Contact: Maridith Geuder
A donation of computer software to Mississippi State University is honoring an alumna who died last week.
Atlanta-based A.D.A.M. Software, a leading provider of software tools to undergraduate anatomy and physiology programs and to medical schools, is donating more than $200,000 in software for two electronic laboratories to the memory of account executive Michele Dunaway Walker. The company also will provide annual software updates valued at $10,000.
A 1990 communication graduate who attended high school in Milan, Tenn., Walker lost a three-year battle with cancer. While at Mississippi State, she was president of Phi Mu social sorority and leader of the Bulldog Hostesses. She is buried in Corinth.
Electronic labs in the departments of biological sciences and in health, physical education, recreation and sport will use A.D.A.M. software to teach health-related classes.
"In discussing a way to honor Michele, our company thought this gift would be most appropriate," said Gregory M. Swayne, A.D.A.M. Software co-founder and vice president. "We are pleased to provide support that helps teach students going into a medical field.
"Shelley loved Mississippi State and was a wonderful ambassador for the university," he added. "It is our hope that one day someone who passes through one of these labs may find a cure for cancer."
In planning a way to honor Walker, the company found that the health, physical education, recreation, and sport department has been using the software for about three years. The company then contacted department head Robert Boling.
"The Michele D. Walker Electronic Classroom will allow us to expand our use of A.D.A.M. software to benefit students in the areas of exercise physiology, biomechanics and athletic training," Boling said.
In biological sciences, students headed for medical school and occupations such as physical therapy and occupational therapy will be able to learn anatomy and physiology with the help of the "spectacular" software, said department head Donald N. Downer.
"We have more than 800 majors, most planning some type of health-related profession," Downer said. "Our students will profit tremendously from cutting-edge learning opportunities."