. The basics of the restaurant industry are quality,

service, and cleanliness. Any of us who get away from thatwill feel the wrath of our customers.”

According to Parker, the pizza segment of the food market,in spite of its number of units, is still growing because it cutsacross demographic lines. “If we ask our kids today whatthey’d like to eat tonight, chances are that at least one ofthem will say pizza. From the elderly to young kids, every-body likes pizza.”

Parker talks of business matters with passion and energy,but one quickly gets the sense that his real priorities are firm-ly fixed.

“Mine start with my faith and my family and friends, and Iinclude my employees and franchisees in the friends category.

“For me, Mississippi State is a close third, becauseMississippi State gave me the academic foundation and theskill sets to accomplish things that I’m very proud of,”Parker continues.

“I grew up in Charleston, a town of 3,000 people in theedge of the Delta, and I have a lot of dear friends there. It wasthe foundation of my upbringing. I owe much of whateversuccess I’ve had to the influence of my father and my mother.

“My wife Anne has been an inspiration to me and has beentotally supportive in all that I’ve done. I can promise you,when a person works the hours that I work, without a sup-portive wife it becomes very difficult. I’ve been very blessedin that regard.”

PARKER AND HIS WIFE have four children. When hetalks about the children, his face beams with obvious pride.Lisa is a junior elementary education major at TexasChristian University. “She loves Mississippi State, but justcouldn’t find it in her heart to travel that distance fromhome.” Laura, a senior in high school, currently is planningto attend MSU. Leslie is a sophomore in high school.Charles, 13, “is definitely committed to MSU. He’s a die-hardBulldog, and he’s ready to come here right now if they’d lethim. He wears his MSU clothing to school probably three orfour days a week.”

Considering Parker’s responsibilities to family, career, andalma mater, it’s hard to imagine that he can find even a littletime for Ronnie Parker, but somehow he does.

“I love bass fishing,” he says almost wistfully. “I don’thave time for many ‘vices,’ we’ll call them, but the two vicesI have in terms of personal pleasure are bass fishing and golf.Fishing is very relaxing; you can get away from it all andthink clearly. Getting out on a lake early in the morning orlate in the afternoon—it’s quiet and it’s really fun for me.”

Better take along one of those chicken fajita pizzas,Ronnie. Fishing whets the appetite.


16

a kind ofcrop

newRegenerating cartilage focus of orthopedic research

By Kay Fike JonesPhoto by Fred Faulk


17

DR. STEVEN H. ELDER grows things, but his aren’t theusual crops of corn, cotton, or sweet potatoes.

Elder is attempting to grow cartilage.A researcher with the Life Sciences and Biotechnology

Institute, Elder and his team of student assistants are seek-ing ways to greatly aid the field of orthopedics by makingthe tough, elastic tissue regenerate itself. A three-year-olduniversity research effort, the institute encourages scientificcollaborations among faculty members in agriculture,bioinformatics, biology, food science, and human and ani-mal medicine.

“Cartilage has no blood vessels or nerves, “ Elder said.“It’s very slow-growing and not good at healing itself.”Damaged cartilage generally remains that way, he added.For example, a hole punched in cartilage “typically willnot be healed when checked one year later.”

Artificial joint replacement is among the current treat-ments prescribed for patients with orthopedic problems.Unfortunately, Elder observes, plastic replacement partseventually wear out, necessitating additional surgery.

With bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in biomedical engineering from Duke University and the universities of Iowa and Michigan, respectively, Elder’sresearch always has involved orthopedics. Before joiningthe MSU faculty in 1999, he spent a year at VanderbiltUniversity in the clinical Orthopedics and RehabilitationDepartment.

AT MISSISSIPPI STATE, Elder and his team are contin-uing the research he began in graduate school. Their workdoesn’t involve the controversial embryonic stem cells,however.

Instead, they are employing mesenchymal stem cells,which may be found in several tissues throughout the bodyand tend to dwindle in number as people age. The MSUresearchers are attempting to train the mesenchymal stemcells to specialize as chondrocytes, the cells that make up cartilage.

“The stem cells remain in the body forever, just sittingthere,” Elder says. “At the stem cell stage, they can growinto one of several different tissues, such as cartilage, bone,muscle, and fat. We want them to help regenerate cartilage.”

While some researchers use stem cells found in fat lipo-suctioned from overweight individuals, Elder gleans hisfrom the marrow of rats and the limb buds of embryonic chicks.

Seeking to enhance the differentiation of mesenchymalstem cells to chondrocytes, Elder recently began exploringthe application of mechanical stress to stem cells at levelsequal to that found in the human body. The team hasinvented different devices for applying static and intermit-tent shear and hydrostatic compression to cultured cells.

“THE CELLS SEEM TO RESPOND to the mechanicalstimuli,” he reports. “We have found that more of thestem cells acquire cartilage characteristics when we applypressure.”

The team also has been working on chitosan, a naturalpolymer derived from shrimp and other crustacean shells.An ingredient in drugs prescribed for weight loss and cho-lesterol control, chitosan also may be produced as a filmand used as artificial skin or even as a blood clotter. Thechitosan could act as “scaffolding” that enables engineeredchondrocyte cells to grow, join with natural cartilage, and replace damaged tissue, a process known astissue engineering.

“We’ve found we can make a porous sponge material ofthe chitosan and it seems to support the attachment andgrowth of the cartilage cells,” Elder said. “We now aretrying to optimize the properties of chitosan for cartilagetissue engineering.”

There are drawbacks, however, to using the chitosan.“It doesn’t go away as fast as we would want it to,”

Elder admitted. Once it has done its job of helping the chondrocytes

repair the cartilage, Elder says it is preferred for the chitosan to be absorbed by the body. While naturallyoccurring enzymes assist chitosan in biodegrading safely,only one particular enzyme has proven effective—andthen only at high concentrations.

“We’d like for the chitosan to be out of the body in fourto six weeks, but to this point in our research, it’s stillthere,” he says.

If Elder and his student team ultimately achieve successin their “farming” endeavor, the future of orthopedic sur-gery could be forever changed. From a former footballplayer with bad knees to an elderly woman with a dam-aged hip, cartilage regeneration could help give both ofthem a pain- and limp-free future.


18

man,heartBIG

BIG

By Jennifer Barrs | Reprinted by permission of The Tampa Tribune

Tyrone Keys played for the Tampa BayBuccaneers when they beat the Detroit

Lions Sept. 21, 1986, to end a 19-gamelosing streak on the road. Now he

works with other former and current proplayers to mentor youngsters.


19

Former MSU football standout and Super Bowl champion Tyrone Keys, who has helpedsend more than 400 students to college, is hon-ored as The Tampa Tribune’s People’s Champion.

Tyrone Keys gleans such joy from the boy with the backpack.Which has very little to do with the Super Bowl ring on

his hand, the one he got in 1986 playing with the ChicagoBears. And it’s a far different deal than his tough-guy cameoin the Burt Reynolds comedy “The Man Who LovedWomen.” And who can compare it with his Nov. 2 meetingwith President Bush, who stepped from Air Force One atTampa International Airport and asked the 6-foot-7-inchKeys, “What’s up, big guy?”

No, it’s obvious by the expression on his face. Meetingthe president doesn’t seem to mean as much to the formerTampa Bay Buccaneer as seeing that kid stroll down EastLake Avenue, his body bent from the weight of books. Theyoungster tells Keys he’s headed over to Jackson HeightsRecreation Center, to study.

“To study,” says Keys softly, “in a neighborhood where it’snot cool to be smart.”

Keys, 43, explains how the teen has had it tough. Sotough he spent time in a juvenile detention center that Keysfrequents as part of his director’s job with All SportsCommunity Service.

Since 1993, the Tampa nonprofit organization has helpedhundreds get into college through a program that advocatesthe wisdom of mentors, the benefits of volunteerism and thebelief that anything is possible.

At least that’s what Keys believes, what he’s been tellingthat kid, what he told the president and his USA FreedomCorps staff when they came to pick his brain about this vol-unteers-and-mentors business. Keys likely relied on afavorite expression: “A person without hope is a dangerousperson.”

To laud efforts by Keys and his staff, The Tampa Tribunehas named Keys its 2002 People’s Champion, an honor previously given to luminaries such as Lee Roy Selmon andGeorge Steinbrenner. The award, first given in 1993, recog-nizes a Bay area resident’s contributions to sports and thecommunity.

“I think Tyrone’s work speaks for itself though, obviously,being a former player with a big heart helps,” says TampaBay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks, who was theTribune’s People’s Champion in 1998.

Brooks is one of more than two dozen current and formerprofessional football players who sponsor students throughAll Sports. Among them: Trent Dilfer, Mike Alstott,Santana Dotson, Keyshawn Johnson, and Brad Culpepper.

“When he talks to kids, he comes to their level,” Brookssays. “He’s not afraid to go to their neighborhoods, to bringthem in, to find jobs for them. By the kids seeing howhands-on he is, it builds respect.

“He sees a bright light in every child.”Within walking distance of Raymond James Stadium, the

All Sports offices are a cozy warren of connecting rooms.Videotapes and applications share desk space with coffeecups and trophies.

Copies of the staff-written instructional bible, “Playbookfor Kids,” are stacked throughout.

One dog-eared copy is open to a page headlined “CollegeTips.” The first? “BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.”

Operations manager Chris Whidden smiles when asked

Tyrone Keys was named the 2002 People'sChampion by The Tampa Tribune.Photo by Jay Nolan of The Tampa Tribune

TK

9A L U M N U SSummer 2003

20

about the cramped quarters she shares with program directorEric “Pink” Floyd, a former offensive lineman with the SanDiego Chargers who literally dwarfs his desk.

“It’s organized chaos,” explains Whidden. “You’d beamazed.”

Glance around, and Whidden’s words echo mightily.Photographs hang ceiling to floor like human wallpaper—snapshots of students signing forms for this college or that,Keys huddling over them with a proud-papa grin.

In fact, this organization with headquarters in made-overmotel rooms has helped send more than 400 students to college.Contributions totaling $16 million have come from individualsand foundations including NFL Charities, the BanyanFoundation, the Eckerd Foundation and Outback Steakhouse.The first in their family to attend college, these kids wouldhave likely been overlooked when it came time to apply.

And not merely because they couldn’t afford to go to col-lege. Maybe they weren’t stars, in academics or athletics.Or maybe they were stars but were ignorant of the system’slanguage and demands: What’s a Pell Grant, anyway? Howdo you prepare for entrance exams?

Keys, given a heads-up from counselors and teachers, per-severes. He finds the kids who need a push and then pushesback. Gently. That’s because every student who receives aidfrom All Sports must do volunteer work in college andbeyond; typically, a minimum of 25 hours a semester withprograms such as Metropolitan Ministries and Joshua House.

Among the success stories grinning wide on the All Sportswall: Nate Peoples, a former Armwood High linebacker whowent to Mississippi State University, Keys’ alma mater. He’san assistant strength coach at Stanford University.

And how about Cobbie Matthews, a Tampa Catholicdefensive end who went to the University of Minnesota. Heteaches multicultural relations there while working on hisdoctorate.

There’s Halvern Johnson, a former Tampa Catholic corner-back and college graduate who works as a local director withBoy Scouts of America. And over there’s Kylie Moord, whowill soon get a sociology degree from Indiana’s DePauwUniversity.

Look close and you’ll also see a youthful Todd Williamspeering out from a poster. The Florida State University graduate, who rose from homelessness to athletic and aca-demic success, once attended a Mike Alstott Football Camporganized by All Sports.

“Not only does it make you feel good to give back, but itmakes you learn that you can’t just accept something withouthelping someone else,” explains Moord. “That’s the way it’salways been with Tyrone—he does good for people. And heteaches us to do the same. . . . Frankly, he doesn’t expectanything less.”

But ask Keys why he created the program and he turnspensive, preferring the mantra: “To those whom much isgiven, much is expected.” Wife Bessie, who married Keys in1981, says her husband reads motivational literature for fun.

Meanwhile, in a 20-year-old college English paper—“Theonly one I ever got an A on,” Keys says with a grin—heappears to have had his eye on a prize greater than his physicalgifts. “Athletics gave me a chance to go to college,” wroteKeys. “It was also people helping me and giving me knowl-edge in a positive way. To me it was always the small thingsthat count.”

MISSISSIPPI SUCCESS STORY

If Keys was ever small, no one really remembers. One ofhis oldest friends, Larry Friday, says Keys was “always biggerthan everybody,” even when, as fourth-graders, they playedsandlot ball behind his house in Jackson, Miss.

“We also thought Ty didn’t have a mean streak, thought hewas so mild-mannered,” says Friday, whose pro careerincluded gigs with the Cleveland Browns as well asCanadian teams, the United States Football League and arenafootball franchises. “Eventually, we found out different.Always knew when that bottom lip moved around his teeth.Brother, he could dominate.”

