Contact: Robbie S. Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Acclaimed political journalist, columnist and Mississippi State alumnus Sidney "Sid" Salter will deliver the university's 2010 fall commencement address.
The longtime Perspective editor of the Jackson-based Clarion Ledger newspaper and 2004 MSU Alumni Association Alumnus of the Year will be featured during the Dec. 10 graduation program at 7 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum.
About 1,200 graduation applicants are scheduled to receive degrees this semester. Those choosing to participate in the ceremony will be joined by a number from the summer term, for which there is no separate event.
Salter, a Philadelphia native, has covered news in Mississippi for 34 years since entering the business at age 15. During this time, he has won many honors awarded by the Mississippi Press Association, including the J. Oliver Emmerich Editorial Excellence Award on two occasions.
The Emmerich Award, which recognizes the top editorial writer among Mississippi's two dozen dailies and nearly 90 weeklies, is named for the late Mississippi State alumnus who was editor and publisher of the McComb Enterprise-Journal. Salter was honored with the award while publisher and editor of the Scott County Times, one of two weekly editors to hold the distinction.
A member of the MPA's Hall of Fame, Salter has written a syndicated column since 1983, hosted a talk radio political program for about two years and is recognized by political observers as one of the state's most knowledgeable political journalists. He also is a former associate professor and Cook Chair in Journalism at the University of Mississippi.
The 1988 political science graduate and John C. Stennis Scholar has served as past president of the MPA, the Forest Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Forest Rotary Club. He is on the board of directors for the Community Bancshares of Mississippi, a multi-bank holding company with operations in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.