Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Mississippi State professor and one of her students are recent selections for key leadership roles with a national business education honor society.
Connie Forde, a senior member of the instructional systems and workforce development faculty, and junior Brookes A. Mayes of Newton, a technology teacher education major, were chosen president and student representative, respectively, on the Pi Omega Pi national council.
Pi Omega Pi was established more than 80 years ago to promote scholarship and service among students and teachers in business education. It currently has more than 54,000 members spread among 25 chapters.
"In 21 years as chapter adviser, we never have entered a candidate for student representative to the national council," Forde said. "This is a very prestigious honor for Brookes and we are proud to have her represent our chapter and the university."
Forde said MSU's chapter consistently is included among the organization's top 10 and was ranked fifth at the 2009 convention in Chicago.
Mayes' election as student representative involves a two-year commitment. The daughter of Kent and Polly Mayes, she attended East Central Community College prior to enrolling at MSU last year.
Forde will serve as the honor society's president-elect for the next two years and formally assume her presidential duties for the 2013 convention in Atlanta.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.