3/17/2006 - Jackson, Miss

In its regular monthly meeting, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) honored African-American educators from each of the universities in recognition of February as Black History Month. Honorees included Dr. Steve Wells, Alcorn State University; Ms. Deborah Moore, Delta State University; Ms. Cathy Patterson, Jackson State University; Dr. William Person, Mississippi State University; Mr. Dwayne Wheeler, Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Ms. Rodie Cunningham, Mississippi University for Women; Mrs. Glenell Lee-Pruitt, Mississippi Valley State University; Dr. William Scott, III, The University of Mississippi; Dr. Claude Brunson, The University of Mississippi Medical Center; and Dr. Juliana Makuchi Nfah-Abbenyi, The University of Southern Mississippi. The Board’s Black History Month Committee named Dr. William Person, Director of Graduate Studies and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction from Mississippi State University the 2006 Black Educator of the Year. The Committee also named The Honorable Henry J. Kirksey, posthumously, the 2006 Black History Month Community Honoree.

Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Thomas C. Meredith announced the winners of the 2005 Best Practices Competition, a Board-sponsored program designed to highlight efforts that create efficient and effective practices initiated within the System’s institutions in the categories of academics; finance, business and administration; student services; and technology. Proposals were judged by peer groups within each of the universities and winning first and second place institutions will receive $10,000 and $5,000 tipends.

2005 Best Practices Winners Include:

Academics-First Place (two-way tie)
• Mississippi Valley State University’s Community Service Learning Project
• The University of Mississippi’s Wintersession Program

Academics-Second Place
• Delta State University’s Educational Leadership Program: Full-Time Cohort Model

Finance, Business and Administration-First Place
• Jackson State University’s Comprehensive Energy Renovation Program

Finance, Business and Administration-Second Place
• The University of Mississippi’s Zone Maintenance Project

Student Services-First Place
• The University of Southern Mississippi’s Luckyday Foundation Citizenship Scholarship Program

Student Services-Second Place
• The University of Mississippi’s Comprehensive Online Financial Aid Student Self-Service Project

Technology-First Place
• Delta State University’s Faculty Technology Institute

Technology-Second Place
• Mississippi University for Women’s Creating Cost Effective Public Networks Project

In other news, Alcorn State University plans to offer the Bachelor of Science in General Studies on-line in addition to their present on-campus program.

The next regular meeting of the Board is set for Wednesday and Thursday, April 19 and 20, on the campus of the Mississippi University for Women.

Under the leadership of the Board of Trustees, IHL governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi.

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