By the time Keys was a sophomore at Jackson’s CallawayHigh School, his ability to dominate on the football field waswell-known. He caught the eye of defensive coach OdellJenkins, and in his very first start on defense, Keys went upagainst the defending state champions. He learned quickly,Jenkins says, and was enormously disciplined, forever playing“sideline to sideline” and memorizing pass-rush techniquesthat he would employ throughout his career.

Jenkins believes Keys’ sense of discipline came naturally,handed down from loving parents. Though Johnnie RuthKeys, a teacher, and the late Shelton Keys, a contractor, weredivorced when Keys was 12, both parents were fullyinvolved in his and his brothers’ upbringing. (Keys’ siblings,twins Cedric and Frederic, are both counselors.)

Keys, meanwhile, credits Jenkins for setting a lifelongtone. “I wish I could clone myself and be Coach Jenkins,”Keys says softly. Indeed, whenever he speaks of mentors—fundamental to All Sports” agenda—Keys mentions Jenkins,who has coached 15 players who went to the NFL.

With Keys as a defensive dynamo, the Callaway HighSchool Chargers won the state championship in 1976.Named a high school All-American, Keys was also one ofthe most highly recruited players in the Southeast. He choseMississippi State, and after graduating college in 1981, Keys,a lineman, was drafted by the New York Jets. He opted to

98 A L U M N U SSummer 2003

21

play in Canada for the British Columbia Lions until 1983, whenthe Jets, who owned his NFL rights, traded him to the ChicagoBears.

Bears teammate Leslie Frazier, now the Cincinnati Bengals’defensive coordinator, remembers Keys as the “biggest, toughest,easygoing guy” who managed to befriend the Bears’ legendarycurmudgeon-as-coach, defensive honcho Buddy Ryan. Morememorable, Frazier says, was Keys’ generosity. He typicallygave away things players accumulated by the pound: T-shirts,jackets, shoes.

Frazier also recalls that even before the Bears’ victory overthe New England Patriots at Super Bowl XX in 1986—forecastin the “Super Bowl Shuffle” video on which Keys played key-boards—the big man was looking ahead. “Somehow, youalways knew Ty didn’t want to be defined by the number ofsacks he got,” Frazier says.

Keys arrived in Tampa Bay in 1986 with a ring and a com-mitment, determined to play despite telling Jenkins there weretimes when “I couldn’t feel my legs out there.” Traded to SanDiego in 1988, Keys ended his football career with the Chargersin 1989, sidelined by injuries to his shoulder, back, and knee.

LEGACIES BEYOND HEADLINES

By that time, Bessie Keys says, her husband had crammedhis off-season hours with jobs as a substitute teacher and part-timecounselor. In high schools and halfway houses from Californiato Florida, Keys would nudge the kids and prod the pros.

He also sympathized with peers who suddenly went from thefield to the street, confused about their futures and their legaciesbeyond the headlines. Sponsoring kids through All Sports,Keys says, was a way to build an emotional bridge—one that

would emphasize what some failed to grasp.And that is, “Education lasts a lifetime,”

says Nate Peoples, the Armwood standoutturned Stanford coach. “Tyrone knows thatanything can happen, that you can’t be tooselfish and, frankly, that none of us can play

forever. You have got to be self-sufficient.”With the couple’s daughter and son in tow, Keys moved his

family back to Tampa, where he worked as a high school coun-selor. He formally organized All Sports when he received afinancial boost from Jerry Ulm Sr.’s family. The owner of alocal car dealership, Ulm had been impressed with Keys—somuch so that, when Ulm died, his family directed mourners tosend donations to All Sports in lieu of flowers.

A decade later, All Sports still stresses education. Moreover,its mentoring programs are being staffed by the men andwomen they once helped.

These “graduate mentors” include Trevares Thomas, a 1996Brandon High School graduate who went to Florida A&M withthe help of a Tony Mayberry Scholarship. This All Sports pro-gram is sponsored by former Buccaneer and Pro Bowl centerTony Mayberry, who says Keys’ success lies in his remarkable“consistency with kids.”

Thomas, who played strong safety and wide receiver atBrandon, is teaching emotionally disturbed students at the highschool. In addition, he’s tutoring students once a week. Thelatter is an All Sports program aimed at bringing college-boundkids up to speed—on how to take the SAT, how to apply foraid, what to expect from college.

He is among almost a dozen students who benefited from AllSports programs and have returned to find themselves theteacher, not the student.

“The fact that someone else took an interest in me—that proslike Mayberry and Keys cared—was an amazing place to start,”says Thomas, 24. “From them, I learned I wanted to make adifference, to find my heart. With all the hard work that Typuts into what he does, I was inspired. And now I want to helpothers explore more of the world, beyond Tampa, beyond thefield, beyond my wildest dreams.”

Keys (98) was oneof the big Dawgs ondefense during hisMSU playing days.


22

legacyaworthy

homeof

a new

The Famous Maroon Band

By Amy CaglePhotos by Russ Houston

Just hearing the FamousMaroon Band playing the

familiar strains of “Hail State”is enough to warm the hearts

of Mississippi State players,fans, and students.

Since the band marched at itsfirst Mississippi A&M footballgame in 1924, it has become

one of the university’s mostbeloved traditions.


23

The band picked up its “Famous Maroon”moniker in the 1930s when a leading sportswriter penned those words based on a “victo-ry” claimed by the band in the late 1920s.

During a 1926 football game against Alabama, theMississippi A&M band took the field for the first time in its maroon and white uniforms, giving such a resounding performance that the Alabama band refused to perform. The members of the A&M band totaled 40 at the time andbecame known as the “Famous Forty” of Mississippi A&M.

Over the course of its 102-year existence, the FamousMaroon Band has given many thrilling performances. Butthe South’s oldest college band never has had a place atMississippi State to really call home–a place to accommodategrowth.

THE UNIVERSITY BAND has rehearsed through the yearsin a number of locations, including the Concrete StructureLab, Old Main dormitory, the Mess Hall, the AgricultureEngineering Building, and the ROTC Building. Since 1954,it has practiced in the same small, inadequate rehearsal facilitylocated just off Hardy Road.

There have been little more than cosmetic changes in theexisting band hall in the past 40 years. However, during thattime, the band has increased in size from 100 to 250 members.Through the years, the increased need for additional rehearsal,equipment, and storage space has placed a tremendous strainon routine band operations and activities.

Heading into a new century, the Famous Maroon Band isseeking funds to build a facility worthy of its stature. Theband hopes to raise the roof on a new music rehearsal hallsoon through the aid of private contributions.

More than $1 million already is committed, but at leastthat much more is needed to break ground for a new facility.

“An estimated $2.5 million is needed to build a rehearsalfacility for the Famous Maroon Band,” said Dennis Prescott,vice president for external affairs. “At least another $1 millionor so is needed for the project to move forward,” he added.

Significant progress was made toward the project in thelate ’90s.

Among the commitments earmarked for the project is agift of $500,000 from the late Bonnie DeMent of Indianola inmemory of her husband Gordon, a Mississippi State graduateand longtime university supporter. Her cornerstone gift initi-

ated the fund-raising campaign and placed the focus on theneed for a new facility.

Another sizeable gift of $250,000 from Charles Maxwell, a 1948 graduate from Greenwood, added momentum to theeffort. The most recent commitment, given this year, was ananonymous gift of $50,000 in honor of retired band directorKent Sills.

Now, a lead gift must be secured before the project canbecome a reality.

“A single commitment of the remaining amount or at leastfor $1 million could result in a naming opportunity for theindividual who makes the gift. However, gifts of any sizeare vital to the success of the project,” Prescott said.

Funds to date also include a pledge of $250,000 toward theproject from the university.

“THE UNIVERSITY as a whole and the AthleticDepartment have invested resources in our band for equip-ment and other needs, including a new band hall,” said ElvaKaye Lance, director of the band. “President Lee and athleticdirector Larry Templeton have been very supportive of ourneeds, realizing that the band goes hand in hand with athletics.”

“The Famous Maroon Band has been and continues to be aspecial part of the great game-day activity of a football gameon the Mississippi State campus,” said Templeton.

The proposed music rehearsal facility would be located just south of the existing Department of Music Education.


24

The MSU Athletic Department has made acommitment to lead the drive to construct a newband hall facility by encouraging gifts to theproject on its season ticket order form. Salesfrom tickets in a specific section of the upperdeck in Davis Wade Stadium can be purchasedwith the proceeds benefiting the project.

“THE MAROON BAND is part of the total campus—notjust one small area. I’m committed, the Athletic Departmentis committed, and the university administration is committedto building a first-class band hall,” Templeton said.

When alumni and other fans enjoy the atmosphere of DavisWade Stadium, they may assume that the band is housed in amodern facility, as well, because of its tremendous performanceon the field.

“People don’t realize the preparation it takes for the FamousMaroon Band to actually perform on Scott Field,” Lance said.

MSU band students spend countless hours practicing insometimes nearly unbearable conditions. On game day, theband must assemble in Lee Hall for preparation because theentire group cannot squeeze into the existing band structurewith their instruments.

Former band members, faculty, and parents have voicedtheir concerns at reunions and other events about the need fora new facility for the popular band.

“AT LEAST HALF A DOZEN parents and alumni arealways asking me when we will get a new facility, so youcan imagine how much of a challenge recruiting can be forus,” Lance said.

Lance, who received a bachelor’s degree in music educationin 1976 and is the first female director in the history of theband program, has a personal interest in the venture. She isan alumna of the band herself.

“I have a sentimental stake in all of this, and during mytenure, I am determined that there will be a new musicrehearsal facility of which we can be proud,” she said.

Lance believes the Famous Maroon Band needs a facilitycomparable to those of its peers at other universities, or atleast comparable to those of community colleges and highschools where recruiting is done. Many of these schools

have more modern and better-equipped rehearsal facilitiesthan MSU’s existing structure.

Through the years, the marching band program has evolvedinto a comprehensive, multi-faceted music performance andmusic education program. A new music rehearsal facility,according to Lance, would benefit numerous musical groupson campus and assist with recruiting student musicians as well.

Dr. Michael R. Brown, professor and head of theDepartment of Music Education, agrees with Lance’s observation.

“THE FAMOUS MAROON BAND is at the heart of theMississippi State family and it would be truly wonderful tohave a new base of operations for the band that would allowfor future growth,” he said.

Currently, the program consists of the Famous MaroonBand, the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, andtwo basketball Pep Bands. The concert bands maintain anactive performance schedule, with the Wind Ensemble conducting recruiting tours of area schools each spring.

For more information on the fund-raising drive for theMusic Rehearsal Facility, or to make a gift to the fund, contact the MSU Foundation at 662-325-7000.

The annual reunion ofthe Famous Maroon

Band is scheduled forOct. 3-4 in conjunction

with the MSU vs.Vanderbilt match-up.

Deadline for registrationwith the Alumni

Association is Sept. 19.


25

Summer 2003

26A L U M N U S

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A former student affairsadministrator at the Universityof North Florida is the newdirector of the Holmes CulturalDiversity Center.

Aretha Jones-Cook, whomost recently directed the UNFCenter for MulticulturalAffairs, assumed her duties thisspring.

“Ms.Jones-Cook isa dynamic,visionaryleader whowillsignificantlyenhanceMississippiState’scommitmentto fostering a

culturally diverse campus,”said Jimmy W. Abraham,interim vice president forstudent affairs.

A native of Somerville,Tenn., Jones-Cook holds abachelor’s degree in sociologyand history from TennesseeState University and a master’sin sociology and anthropologyfrom Lincoln University inMissouri.

��

Mississippi State freshmenwho miss more than twoclasses in the first six weeks ofschool can expect a friendlyphone call, e-mail, or personal

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freshmen were attending classwith no absence problems,”McMillen said. “We’ve nowincreased that number to 90percent.”

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Mississippi State ranked61st among all institutions and37th among historically whitecolleges and universities inawarding bachelor’s degrees toAfrican-Americans in 2001-02.

According to a recent reportin Black Issues in HigherEducation magazine, MSUalso is listed by discipline asbeing seventh in education,36th in business, and 37th inengineering among allinstitutions awarding African-American baccalaureatedegrees.

Information for the report inthe June 5 issue is drawn fromU.S. Department of Educationdata.

MSU awarded 377bachelor’s degrees to African-Americans in 2001-02,representing 14 percent of theuniversity’s total. The numberwas up from 287 in theprevious year.

Other Mississippiinstitutions on the magazine’s“Top 100 Degree Producers”list include Jackson StateUniversity, ranked sixth overallwith 748 graduates; Universityof Southern Mississippi,ranked 36th overall; andMississippi Valley StateUniversity, ranked 75th overall.

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An aquaculture scientistrecently received the highesthonor bestowed by the WorldAquaculture Society, thelargest professionalaquaculture society in theworld.

