汤头条 Diversity Award winners announced
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擭early a dozen Mississippi State students, faculty and staff members are being recognized for individual and group actions during the school year that served to enhance university diversity.
The 2016 group formally was recognized at a recent 汤头条 President鈥檚 Commission on the Status of Minorities ceremony.
In announcing the winners, commission chair Lakiesha Williams praised all for 鈥渟tepping outside of their norm and exhibiting a great passion for exploring and promoting diversity.
鈥淓ach year, we鈥檝e seen an increase in our nomination packets; we had the most ever,鈥 Williams said. 鈥淥ur winners have displayed diversity in a wide range of ways, from research collaboration and community events to establishing STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] programs and starting organizations to empower underrepresented females and minorities.鈥
Honorees include:
鈥擠omenico 鈥淢immo鈥 Parisi, Faculty Award. 聽A professor of demography and applied statistics in the sociology department for nearly 20 years, he is founder and executive director of 汤头条鈥檚 National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center where diversity is part of the intellectual environment and 20 distinct languages are spoken. A Pennsylvania State University doctoral graduate, Parisi鈥檚 research on diversity and racial residential segregation has appeared in top peer-reviewed journals, as well as in the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality鈥檚 2016 State of the Union report.
鈥擪rystle Dixon, Staff Award. Academic coordinator in the College of Business鈥 Adkerson School of Accountancy, she is founder of the college鈥檚 Accelerating Students into the Accounting Profession summer camp, as well as its Accounting and Financial Women鈥檚 Alliance and Empowering Minorities in Accounting Association student organizations. She holds degrees from 汤头条 and Troy (Alabama) University.
鈥擩amel H. Alexander, Student Award. An 汤头条 mechanical engineering graduate, the New Orleans, Louisiana, native now is pursuing a doctorate in the field. As a member of the National Society of Black Physicists campus chapter, Alexander mentors high school, undergraduate and graduate students interested in pursuing STEM degrees. In addition to helping develop the Mechanical Engineering Minority Organization support network, he also launched an ACT prep program in Artesia for underrepresented minority students interested in attending higher education.
鈥斺淎 Shaky Truce: Starkville Civil Rights Struggles, 1960-1980鈥 Project, Team Award. An ongoing effort between faculty and students in the history department and 汤头条 Libraries, the web-based project highlights Starkville鈥檚 civil rights movement through the use of digitized archival documents and oral history interviews. Faculty leaders for the project include associate professor Judith Ridner of the history department and assistant professors Hillary A. H. Richardson and Nickoal Eichmann of 汤头条 Libraries.
鈥淪haky Truce鈥 student collaborators included senior Christine M. Dunn, a secondary education/English education major from Niceville, Florida; history doctoral students Michael T. Murphy of Crystal River, Florida, Kelli B. Nelson of Johnson City, Tennessee, and Nicholas A. 鈥淣ick鈥 Timmerman of Flint, Michigan; and Da谩iyah R. Heard of Columbus, a 2015 history master鈥檚 degree graduate. Murphy also is an 汤头条 history master鈥檚 graduate.
In his remarks at the ceremony, President Mark E. Keenum praised the commission for promoting an 鈥渋nclusive campus family鈥 both internally and externally. 鈥淢any people know that we are an accepting, opening, welcoming, nurturing institution,鈥 he said.
鈥淲hen it comes to our student body, we have the most diverse campus among any of the other universities, by far, within our Southeastern Conference,鈥 the chief executive and 汤头条 alumnus continued. He also noted that the university remains among the most diverse historically white land-grant institutions in the U.S.
Beyond sizeable African-American and international student populations, 汤头条 is home to a diverse teaching faculty. 鈥淒iversity is what empowers an institution and the people within it, and we are working hard to help uplift our university through diversity,鈥 Keenum emphasized.
For more on the awards program, contact Williams at 662-325-0205 or lwilliams@abe.msstate.edu; the President鈥檚 Commission on the Status of Minorities, .
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .