Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Four women from Mississippi State are included in the inaugural class of a statewide honor coordinated by the City of Madison's Chamber of Commerce.
Recently recognized as 2007 Dynamic Women of Mississippi were university faculty members Linda T. Coats, Nancy A. Hargrove and Sandra H. Harpole, and staff member Kristy I. Riley.
The recognition program seeks to annually spotlight outstanding accomplishments and contributions by women in the fields of business, government, the arts, education, health care, and community service.
The four from MSU are among 12 noted for enhancing the national and international prominence of the state and will be featured in a desk calendar to be produced by the chamber. They include:
--Coats, interim head of the curriculum and instruction department and a 20-year teaching veteran. Her research and national presentations have focused on learning styles, learning experiences of African-American students and leadership behaviors. She completed bachelor's and doctorate degrees at Mississippi State University and a master's degree at Jackson State University.
--Hargrove, a William L. Giles Distinguished Professor of English and a specialist in 20th century American and British poetry. She is the author of two books and a third in progress, as well as more than 40 essays. Hargrove has received five Fulbright awards, most recently a Fulbright Distinguished Chair recognition reserved for only 30 scholars in the nation.
--Harpole, associate vice president for research and the director of the Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology. She received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science while teaching at West Point High School and the John Grisham Master Teacher and Mississippi Science Teachers Association Outstanding College Science Teacher awards, among others, while at MSU. She currently directs grants with awards totaling $3.3 million.
--Riley, a summa cum laude MSU graduate currently serving as executive assistant to university President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong. She is the founder and co-adviser of the MSU Phil Theta Kappa Alumni Association, an organization that recognizes and provides network opportunities for transfer students from junior and community colleges. She was Mississippi's 2000 Junior Miss and remains active in the Junior Miss scholarship program.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.