Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--West Point native Maridith W. Geuder is being named officially as director of the campus department responsible for the land-grant institutions' public relations and marketing missions.
Named associate director of university relations in 1990, she has served as interim director during 2005. She succeeds Joe Farris, who continues as a full-time assistant to MSU President Charles Lee.
"We believe that Maridith has the skill set, the knowledge of the university and the energy to provide leadership that will help create additional awareness of Mississippi State University's role and contributions," said Dennis A. Prescott in making the announcement.
Prescott is vice president for the Division of External Affairs, of which university relations is a part. The division also includes the MSU Foundation and Alumni Association, among other units.
Located in historic George Hall, the office oversees news, publications, photography, and electronic communications.
During her time at MSU, Geuder has been honored with a distinguished staff award. Since 2000, she has served as chair of the university-wide Performing Arts Committee that plans the annual Lyceum Series.
Last year, she was editor of the university's National Collegiate Athletic Association self-study. A year earlier, she was an editorial committee member for another self-study required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Geuder is active in the national Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, serving in 2005 as communication track co-chair for the organization's regional conference. She is the volunteer publicity chair for the 2006 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur, to be hosted in October at West Point's Old Waverly Golf Course.
Geuder is a 1972 English graduate of Millsaps College who went on to earn a master's at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. She also has completed doctoral work in the field at the Tuscaloosa institution.
Before coming to MSU, she held positions at Southern Living and Texas Monthly magazines, as well as the University of Alabama.