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The dean ofIowa StateUniversity’sCollege ofLiberal Arts andSciences hasbeen named tothe second-ranking positionat MississippiState.

Peter W. Rabideau is theuniversity’s new provost andvice president for academicaffairs. A professor ofchemistry, Rabideau earlierserved as dean of the Collegeof Basic Sciences at LouisianaState University.

“Dr. Rabideau emerged asthe candidate ideally suited forthis vital position by virtue ofhis outstanding credentials as ascholar, his extensive criticalexperience as an academicdean at two land-grantuniversities, and his reputationfor getting important thingsdone,” said MSU PresidentCharles Lee.

He is a Fellow of theAmerican Association for theAdvancement of Science andhas held national appointmentswith the American ChemicalSociety and the Council ofColleges of Arts and Sciences.

At Iowa State, Rabideaudeveloped the concept for arecently implemented Institutefor Science and Society, apartnership between theCollege of Liberal Arts andSciences and the College ofAgriculture.

He also recruited theleadership team to develop a$10 million endowmentcampaign for the music andtheater department.

Rabideau holds a bachelor’sdegree from Loyola Universityof Chicago and master’s anddoctoral degrees from CaseWestern Reserve University.

visit to remind them howimportant attendance is toacademic success.

Called “Pathfinder,” thefive-year-old program ismaking “significant progress”in keeping students enrolledonce they get to campus, saidfounder David L. McMillen ofthe university’s Social ScienceResearch Center.

Echoing McMillen is Noel-Levitz, a higher educationconsulting firm associated withSallie Mae, the federallyguaranteed national studentloan fund. Last month, Iowa-based Noel-Levitz namedMSU as one of eight selectionsfor its 15th annual RetentionExcellence Award.

“This truly is a campus-wide program in which peoplehave come together to offertheir time, skills and resourcesto ensure student success,”McMillen said. Though nolonger a faculty member,McMillen continues to directthe program with theassistance of SSRC researchassociates Ty Abernathy andJohn F. Edwards.

The retired psychologyprofessor led in establishingPathfinder on a limited basis in1997. Since then, thepercentage of students retainedeach year by MSU hascontinued to rise, as hasparticipation by MSU facultyand staff.

“When we began theprogram, about 76 percent ofstudents in the freshman classreturned for a second year; thatnumber now has risen to 81percent,” he said. “Statis-tically, the increase isextremely significant.”

McMillen said retentionnumbers have continued to riseeven as admission standardsremain unchanged andentrance scores and otherstudent indicators arerelatively stable.

“When we started theprogram, about 75 percent of

Summer 2003

27A L U M N U S

Louis R. D’Abramo,professor in the wildlife andfisheries department, recentlywas honored by theinternational nonprofitorganization headquartered inBaton Rouge, La. He waspresented the ExemplaryService Award, one of onlyeight that have been awardedby WAS since its 1970founding.

A faculty member whosespecialty is crustacean and fishaquaculture and ecology,D’Abramo also is a scientist inthe Mississippi Agriculturaland Forestry ExperimentStation at MSU.

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A Starkville senior is thelatest student at the universityto be selected for a nationalHarry S. Truman Scholarship.

Jennifer L. Phillips, alreadya John C. Stennis Scholar inPolitical Science, is among 76students from 63 institutionschosen to receive the $30,000academic awards created byCongress in 1975 as the officialUnited States tribute to the33rd president. Like otherscholars, she will receive$3,000 for her senior year and$27,000 for graduate-levelstudy.

She previously was awardedMSU Academic and U.S. AirForce ROTC scholarships.

Since the 1980s, MSU hasproduced a total of 15 TrumanScholars.

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Three Mississippi Statestudents are among a selectgroup nationally being named2003 Barry M. GoldwaterScholars.

Seniors Erin R. Bassford ofGermantown, Tenn., and AlanP. Boyle of Starkville, alongwith junior Angela M. Spence

of Brandon,are amongonly 300universitystudentsnamed this

year in the federal programrecognizing outstandingscholars in mathematics,engineering, and the naturalsciences.

More than 1,000 studentsapplied for the awards, whichprovide up to $7,500 annuallyto support continued academicstudy. All three 2003 MSUhonorees maintain perfect 4.0grade-point averages and planto pursue careers in research.

In the past five years,Mississippi State has producedsix Goldwater Scholars.

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Four high school studentsfrom Mississippi and two fromAlabama are the newestselections for MississippiState’s top scholarships.

Five will be PresidentialEndowed Scholars; the other,an Ottilie Schillig LeadershipScholar. All are ranked at thetop of their respective seniorclasses.

The Presidential Scholarsinclude Adrienne Bottom ofNew Hope, Grant Chandler ofAthens, Ala., Kristina Mooreof Biloxi, Jennifer Rupinski ofHomewood, Ala., and MandyWallace of Jackson.

Alex McIntosh of Brandonis this year’s Schillig Scholar,a family honor now beingshared with his sister Kate, asenior communication major.

Each scholar receives atotal of $34,000, which isapproximately the cost of

tuition and fees, room andboard, and books for fouryears of study.

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Researchers at MississippiState are working with theU.S. Army Corps of Engineersto develop a computer-friendlyguide aimed at protecting U.S.military installations aroundthe globe from increasingterror threats.

The Joint Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection task force isworking with the SENTEL

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Mississippi State alumniand friends are cordiallyinvited to the investiture ofPresident J. Charles Lee onSept. 5. The 1 p.m.ceremony will be held inHumphrey Coliseum.

The public also is invitedto the 125th AnniversaryGala Ball, which will takeplace at 8 p.m. in thecoliseum. Black tie isoptional for both events.

Lee was named theuniversity’s 17th president inJanuary, having served in aninterim capacity throughout2002. Prior to that, he hadbeen MSU’s vice presidentfor agriculture, forestry, andveterinary medicine since1999. He also served asdean of the College ofAgriculture and LifeSciences beginning July2002, and from 1978-83, hewas dean of the School ofForest Resources andassociate director of theMississippi Agricultural andForestry Experiment Station.

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28A L U M N U S

Corp. and MSU’s Center forEducational and TrainingTechnology to produce anantiterrorism programmanagement guide for use byall five military servicebranches. Col. Jerry Love ofthe Army Engineer Researchand Development Center inVicksburg is JAT director.

Created in 1996 and led byDan Brook and RichardKoshel, the Center forEducational and TrainingTechnology developsinnovative software toolsthrough an interdisciplinaryapproach involving a widecross section of students andfaculty.

“We face an enemy that isdifficult to define,” said Love.

“Our intelligence is imperfectand we are required to makeestimates and assess risks inthe planning process. The JATGuide is an integrateddecision-making process tohelp the commander and his ATstaff focus scarce resources in aprogrammatic approach tocontinuously provide asuccessful installation defenseagainst terrorist attack.”

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Family and friends of thelate Robert S. Barker areestablishing a scholarshipendowment in his memory.

The endowment honors theCopiah County native whoserved for nearly three decadesas a Mississippi StateExtension Service agent inRankin County. Barker died inMay of 2002.

The fund will support ascholarship for any major inthe College of Agriculture andLife Sciences, one of theuniversity’s two oldestacademic units.

The Robert S. Barker Fundin the MSU Foundation may beincreased through additionalcontributions. For moreinformation, telephone theCollege of Agriculture and LifeSciences at (662) 325-8112.

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Two faculty members—onewith research interests that

include both the automotiveindustry and war onterrorism—arebeing namedto endowedprofessorshipsin theuniversity’sJames WorthBagleyCollege ofEngineering.

Mark F.Horstemeyer of mechanicalengineering, nationallyrecognized forhis work onmulti-scalematerialmodeling, nowholds theCenter forAdvancedVehicularSystems ChairinComputationalSolid Mechanics. While much

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Summer 2003

29A L U M N U S

of his previous work at SandiaNational Laboratories inCalifornia is classified, someof it dealt with the war againstterrorism and U.S. attacks onenemy forces hiding in thecaves of Afghanistan.

Mark E. Zappi, who hasgenerated a total of more than$9 million research fundswhile at MSU, will be the newTexas Olefins Professor in thecollege’s Dave C. SwalmSchool of ChemicalEngineering. He currentlydirects both the MSUEnvironmental TechnologyResearch and Applications (E-Tech) Laboratory and the U.S.Department of Energy-supported MississippiUniversity ResearchConsortium for the Utilizationof Biomass.

Established in 2001, theTexas Olefins Professorship isnamed for the Houston-areacompany founded in 1968 bySwalm, a 1955 MSU chemicalengineering graduate and oneof the university’s majorbenefactors.

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Mississippi State continuesto climb the ranks of thenation’s top researchuniversities.

According to statisticsnewly released by the NationalScience Foundation, theuniversity rose from 84th to82nd among Americanuniversities, both public andprivate, in total research anddevelopment expenditures forfiscal year 2001. MSU also isup from 34th to 32nd inengineering researchexpenditures and remains atNo. 5 for agricultural sciencesresearch.

Among public universities,MSU retains its 57th rankingon the basis of FY 2001expenditures of $146.9

million, up from $132.5million during the previousyear. Those figures are amongthe wealth of data included inthe NSF publication“Academic Research andDevelopment Expenditures:Fiscal Year 2001.”

The full report is availableat www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf03316/htmstart.htm.

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An unmanned, radio-controlled aircraft designedand built by Mississippi Statestudents is landing a thirdconsecutive top-10 finish in aninternational test of aerospaceengineering skills.

Headed by aerospaceengineering majors ErinWahlers of Gulfport and VivaAustin of Tylertown, the 23-member university teamfinished No. 8 overall in recentannual competition sponsoredby the Cessna Corp. and theU.S. Office of Naval Research.

The rigorous challenge forstudent members of theAmerican Institute ofAeronautics and Astronauticspitted MSU against more than30 other collegiate groups fromthroughout the United States,as well as from Canada, Italyand Turkey.

In the timed-assemblycategory, MSU was No. 1,defeating all other teams handsdown by having their entryready for flight in just nineseconds.

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Mississippi State scientistsand the state’s Band ofChoctaws are combiningresearch and entrepreneurialskills to determine if mixturesof chicken litter and sawdustcan be turned into reservationjobs while helping theenvironment.

Responding to a U.S.Department of Energyinitiative to develop energysources on tribal lands, theuniversity’s DiagnosticInstrumentation and AnalysisLaboratory is working with theChoctaws to test whetherpoultry litter and wood wastecan become a source of

electricity and/or commercialchemicals.

Established in 1980, theMSU laboratory—referred toas DIAL—is a research unit inthe James Worth BagleyCollege of Engineering. “Thetribe seeks to further diversifyinto technology-basedindustries that will providehigher-paying jobopportunities for tribalmembers,” said John Hendrix,economic developer for theMississippi Choctaws. “Usingrenewable resources togenerate electricity makessound environmental sense.This study will determine if italso makes economic sense.”

The Choctaws now operate25 separate business divisionsin the United States andMexico, and rank as the thirdlargest private employer inMississippi. Seven countiesunder study include Scott,Leake, Neshoba, Jones,Newton, Winston, and Kemper.

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30A L U M N U S

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A Web site introducing theacademic resources of theCollege of Forest Resources isearning recognition from anational organization.

The academic portion ofuniversity sitewww.cfr.msstate.edu recentlyreceived an OutstandingElectronic PublicationCertificate of Merit from theNational Academic AdvisingAssociation. Developed byCollege of Forest Resourcesstudent services coordinatorRachel L. Singleton and Webdesigner Karen A. Brasher, itwas among four honored thisyear.

The MSU Web site, whichcontains sections both forprospective and currentstudents, earlier was honoredwith a Golden TriangleAdvertising Federation citationof excellence. The academicsections provide entry toindividual course Web sites, aswell as frequently neededstudent forms.

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William P. Gearhiser hasbeen an amateur radiooperator for nearly 75 yearsand now, at the age of 92,many believe he may be theoldest active ham inMississippi.

Gearhiser, who earnedbachelor’sdegrees inelectricalengineeringandmechanicalengineeringfromMississippiState in 1931and 1932,respectively,received his federal amateurradio operator’s license duringhis freshman year on May 25,1928.

As the university’ssuperintendent of utilities for15 years starting in 1960, healso was “keeper of the

chimes” for the Carillon Towerat the Chapel of Memories—aduty he performed for yearsafter his 1975 retirement.

The Starkville resident alsowas a faculty sponsor to theuniversity’s W5YD Radio Clubfor more than 35 years,providing valuable leadershipto amateur radio operators oncampus. To honor thatcontribution, current membersof the MSU amateur radio clubrecently designated theirSimrall Hall meeting room asthe W.P. Gearhiser Ham RadioClub Room during a specialdedication ceremony at the site.

Still active in the Starkvilleand campus radio clubs,Gearhiser said he checks theradio waves twice a day, oncein the morning and once in theevening.

