Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A new Mississippi State scholarship specifically dedicated to graduate education in veterinary medicine will pay tribute to former university faculty member Edward Couvillion.
Couvillion joined the faculty in 1985 as an assistant professor of parasitology. At the time of his sudden death in early 1992, he was among MSU's leading researchers.
The C. Edward Couvillion, DVM, PhD, Endowed Graduate Scholarship recently was established by his widow, Linda Naquin Couvillion McGrath, along with her husband, MSU education professor Vincent McGrath, and other family members.
The scholarship will be awarded to students in the veterinary medical sciences doctoral program who are actively involved in research. Applicants studying parasitology or wildlife diseases will be given preference.
Dean Kent Hoblet said, "This scholarship in the name of Edward Couvillion is the first endowment in the College of Veterinary Medicine's Office of Research and Graduate Studies. We are extremely grateful to the family for their continued support of our doctoral program."
During his career, Couvillion conducted scientific investigations in cattle and avian diseases and parasitology, as well as wildlife studies throughout the Southeast. Many projects in the latter group focused on the endangered sandhill crane, bobwhite, wild turkey, and white-tailed deer.
A parasitology research laboratory that Couvillion designed was constructed with funds from his studies and remains in use by MSU veterinary researchers, Hoblet said.
Couvillion was an active member and officer of several animal disease and research associations. In addition to the Dean's Pegasus Award for Research, he was honored with the SmithKline Beecham Award for Research Excellence and the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award.
After receiving a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University, the Baton Rouge native went on to obtain a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Auburn University. He also earned master's and doctoral degrees in parasitology from the University of Georgia.
After serving in the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss, Texas, he rose to the rank of major in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Outside MSU's classrooms and research laboratories, Couvillion was active in the Starkville parks and recreation program as a baseball and soccer coach. He also was a member of Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus and Parents for Public Schools.
Other members of his family include sons Ben and his wife, the former Heather Vinicki, and their son Charlie, of Memphis, Tenn.; Joe and his wife, the former Carrie Arnett, of Starkville; and Neil, of Birmingham, Ala. A fourth son, Steve, and a daughter, Justine, are MSU students.
The Couvillion Scholarship is an open fund in the MSU Foundation that may be increased through additional contributions. For additional information, contact Keith Gaskin, CVM development director, at 662-325-3815 or kgaskin@foundation.msstate.edu.
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LOUISIANA EDITORS: As mentioned, Dr. Couvillion was a Baton Rouge native. Also, his widow is a native of Thibodaux. Family members of both still reside in both cities.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.