2012 Winter Alumni Magazine

WINTER 2012

THE MAGAZINE FOR DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI AND FRIENDS

A FOND FAREWELL Dr. and Mrs. Hilpert say goodbye to Delta State

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 1

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u Contents Alumni Magazine President........................................................... Dr. John Hilpert Executive Director, Alumni-Foundation..................Keith Fulcher

Alumni Magazine Advisory Committee: Editor................................................................ Jordan Thomas Alumni Board Representative..............................Richard Myers Foundation Board Representative................... Anne Weissinger Alumni Editor..........................................................Jeffrey Farris Alumni Staff Representative.................................... Cheryl Oleis Foundation Editor...................................................... Ann Giger Foundation Representative................................ Sharon Krugler Athletics Department Editor......................................Matt Jones Athletics Representative.....................................Ronnie Mayers Communications and Marketing Editor............. Michael Gann

FEATURES

18 SCHOLARSHIP INITIATIVE

The Delta State Foundation sets a goal of $15 million to be used for scholarships.

Board of Directors Delta State University Alumni Association:

Richard Myers, President; Rob Armour, President Elect; George Bassi, Past President; Anne Weissinger, Foundation President; Lana Aguzzi, Johnny Arnold, John Cox, Patrick Davis, Alanna Ferguson, Amanda Fontaine, Sayward Fortner, Teresa Haynes, Lylla Joe, Chrissy LaMastus, George Miller, Michael Oleis, David Parker, Jeremy Pittman, Ron Selby, Chris Shivers, Karen Swain, Walter Revathan, Lynn Weaver

Board of Directors Delta State University Foundation, Inc:

Anne Weissinger, President; Tim Harvey, Vice President; Nan Sanders, Secretary/Treasurer; Mike Naaman, Past President; Richard Myers, Alumni President; David Abney, Dr. Bill Alford, Louis Baioni, Anita Bologna, Amanda Borgognoni, Hunter Cade, Jeff Ross Capwell, Kay Clark, Dr. Anna Looney Dill, Hank Drake, Bryce Griffis, Laird Hamberlin, Earnest Hart, Tom Janoush, Peter Jernberg, Gloria Johnson, Ed Kossman, Jr., Rex Lyon, Ned Mitchell, Billy Nowell, Carol Puckett, Randy Randall, Krista Roberts, Homer Sledge III, Deanie Stein, Jeff Tarver, Judson Thigpen, Sam Waggoner, Margaret Walker, Alan Walters, Dr. David Webber, Jimmy Wilson, Dr. Bennie Wright The Alumni & Foundation Magazine is published by the Delta State University Alumni & Foundation DSU Box 3104, 1003 West Sunflower Rd, Cleveland, MS 38733 E-Mail: alumnimagazine@deltastate.edu Phone: (662) 846-4660 Note: In an effort to reduce our environmental impact, only one magazine per household is mailed.

Art and Layout by mothlitemedia.com

Special Thanks to our Delta State Alumni Association Corporate Sponsors

STATESMEN LEVEL

A student is welcomed by Dr. and Mrs. Hilpert at the annual Ice Cream Social held for incoming freshmen students at the President’s home.

20 A CLASSIC STATESMAN

Dr. Hilpert says farewell to life as the university president.

24 RUNNING MATE

Pat Hilpert proves to be a woman of many talents.

DEPARTMENTS 2 President’s Message

Cleveland Medical Clinic, PLLC and Wright Surgical Services

OKRA LEVEL

8 Athletics

3 Alumni Message

12 Development

4 Campus Briefs

24 With the Classes

On the cover:

Dr. John Hilpert and his wife, Pat, stroll around campus for one of the last times as President and First Lady of Delta State. Photographed by Gib Ford.

Patrick Davis

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 3

u President’s Message Dear DSU Alumni and Friends, This issue of Delta State Magazine recognizes that retirement time has arrived for my wife, Pat, and me, and we are looking forward to it. There is one thing most important to say at the beginning of this letter: “Thank you!”

• Thank you to the faculty and staff for 10 years of outstanding service to this institution and its students.

• Thank you to alumni and friends of the university for a decade of encouragement, gifts, and participation in the life of your alma mater.

• Thank you to fans of the Statesmen athletic teams and to patrons of our arts events for your enthusiasm.

• Thank you to Cleveland for being a wonderful host community and a partner in this educational enterprise.