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A group of Mississippi Statescientists and engineers willjoin a U.S. effort to help thegovernment of India stopindustrial pollution fromtoppling the walls of the 17thcentury Taj Mahal.

The university’s DiagnosticInstrumentation and AnalysisLaboratory, known as DIAL, ispart of a team that has beenhired by the United StatesAgency for InternationalDevelopment to help arrest thedeterioration of the whitemarble mausoleum, invariablylisted as one of the world’sforemost wonders.

The team is led by the LouisBerger Group, a New Jersey-based international engineeringfirm that has an office in theIndian capital of New Delhi.

Located 200 kilometerssouth of New Delhi in the cityof Agra, the Taj Mahal has beenconsidered one of the world’smost beautiful architecturalmasterpieces since its

completion in 1648. Agra wasthe capital of Muslim emperorswho ruled Northern Indiabetween the 16th and 19thcenturies.

“Unfortunately, the TajMahal’s white marble and jadefacade is crumbling as a resultof industrial pollution in thesurrounding area,” said DIALdirector John Plodinec. “Theteam will work with the Indiangovernment and with industryin that area to reduce thepollution that is causing thedeterioration.”

Plodinec, who willcoordinate the DIAL effort,said the project is expected tostart Oct. 3 and could last aslong as five years. He said thecontract dollar amount is beingnegotiated.

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Five faculty members inMississippi State’s JamesWorth Bagley College ofEngineering are beingrecognized for achievements atthe university during the 2002-03 school year.

Recently honored in campusceremonies were:

—Associate dean Robert P.Taylor, who received theCareer Achievement Award;

—Taylor and mechanicalengineering professor B. KeithHodge, the OutstandingInstructional Paper Award fortheir report titled “Piping-Systems Solutions UsingMathcad”;

—James E. Fowler Jr.,associate professor of electricaland computer engineering, theOutstanding Research PaperAward for his study titled“Wavelet Transforms for VectorFields Using OmnidirectionallyBalanced Multiwavelets”;

—J.W. Bruce, assistantprofessor of electrical andcomputer engineering, the

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31A L U M N U S

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Outstanding Educator Award;and

—Nicholas H. Younan,professor of electrical andcomputer engineering, theOutstanding Researcher Award.

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At a time when animalhealth, safety and research aremore crucial than ever to thewelfare and security of thenation, the College ofVeterinary Medicine has onceagain received nationalaccreditation from theAmerican Veterinary MedicalAssociation’s Council onEducation.

As one of only 27accredited veterinary collegesin the country, MSU’sveterinary college met orexceeded all requirements ofthe AVMA. The accreditationallows MSU to award theveterinary medicine degree tostudents and indicates thecollege is providing highquality education and medicaltreatment.

“Accreditation is somethingthe college should expect, butit is also something to be proudof,” said Dr. Phillip Nelson,

associate dean and director ofacademic affairs at the college.

The AVMA evaluates eachveterinary college on itscompliance with essentialstandards in 11 areas, includingorganization, finances,curriculum, and researchprograms.

The accrediting body canre-evaluate a college in ashorter time period if thecollege demonstrates problemsin some areas. Anotherevaluation of MSU’s veterinarycollege will not be necessaryuntil 2007.

“Receiving accreditationdemonstrates that this collegereached or even surpassed thestandards in all the crucialareas,” said Dr. John Thomson,dean of the college. “The re-accreditation reflects the highcaliber of the faculty, staff, andstudents, and support fromMississippi leadership.”

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The Captive Deer Complexat MSU was renamed for RustyDawkins, its longtime headwho died last year.

Dawkins, a 40-year-oldStarkville resident andNoxubee County native, had

served for 15 years ascoordinator of the 11-acreanimal care facility establishednearly 30 years ago by theuniversity’s department ofwildlife and fisheries as part ofits research program.

During the 2003 session, theMississippi Legislature passeda resolution commending thelife of Dawkins and expressingsympathy for his death.

Bruce Leopold, head of thedepartment of wildlife andfisheries, said the dedicationwill honor Dawkins’ exemplarywork as animal care facilitiescoordinator.

In addition to his work atMSU, Dawkins was a 21-yearveteran of the Starkville FireDepartment, where he wasbattalion chief.

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Donald L.“Donnie” Prisockremembers his firstdays as a MississippiState student in1972. As the lonefreshman in awheelchair, he often had to becarried by helpful classmates

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into inaccessible universityclassrooms.

The inconvenience made animpression on Prisock but itobviously didn’t slow himdown. Today, the lifelongcerebral palsy victim andmarried father of an active 7-year-old son is the university’sdisability services coordinator.

Despite the challenges, theStarkville native persevered,eventually earning bachelor’sand master’s degrees at MSUand a doctorate from theUniversity of Mississippi. Hehas worked at MSU since 1981in Student Support Services asan advocate for others withdisabilities.

Prisock’s accomplishmentsrecently were recognized with

a special awardpresented during thestate’s firstCelebration ofAchievement.Sponsored jointly bythe MississippiDepartment ofRehabilitationServices andMississippi Societyfor Disabilities, theevent honoring fiveMississippians washeadlined by

Heather Mills McCartney, wifeof former Beatle PaulMcCartney.

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Want to get the latest Mississippi State news delivered toyour own computer? Subscribe to the university’s free weeklyelectronic newsletter, “ThisWeek@MSState” (see easysubscribing and unsubscribing instructions atwww.ur.msstate.edu/thisweek/). You’ll soon be receiving thelatest information about MSU academics, athletics, and alumniinterests.

And don’t worry. We never share our mailing list withanyone else.

‘ThisWeek’��!��!��

Summer 2003

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Mississippi State senior LaToya Thomasbecame only the sixth four-time honoreewhen the 2003 Division I women’s

basketball KodakAll-America teamwas announced inApril.

Thomas was thefirst pick in theWomen’s NationalBasketballAssociation draft bythe ClevelandRockers.

The Kodak/WBCA All-America Awardshonor the 10 bestwomen collegiatebasketball players inthe nation. Thomasjoins Ann Meyersfrom UCLA (1975-

78), Lynette Woodard from Kansas (1978-81), Cheryl Miller from Southern Cal(1983-86), Chamique Holdsclaw ofTennessee (1996-99), and TamikaCatchings of Tennessee (1998-01) as theonly four-time honorees. Thomas is one ofthree players who represent the SEC thisyear, along with Chantelle Anderson ofVanderbilt and Kara Lawson of Tennessee.

“It’s a great honor to be named a four-time Kodak All-American,” said Thomas.“Not everyone gets that opportunity. It is aprivilege to be recognized and a part ofsuch a talented group of women that hasachieved this honor.”

In her first season at MSU, Thomasbecame only the eighth freshman in the 25-year history of Kodak All-America honorsto earn the award. Now after earning thehonor her senior season, she has becomejust the sixth player in women’s basketballhistory to receive this honor for all fouryears of her career.

In addition to being named a four-timeKodak All-American, Thomas was named

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to the All-America First Teamby the Associated Press earlierin the year. The 6'2" Greenvillenative was named to the firstteam for the second straightyear. She earned AP All-America Second Team honorsfor her sophomore yearperformance.

She capped off her finalseason at MSU by being namedthe Southeastern ConferencePlayer of the Year and she alsobecame only the second studentin Mississippi State history tobe named an SEC Athlete of theYear when she took the league’sfemale top spot. Baseball greatWill Clark earned the SEC MaleAthlete of the Year title in 1985.

Junior Iyhia McMichael ofNacogdoches, Texas, became just thethird player in the history of MississippiState softball to garner NationalFastpitch Coaches Association all-American honors when she wasrecognized at a May pre-NCAAWomen’s College World Series banquetin Oklahoma City.

McMichael, third player in universityhistory to hit better than .400 in a singleseason, joined former Bulldog standoutsKellie Wilkerson (2000-01) and KeriMcCallum (2000) on the list of first teamall-Americans for the Bulldogs.

“This is a tremendous honor for Iyhia,as well as Mississippi State,” saidBulldogs head coach Jay Miller.“Throughout the season, she has provento be a clutch player for us and has pacedus offensively. It is nice to see her getrecognized with such a prestigioushonor.”

McMichael, who earned 2003 SECSoftball Athlete of the Year honors and

�� was named to the final 10 for the ASA/USA Softball Collegiate Player of theYear award, broke or tied 10 single gameor single season records in 2003, three ofwhich came in one game. In a 15-4victory for the Bulldogs over Samford onFeb. 16, she hit 3-for-4 with seven RBI,including a grand slam and a schoolrecord-tying two triples. The outburstmoved her atop MSU’s single game totalbase (10) and RBI (7) list.

The only unanimous selection on the2003 first team all-SEC squad,McMichael hit .403 this season to goalong with 33 extra-base hits (18 HR), 63RBI and 63 runs scored. She drew 38walks and matched her own schoolrecord with 36 stolen bases in 37attempts (.973), recording a .502 on-basepercentage and a school record .801slugging percentage.

She currently is atop five career listsat Mississippi State and is on pace toshatter seven more career records by theend of her senior season in 2004.

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Former Texas A&M assistant coach Steve Curtis camehome to Mississippi State after five years away whenwomen’s basketball head coach Sharon Fanning named hima Lady Bulldogs assistant coach.

Curtis was a part of the Bulldog family as an assistantcoach during the 1997-98 season.

“Steve has been in the college game 15 years and duringthat time he has been a part of very successful programs bothin and out of the state of Mississippi. We welcome himback,” said Fanning.

Curtis’ primary responsibilities at MSU will includeassisting with game and practice preparations, recruiting,camps, coaches clinics, and scheduling.

A 15-year coaching veteran, Curtis was an assistant coachat Texas A&M for the 2002-03 season. He served as the topassistant for four years, 1998-2002, at Nebraska, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice andadvancing to the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament.

The Gulfport native was an assistant coach at the University of Mississippi, 1991-97,before spending the 1997-98 season at Mississippi State as an assistant. After graduatingfrom Mississippi in 1990, he served as the head coach at Clarke Junior College during the1990-91 season.

Overall, Curtis has been on the sidelines for eight NCAA Tournament appearances,including two Sweet 16 bids, while helping his teams to a 272-174 (.609) record.

“I’m very excited to come back to Mississippi State,” said Curtis. “Obviously, they havedone well in the past years and I look forward to improving and being a part of the futureand competing for championships in the best conference in the country. I really enjoyed mytime at Mississippi State before and feel very fortunate to come back home.”

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Mississippi State tennis playerRomain Ambert has earned All-American laurels for the second straightseason.

He was part of the 2003 All-Americamen’s tennis team named by theIntercollegiate Tennis Association. Hewas named to the team for the secondconsecutive season in singles and is oneof only nine MSU players ever to earnAll-America honors more than onceduring a career.

A native of Toulouse, France, Ambertfinished tied for 20th nationally in thefinal ITA singles rankings, qualifyinghim for All-American status in 2003.The nation’s preseason No. 3 player inSeptember, Ambert dropped from therankings after missing the fall with aninjury but worked his way back up thepolls during the spring. He compiled a15-8 overall record during the semesterand was rated as high as No. 15 duringthe term while holding down MSU’s No.1 position.

Last season, Ambert became State’s17th All-American after notching a veryimpressive 37-11 record, with those 37wins the third-most ever in a singleseason at MSU. He ended the campaignranked ninth in the country.

A senior-to-be in 2004, Ambert hascompiled career records of 79-30 insingles and 53-35 in doubles. He wasnamed the ITA’s National Player toWatch in 2002 and earned two awards ofdistinction this season as the SoutheastRegion’s recipient of the Arthur AsheSportsmanship & Leadership Award andthe Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award.He also is a three-time, first-team, All-Southeastern Conference selection, theonly Bulldog ever to earn first-teamhonors in each of his first three seasons.

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Sophomore Tiffany McWilliams wonMississippi State’s first NCAA trackindividual title in the 1500-meter run,setting a new meet record on the final dayof the 2003 NCAA OutdoorChampionships in June in Sacramento,Calif.

McWilliams crossed the finish line in4:06.75, breaking the record set in 1990 bymore than one and one-half seconds. She

�� topped her school record time by nearlyfour seconds.

“She did the race plan exactly as welaid it out,” head coach Al Schmidt said.“She did what she trained for all year.Everything came to fruition for us today.”

MSU’s women scored the most pointsin NCAA meet history and took home thesecond NCAA championship for the

university inwomen’sathleticshistory. Thedoublesteam ofJackie Holden and Claire Pollard tookhome the 1989 NCAA championshiptrophy in women’s tennis.

For MSU’s men, senior Kelvin Harrisfinished his collegiate career in eighthplace in the 110-meter hurdles. TheNatchez native clocked a time of 13.86 toearn his only All-American title.

