Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State is among 39 colleges and universities recognized as "role models" by a Maryland-based organization that works to improve the national recruitment, retention and enhancement of minorities in education, government and industry.
Minority Access Inc. annually recognizes public and private institutions with exemplary records of producing minority administrators, faculty, students, and alumni.
Mary Alexander, director of MSU's Office of Diversity and Equity Programs, accepted the award at MAI's recent National Role Models Conference in Arlington, Va.
"We were extremely honored to be the only university in Mississippi represented," she said, noting that MSU's current enrollment of 17,824 includes 20 percent who are African American.
Other universities from the Southeast honored at the conference included Alabama-Birmingham, Auburn, Georgia, Middle Tennessee State, North Carolina-Chapel Hill, N.C.-Greensboro, and North Carolina State.
Each institution's diversity initiatives in student and employee recruiting were shared with conference participants.
The awards recognize higher education institutions "that genuinely seem to appreciate the value of diversity in creating a well-rounded educational experience," said organization president Andrea Mickle.
"It is fitting for Minority Access to recognize and publicize the advances colleges and universities are making toward diversifying their campuses, especially the student population," she added.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For additional information, contact Dr. Alexander at 662-325-2493.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.