Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A popular Mississippi State instructor known for encouraging students to seek demanding internships is being honored with a scholarship in the university's communication department.
The Lora J. DeFore Memorial Endowed Scholarship is a tribute to the former Kentucky resident who taught at MSU for nearly 20 years. She died in 2009 following a long battle with cancer.
In addition to full-time teaching duties, DeFore had served as coordinator of the department's public relations concentration and internship programs.
Along with the $25,000 endowment, the department is announcing the first six DeFore Scholars.
All seniors, the inaugural group includes Lindsay N. Botwinick of Germantown, Tenn., Kelli Conrad of Lexington, Tenn., Megan L. McKeown of Ocean Springs, Morgan A. Middleton of Flora, Molly C. Riley of Plantersville, and Katie Beth Walton of Grenada.
The endowment is made possible by a combination of gifts from DeFore's mother, Dolly Adams of Hopkinsville, Ky., and other family members, along with former students, departmental colleagues and friends. Additional support was provided by proceeds derived from a special Starkville Community Theatre production and the department's annual golf tournament.
DeFore was an active volunteer with local community theater productions.
Open to MSU communication majors, the awards are designed to assist with relocation costs associated with the summer internships, which scholars must secure through individual initiatives. Participants must have completed at least 45 hours of academic coursework with an overall 3.0 (based on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average.
Sharing part of the initial $5,000 award distribution:
--Botwinick, whose concentration is public relations, will be working in New York with Siren Public Relations (national fashion, beauty and lifestyle products);
--Conrad, also in public relations, with JDA Frontline strategic communications and public affairs in Charleston, S.C.;
--McKeown, whose concentration is broadcasting, with the Fox News Channel in New York;
--Middleton, also in public relations, with the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas;
--Riley, completing a double-concentration in broadcasting and journalism, with Viacom/MTV in Santa Monica, Calif.; and
--Walton, also in public relations, with The PR Boutique, a comprehensive services firm in Houston, Texas.
"Lora was such a valuable colleague and deeply committed member of our faculty who always had the students' best interest and education needs as her priorities," said department head John Forde.
"We know she would be very proud to have her name associated with a scholarship that stresses internships, as well these outstanding students who are the first DeFore Scholars," he added.
A part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the communication department is one of MSU's largest. With some 580 majors, it offers concentrations in broadcasting, communication studies, journalism, public relations, and theatre.