• Thank you to all citizens of the Mississippi Delta for collaborating in so many projects and programs designed to build this region.

• Thank you to members and staff of the State Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees for service, wisdom, and support.

• Thank you to our Governors, Legislators, and other state policy makers for addressing the needs and the dreams of Delta State.

• Thank you to professional colleagues at other colleges, universities, and post-secondary organizations for providing a network of helpful relationships.

• And, most importantly, thank you to family and friends, without whom achievements are meaningless and success is impossible.

I have agreed to remain as president of Delta State until my successor is chosen and arrives. It appears, from this vantage point, that this commitment will take me to the Spring Commencement in early May 2013, or nearly so. Pat and I will then walk into retirement, grateful for having had these past 10 years at Delta State University.

Yes, we have ambitious plans for retirement. Our agreed-upon perspective is that we’re about to reach the seventh inning stretch of our professional and personal lives. There is still a lot of game to play, and we hope to score a good many runs. Maybe we’ll even have the chance to play a few extra innings!

In the meantime, I want to say to everyone reading this publication that its most important article is not about us and our retirement. Rather it is the report on our $15 million scholarship campaign. We must find the resources necessary to offer each and every eligible student the chance to earn his or her degree. I know from personal experience what a university education means to career success and to the contributions an individual will make to the world in which we live. This campaign is highly important to the future of so many. Please help us surpass the goal.

Pat and I look forward to the remainder of this academic year and to opportunities to visit with you as you visit the campus.

Sincerely,

John M. Hilpert, President

Delta State University

Studies show that good universities have strong alumni associations!

Your alumni dues allow the alumni association to be able to provide better services to our students and alumni. Please consider joining or renewing your membership today! To become a member, scan the QR code with your smart phone, call (662) 846-4660, or send an email to alumni@deltastate.edu.

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u Alumni Message Dear Alumni and Friends, It has been an honor and privilege to serve as the President of the DSU Alumni Association these past two years. It has fueled my commitment to make sure that I stay involved in the institution that afforded me so much.

Of course, my tenure as President was only made possible by the good support and work of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. I appreciate their time and efforts toward making the operations of the DSU Alumni Association a success. I am most grateful for the support of John Cox, Past President of the Alumni Association, who is an unwavering ambassador for DSU. I especially would like to commend Alumni Director Jeffrey Farris for his outstanding leadership and guidance of the Association, and I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge the work of Assistant Director Liza Jordan who passed away earlier this year. Liza loved Delta State and her job with the Alumni Association, and she is missed. I am pleased that Jordan Thomas and Cheryl Oleis have joined the Alumni Association staff. Along with Jeffrey, they make an amazing team!

I am proud to welcome Richard Myers as the new President of the DSU Alumni Association.

Thank you,

George Bassi ’87 National Alumni Association Past President

Dear Alumni and Friends, I am excited to begin my term as President of the DSU Alumni Association. It is an honor and a privilege to serve this institution that means so much to all of us.

I must commend my predecessor, George Bassi, for his leadership as President of the Alumni Association over the past two years. George has been a passionate supporter of Delta State and has set a strong course for the Association. I also want to thank those who served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Also, the Alumni Association staff have tirelessly facilitated meetings and events on campus and all over the region to promote DSU. This publication is also an example of the excellent work we have come to expect from the Alumni Association staff.

I also want to highlight an important new Alumni Association program that is highlighted in this issue. Soon we will launch the Sustaining Life Member Program, a voluntary way for current lifetime members of the Delta State University Alumni Association to provide additional annual support to the Association. Sustaining Life members will be recognized for their generosity in an issue of Delta State Magazine and listed on the Alumni Association’s website. They will also receive a Sustaining Life Member Certificate, and a special edition 2013 lapel pin. The program will raise funds to enhance the number of Hugh Ellis Walker Alumni Scholarships awarded to incoming freshman on an annual basis. Please consider participating in this program.

I hope to see you at a local chapter meeting or back on campus for one of our signature events such as Pig Pickin’ 2013. Save the date: September 27 and 28!