“In God’s word, he says that the raceisn’t won by the swift but by those whoendure,” Harris said. “Getting a point atnationals is a victory for me. All my hardwork has paid off for myself and forMississippi State. I hope this isn’t the endto my track career, but this is the bestending for me to my collegiate career.”

His teammate senior Pierre Brownefinished second in the 100-meter dash. Heclocked in at 10.34, behind Mardy Scalesof Middle Tennessee. The Toronto nativetook home his sixth All-American award inhis career and second this year afterwinning the NCAA Indoor 60-meter title.

Junior Marquis Davis, who advanced tothe finals, false started and did not place.Davis, however, becomes a four-time All-American, taking home the honor in the200-meter dash.

Sophomore LaChristopher Lewis endedhis 2003 season ranking 10th in the 400-meter dash semifinals. The Coldwaternative ran a time of 45.86 and will benamed an All-American for the first time.

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Former MSU golfer Clay Homan is thenew head coach of the men’s golf team.

“The opportunity for me to come homeand coach for my alma mater is veryexciting and I couldn’t be more proud,”said Homan. “I intend to bring enthusiasmand a winning attitude to the golf programand Mississippi State University.”

Homan returns to his alma mater after afour-year stint as the head coach for theRice Owls in Houston, Texas, where hecoached three individual tournamentchampions and three NCAA Academic All-America honorees. He also coached 16golfers to Western Athletic Conference All-Academic accolades.

While at Rice, Homan served as thedirector of the annual Rice IntercollegiateGolf Tournament. He also organized fivefund-raising golf tournaments thatcollected more than $40,000 for theendowed scholarships at Rice.

“We are excited about the opportunityof Clay Homan returning to MississippiState,” MSU director of athletics LarryTempleton said. “His knowledge of thegame of golf and his experience incoaching within the collegiate ranks wereoutstanding strengths. His involvement inthe junior golf programs and golf circleswithin our state were an added plus aswell.”

�� During his professional golf career,

1996-1999, he was a member of the GoldenBear Professional Golf Tour (1998-1999)and the Tommy Armour Professional GolfTour (1995-1997). In 1999, he participatedin the PGA Southern Farm Bureau Classicand the FedEx/St. Jude Classic in 1996.

As a student, he qualified individuallyfor the 1995 NCAA East Regional and wasnamed the 1994 Kroger Intercollegiatechampion. In 1994, he earned MississippiAmateur medalist honors along with beinga U.S. Amateur Match Play participant.

Other college awards include being amember of the 1995 MSU golf team thatwas named a Southeastern Conference All-Academic Team, a 1995 second-team All-SEC honoree, and a two-time team co-captain. He also was named Most ValuablePlayer of the 1994-95 MSU team and wasawarded the 1994 and 1995 Carroll andFrancis Newsom Award.

Homan earned a bachelor of businessadministration degree in 1995.

Bulldog junior Paul Maholm was one of seven Southeastern Conference playersnamed to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-South Region first team thisspring.

Maholm, the eighth player selected overall and the first SEC athlete chosen in lastweek’s major league baseball draft, compiled a 9-2 record with a 2.76 earned runaverage. He registered a career-high 101 strikeouts in 107.2 innings.

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37A L U M N U S

��A reception for Bulldog football

fans attending the Mississippi State-University of Houston game isscheduled for Sept. 19.

The one-hour get-together willbegin at 6 p.m. at the HoustonLivestock Show and Rodeo-ReliantCenter. The event is sponsored bythe MSU AlumniAssociation,Bulldog Club, andthe MSUFoundation.

Two ticketchoices are available: to attend theMSU reception only, the cost is $10per person; the reception, plusroundtrip bus transportation fromthe Doubletree Post Oak Hotel to theReliant Center, is an additional $12per person for a total of $22. A cashbar and beverages will be offered atthe center. Parking at the ReliantCenter is $7 per vehicle.

The deadline to reserve a spot isSept. 5.

For more information, telephoneDianne Jackson, MSU AlumniAssociation, at 325-3444.

A 1981 agribusiness administration graduate and senior vice president of the FederalLand Bank Association of South Mississippi is the newly named national president of theMSU Alumni Association.

Gary A. Blair of Brookhaven will serve during the next year in a leadership role for themore than 94,000 MSU alumni. He most recently served as national first vice president andhas been a member of the board since 1995.Blair succeeds E. Allen Maxwell, a 1978 general business graduate and manager of ThePeoples Insurance Agency, who now assumes the title of immediate past president.Other newly elected 2003-04 association leaders are:

—S. Keith Winfield of Starkville, national first vice president. A 1970 accountinggraduate and partner in the accounting firm of Watkins, Ward and Stafford, he has served onthe association’s board of directors since 1993, most recently as national second vicepresident.

—Joe L. Bryan of Yazoo City, national second vice president. A 1963 agriculturaleconomics graduate, he is senior vice president of the Bank of Yazoo City. He has servedsince 1998 as Central 1 Region director.

—David W. Jones of Jackson, national treasurer. A vice president and IS auditormanager for Trustmark National Bank, Jones is a 1981 accounting graduate and is servinghis second year as treasurer. He was director of the Central Mississippi Chapter 1995-2001.Regional officers also recently elected include:

—Tommy Bryan of West Point, North 3 Region director. He is a 1971 businessmanagement graduate.

—C.M. “Bo” Reid, Central 2 Region director. He is a 1953 education graduate.—Joe Robison of Laurel, South 1 Region director.—John M. Shappley of Hattiesburg, Young Director-Southern Region. He is a 1997

finance and economics graduate.—David T. Cozart of Jackson, Tenn., out-of-state director. He is a 1986 biological

engineering graduate.

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Summer 2003

39A L U M N U S

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Nominations for national officers anddirectors of the Alumni Association arebeing sought prior to elections scheduledfor January 2004.

The Nominating Committee will presenta slate of names for election at theassociation’s annual business meetingduring Leadership Conference weekend.The new officers’ terms will begin on July1, 2004. No person is eligible to serve asdirector for more than two consecutiveterms.

The officer positions open forconsideration include national president,national first vice president, and nationalsecond vice president.

Positions on the national board open forconsideration include North 2 RegionDirector: Alcorn, Itawamba, Lee, Monroe,Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo,and Union chapters; Central 1 RegionDirector: Bolivar, Holmes, Humphreys,Leflore-Carroll, Sharkey-Issaquena,Sunflower, Washington, and Yazoochapters; South 3 Region Director:Southeast Mississippi (Forrest-Lamar-Marion-Perry), George-Greene, Hancock,Harrison-Stone, Jackson, and Pearl Riverchapters; Young Director–Northern Region:Alcorn, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Clay,Coahoma, DeSoto, Grenada-Montgomery,Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Lowndes,Marshall-Benton, Monroe, Oktibbeha,Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman,Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo,Tunica, Union, Webster, and Yalobushachapters; and Out-of-State Director.

A young director must be 32 years oldor younger at the end of the term to whichhe or she is elected. No state shall havemore than one out-of-state director.Current directors are from the states ofAlabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

All alumni are eligible to recommendnames for consideration. Send the namesto: Nominating Committee, MSU AlumniAssociation, P.O. Box AA, MississippiState, MS 39762-5526.

Recommendations must be received nolater than Oct. 1, 2003.

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Alumni and friends of Mississippi State can support the university and show theirBulldog pride at the same time by ordering an MSU license plate through their countylicense office. Proceeds from the sale of the MSU collegiate tags fund priority programsat the university.

Promoted by theMississippi State University Alumni Association

P.O. Box AAMississippi State, MS 39762-5526

662-325-7000www.msubulldogs.msstate.edu

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Keeping alumni connected is importantto the MSU Alumni Association. That iswhy the association has launched a new,secure Online Community exclusively forMississippi State alumni. Two featuresincluded in the community are an onlineAlumni Directory and ClassNotes.

Similar to the printed directory, theonline Alumni Directory is a powerful toolthat allows registered community membersa simple way to search for old friendseither by name, geography, class year, andoccupation. Or, depending on the users’networking needs, a more advanced searchfeature is available. There is also aMyContacts feature that allows members tobookmark frequent contacts for easyaccess.

Registered members also can updatetheir personal information and postinformation regarding births, engagements,marriages, moves, and career changes viathe ClassNotes feature.

Access to the Alumni OnlineCommunity is limited to only MississippiState alumni who log on using a User IDand personal password. There are no feesor obligations associated with thecommunity. To register, go to the alumniWeb site at www.msubulldogs.msstate.edu,click on online directory, and follow theinstructions to set up your password.

The Alumni Online Community is anexclusive service that alumni can enjoy andfind to be a valuable resource for everydayuse.

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Summer 2003

40A L U M N U S

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30 MSU vs. Oregon; Alumni Association Pre-game Open House, Hunter HenryCenter; begins 2 ½ hours prior to game.

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12 MSU reception at Tulane; 6 p.m., Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel indowntown New Orleans. Contact Dianne Jackson at 662-325-3444 to makereservations.

19 MSU reception at Houston, Texas, 6 p.m. at Houston Livestock Show andRodeo—Reliant Center. Contact Dianne Jackson at 662-325-3444 to makereservations.

19-21 MSU vs. Houston travel package. Make reservations today at 888-367-8781or visit Web site at www.TotalSportsTravel.com.

27 MSU vs. LSU; Alumni Association pre-game open house, Hunter HenryCenter; begins 2 ½ hours prior to game.

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1 Deadline for nominations for Alumni Association national officers anddirectors for term beginning July 1, 2004.

3-4 Famous Maroon Alumni Band 2003 reunion. For information, call KarenHudson at 662-325-2284.

4 MSU vs. Vanderbilt; Alumni Association pre-game open house, HunterHenry Center; begins 2 ½ hours prior to game.

11 Homecoming—MSU vs. Memphis; Alumni Association pre-game openhouse, Hunter Henry Center; begins 2 ½ hours prior to game.

24 MSU reception at Kentucky; 6 p.m., Hyatt Regency-Lexington. ContactDianne Jackson at 662-325-3444 to make reservations.

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��The MSU Alumni Association has

added a new service to benefit recentgraduates and young alumni. The AlumniLoan Consolidation Program offers alumnithe opportunity to consolidate their studentloans, lock-in a fixed interest rate, andreduce monthly student loan payments.

A majority of graduating students,alumni, and parents with outstandingstudent loans may be able to savethousands of dollars through this program.

The Alumni Loan ConsolidationProgram is being offered to provide the“best-of-class” services for young alumni.

Visit www.alcp.org and selectMississippi State from the menu or calltoll-free 1-800-930-7535 for additionalinformation and an application for this newalumni benefit.

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GradMed is the ideal choice for newgraduates or alumni between jobs whoneed short-term major medical insurancecoverage. It’s a premier service of theMississippi State Alumni Association.

After graduation, student healthcoverage and health insurance protectionprovided by parents’ policies end. Andalumni between jobs may be withoutcoverage. GradMed can cover you from 60to 180 days—while you land that new jobor wait for employee benefits to kick in.Subsequent policies may also be availablefor additional 60-180 day periods, ifneeded.

Both accidents and illnesses arecovered by GradMed. Pre-existingconditions are excluded. Rates arereasonable and coverage is immediate.

Visit www.GradMed.com/msstate toapply online instantly or call 1-800-922-1245 for information and an application.

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Summer 2003

41A L U M N U S

Charles E. Bardsley, who died in April,will be remembered for many things,among them his musical talents and hisgenerosity to his alma mater.

Bardsley shared a richhistory with Mississippi StateUniversity. He and his wifeViola planned carefully tostrengthen their ties to theuniversity through financialsupport. They began theirsupport in 1996 by establishingan annual scholarship in theCollege of Veterinary Medicine.

During Dr. Bardsley’slifetime, the couple continuedto give generous outright giftsto their annual scholarshipfund. They also gave numerousgift annuities and made a significantbequest to the university. Proceeds fromthese deferred gifts willestablish an endowedscholarship in veterinarymedicine.

“Dr. Bardsley and his wifeshared an appreciation for theimportance of education andscience for the betterment ofour society,” said JohnThomson, dean of the Collegeof Veterinary Medicine.

Thomson said the CVMscholarship fund will sustaintheir legacy at the university.“The students receiving thebenefits from their generositywill address the health andwell being of animals andassociated human andenvironmental health issuesthrough modern veterinarymedical science,” he said.

A native of Newport, R.I.,Bardsley was retired from theArmy Air Corps after serving in World WarII. He received a bachelor’s degree inagriculture from the University of RhodeIsland in 1948 and a master’s and doctorate

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from Mississippi State in 1950 and 1959,respectively.

Bardsley had a distinguished career inthe development ofpesticides and relatedwork with the U.S.Department ofAgriculture. He wasvice president of theAgritec Co. in Houston,Texas, and was aresearch manager withMallinckrodt ChemicalCo. in St. Louis, Mo.

