Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Amy Tuck, special assistant to the president at Mississippi State, is the 2010 selection for the Women in Higher Education-Mississippi Network's Leadership Award.
The annual honor recognizes women demonstrating leadership and commitment to the advancement of women in higher education, said Anna Faye Kelley-Winders, outgoing WHEMN president and host of the group's recent annual conference.
"Amy Tuck has been an outstanding advocate of higher education, both in her public service roles and in her position at Mississippi State University," said Kelley-Winders, vice president of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Mississippi's former lieutenant governor and an Oktibbeha County native, Tuck was nominated by MSU President Mark Keenum.
"Amy's many years of work in state government and academia reflect a strong record of support for wide-ranging women's issues and a desire to inspire others to higher levels of achievement," Keenum said.
"Amy has traveled across Mississippi to speak to Women in Agriculture, Women in Higher Education and Women of Distinction, focusing on the theme that women should take advantage of every opportunity to pursue their dreams," he added.
Each community, junior and senior college in the state appoints a WHEMN representative to help facilitate career paths and leadership opportunities for both female administrators and students. The Mississippi network is part of a national organization established in 1973 by the American Council on Education.
In addition to serving as MSU's representative to the organization, Tuck also is a member of the MSU President's Commission on the Status of Women, a group that promotes networking and advises the president on issues of importance to women at the university.
She held the state's second-highest elective office 2000-08, and is only the second woman to hold the position in the state's 193-year history. She also was District 15 state senator for 1990-95 and secretary of the Mississippi Senate 1996-99.
In 2009, the Mississippi Business Journal recognized Tuck as one of Mississippi's 50 leading business women, and in 2008 she was appointed by then-President George W. Bush to the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.
She holds two degrees from MSU, a bachelor's in political science and a master's in public policy and administration. She also earned a law degree at Mississippi College.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.