All my best, Richard S. Myers, Jr. ’91 National Alumni Association President

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 5

u Campus Briefs

An Incredible Journey Laken Wilson was an average college student. The Linn native was involved all over the Delta State campus in various activities such as Delta Delta Delta Sorority, Union Program Council, Student Government Association Senate, and Student Alumni of Family and Consumer Sciences. The fashion merchandising major and reigning Miss DSU was in Steamboat, CO, for winter break with a friend’s family. On New Year’s Day 2012, Laken and three friends went out to snowboard. They discovered, however, that the mountain was too icy due to a lack of snow. They decided to take a trip up the mountain on the gondola without their ski equipment to walk around and throw some snowballs.

While walking around the mountain, one of the girls began to slide. Her brother quickly reached for her, and in a chain reaction, the entire group began sliding down the mountain.

Laken’s friends slid all the way to the bottom, but Laken slid head first into an artificial snowmaking machine. She slid approximately 250 yards, and Ski Patrol arrived to transport her to the emergency room in Steamboat.

“It was at this point that I got the call that no parent ever wants to get,” said Laken’s mother, Mechelle. “About five o’clock that afternoon, the phone rang. It was Laken’s friend. He told me that they had an accident and Laken hit her head. I had no idea the severity of her accident.

I asked her friend if we needed to come, and he said he wasn’t sure yet, but the insurance lady needed to talk to me.

“When the nurse from the emergency room called, she informed me that they were sending Laken by Lifelight to Denver Health in Denver, CO, because she had a severe head injury. It was no longer a question of if we were going,” she said. “It became a question of how we were going.”

While Mechelle and her husband, Mitch, were searching for commercial flights, a doctor from the Denver neurosurgical team called to inform them Laken had arrived in Denver and that for her to survive they needed to do

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immediate surgery. There was a possibility that she had severe brain damage.

“I told him to do what he had to do to save her,” said Mechelle.

When no commercial flights were available, the Wilsons turned to chartering a flight. They boarded a private plane at 9 p.m., an hour after doctors had called to say Laken was being taken into surgery. They arrived in Denver after midnight, just as Laken was being taken into recovery.

“I had never prayed so hard in my life as I did during that flight,” said Mechelle. “The same doctor I talked to before we left home came to greet us in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit waiting room. He said he was amazingly pleased at what he was seeing. Laken was awake and responding to them. When we got to go back, she looked at us with big tears in her eyes, but we had to move away because her

intercranial pressure and blood pressure were going up with the excitement.”

The Wilsons were escorted to a room, and the doctor showed them her x-rays. He explained that she had an injury to the left side of her brain. Laken had a one-inch hole in her skull that had been covered with a titanium mesh plate. The part of her brain that had been damaged controlled the mobility of her right side, which had left her unable to speak and her right side paralyzed.

“Laken spent the next four days in SIC hooked up to all kinds of monitors and being fed with a feeding tube,” said Mechelle. “We learned more about intercranial pressures, blood pressures, and heart rates than we ever wanted to know.”

Laken began her slow road to recovery. She eventually began gaining movement on the right side of her body, beginning by wiggling

Miriam C. Davis,

NEWSMAKERS

Dr. Gary A. Bouse, Chief Development Officer, joined the University’s Alumni/ Foundation staff last fall. He earned a bachelor of science in agricultural economics and master of agriculture degrees from Texas A&M University and graduated from Indiana University with a doctorate in higher education administration.

Christy Riddle was named Executive Director of the newly established Delta State University Student Success Center.

Riddle previously served as Director of Career Services. In her new role, Riddle will focus on advising, student retention, and academic support.

LEFT: A group of friends and family greet Laken Wilson at the Cleveland Municipal Airport as she arrives home from Denver. RIGHT: Laken Wilson, escorted by her father Mitch Wilson, at the Miss DSU pageant 2012.

her big toe. She was still having issues with her right arm and communicating, but she was eventually able to move out of ICU into a room on the pediatrics floor. With the help of intense physical therapy, she began taking a few steps. The feeding tube came out, and she began saying words. Slowly, the feeling came back to her right arm.

“On the rehab floor, she worked very hard, and the doctor determined that she would improve more quickly if she could get back home where she had friends and family to encourage her,” said Mechelle. “On January 22, she was discharged from Denver Health. We took a private flight back to Cleveland, where she was greeted by a crowd of family and friends.”

Laken began physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy in Cleveland. Her demanding therapy schedule meant Laken was unable to return to Delta State that semester. Day by day, she began to recover. According to Laken, her Delta State family helped her get through the difficult times.

“Delta State University has been amazing. Everyone has been so supportive and caring.

