MSU retired faculty group honors state, Alabama, Texas students

Contact: Sammy McDavid

STARKVILLE, Miss.--Four current seniors and a recent Mississippi State graduate are selections for the university Association of Retired Faculty's annual student recognition program.

The 2012-13 honorees include Cortney L. Baroni of Hernando, Hudson M. Frey of Hollandale, Rachael C. Frost of Hampton Cove, Ala., Danielle A. Glass of Livingston, Texas, and Jenna Lynn Owen Sanders of Wiggins. All are President's List Scholars.

Baroni graduated at the conclusion of the 2012 spring semester with a degree, summa cum laude, in English.

Frey is majoring in microbiology; Frost, in animal and dairy science; Glass, architecture; and Sanders, industrial engineering. Frost, Glass and Sanders are members of MSU's Shackouls Honors College, as was Baroni.

Founded in 1986, the Association of Retired Faculty annually presents awards named for former campus colleagues and association members who made major contributions to student development over their careers at the 135-year-old land-grant institution. (For more, visit http://library.msstate.edu/arf/histupdate.htm.)

Baroni, the daughter of James and Stephanie Burns, was selected for the Peyton W. Williams Jr. Distinguished Writing Award. She was recognized for a research paper completed in a course on 19th century British novels that analyzed a work by author Charlotte Brontë. A minor in communication, Baroni was praised for her "original and persuasive argument," "productive engagement with feminist theory and with other Brontë scholars" and "strong and energetic writing style."

Frey, the son of Tony and Anna Frey, was presented with the Lewis Brown Exemplary Service Award as the top microbiology major in the biological sciences department. Already accepted to continue his education in Jackson at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, he maintained a leading academic record while participating in various leadership activities, including several key positions with the MSU Student Association.

Frost, the daughter of David and Sharon Frost, received the Charles E. Lindley Leadership Award. Also completing minors in business administration and Spanish, she has served as president of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Ambassadors, a student service and outreach organization. As a high school senior, she was accepted into the College of Veterinary Medicine early-entry program. As an MSU undergraduate, she has served as a student tutor and performed with the Famous Maroon Band and Wind Ensemble.

Glass, the daughter of Kevin and Deborah Glass of Spring, Texas, received the William L. Giles Award for Excellence in Architecture. She has served as president of the campus Tau Sigma Delta architecture honor fraternity, and is a member of Phi Kappa Phi national honor society and School of Architecture Director's Student Council. Winner of several design excellence recognitions, she was selected to co-direct the annual summer workshop for prospective architecture majors and to serve as an intern at the Carl Small Town Center, the school's community outreach arm.

Sanders, the daughter of Robert and Inita Owen, received the Harry C. Simrall Award for Engineering Excellence. She enrolled as an MSU Distinguished Scholar, the top campus scholarship program for new freshmen with outstanding high school achievements. At MSU, she participates in the nationally recognized Cooperative Education Program, alternating semesters between campus study and work with Eaton Aerospace in Jackson. In the Bagley College of Engineering, she is active in Society of Women Engineers and Institute of Industrial Engineers campus chapters. She also has served as an industrial engineering department student recruiter, as a member of the Student Association's Academic Affairs Committee.

ARF's William Giles, Charles Lindley, Harry Simrall, and Peyton William awards are memorial recognitions of, respectively, MSU's 13th president, the dean of agriculture and home economics, the dean of engineering, and the English professor and editor of the campus-based Mississippi Quarterly who was the first ARF president. The Lewis Brown Award honors the internationally recognized professor emeritus of microbiology.