Contact: Sammy McDavid
William H. Howell
A Mississippi State forestry major is among some 75 college and university students receiving national scholarships that memorialize a leading environmentalist.
Senior William H. Howell of Davenport, Iowa, was announced today as a 2000 Morris K. Udall Foundation Fellow. The $5,000 fellowship will support his further study of the environment and related fields.
Congress created the Udall Foundation in 1992 to honor the former United States representative from Arizona who served 1961-91. As chair of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, "Mo" Udall led efforts to double the size of the national park system and triple the size of the national wilderness system. He resigned from public office after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and died in 1998.
Howell entered MSU in 1997 after graduating with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average from Davenport North High School. At MSU, he is a consistent Dean's Scholar who earlier received MSU American College Test and Academic scholarships, as well as the Sharp Academic Excellence Scholarship.
He also has received scholarships from the campus chapters of Phi Kappa Phi and Gamma Sigma Delta honor societies, and from the Mississippi Recycling Coalition and Mississippi Soft Drink Association. He is president and treasurer of the MSU Forestry Club and treasurer of the campus Society of American Foresters chapter, among other leadership roles.
After graduation from MSU, he plans to pursue master's and doctoral degrees, then work in the forestry extension service at a land-grant university. "By working in extension, I will be able to educate forest landowners on programs to benefit both them and the community," Howell said in his fellowship application.
"Five to seven years later, I hope to be teaching forest management at a land-grant university. By teaching, I will give my students the tools to conduct forest landowner education and promote and practice sustainable forestry."