I received cards and packages every day from my department, my sorority sisters and other organizations on campus such as softball, Alumni-Foundation, and fraternities. I don’t even really know all that was done for me,” said Laken.

The Tri-Deltas made and sold t-shirts; the Kappa Alpha fraternity held a benefit in her honor; Lost Pizza Co. also had a benefit that brought community members and students out in droves; and ribbons and car decals were sold in the Union. Every loose end that needed to be tied up was taken care of by the business office, and the yearbook staff even dedicated the yearbook to her.

Jordan Thomas has been named the new Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs at Delta State University.

Thomas received her bachelor of arts degree in English and Journalism from the University of Mississippi in 2009 and her masters of English education from Delta State University in 2011.

Davlon Miller was recently named Director of Career Services at Delta State University.

Miller graduated from Delta State in 2008 with his bachelor’s degree in business and administration and in 2010 with a master’s degree in education.

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 7

u Campus Briefs

27th Annual Pig Pickin’ a Success

Delta State alumni, students, and friends celebrate the 27th annual Pig Pickin’ with the Alumni Association in Statesmen Park.

This fall, the Delta State University Alumni Association held the 27th annual Pig Pickin’ at Statesmen Park. This year’s event was another success.

“I am pleased with the excellent turnout at this year’s Pig Pickin’,” said Delta State President Dr. John Hilpert. “It’s an event that many alumni, students, and community members look forward to every year, and I’m glad that the tradition has continued to grow and develop.”

Jeffrey Farris, director of Alumni Affairs, echoed Hilpert’s sentiments. “Good food, record attendance, and a competitive ballgame makes the perfect recipe for experiencing a Delta State University Pig Pickin’,” said Farris. “The development of student, alumni, and community support is the lifeblood of this signature event hosted by the Alumni Association.”

Over 1,400 people came through the serving lines and had plates of pulled pork or BBQ chicken along with either Cajun or original sausage provided by Polk’s Meats, sponsors of the event for the past seven years.

The BBQ was prepared by a group of volunteers including Tom Janoush, Jay 8 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

Burchfield, Jamie van Vulpen, Eddie Vaughn, David Griffin, Arnold Luciano, and others. The event would not have been possible without the help of all the volunteers and sponsors.

“Although no one in our family attended Delta State, over the years we have definitely felt like honorary alumni,” said Julie Breazeale of Polk’s Meat Products. “It’s always a pleasure to support an event that is geared towards past, present, and future Statesmen!”

Twenty-two cook teams participated in this year’s competition. The winners were: Best Design (t-shirt/apron) Delta Boy Smokers; Best Décor, Sho-Nuff Smokers; 3rd place Sausage Anyway, Bottom’s Up Smokers; 2nd place Sausage Anyway, Shotgun House Smokers; 1st place Sausage Anyway, Junk Yard Hogs; 3rd place chicken, Tag Team Smokers; 2nd place chicken, Big Daddy Woo Woo’s BBQ; 1st place chicken, Sooey’s; 3rd place pork, Delta Boy Smokers; 2nd place pork, Smokehouse Posse; 1st place pork, Rolling Bones; Grand Champion, Shotgun House Smokers.

Many other events were also taking place on campus in conjunction with Pig

Pickin’ including DSU Day, hosted by the Office of Admissions. Over 250 prospective students and parents participated in DSU Day before heading over to Statesmen Park to enjoy the Pig Pickin’ festivities.

The Delta State Band, the “Pride of the Delta,” also hosted an event for prospective band members. Future students got the chance to perform with the band at the pep rally, in the stands during the game, and during the half-time show. Approximately 50 high school and community college band members participated with the Delta State Alumni Band.

The various Pig Pickin’ events led up to the showdown between the Delta State and North Alabama football teams.

Although the Statesmen didn’t pull out a win, there was a terrific crowd at the game.

“All in all, Pig Pickin’ 2012 was a success,” said Jordan Thomas, assistant director of alumni affairs. “The day ended with the ‘Pride of the Delta’ Marching Band performing Delta State’s alma mater at the close of the football game. The football team remained on the field as fans stood and sang with pride. It was the perfect ending to a great weekend.”

John S. & Jutta Karnstedt Ferretti Fellowship Established

U.S. Poet Laureate, Natasha Trethewey, signs a copy of her newest book, “Thrall,” for Amber Wright ’12.

