Contact: Sammy McDavid
A Mississippi State University doctoral student who graduated last week is being honored by a regional organization for a study involving the state's community colleges.
Mary L. Alexander of Columbus received first-place honors for a presentation she made in Norfolk, Va., at the Aug. 1-4 annual conference of the Southeastern Association for Community College Research. In addition to receiving the award, she was designated as SACCR's contact person for Mississippi.
Based on analyses compiled for a doctoral dissertation in educational leadership, her report examined academic and social involvement of black and white students at a sampling of rural Mississippi community colleges.
Alexander was among nearly 850 students receiving degrees Friday [the 6th] at the conclusion of MSU's summer term.
By virtue of the first-place award, she is being invited to present the report at upcoming national meetings of the American Educational Research Association and the Association for Institutional Research.
Established in 1971, the Southern Association for Community College Research works to provide a public forum for planning, coordinating and conducting activities that promote community-based, post-secondary education.