Contact: Sammy McDavid
Graphic design majors at Mississippi State University again hold top regional honors in the annual Student Talent Advertising Recognition awards program.
Seniors Wade Acuff of Hollandale and Carolyn Horne of Grenada were rated the best in separate graphic design categories of the 2001 STAR District 7 Convention held recently in Baton Rouge, La. Lauren McClure of Collierville, Tenn., was selected to receive the convention's $1,500 Jan Gardner Memorial Scholarship.
Acuff won the Best of Show Award for a poster titled "Silly Putty"; Horne, the Best Concept Award for a single medium campaign titled "Track and Field."
Acuff, Horne and McClure also were honored with Gold Addy awards. Additionally, Acuff and McClure received Silver Addys.
Sponsored by the American Advertising Federation, the design competition drew more than 200 entries from college and university students in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The Gardner Scholarship honors the former District 7 governor.
In addition to winning two of the event's top four awards and the Gardner Scholarship, MSU students brought home 26 of the 60 total awards given this year.
"This is the sixth straight year in which our students have been at the top of AAF-sponsored shows," said art department head Brent Funderburk. "That's why the efforts of our students and faculty consistently are recognized by their peers at institutions of higher learning from Georgia to Louisiana."
Established in 1968, the MSU art department has grown to become the largest studio program in the state. Graphic design faculty members include Craig Concannon, Anne Hanger, Wade Lough, and Jamie Mixon.