U.S. Poet Laureate Comes Home Natasha Trethewey, a native of Gulfport, MS, was named the U.S. Poet Laureate in June. For her first Mississippi reading as the nation’s 19th Poet Laureate, Trethewey chose Delta State University.

“Delta State is kind of the first place to welcome me in my home state; it’s nice to come to a place that welcomes me home,” said Trethewey. “I’m reminded most of being a native daughter when I come here.”

The reading, held on September 18, served as the launch of her newest collection of poetry, “Thrall.” “What I want very much is to be able to connect with people in the audience and ask them to think about things they might not have thought about before,” she said in an address to the media prior to the reading.

Trethewey also has served as the Mississippi Poet Laureate. She said it was an honor to be named U.S. Poet Laureate.

“It’s very exciting, but it’s also very humbling,” said Trethewey. “Even if you dream of what you might become as you’re growing up, getting there reminds you not only of the hard work you’ve done, but the support you’ve received from other people.

“It also reminds you how much responsibility comes with the gifts you’ve been given—that’s the humbling part.”

Trethewey’s poetry is largely influenced by history, particularly American history. “It’s important to tell those untold stories, those forgotten narratives in American history in order for us, as Americans, to share a fuller version of our shared history,” she said.

Trethewey is not only a friend to Delta State; she is also an honorary graduate. Dr. John Hilpert awarded her an honorary doctorate at the 2007 Fall Commencement.

Delta State University’s College of Arts and Sciences is proud to announce the John S. and Jutta Karnstedt Ferretti Fellowship.

This new fellowship is designated for an outstanding student in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MA-LS) program.

The new MA-LS degree program is the only one of its kind in Mississippi, and one of only a few in the South. The program targets non-traditional students and is designed to develop interdisciplinary expertise in gender and diversity, globalization, literature, the Mississippi Delta, philosophy, and religious studies.

The fellowship is made possible by a $10,000 gift from Jutta Karnstedt Ferretti of Shelby, in honor of her late husband, John S. Ferretti. Karnstedt Ferretti graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies degree in December 2010, becoming the oldest graduate in the history of Delta State University at the age of 86.

Expressing a life-long love for learning, Karnstedt Ferretti has given generously to Delta State for a variety of scholarships and was honored in March 2011 with the dedication of the Jutta Karnstedt Ferretti Special Collections Room in the Roberts-LaForge Library on the campus.

“Education has always been very important to me and my late husband, John. Learning in all fields affects the present and future, as there is still so much to be discovered that we are not aware of today,” said Karnstedt Ferretti.

For more information about the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies and the John S. and Jutta Karnstedt Ferretti Fellowship, contact the Delta State University College of Arts and Sciences at 662-846-4100 or visit www.deltastate.edu/mals.

Mrs. Jutta Karnstedt Ferretti accepts flowers from Dr. Mark Bonta, Associate Professor of Geography and Chair of the MA-LS Committee.

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 9

u Athletics

Andrew Jones, a senior from Corinth, kicked a field goal in the remaining seconds to secure a win for the Statesmen over Tartleton State.

Game Changer With four seconds left in regulation, the game tied and on the line, Andrew Jones took the field to attempt a game-winning field goal. Jones, a senior from Corinth, MS, had a few miscues during the game from a missed extra point to a kickoff going out of bounds. However, Jones took a breath and knocked the field goal through the uprights to give the Statesmen a much needed victory over Tarleton State. The career of Andrew Jones can be summed up a lot like the Tarleton State game. Jones did not see playing time right away, but over the past couple of seasons, he has become one of the most clutch players for the Statesmen.

Jones’s kicking career began at Kossuth High School. More than just a kicker, Jones spent time as receiver and defensive back. Kicking is where Andrew excelled, as he was named AllState in 2006 and a Super 22 place kicker and receiver.

Jones came to Delta State in the fall of 2008. Instead of competing for a starting spot as a punter, Jones spent his first semester as a team manager. It was during the fall practice that the coaches gave Jones the chance to punt, and they liked what

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they saw. It still took time for Jones to see action on the field, and he was on the sidelines until the fall of 2011.

When he got on the field in 2011, Jones took advantage of his opportunity as a starting punter. Jones led the Gulf South Conference by averaging 41.9 yards per punt. He also pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 13 times, had 12 punts over 50 yards, and recorded a 78-yard punt as well. Jones was named First-Team All South Region and helped the Statesmen not only win a Gulf South Championship but also reach the national semi-finals.

