MSU Alumni Name Fellows

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State University Alumni Association is announcing its 2013 class of Alumni Fellows.

Honored for distinguished service and achievements in their respective careers, each Fellow represents one of the 135-year-old land-grant institution’s eight academic colleges.

For more than two decades, the program has brought back to campus graduates of distinction to share their professional experiences and provide career guidance for current students and faculty mentors. Interaction between the alumni and campus community takes place both informally and in organized classroom settings.

MSU Alumni Fellows carry the honorary title for life.

On campus all this week [Nov. 14-16], the new fellows include (by college):

–College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Claude G. Steele III of Greenville, a 1971 agricultural engineering technology and business graduate who now is a partner with Steele Farms. He also is the 78th and current president of the Delta Council, an area economic development organization representing the 18 counties along the western side of the state.

–College of Architecture, Art and Design, Amie Oliver of Richmond, Va., a 1982 art graduate now serving as an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University. Continuing her connection with MSU, Oliver is exploring plans to initiate a Mississippi Atelier at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris which would enable faculty, students and alumni to pursue creative research in the French capital.

–College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Fred G. Corley Jr. of San Antonio, Texas, a 1968 chemistry graduate now serving as a professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Texas Health Science Center. Previously honored as a College of Arts and Sciences alumnus of the year, he is a current member of the college’s advisory board and has been a member of the MSU Foundation board of directors.

–College of Business, Mary M. Childs of Ripley, a 1980 banking and finance graduate now serving as president, CEO, COO and vice chairman of The Peoples Bank. She also is treasurer for both the MSU Foundation board of directors and Tippah County chapter of the alumni association.

–College of Education, Janice I. Nicholson of Florence, Ala., who received her master’s and doctoral degrees in elementary education in 1967 and 1977, respectively. Now retired, she was executive vice president for student affairs and graduate/special programs at Blue Mountain College, a 140-year-old private, co-educational liberal arts college located in Tippah County.

–James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, Timothy S. Duncan of Kingwood, Texas, a 1995 petroleum engineering graduate now serving as president and CEO of Talos Energy LLC. He also is an advisory board member for the Bagley College’s entrepreneurial program.

–College of Forest Resources, James L. Cummins Jr. of Amory, a 1987 fisheries management graduate currently serving as executive director for Stoneville-based Wildlife Mississippi. He also is founder of the Mississippi River Trust, The Carbon Fund and Theodore Roosevelt Society.

–College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Huang-Ge Zhang of Louisville, Ky., who received a doctor of philosophy degree in 1994 and now serves as a professor in the microbiology and immunology department at the University of Louisville’s School of Medicine.

The Alumni Association was founded June 17, 1885, by the first three graduating classes of the then-Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College.Over its history, MSU has graduated nearly 170,000 students.