Contact: Sammy McDavid
Two Mississippi State seniors are among university and college students included Thursday [Feb. 15] in the 2001 USA Today All-USA Academic Team selections.
Mary Ellen Brown of DeKalb and Jenny M. Reeves of Oxford are two of three from Mississippi and some 45 from around the country named honorable mention for outstanding achievements in American higher education. Annah [cq] Marshall of Millsaps College in Jackson is the other state selection in the category.
Both Brown and Reeves are Ottilie Schillig Leadership Scholars, MSU's top student honor. Reeves is concluding her term as president of the Student Association, the elected representative body for the school's 16,000 students. Brown is completing a year's service as chair of the University Honors Program's Honors Council.
They were among nearly 700 candidates nominated by their institutions for the two-step selection process.
Brown, an international business major and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Brown, also is a University Honors Program Scholar. Reeves, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Reeves, also is a John C. Stennis Scholar in Political Science.
"Mary Ellen and Jenny are excellent examples of what is right with Mississippi higher education, in general, and higher education at Mississippi State, in particular," said Christopher Duncan, coordinator of the university's Office of Distinguished External Scholarships.
"Considering that many hundreds of students are nominated for this national honor, the fact that two Mississippi State students are among those singled out for recognition also is a tribute to the caliber of students we are attracting and to the faculty who teach them," he added.
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina are other Southeastern states with students in the honorable mention category.