Delta State University is a public institution providing a comprehensive undergraduate and graduate curriculum to over 4,000 students representing all of the states and more than 20 countries. Dozens of degree programs on the undergraduate level provide educational opportunities in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, and Education and in the Robert E. Smith School of Nursing. Graduate programs on the master’s, educational specialist, and doctoral levels provide advanced training in a broad range of disciplines. Acknowledging its beginnings as a teacher’s college, the University sustains excellence in teacher education while continuing to expand offerings in traditional as well as unique programs of study. From the core disciplines such as arts, humanities, and sciences, to unique programs such as Commercial Aviation, the Delta Music Institute, and the nationally-recognized Geospatial Information Technology program, the University is committed to meeting the evolving needs of the students it serves.
www.deltastate.edu
ABOUT DELTA STATE A student-created mascot turned legend. Fear of the Okra may not be actual fear, but it’s enough to get a crowd going.
William N. LaForge PRESIDENT
D E LTA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
William N. LaForge PRESIDENT
Delta State University Kent Wyatt Hall, Suite 255 Cleveland, MS 38733 P: 662.846.4000 F: 662.846.4014 E: president@deltastate.edu CONNECT WITH DELTA STATE:
Bill LaForge is President of Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. Appointed April 15, 2013, by the Board of Trustees of Mississippi’s Institutions of Higher Learning, he is serving as Delta State’s eighth president. Before returning to his hometown of Cleveland, Mississippi, Mr. LaForge enjoyed a 36-year career, in both the public and private sectors in Washington, DC, that spanned the fields of government, law, business, higher education, and public policy. In the private sector, he was an attorney, registered lobbyist, and principal of LaForge Government Relations, and three different law or public policy firms previously, where he specialized in federal government relations, and represented businesses and other organizations with public policy interests before the United States Congress and federal executive branch agencies. On Capitol Hill, Mr. LaForge served as senior legislative counsel to Republican and Democratic lawmakers in both houses of Congress. He was chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, and culminated his government career as Chief Legislative Counsel and Chief of Staff to United States Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi. Previously, he served as Congressional Liaison for the Peace Corps and as a legislative assistant to Mississippi Congressman David Bowen. He has also advised and organized political campaigns for major office holders in both political parties. Mr. LaForge is the author of the award-winning book, Testifying Before Congress, a comprehensive treatise on preparing and delivering congressional testimony, published by TheCapitol.Net in 2010. Mr. LaForge is a member of the bars of Mississippi and the District of Columbia, and he is Past National President of the Federal Bar
CLEVELAND, MS | 1.800.GO.TO.DSU | WWW.DELTASTATE.EDU
Association. For more than 30 years, he was an adjunct professor at George Washington University where he taught courses in the fields of commercial law, public policy, lobbying, and business-government relations. He has been a visiting professor of law at universities in Poland, Bulgaria, and Russia, where he served as a Fulbright Fellow. Mr. LaForge grew up in Cleveland, Mississippi, where he attended public schools and graduated with honors from Delta State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law, received an LL.M. in international law from Georgetown University, and studied international law at Cambridge University. He received fellowships to study government and public policy in the European Union and at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and he is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of laws from the Stetson University College of Law. While a student at Delta State, Mr. LaForge was a faculty scholar, president of the student government association, charter president of Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honorary society, and one of the first four students inducted into Delta State’s Student Hall of Fame. As an alumnus, Mr. LaForge has served as national president of the Delta State University Alumni Association and a trustee of the Delta State University Foundation. He was selected Delta State’s Alumnus of the Year in 1992 and a charter member of the Delta State University Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007. A daily runner, Mr. LaForge is a veteran of 61 marathons, including 24 Boston Marathons, and he has logged more than 70,000 miles running. He was named 1999 Athlete of the Year by the University Club of Washington. He and his wife, Nancy, have two adult children— Caroline and Clayton—both attorneys.
