Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Mississippi State center director is receiving a national professional award recognizing the positive impact of his sociological research.
Domenico "Mimmo" Parisi, a professor of sociology at the university, accepts the Rural Sociological Society honor later this month in New Hampshire.
The RSS is a North American-based organization working to apply research-based knowledge to enhance the quality of rural life, communities and environment.
Parisi leads MSU's National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center. A native of Italy and Pennsylvania State University doctoral graduate, his areas of specialization include rural sociology, community development, public welfare policy, and workforce development, among others.
Specifically, Parisi is being cited for several major projects he coordinates, including the improvement of Mississippi's accountability in state welfare programs. He also provided a Mississippi employment impact assessment in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. His research grants currently total more than $14 million.
Lois W. Morton of Iowa State University, who will present the award, said Parisi's "prolific research record" is "a true example of 'public sociology' at its best."
Parisi is past president of the Alabama-Mississippi Sociological Association and the 2004 selection for MSU's Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence Award.
NEW EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Dr. Parisi at 662-325-7884 or Mimmo.Parisi@nSPARC.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.