Contact: Sammy McDavid
Top, from left to right:
First row, top, left
Brian T. Gray of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, (l) is the College of Forest Resources Alumnus of the Year at Mississippi State University. Director of conservation programs and information systems for Ducks Unlimited Canada, he is a 1992 doctoral graduate in wildlife ecology. The annual awards program is sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association to honor graduates who are recognized leaders in their fields of endeavor. Gray joined DUC's headquarters in Stonewall in 1996 after working for a number of years as a wildlife scientist at Alberta-based Golder Associates. Presenting his honor at a recent campus banquet was college Dean Sam Foster.
First row, top, right
Ken M. Tse of Dallas, Texas, (l) is the School of Architecture Alumnus of the Year at Mississippi State University. Tse, who received his bachelor's degree in 1983, is vice president of HKS Inc., a professional architectural design firm located at 1919 McKinney Ave. The annual awards program is sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association to honor graduates who are recognized leaders in their fields of endeavor. Since joining HKS, Tse has been involved in the design of Fidelity Investments' regional campus, the Federal Home Loan Bank in Irving and First USA/Banc One in Austin, among several major projects. Presenting his honor at a recent campus banquet was school Dean James L. West.
Second row, left
Gulf Coast banking executive Leo W. Seal Jr. is the College of Business and Industry Alumnus of the Year at Mississippi State University. A 1949 banking and finance graduate, the Bay St. Louis resident is chairman and chief executive officer of the Hancock Bank. The annual awards banquet is sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association to honor graduates who are recognized leaders in their field of endeavor. Seal, a major financial supporter of his alma mater, previously was honored with the university's national alumnus of the year award in 1983 and an honorary doctorate in 1999. Presenting his latest award at a recent campus banquet was college Dean Sara Freedman.
Second row, right
Vivian M. Presley of Clarksdale is the College of Education Alumna of the Year at Mississippi State. President of Coahoma Community College, she holds four degrees from the university: a bachelor's in political science in 1973, a master's in counselor education in 1975, an education specialist degree in counselor education in 1978, and a doctorate in educational leadership in 1983. The annual awards program is sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association to honor graduates who are recognized leaders in their field of endeavor. Presley is the first and, so far, only woman to lead a Mississippi community college. Presenting the award at a recent campus banquet was Roy Ruby, interim dean of the college.
Third row, left
Glenn L. McCullough Jr. of Tupelo (l) is the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Alumnus of the Year at Mississippi State University. A 1977 agricultural economics graduate, he is the former Tupelo mayor who was appointed by President George W. Bush last year to be chairman of the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The annual awards program is sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association to honor graduates who are recognized leaders in their field of endeavor. Before being elected mayor of his home city in 1997, McCullough served as president of his family's steel company and director of the Mississippi Office of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Under his mayoral tenure, Tupelo was designated a 1999 All-American City by the National Civic League. Presenting the honor at a recent campus banquet was Vance Watson, interim dean of the college.
Third row, right
Dr. James R. Hailey of Cary, N.C., (l) is the College of Veterinary Medicine Alumnus of the Year at Mississippi State University. Head of bioassays and technical reports for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' National Toxicology Program, he received a degree in veterinary science in 1977 and a doctor of veterinary medicine in 1982. The annual awards program is sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association to honor graduates who are recognized leaders in their field of endeavor. Before assuming his current duties in 1996, Hailey served the Research Triangle Park-based NIEHS as head of pathology evaluation and as a senior staff pathologist. Presenting his honor at a recent campus banquet was college Dean John Thomson.
Bottom row, left
James T. White of Dallas, Texas, is the College of Engineering Alumnus of the Year at Mississippi State University. A 1961 civil engineering graduate, he is director and president of H.C. Price Co. The annual awards program is sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association to honor graduates who are recognized leaders in their field of endeavor. White oversees all of Price's overseas pipeline construction and the installation of power generation and distribution systems in the lower 48 contiguous states, Alaska and Alberta, Canada. He recently was appointed as a trustee of the Laborers National Pension Fund in Washington, D.C. Presenting the award at a recent campus banquet was college Dean A. Wayne Bennett.