He also taught anddirected graduateresearch at ClemsonUniversity and was aresearch associate with

American Can Co. in Neenah, Wis. Heheld two patents and authored 48 scientific

articles and book chapters.An accomplished trumpet

player, he wrote andarranged music for a numberof bands, including MSU’sFamous Maroon Band.While at Mississippi State,he was a friend of banddirector W. Thomas Westand maintained an interest inmusic. He was author of aband march entitled “Mr.Ben,” named for thenuniversity president Ben F.Hilbun. Another of hiscontributions was “TheStephen D. Lee March”named in honor of MSU’sfirst president.

For his musicalaccomplishments, Bardsleywas elected to the Hall ofFame for the MississippiCoast Jazz Society in 1991.

Following his retirement, he and his wiferesided in Ocean Springs.

A charitable gift annuity is acontract between a donor and theMississippi State UniversityFoundation. In return for a charitablegift of $10,000 or more, theFoundation will provide the donorand/or another beneficiary aguaranteed fixed income for life orfor a specific period of time. The giftmay be in the form of cash or otherproperty, such as appreciated stock.There are no fees or other costs inestablishing a gift annuity.

In addition to receiving fixedpayments, benefits to donors alsomay include:

• Partial tax-free payments.• A charitable deduction that

will help reduce income taxes.• The ability to support

Mississippi State at the end ofthe annuity contract, with noprobate, delay, or additionalexpenses.

Current payout rates can be ashigh as 11.5 percent. For moreinformation on how a gift annuitymight meet your estate planningneeds, please contact:

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Summer 2003

42A L U M N U S

Sylvia Byrd takes her role as anacademic adviser very seriously. Shestrives to be more than a signature on aform for her students; she is a counselor, amentor, and a friend.

For her work helping students scheduletheir academic coursework and meetrequirements necessary for graduation,Mississippi State recently honored Byrdwith one of its highest accolades. She wasnamed the outstanding adviser for 2003and earned the right to compete with herpeers for national recognition.

Now, Byrd is receiving an OutstandingAdvising Award from the NationalAcademic Advising Association for facultyacademic advising, making her part of anelite group. MSU faculty advisers havebeen included in NACADA’s top awardcategories for the past decade.

Byrd joined the MSU faculty in 1994.She is assistant professor of humansciences and serves as dietetic internship/graduate studies program director for theSchool of Human Sciences. She teaches

graduate level courses, advises students,and conducts and supervises researchprojects.

“Sylvia Byrd demands excellence fromher students and works hard to bring outthe very best from them,” said GaryJackson, associate professor and interimdirector of the School of Human Sciencesin the College of Agriculture and LifeSciences.

Communication, Byrd believes, is a keyelement in advising. “I don’t think youknow students until they know you careabout what’s going on in their lives—Iknow their faces and I hear their concerns,”she said.

Strong values made Byrd the kind ofteacher and adviser she is today—one whois not afraid to give advice to studentsabout more than just academics.

Growing up on a farm in North Carolinaprovided Byrd with a strong sense of rightand wrong. Her mother was a homeeconomics teacher, her dad a farmer. She

�� credits her parents with instilling in hervalues and teaching her lessons about life.

“I have always been interested in homeeconomics, foods, and nutrition, I guess

it’s just in my genes,” Byrd said. “I wasinvolved in 4-H growing up and in mynational project I listed my goal in lifewas to become a college professor.”

Gifted faculty advisers are essential toMississippi State and its students. Toensure future recognition for thesetalented faculty members, the universityis seeking to build a permanentendowment through private support.

Currently, Mississippi State presentsan annual award to recognize outstandingperformance in academic advising—oneof the most important responsibilities to astudent by a faculty member. Theamount of the award is typically $1,000and is funded by the university.

“To have an endowment that wouldfund such advising awards in perpetuityis to promote and achieve excellence in

�� advising,” said George Rent, associateprovost for academic affairs.

“When we recognize a faculty memberfor an outstanding contribution, weestablish a role model that others willfollow,” Rent said. “The end result is thatour students are better served because ofthe quality of the activity has beenimproved.”

An endowment is made up of investedmoney donated by alumni and othersupporters that is placed in a permanentfund. Some of its income is disbursed forthe purpose designated by the donor. Theremaining income goes back into the fundto ensure that the endowment always will

provide the same benefit as when it wasfirst created.

A gift of at least $100,000 couldcreate an endowment to honor facultyadvisers, according to Dennis Prescott,vice president for external affairs.

Establishing such an endowmentwould allow Mississippi State torecognize several outstanding facultyadvisers each year. For example, a$100,000 endowment would generate$4,000 in earnings. The overall winnercould receive $2,500 and $1,000 and$500 could be awarded to the runners-up.

For more information on creating anendowment to support academic advisingawards, contact the MSU Foundation.

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Summer 2003

43A L U M N U S

Byrd continues to be an asset to theMSU faculty, according to Jackson. Shehas successfully advised more than 100students through the dietetic internshipprogram/graduate studies program in theSchool of Human Sciences. “This is aremarkable achievement considering thetime frame, rigorous course work, andnational accreditation standards,” saidJackson. During a recent site visit by theAmerican Dietetic Association’sCommission on Accreditation for DieteticsEducation, the site team, according toJackson, indicated that Byrd’s work asprogram director was superior.

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“When faculty think comprehen-sively like Dr. Byrd, without forgettingthe importance of excellent academicadvising, the university communityprogresses,” Jackson said.

Byrd often includes her studentsin activities with her family.As a wife and mother of twochildren, she works hard tomaintain a balance in her

life, often struggling to dividetime between home and work.

“It is very important to me tobe a good role model forstudents, both personally andprofessionally,” Byrd said. “I tryto show them how importantfamily and career are to me andhow I fulfill my obligations toboth.”

Besides the traditionalplaque, as top adviser Byrdreceived a $1,000 check. Shepromptly donated her“winnings” back to the School of

Human Sciences for food and nutritionstudents.

Byrd’s educational backgroundincludes degrees from Appalachian StateUniversity in North Carolina and theUniversity of North Carolina at

Greensboro, as well as adoctorate in nutritionfrom Mississippi State.She is a member of the

American DieteticAssociation and theMississippi DieteticAssociation and chairedthe Council on Educationand Research 1998-1999.She served as Area 3coordinator for DieteticEducators ofPractitioners, a practicegroup of the AmericanDietetic Association,2000-02.

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�� Jennifer E. Jennings of Starkville is

the first student to receive MississippiState’s Jerry D. Dickerson Jr.Memorial Scholarship.

The Mississippi Delta CommunityCollege graduate will enter theuniversity in August as a juniorpsychology major.

The $1,500 award is a memorial tothe 1983 MSU alumnus and Durantnative who was a casualty of the Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attack on thePentagon.

“In the days following 9/11,Mississippi State and the MSU

Foundation endowed a scholarship in thename of Lt. Col. Jerry Dickerson,” saidfoundation executive director RichardArmstrong. The scholarship “ensures thatthis and future generations will remember

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and honor Lt. Col. Dickerson and thethings for which he lived,” he added.

For additional information about theDickerson scholarship, telephone AmyCagle of the MSU Foundation at (662)325-1006.

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Summer 2003

44A L U M N U S

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A $2.5 million donation by Fred E.Carl Jr. of Greenwood will supportincreased small town design research andeducation at Mississippi State’s College ofArchitecture.

Announced in early July, the majorcommitment to the university by thepresident of Viking Range Corp. andViking Capital Ventures will endow thecollege’s Small Town Center, nowrenamed the Carl Small Town Center.

Carl, a fourth-generation LefloreCounty entrepreneur and former MSUarchitecture student, long has been amajor supporter of student scholarships,student recruiting efforts, and specificsmall town projects undertaken by thecollege.

College Dean James West said the giftwill ensure stable funding for operational,staffing, and materials needs of the centerfor years to come.

“This endowment by Fred Carl andViking Range Corp. to create the CarlSmall Town Center will provide resourcesto expand the scope and depth of thecenter’s involvement and increase thenumber of communities we serve,” Westsaid.

The center has developed a nationalreputation for its assistance to ruralMississippi towns with various aestheticand structural challenges. Established in1979—six years after the state’s onlyuniversity program in architecture itselfwas launched—the non-profit unit alsoutilizes its community projects as real-world teaching tools for architecturemajors.

“The Small Town Center always hasbelieved in the value of good design tobring order and meaning to the builtenvironment in support of a higher qualityof life,” West said. “Fred Carl hasembodied this philosophy in his businessand his work and this gift is anotherexample of his personal commitment tomake it a reality in the small towns ofMississippi.”

West said the center now will beequipped to engage more students andfaculty in community assistance projects.“This focused engagement helpscommunities enhance their physicalenvironments and create stable, safe andhealthy towns that reveal their uniqueheritages and diverse values,” he added.

College alumna Kimberly Brown saidthe center she directs has worked with orresearched about 24 projects over the pastyear. Of that number, all have involvedMississippi towns and communities, sheadded.

Among some recent efforts cited byBrown: a transit feasibility study forStarkville, a variety of architecture-relatedchallenges in the Mississippi Delta town ofJonestown, and the design of Habitat forHumanity homes in Meridian andStarkville.

“I join Dean West and everyone else inthe College of Architecture in thanking Mr.Carl for his generous support,” Brown said.“These are exciting times for architectureresearch and education at MississippiState, especially now that we have thisendowment to be used to promote the roleof architectural research in education insmall town design.”

Founded by Carl in 1987, Viking Rangemanufactures and markets professional-grade kitchen appliances for the home.With headquarters on historic Cotton Rowin downtown Greenwood, the companyemployees more than 1,000 in threeLeflore County manufacturing facilities.The company also is constructing aresearch and development complexadjacent to the MSU campus that willserve as an engineering testing ground fornew Viking products.

West credited the Carl gift to thebusinessman’s personal experience withthe center’s staff. In 2002, Viking provideda grant to investigate the potential forrevitalizing the much-declined CottonRow, a five-block area that fronts the

Yazoo River along Howard Street. Thisfollowed other projects in Greenwood,including a design by the Small TownCenter for the redevelopment of theimpoverished Baptist Town neighborhood.

Recently, the company also renovatedand reopened the Hotel Irving, anotherhistoric structure near Cotton Row. Nowcalled The Alluvian, the dramaticallymodernized facility serves as an upscaleresidence for visiting Viking distributorsfrom around the country, as well as asteady stream of Delta tourists.

In addition to the College ofArchitecture, Carl serves on the MSUCollege of Business and Industry’sadvisory board and MSU Foundation’sboard of directors. He also is a boardmember of Trustmark National Bank,Mississippi Partnership for EconomicDevelopment, and Greenwood-LefloreCounty Economic DevelopmentFoundation.

Carl was inducted into the MississippiBusiness Hall of Fame in 2002.

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Summer 2003

46A L U M N U S

��Jimmye S. Hillman of Tucson, Ariz.,

professor emeritus at the University ofArizona, Tucson, has been awarded anhonorary degree, Doutor Honoris Causa, bythe Federal University of Brazil for“forging and consolidating cooperativeefforts . . . for an entire generation.”

��Emmett Tynes (M.S. ’54) of Brandon

is retired as a soil conservationist for theUSDA Soil Conservation Service and fromthe real estate business.

��Ernie Moore (M.B.A. ’63) of Fort

Lauderdale, Fla., has won a gold medal induplicate bridge in the South FloridaSenior Games. He is a certified instructorand director of the Fort Lauderdale BridgeClub, which recently was named the No. 1club in the U.S. and Canada by theAmerican Contract Bridge League.

��Hassell Franklin of Houston, president

and CEO of Franklin Corp., has beeninducted into the Mississippi Business Hallof Fame for his contributions to the growth,development, and impact of business in thestate.

��W.G. “Mickey” Holliman Jr. of

Belden, president and CEO of FurnitureBrands International in Tupelo, has beeninducted into the Mississippi Business Hallof Fame for his contributions to the growth,development, and impact of business in thestate.

��Jim Corley of Lucedale, a retired

mechanical engineer, has completed a stonesculpture of his grandmother, longtimeLucedale librarian Alma Lumpkin. The

sculpture recently was dedicated by localofficials and placed in front of the newGeorge County Public Library.

��H. Scott Williams Jr. of Lucedale,

structural engineering manager and designengineer for Volkert & Associates inMobile, Ala., received the 2002 Engineerof the Year award from the Mobile AreaCouncil of Engineers.

��Norman Robinson of Atlanta, Ga., has

been elected treasurer of the board ofdirectors of the U.S. Poultry and EggAssociation. He is senior director of liveproduction for Goldkist Inc. in Atlanta.

��Joseph V. Pace III (M.S. ’67) of

Knoxville, Tenn., retired head of theRadiation Shielding Group at Oak RidgeNational Laboratory, recently graduatedsumma cum laude from Roane StateCommunity College, with a degree inphysical therapy. He is working at BaptistHospital West in Knoxville.

