Contact: Maridith Geuder
Photo by: Russ Houston
STARKVILLE, Miss.--While growing up in the Mississippi Delta, Robert Elliott dreamed of becoming an airline pilot.
Instead, the current Port Gibson resident went on to study computer science at Alcorn State University and embark on a career as a systems administrator. Today, the 45-year-old father of two college students is working hard on another dream--this time at Mississippi State.
He's enrolled in the computer science doctoral program and aspires to become a university professor. "I'm the oldest graduate student in any of my classes," he said with a laugh.
Elliott is among nearly 3,300 graduate students enrolled at MSU this fall and William Person, director of graduate studies, said a university goal is to expand that number in the coming years.
"Our goal is to have an enrollment of 4,000 graduate students by fall 2009," Person said. "Achieving this will allow our graduate enrollment to remain at approximately 20 percent of the university's anticipated total."
The increased graduate numbers were significant in the overall university enrollment this fall, he added.
Person said the 127-year-old land-grant institution is "extremely pleased to note an increase in enrollment of graduate students by 2.5 percent for fall 2005. With an overall increased enrollment of 167 students at MSU this fall, 81 of those were graduate students."
Elliott, among those whose presence makes Person smile, said his choice of doctoral studies was influenced by his wife Rowena, who earned her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Mississippi.
"I had no intention of pursuing my Ph.D. until she earned one," Elliott said. Being married to "a certified legal nurse who does legal consulting really gave me no choice," he joking added.
Enrolled in computer forensics and computer security courses in MSU's department of computer science and engineering, Elliott also is teaching two software engineering labs. He said the courses, like most others in the Bagley College of Engineering, are quite demanding.
"The magnitude of the work is challenging, with a lot of research and a lot of writing involved," he said. "But, I'm committed (because) I know I have to do this."
Elliott, who commutes home to Port Gibson on the weekends, earned a master's degree in 1999 through MSU programs at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers branch facility in Vicksburg.
"When I decided to get another degree, I chose Mississippi State after attending an Alliance for Graduate Education in Mississippi program on campus last summer," he explained. "I got to know the campus and the professors; it was a tremendous help."
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the AGEM program encourages underrepresented students to pursue advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Through this and other such programs, along with "the efforts of an experienced and dedicated graduate faculty," Person said he is anticipating a continued expansion of post-baccalaureate programs.
"We believe that Mississippi State is positioned to experience a rapid growth in graduate enrollment," he said.