Alumni, development web site ranked among U.S. best

Contact: Maridith Geuder

Online videos, chat rooms, screensavers, and electronic postcards are helping earn a Mississippi State University web site national recognition.

The "Alumni and Friends" site at msuinfo.ur.msstate.edu/friends is among fewer than 20 recognized with four stars in 1999 by Brian Dowling's Advancement Resources, a web site that ranks university alumni and development Internet presentations.

This marks the third consecutive year Mississippi State has received the top rating based on its site's outreach, interactivity, content, navigation, and design.

In addition to MSU, other four-star institutions include Duke, Harvard, Clemson, Cornell, Northwestern, Pennsylvania State, Texas A&M, UCLA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Indiana University, University of Kansas, and St. Olaf College. Some universities earned multiple recognition.

The four-star category is "hard to get into" and "once in, you have to stay ahead to keep in," according to officials of the Internet rating guide.

Mississippi State's alumni and development site is designed and maintained by the Office of University Relations.