Peavey Electronics Corp., whosefounder and CEO is Hartley Peavey,recently won nine Music & SoundRetailers’ Music & Sound Awards at theWinter 2003 National Association of MusicMerchants Exposition.

��Calvin H. Gray (M.P.A. ’69) of

Georgetown, Texas, is scoutmaster for BoyScout Troop 405 in Georgetown. In the 16years of his tenure, the troop has produceda remarkable 103 Eagle Scouts,representing about 30 percent of the troop’smembership during that time.

Hal P. Staten of Oxford has retiredfrom USDA Rural Development following35 years of service, most recently ascommunity development manager.

�Patricia Gray of Galveston, Texas,

state representative in the Texas House ofRepresentatives, has received the AmericanMedical Association’s Dr. Nathan DavisAward for Outstanding GovernmentService. It is the organization’s highestaward for public officials. An outspokenhealth-care advocate, she was first electedto the House in 1992. The award waspresented at a Washington, D.C., ceremonyin February.

��Linda C. Gray of Georgetown, Texas,

is the chartered organization representativefor Boy Scout Troop 405 in Georgetown.During the 16 years of her volunteer workwith the troop, she and her scoutmasterhusband have seen an impressive 103 of itsmembers earn the designation of EagleScout.

�Burton B. Hosch Jr. has

been named division vicepresident for the PeoplesBank & Trust Co. He is apast national president of theMSU Alumni Association.

John M. McCullouch ofJackson, president ofBellSouth-Mississippi, hasbeen appointed to the boardof directors for the BellSouth Foundation.He also is chairman of the board for BigBrothers Big Sisters of Mississippi.

C.D. Pangallo (Ed.D. ’73) ofWashington, D.C., has been promoted tomanaging director of continuing educationfor the American Institute of Architects.He previously was director of the AIA’sCenter for Diversified Services.

Karl H. Smith of Lucedale owns andraces quarter horses, and recently hishorse, Toy Dreams, won the Alabama BredFuturity RG3 at Delta Downs in Vinton,La.

Elizabeth B. Barrett of Manhattan,

Kan., associate professor of hotel,restaurant, institution management anddietetics at Kansas State University, hasreceived the 2003 Commerce Bank Award

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Summer 2003

47A L U M N U S

for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching.The award includes a $2,500 honorarium.

Marsha Wedgeworth Blackburn ofBrentwood, Tenn., was elected to the U.S.House of Representatives in November2002. She won the 7th District seatvacated by fellow Republican Rep. EdBryant. Blackburn had served four years asa state senator, and previously was film andmusic commissioner for the state ofTennessee. She is the owner of MarketStrategies, a promotion, event management,and product marketing business.

Ann Chadwick (M.S. ’76) ofAlexandria, Va., retired executive directorof the American Association of Family andConsumer Sciences, has received thatorganization’s 2003 Distinguished ServiceAward.

��Lee Hedegaard of Lucedale, general

manager and CEO of Singing RiverElectric Power Assoc., has received theBoss of the Year award from the GreaterGeorge County Economic DevelopmentFoundation and Chamber of Commerce.He also received an award for his supportof the George County High School ROTCprogram.

Pat Pennington Jackson of Athens,Ala., executive director of the Hospice ofLimestone County, has received theAthens/Limestone Chamber of CommercePublic Service Award.

��James S. Pounds of Booneville,

assistant district attorney in the 1stJudicial District, has received theBooneville Junior Auxiliary’s 2003Outstanding Citizen award for his work asdeveloper and coordinator of the KidsTown playground project in Booneville.

��Ray C. Dillon has been named

president and chief executive officer ofDeltic Timber Corp., headquartered in ElDorado, Ark. He previously was executivevice president for Gaylord Container Corp.

Dawn T. Jones ofHattiesburg, a certifiedpublic accountant, hasbeen promoted toshareholder with theaccounting firm ofNicholson & Co.

��Samuel T. Nichols Jr. Of Arlington,

Va., has been promoted to the rank ofcolonel in the United States Army.

Rama N. Reddy of Little Rock, Ark.,professor of systems engineering at theUniversity of Arkansas at Little Rock, hasreceived the Ted and Virginia BaileyFaculty Excellence Award in Teaching.

��Vess Johnson (M.S. ’86) of Austin,

Texas, has been named president and CEOof Silicon Metrics Corp., a leader in thefield of Internet provider characterizationand modeling. Johnson previously wasSilicon’s senior vice president ofoperations.

��Graeme Lockaby of Waverly, Ala.,

professor and acting associate dean forresearch in the School of Forestry andWildlife Sciences at Auburn University, hasreceived the 2003 Science Research Awardfrom the Environmental Law Institute’sWetlands Program.

��Dean Burchfield (M.Ed. ’89) is chair

of the Social Science Division at ItawambaCommunity College in Fulton and adjunctprofessor of history at Delta StateUniversity in Cleveland.

Jerri Caveness Hines of Franklin,Mass., has written and released a book,They Called Him Coach, A Biography ofCoach Gerald Caveness. The subject ofthe book was a member of the MSUbasketball team 1953-54, and was an All-SEC selection both years.

�Danny Thomas of

Jackson has been namedvice president of financeand administration forKLLM TransportServices Inc. Hepreviously was the firm’sdirector of planning andreporting.

��Wade P. Crabb of Jackson, Mo., has

been promoted to branch operationsmanager with Ford Motor Credit Co. at itsCape Girardeau, Mo., office.

��LeaAnn Cavin Knight has been named

director of counseling and recruitment atCopiah-Lincoln Community College inWesson.

��Beth C. Fleming

(M.S. ’99) of Vicksburg,acting director of theEnvironmental Center forthe U.S. Army EngineerResearch andDevelopment Center, hasbeen named aDistinguished Fellow byMSU’s James WorthBagley College of Engineering.

��John D. Brady of Columbus, an

attorney, has joined thelaw firm of Mitchell,McNutt & Sams in thefirm’s Columbus office.

Robert Pilgrim ofAustin, Texas, alandscape architect, hasjoined TBG Partners, alandscape architectureand land planning firmbased in Austin.

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Summer 2003

48A L U M N U S

Alan K. Sudduth of Pascagoula hasbeen appointed county administrator by theJackson County Board of Supervisors.

Bill Syed of Dallas, Texas, has beenpromoted to chairman and chief operatingofficer at Gillani Inc., a supplier of supplychain management software.

��W.R. Lee Adams of Ridgeland, a

certified public accountant, has beenadmitted as a member of the CPA firm ofHaddox Reid Burkes & Calhoun inJackson.

Kevin Aeschliman is a registered nursein the adult emergency department atUniversity Medical Center in Jackson. Hepreviously was an emergency roomtechnician at the medical center.

Phillip Woo has been promoted fromattorney to counsel by Exxon Mobil Corp.He works at ExxonMobil Chemical Co. inBaytown, Texas.

��James W. Cagle of Jackson has become

a shareholder with Horne CPA Group. Hisspecialty is performing audits of health-care entities.

Stacy W. Swafford of Brandon hasjoined Southern Pipe and Supply as aregional industrial waterworksrepresentative.

�Brian Anderson (M.S. ’98) of

Mansfield, La., physical education teacherand baseball coach at Stanley High School,coached his baseball team to the 2002 statechampionship. That year, he was namedDistrict Coach of the Year, All-Area Coachof the Year, and All-State Coach of theYear. In 2003, he repeated as District andAll-Area Coach of the Year and waschosen to coach the Louisiana all-stargame.

Sarah MooneyTracy of Ridgeland, anenvironmental engineerfor the MississippiDepartment ofEnvironmental Quality,has been named YoungEngineer of the Year bythe MississippiEngineering Society.She recently served as president of theJackson chapter of MES and is president ofthe Bio Engineering Advisory Board forthe Bagley College of Engineering at MSU.

Steven Verner of Nashville, Tenn., isemployed with Gresham, Smith & Partnersarchitects.

Kenneth T. Wilson, a lieutenant in theU.S. Navy, has completed a six-monthdeployment to the Mediterranean Sea andArabian Gulf while assigned to the aircraftcarrier USS Harry S. Truman.

�Becky Miller Verner of Nashville,

Tenn., is employed with the TennesseeState Museum.

��Kris Mallard has joined the U.S.

House of Representatives’ Committee onAppropriations-Defense as a professionalstaff member. She previously was a budgetanalyst for the Department of the Navy.

Damon J. Williams has joined UnionPlanters Bank as assistant vice presidentand branch sales manager of the Madisonoffice.

��Pernille Christensen

of Smyrna, Ga., apracticing internarchitect with NilesBolton Associates, hasreceived the 2003 J.Neel Reid Prize from theGeorgia Trust forHistoric Preservation.The $5,000 fellowshipwill fund her research trip to Venice, Italy,

this summer to study the work of renownedarchitectural writer John Ruskin.

Lee A. Durrett of New Albany, anattorney, has joined the law firm ofMitchell, McNutt & Sams in the firm’sTupelo office.

Thomas Duane Gordon of Canton,communications and programs officer forthe Community Foundation of GreaterJackson, has been named a Hull Fellow bythe Southeastern Council on Foundations.The program recognizes and encouragesemerging young leaders in philanthropy.

��Cindi Rayburn Baddour of Hernando

has joined Hawthorn Pharmaceuticals as asales representative for northwestMississippi. She recently received anM.B.A. degree from Belhaven College.

Jacqueline DiCicco of Columbus, aconsultant and owner of Skin Care Clinic,has received an Alumni AchievementAward from Mississippi University forWomen.

��Jennifer Edwards of Nashville, Tenn.,

created the stage and floral design for “Ataste of Romance with Connye Florance,” arecent performance at Nashville’s BelcourtTheater. She previously coordinatedconcept and installation crews for SandyRose Set Designs of Los Angeles, Calif.

Matthew Wilson has been acceptedinto the juris doctor program at RegentUniversity in Virginia Beach, Va.

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Mississippi State Alumnus is pleasedto publish photos of our graduates inClass News, along with word of theiraccomplishments.

To ensure that your photosubmissions for Class News are usable,please provide us with studio-qualityprints or electronic files in JPEG orTIFF format. Electronic submissions(via e-mail or CD) should be 300 dpiminimum and generated on PC-basedequipment. We cannot use Macintoshfiles, laser prints, or photos clippedfrom newspapers, magazines, or otherpublications.

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Summer 2003

49A L U M N U S

��Barry Iseminger of

Tuscaloosa, Ala., hasjoined Gulf States PaperCorp. as planer millsupervisor for the WoodProducts Division at theMoundville, Ala.,sawmill.

Adrianne Johnsonhas joined Rock-TennCo. in Eutaw, Ala., as controller.

Sarah Wax Nicholas of Jackson ispublic relations and marketing associatefor the Institutions of Higher Learning.

Elizabeth Jones Williams (M.S. ’01)of Waco, Texas, has been named spiritcoordinator at Baylor University.

Suzanne Berry Williams of Florien,La., is an assistant extension agent, 4-Hyouth development and charactereducation, for Louisiana State University.She is assigned to the DeSoto ParishAgriculture Center Extension office.

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��Joe Galbraith of Orlando, Fla., has

been named assistant director ofcommunications for Florida Citrus Sports.He will continue to serve as press boxmanager for the Mazda Tangerine Bowland the Capital One Bowl.

��Alyssa Boswell of Memphis, Tenn., has

joined ALSAC/St. Jude Children’sResearch Hospital as event marketingrepresentative.

Emily Carson has been accepted intothe juris doctor program at the Universityof Alabama.

Keith Gibson of Charlotte, Mich., is abroadcast meteorologist at KFYR-TV inBismarck, N.D. KFYR-TV serves centraland western North Dakota.

Gregor Scott Harris of Collinsville,Ill., lead forecaster for the 15thOperational Weather Squadron at ScottAir Force Base, has been promoted toscience and technical operations officer.He also received Civilian of the Quarterhonors.

Isaac G. Holman of Nashville, Tenn.,has joined Earl Swensson Associatesarchitectural and design firm as an interiordesigner.

Katherine J. Newbold, a seaman inthe U.S. Navy, has completed Navy basictraining at Recruit Training Command,Great Lakes, Ill.

�Chris Cox of Columbus has joined

Avid Engineering of Palm Harbor, Fla., asa landscape architect.

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Summer 2003

50A L U M N U S

Greta Ann Allen, April 23, 2003, toRandy Allen (’87) and Amy Arledge Allen(’92) of Olive Branch.

Morgan and Brandon Anthony, April 22,2003, to William Anthony (’95) and wifeKristin of Huntsville, Ala.

William Pearson Barber, Dec. 16, 2002, toChad Barber (’96) and Tonya MorganBarber (’96) of Madison.

