Hargrove of MSU named top college professor in Mississippi

Contact: Maridith Geuder

A veteran English professor at Mississippi State is being recognized for outstanding classroom teaching by the national Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Nancy D. Hargrove, one of the university's William L. Giles Distinguished Professors, is the 2000 Mississippi CASE Professor of the Year. She is among 44 winners selected from a total of more than 470 nominations.

"The United States Professor of the Year program salutes the most outstanding undergraduate instructors in the country, those who excel as teachers and influence the lives and careers of their students," said CASE spokesperson Cheryl Wesley. "It is recognized as one of the most prestigious awards honoring professors."

Hargrove is the third MSU professor in the past five years to receive the honor. Hank Flick of communication was selected in 1995; Paul Grootkerk of art, in 1998.

Hargrove specializes in 20th century British and American literature. She is the author of two books, "Landscape as Symbol in the Poetry of T.S. Eliot," and "The Journey Toward Ariel: Sylvia Plath's Poetry of 1946-1959." She currently is working on a third book, also about British poet Eliot.

A Charlotte, N.C., native, Hargrove has received numerous awards since joining the MSU faculty in 1970. Among those honors: the Outstanding University Honors Program Faculty Award, John Grisham Master Teacher Award, MSU Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Award, and Outstanding Humanist Award.

Her scholarly work has resulted in four national J. William Fulbright grants, including two teaching and research stints in France and one each to Belgium and Sweden.

Hargrove's current and former students have praised her classes, which involve field trips, guest lectures and original research to expand their understanding of the history and culture surrounding the literary works they study. She also is a former adviser to the Ottilie Schillig Leadership Scholars Program, the university's highest student honor.

Henry W. Christrup, a 1997 MSU graduate and Harry S. Truman National Scholar now in his final year at the Yale University School of Law, was among those writing the selection committee in support of Hargrove.

"She is one of the best professors with whom I've ever studied," Christrup said. "I am currently pursuing a career in legal teaching, and, if I could, would emulate Dr. Hargrove's performance as a professor in every way."

Hargrove holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Agnes Scott College and the University of Wisconsin, respectively. She completed a doctorate at the University of South Carolina.

Washington, D.C.-based CASE and the Carnegie Foundation of Menlo Park, Calif., are among two of America's most prominent educational support organizations. With nearly 2,900 colleges, universities and independent elementary and secondary schools, CASE is the largest international association of educational institutions. Carnegie is the only advanced study center for teachers in the world and the third-oldest foundation in the nation.