Contact: Joe Farris
MSU President Charles Lee
Mississippi State University President Charles Lee is among 16 distinguished alumni honored during the first "Evening of Stars" celebration sponsored recently by the North Carolina State University Alumni Association.
Lee was the honoree of the College of Natural Resources, from which he received a bachelor's degree in forest management in 1964 and a doctorate in forestry genetics in 1972.
N.C. State Alumni Association Executive Director Lennie Barton said the event "begins a new tradition."
"We salute the winners of the College Distinguished Alumni Awards and the Alumni Association Awards with a ceremony that truly befits their professional and personal achievements," Barton said. "These are individuals who have made what you might call a 'State'ment in their careers, in their communities and on the campus of their alma mater."
The award winners included representatives of NCSU's 10 academic colleges, as well as individuals honored for service to the NCSU Alumni Association.
Lee, this year's leader of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning's Council of Presidents, became the MSU chief executive in 2003. Prior to becoming the 17th president of the 126-year-old land-grant institution, he served for slightly more than a year as interim president.
In addition to holding the highest office, Lee also has been MSU's vice president of agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine, as well as dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. From 1978-83, he was dean of the School (now College) of Forest Resources and associate director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.
Before returning to Mississippi State as vice president in 1999, Lee held administrative positions in the Texas A&M University System, including four years as vice chancellor for research, planning and continuing education.
He and his wife, Pat, have three children and three grandchildren.