Eden Jade Bedsaul, Aug. 30, 2002, toDouglas Bedsaul (’99) and wife Shannon ofStarkville.

Emma Grace and Cecila Lee Blackledge,Oct. 12, 2002, to Brett Blackledge (’92) andwife Elizabeth of Chattanooga, Tenn.

Have you or a Mississippi State alumnus you know received professional recognition? Share the word with former classmates through theclass news section in Alumnus and help the Alumni Association keep track of you at the same time. Complete the form and return it to:Mississippi State Alumnus, P.O. Box 5325, Mississippi State, MS 39762-5325, fax 662-325-7455, e-mail [email protected]

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Catherine Anne Bourn, Jan. 29, 2003,to Kimberly Moody Bourn (’93) andTrey Bourn (’97) of Ridgeland.

Matthew Joseph Cafiero Jr., March 24,2003, to Mary Alice Guest Cafiero (’90)and husband Matthew of Dallas, Texas.

Cory Davis Crabb, May 28, 2002, toWade P. Crabb (’85) and wife Karen ofJackson, Mo.

Tanner Michelle Fromm, March 20,2003, to Michael Fromm (’88) and KayFromm (’89) of Madison.

Margaret Shea Haggerty, Nov. 19,2002, to Timothy S. Haggerty (’85) andwife Bernadette of Houston, Texas.

John Connor Harrell, April 8, 2003,to John Ramey Harrell (’99) and wifeBridget of Carthage.

Sydney Elaine and Madison FrancesHorel, March 15, 2003, to Phillip Horel(’93) and wife Sara of Houston, Texas.

Caleb Nikolas Knedlik, Feb. 28,2002, to Bobbie Sanford Knedlik (’97)and Andrew Knedlik (’97) of Cullman,Ala.

Charles Griffin Landrum, April 1,2003, to Jim Landrum (’88) andLeAnne McGahey Landrum (’94) ofColumbus.

Isabel Elaine and Olivia KouryLeatherman, Jan. 28, 2003, to Bryan D.Leatherman (’93) and wife Sissy ofLittle Rock, Ark.

Gillian Sophia May, March 28, 2003,to Jeffrey D. May (’98) and GinaHolmes May (’99) of Ocean Springs.

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Summer 2003

51A L U M N U S

Ethan Thomas McGrath, Feb. 16, 2003,to Stephen McGrath (’90) and wife Jaimeof Mexia, Texas.

Brooke Elizabeth Molen, March 13,2003, to Leigh Webster Molen (’95) andGreg Molen (’97) of Jackson.

Ellen Kavanay Overstreet, July 18,2002, to Kreg Overstreet (’97) and EmilyBatson Overstreet (’97) of Wiggins.

Savannah Leigh Phipps, Jan. 28, 2003,to Shannon Robertson Phipps (’96) andhusband Steve of Milton, Fla.

Leo W. Seal IV, February 7, 2003, toLeo W. Seal III (’00) and Farrah JaudonSeal (’00) of Bay St. Louis.

Clayton Paul Sheffield, Dec. 20, 2002,to Tony Sheffield (’96) and wife Nicki ofGrenada.

Jack Douglas Sledge, Jan. 24, 2003, toCarlton Sledge (’92) and wife Angie ofPetal.

Denton Harper Smith, Feb. 27, 2003, toNatalie Moses Smith (’92) and husbandChuck of Jackson.

Morgan Claire Smith, Nov. 22, 2002, toGil Smith (’94) and Kendall HarrisonSmith (’95, M.S. ’00) of Vicksburg.

Samuel Colton Smith, May 12, 2003, toHugh C. Smith V (’97) and wife Emily.

Noah Lee Stansbury, April 26, 2002, toMeo Mellen Stansbury (’92) and husbandRick of Starkville.

Thomas Henry Tucker, June 11, 2002, toShannon Belk Tucker (’91) and ThomasC. Tucker (’92) of Starkville.

Preston James Turner, May 26, 2003, toJoe M. Turner (’92) and RosemarySpeakman Turner (’95) of Tucker, Ga.

Riley Elizabeth Verner, March 14, 2003,to Steven Verner (’93) and Becky MillerVerner (’94) of Nashville, Tenn.

Catherine Grace White, Sept. 4, 2002, toAllen White (’86) and Tracy Byrd White(’89, ’92) of Austin, Texas.

Jeremy Allen Willoughby, Oct. 23, 2002,to Lynda Palmertree Willoughby (’93)and Paul Allen Willoughby (’94) ofCharlotte, N.C.

Kayla Marshall Young, Sept. 10, 2002,to Camille Scales Young (’94, M.S. ’96)and husband Keith of Madison.

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Harry Charles Fleming Simrall (’34, ’35) of Starkville, longtime faculty member anddean of engineering at Mississippi State, died April 12, 2003. He was 90.

A Memphis, Tenn., native, he received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineeringand a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at Mississippi State in 1934 and 1935,respectively. After receiving a master’s degree in electrical engineering at theUniversity of Illinois in 1939, he worked for Westinghouse Electrical Corp.

Simrall served in numerous capacities at Mississippi State, beginning as a part-timeinstructor in 1934, followed by advancements as assistant, associate, and full professorand head of the Department of Electrical Engineering. In 1957, he became dean of theCollege of Engineering. The Simrall Electrical and Computer Engineering Building atMSU was dedicated in his honor upon his retirement in 1978.

Jesse Edward Harmond (’32)—96,Corvallis, Ore.; retired engineer for theU.S. Department of Agriculture’s SeedHarvesting and Processing Lab at OregonState University, March 30, 2003.

George W. Howard (’32)—90, Tucson,Ariz.; retired director of the EngineeringExperiment Station, University of Arizona-Tucson, former technical director of theEngineer Research and DevelopmentLaboratories, and World War II veteran,Feb. 24, 2002.

Levi Dempsey (’35)—93, Starkville;retired petroleum products engineer for thePetroleum Products Laboratory at MSU,May 27, 2003.

James U. Blanchard Jr. (’37)—Metairie, La.; retired vice president forChicago Bridge and Iron Co., Dec. 27,2002.

John Murrah Lovorn (’37)—87,Canton; retired director of the Rural AreasDevelopment Program for Framers HomeAdministration, consultant, civicvolunteer, and World War II veteran, March6, 2003.

John Henry Mize (’38)—87,Booneville; retail business owner, April 20,2003.

Ethan A. Porter (’39)—85, Pattison;farmer, former president of the MississippiCattlemen’s Association, and World War IIveteran, May 28, 2003.

Elmo Fondren McClain (’40)—87,Miami Lakes, Fla.; retired manager forHertz Auto Rental and World War IIveteran, Feb. 18, 2003.

Joseph Frank Poole Sr. (’41)—86,DeKalb; retired civil service worker inOkinawa, Japan, Dec. 27, 2002.

Alonzo L. Benton Jr. (’43)—79,Brandon; retired vice president of humanresources for Jitney Jungle and World WarII veteran, Feb. 28, 2003.

Joel Davis Branscome (’47)—80,Grenada; retired owner and operator ofGlenwild Livestock Exchange and WorldWar II veteran, May 17, 2003.

Joseph William Havard (’47)—81,Lucedale; grocery and cattle farm operatorand World War II veteran, May 7, 2003.

Robert C. Brent (’48)—79, CrystalSprings; retired owner of Brent InsuranceAgency and World War II veteran, Feb. 19,2003.

Tabor Andrews McDowell Jr. (’48)—78, Inverness; retired bank president,former Inverness alderman, and World WarII veteran, March 29, 2003.

John E. Stafford (’48)—83,Vicksburg; retired attorney for the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers and World WarII veteran, Feb. 13, 2003.

Thomas M. Tann (’48)—80, Terry;retired accountant and attorney and WorldWar II veteran, March 23, 2003.

Summer 2003

52A L U M N U S

James Caroll Parker (’49)—80,Gainesville, Fla.; retired professor ofengineering and director of BiomedicalEngineering Services at the University ofFlorida, Dec. 8, 2002.

Roy Norris Martin (’50)—76,Wiggins; former sales representative forSouthern Pipe & Supply Co., plumbingservice owner, and Korean War veteran,May 21, 2003.

Howard M. Raspilair (’50)—76,Guntersville, Ala.; retired from civilservice with Redstone Arsenal, U.S. ArmyMissile Command, Feb. 9, 2003.

Kenneth L. Frantz (’52)—76,Harrisonburg, Va.; retired general managerof the Harrisonburg Electric Commissionand World War II veteran, Aug. 21, 2001.

Grover C. Harned Jr. (’52)—73,Durango, Colo.; retired founder and CEOof MCI Electronics, March 13, 2003.

Wesley O. Harvey (’52)—Tylertown;retired farmer, April 2003.

Gene Douglas (’53)—72, Starkville;former plant science researcher andprofessor at the University of Georgia andMississippi State and former head ofresearch and seed development forHollandale Ag Services, April 20, 2003.

Burton Ralph McMillan (’54)—95,McVille Community; former state senatorfrom Leake County, 1940-48, formerschoolteacher, and World War II veteran,March 19, 2003.

Robert Ray Smith (’54)—70, Jackson;neurosurgeon at St. Dominic’s Hospital andprofessor emeritus and former chairman ofthe Department of Surgery at University ofMississippi Medical School, May 8, 2003.

James M. Magee Jr. (’56)—72,Florence ; retired electrical engineer andKorean War veteran, March 16, 2003.

Jess Winfield Williams (’56)—71,Friendswood, Texas; certified publicaccountant, Feb. 11, 2003.

Charles Edward Bardsley (’59)—81,Ocean Springs; former USDA soilscientist, director of graduate research atClemson University, corporate executive,musician, and World War II veteran, April7, 2003.

Lillie Laverne Carson Doty (’60)—64,Starkville; schoolteacher and Girl Scouttroop leader, Feb. 19, 2003.

George S. Reese Jr. (’61, M.A. ’72)—68, Hollandale; minister at HollandaleUnited Methodist Church, May 14, 2003.

Richard L. Farlee (’66)—61, Jackson;claims manager for EMC Insurance Cos.,March 20, 2003.

Travis Lamar Jennings (’66)—Shawnee, Kan.; retired federal employee,April 12, 2002.

John Barton McGee (’66)—61, Laurel;retired petroleum geologist, Feb. 17, 2003.

Dorothy Carpenter Curan (’70)—65,Sturgis; retired librarian for StarkvillePublic Schools, May 16, 2003.

William Thomas Baggett (’72)—Fredericksburg, Va.; retired major in theU.S. Army, Feb. 3, 2003.

Frank M. Sessums (’72)—53, GreenCove Springs, Fla.; regional manager forWatkins Motor Lines, April 15, 2003.

Larry Oliver Trotter (’75)—49,Madison; agricultural chemical salesemployee of Southern States, May 14,2003.

Richard Babb Griffin (’76)—48,Greenville; veterinarian and owner of Allenand Griffin Animal Hospital, May 7, 2003.

Marla Wray Hood (’80)—44, Eupora;mathematics teacher at Eupora HighSchool, March 7, 2003.

Jean Blue Taylor (’81)—61, Starkville;piano teacher, April 6, 2003.

Frances Egger Watson (’83)—64,Jackson; schoolteacher, educationalconsultant, and business executive, March18, 2003.

Robert G. Spell (’93)—40, Glendora;master of foxhounds and huntsman for theWhitworth Hounds, Feb. 26, 2003.

Ben Lewis Gilbert (attended)—54,McComb; jewelry store owner and realestate broker, April 12, 2003.

Pat H. Shivers (attended)—82, NewHebron; former mayor of New Hebron andretired owner of Seay Appliances, Feb. 14,2003.

Courtney L. Hubert (student)—19,Vicksburg; freshman at Mississippi State,starting goalkeeper on the MSU soccerteam, and 2002 Gatorade girls soccerPlayer of the Year for Mississippi, May 13,2003.

Janet Arndt Batchelder (employee)—62, Starkville; recruiting and scholarshipassistant for the Bagley College ofEngineering, May 5, 2003.

Lois Kaufman (former employee)—90, Starkville; retired teacher of musicappreciation and theory at MSU and formerpiano teacher at Maben High School,March 2003.

M.W. Myers (former employee)—89,Starkville; former professor of geographyat Mississippi State, May 3, 2003.

Vincent Paul Correro (friend)—88,Greenwood; retired sales representative forCarnaggio Distributing Co., March 29,2003.

Birney Imes Jr. (friend)—88,Columbus; publisher and owner of TheCommercial Dispatch in Columbus andbroadcasting executive, March 12, 2003.

Ruben Earl Morgan (friend)—63,Starkville; retired merchant andcoordinator of the drug treatment programfor the Mississippi Department ofCorrections, Feb. 23, 2003.

Alan Tempel Riekhof (friend)—60,Starkville; April 27, 2003.

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mississippi state alumnus summer 2003

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