Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mark E. Keenum now is the first sitting Mississippi State president to be honored with the Outstanding Honors Faculty Award of the university's Shackouls Honors College.
The annual recognition resulted from nominations submitted to the college's governing Honors Council by students on the basis of their experiences in honors courses.
Keenum, an MSU alumnus now in his second year as the land-grant institution's chief executive, leads a fall-semester leadership course in the college.
"It was truly an amazing experience to have Dr. Keenum as my professor and the Allen Hall sixth-floor presidential conference room as my classroom," said sophomore Emily C. Nations of Clinton.
In her introduction of Keenum at the recent ceremony, the biomedical engineering major and President's List Scholar cited a varied list of guest speakers Keenum brought to the class, including leaders from state and federal governments, and businesses and corporations, among others. By name, she also mentioned MSU alumnus and mega-author John Grisham.
"Each of our visitors joined our table and, instead of hearing speeches, we had discussions," Nations added. "At the end of the semester, I began to formulate my own definition of leadership, one that you will never find in a dictionary, as it is born out of experience and advice."
While Donald W. Zacharias of Starkville also was chosen for the faculty tribute, the recognition came when he was teaching as MSU president emeritus.
The largest of its kind in the state, the Shackouls Honors College enrolls more than 1,000. Typically, classes are limited to no more than 20, so students may receive individualized instruction that challenges them to fully explore their potential.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.