April 2015
HIGHLIGHTS: 2014-15 Leadership
William N. LaForge was selected to serve a two‐year term as vice president of the Gulf South Conference, and will serve as president in 2017. President LaForge was selected as a Fulbright Scholar and will return to Perm State University in Russia to teach a course in U.S. business‐government relations and lobbying. Mikel Sykes was elected to serve an unprecedented second term as Student Government Association President. He was also elected Vice President of the Student Body President Council of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. Dr. Chad R. Payton, assistant professor of music at Delta State, recently received one of twelve teaching internship awards from the National Association of Teachers of Singing organization. Delta State alumnus William Simpson is one of 60 scholars selected to participate in the inaugural class of The Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, a leadership development initiative supported by former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Athletic Successes Statesman senior LaQuavius Cotton won the 2015 State Farm College Dunk Championship. The men's swimming and diving team won the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference Championship. A statue commemorating former Lady Statesmen basketball coach Margaret Wade was erected on campus. Coach Wade is the namesake for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s trophy given to the NCAA’s Player of the Year.
Campus Awards & Achievements
The Robert E. Smith School of Nursing was ranked number one in the country for providing online RN (Registered Nurse) to BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) education by RNtoBSN.org. The International Business Symposium celebrated its tenth year on campus. The program is sponsored by David Abney, alumnus and CEO for UPS. The acclaimed Healthy Campus/Community Initiative program received the 2015 Governor’s Award from the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education. Delta State’s Center for Interdisciplinary Geospatial Information Technologies is partnering with the U.S. Marine Corps to develop certification and education programs for professionals working in intelligence disciplines. The Office of Communications and Marketing was recently named among the top in the nation in the 2014/2015 Collegiate Advertising Awards program.
Accreditation The Department of Commercial Aviation was granted approval of initial accreditation by Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) for its bachelors programs in Aviation Management and Flight Operations. The Robert E. Smith School of Nursing is seeking initial accreditation from the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education for the Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Post‐Graduate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse certificate programs.
HIGHLIGHTS: 2014-15 Diversity
Keynote speakers for the 2015 Winning the Race conference included Clifton L. Taulbert, noted author and businessman, and Joe Scantlebury with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The opening reception featured Robert G. Stanton, the first African American Director of the National Park Service. More than 30 faculty and staff at Delta State completed the Safe Space training program, a training session on how to provide support while working toward being an ally for the LGBTQ community. The Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum was selected to receive the prestigious Ernest M. Pon Memorial Award from the National Association for Ethnic Studies.
Academic Center for the Blues The inaugural International Conference on the Blues featured distinguished keynote speakers and performers including GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli; GRAMMY‐winning artist Alvin Youngblood Hart; and, host of the “Highway 61 Radio Show” Scott Barretta. More than 400 people attended the conference, representing 12 countries and 35 universities. Progress is underway for the establishment of a blues curriculum, through the Delta Center for Culture and Learning, and a Blues Leadership Incubator, which will align with GRAMMY Museum Mississippi.
Gifts & Scholarships
Indianola‐based sister companies, Gresham Petroleum and Double Quick, made a record breaking gift for scholarships to the College of Business. The Kent and Janice Wyatt Retention Scholarship was created in celebration of President Emeritus Kent Wyatt’s 50 years of service to Delta State.
Delta Music Institute
A group of Delta Music Institute students competed in the 2015 GRAMMY® Amplifier Center Stage contest. As one of three winners of the 2014 GRAMMY® Amplifier Center Stage contest, DMI student Jessica Wishard, known musically as Jessica Faith, recently filmed a music video for her song “Without a Fight.” Delta State’s entertainment industry studies program recently earned designation as a certified Avid Learning Partner.
Grants
The Levitt AMP [Cleveland] Music Series grant provides a free outdoor concert series featuring a diverse lineup of professional musicians. Delta State University was selected as one of only 24 universities across the nation for the U. S. Department of Education’s new “First in the World” grant, which will increase access and completion for underrepresented, underprepared, or low‐income students. The Bologna Performing Arts Center was chosen as one of 10 arts presenters to participate in South Arts’ Dance Touring Initiative. With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the BPAC will develop performances, workshops, and activities to connect audiences with modern dance and contemporary ballet companies. The Healthy Lifestyle Center, through a three‐year Health Resources and Services Administration grant, provides programs and services to assist patients of all ages with developing healthy lifestyle changes.
GRAMMY Museum Mississippi
Scheduled to open November 14, 2015 on the Delta State campus. Will provide an exchange program for DMI students with the University of Southern California and the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live. Ten students from the DMI attended “The History of Gospel Music” in Washington, D.C., an opportunity offered through a partnership between Delta State University and the GRAMMY Museum. First Lady Michelle Obama, GRAMMY Executive Director Bob Santelli, gospel music star and former Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams, Lyle Lovett, and Darlene Love were part of the educational program that the students attended.