MSU's White adds national recognition to recent honors

Contact: Maridith Geuder

Adding to his recent accomplishments, Mississippi State University's longtime honors program director is being included in a listing of the nation's outstanding teachers.

Jack H. White, also a member of the English department faculty, will be included in the 2004 edition of "Who's Who Among America's Teachers." He also recently was named the 2004 Humanities Scholar of the Year by the Mississippi Humanities Council.

Coordinated by Educational Communications Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill., the "Who's Who" honor is limited to fewer than 5 percent of the nation's teachers who are recommended by former students as having "made a difference in their lives," according to the organization.

A faculty member at Mississippi State since 1967, White also administers MSU's Office of Distinguished Scholarships.

During his tenure in that position, MSU has produced five Goldwater Scholars, two Truman Scholars, and one of 12 Mitchell Scholars in the nation. The honors program he heads enrolls more than 1,000 academically talented students.

Among recognitions he has received at MSU:

--The university's Honors Council named a statewide literary competition for high school students the Jack H. White Literary Contest.

--The campus chapter of Mortar Board, the national collegiate honor society, selected White as a Professor of Eminence.

--The Student Association named him an outstanding faculty member.

--The Council of Student Organizations recognized him as an outstanding adviser.

White's primary teaching responsibility is the Honors Forum, a weekly public lecture that has provided students and the community access to numerous scholars, diplomats, professional and business leaders, state and national politicians, artists, and others. He also provides cultural programming through his participation in the university's Performing Arts Committee, which he headed for more than a decade.