Contact: Sammy McDavid
Historian Lorenzo Crowell of Mississippi State is receiving the university's 2004 Outstanding Humanist Award.
A public program recognizing his selection will take place at 3 p.m. Friday [Oct. 22] in the Colvard Union small auditorium. Due to Crowell's health, history department colleague Richard Damms will deliver the honoree's traditional lecture.
Crowell is an associate professor emeritus; Damms, director of MSU's Center for Historical Studies.
Last year, Crowell led in securing a $1 million U.S. Department of Education grant to support an innovative graduate training program organized around the historical studies center. Under the program, teachers in 13 East and Central Mississippi public school districts are able to earn master's degree credit through all-day Saturday classes at MSU.
The program emphasizes research-based methods for improving instruction and teacher education, especially the content knowledge in key areas of American history. Participating districts include Amory, Choctaw County, Clinton, Houston, Louisville, Lowndes County, Meridian, Neshoba County, Newton County, Noxubee County, Starkville, Tupelo, and West Point.
The humanist award program is co-sponsored annually by MSU's College of Arts and Sciences and its Institute for the Humanities, in cooperation with the Mississippi Humanities Council. Formal recognition of Crowell and other state honorees will be made in Jackson during the spring semester.
Crowell, a specialist in military history, is a retired senior Air Force officer who completed degrees at the United States Air Force Academy and Duke University.
For more information on the MSU program, telephone (662) 325-2646.