Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Giselle Thibaudeau is the new associate director of Mississippi State's Shackouls Honors College.
An associate professor who continues as director of the university's Electron Microscope Center, Thibaudeau came to MSU in 1994 after serving as a molecular biology research associate at Princeton University.
She replaces Kevin Knudson, who left earlier this year for the University of Florida.
"A major part of Dr. Thibaudeau's duties will involve coordination of the college's undergraduate research program made possible with the Shackouls endowment," said honors college director Nancy McCarley. "A great deal of her time will involve matching faculty with undergraduate students who understand the importance of research laboratory experiences."
Along those lines, Thibaudeau will coordinate the Honors Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program, research-related student travel awards and the college's annual Undergraduate Research Forum.
Observing that "an extremely talented human capital can be found in MSU's faculty and student populations," Thibaudeau said she is "thrilled to have the opportunity to work with research faculty and undergraduate students interested in research."
Thibaudeau holds a master's degree from MSU and a doctorate from the University of Kansas. She has received several professional recognitions, including the 2009 MSU Research Award for University Centers and Institutes. She was named a National Academy of Sciences Teaching Fellow for innovative approaches in undergraduate sciences.
MSU's longtime honors program, one of the South's largest, was elevated to college status in 2006 when alumnus Bobby Shackouls and his wife Judy of Houston, Texas, provided a $10 million endowment. A Greenville native and chemical engineering graduate, he is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Burlington Resources Inc.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.