After a rough start to this season against Fort Valley State, Jones quickly returned to form. After the game against West Georgia, Jones got his average back to 40.6 yards per punt with four games to play. This season, Jones also has added responsibilities. He handles all the kicking duties including kickoffs and field goals.

It took awhile for Jones to get on the field, but with what he has been able to accomplish, it was worth the wait.

Boone Ready to Lead Statesmen Hoops to Next Level The Jim Boone Era of Delta State University Statesman basketball officially began November 1 as the Green-andWhite took on Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena.

Boone (438-328), a native of Winfield, WV, brings 27 years of collegiate coaching experience to Delta State, including stops at the NCAA Division I and II levels. His career record speaks to his success on the hardwood, but his real niche has been at the NCAA DII level where he has posted a blistering 338-166 mark as a head coach.

Prior to taking over as head coach of the Statesmen, Boone spent the 2011-12 season as head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College, guiding the Bobcats to a school record 22 wins at the DII level and the program’s first ever victory in the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament Championship.

Under Boone’s leadership, the Bobcats (22-9) defeated perennial DII power Winston Salem State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament this season before falling to West Liberty.

Boone began his career as a standout player at West Virginia State College where he was a four-year letterman.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and followed that with a master’s in Business Administration from the University of Kentucky with a concentration in marketing.

His coaching career brought him back to his alma mater, spending three seasons as the head assistant coach from 198285. Boone made the jump to NCAA DI basketball in 1986 as an assistant at Charleston Southern University, where the Buccaneers won the Big South Conference Championship.

The championship experience led

Coach Jim Boone started his first season with the Statesmen this November. From left: Coach Jimmy Boone III, Coach Jim Boone, Coach John Reynolds, and Coach Chris Richardson, assistant coach.

Boone to California University of Pennsylvania as head coach. Over the next 10 years, Boone led California (PA) to unprecedented success, including a 228-71 record. During his time with the Vulcans, Boone’s squads claimed 31 wins and became the number one team in the country in 1992, two NCAA DII Final Four appearances, six regular season conference titles, and nine trips to the NCAA Tournament.

During his career, his teams have recorded 17 or more wins on 16 occasions, including six conference

championships, four tournament titles, and seven postseason appearances. From 1990-96, his California teams recorded over 20 victories for six consecutive years, tallying an impressive 150-33 mark during that span. His 94-24 league record in the PSAC is still the best of any coach in that conference’s history. He was named PSAC Coach of the Year on three occasions (1988, 1992, 1996) and NCAA Region Coach Year twice (1992, 1996).

He is married to the former Stephanie VanVranken, and they are the parents of two sons, Jimmy and Joey.

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 11

u Athletics

Sports Shorts Kinnison Inducted into MAIS Hall of Fame

Ferriss Receives Innaugural Rubenstein Award Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Dave “Boo” Ferriss is the first recipient of the Rube award, named for the late executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

Ferriss was honored on July 27 in Jackson. Sports Hall of Fame director Rick Cleveland made the announcement.

The award is named for Michael Rubenstein. “Rube” was his nickname.

Rubenstein, a former sportscaster, died in December.

The award honors an individual who has supported and contributed to sports in Mississippi.

Ferriss, a Shaw native, was 65-30 with a 3.64 ERA in 144 games (103 starts) in six seasons with the Red Sox. His career was cut short by arm trouble. He went on to coach baseball 12 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

at Delta State. The Ferriss Trophy is given annually to Mississippi’s top collegiate baseball player.

Keller Scholarship Awarded

Delta State University head baseball coach Mike Kinnison ’77 added to his lengthly resume of honors and accolades on August 11, when the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools inducted him into the MAIS Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The MAIS Hall of Fame Induction Banquet was held at the Clyde W. Muse Center on the Hinds Community College campus in Pearl.

Kinnison, a former standout player at Benton Academy who went on to lead Jackson Prep to multiple state championships as head coach, has continued to build upon the legacy of legendary DSU head coach Dave “Boo” Ferriss. Since 1997, Kinnison has accomplished an unbelievable career record of 703-216-1 (.765).

He averages 44 wins per season as head coach, and his all-time career record, including high school, is an astounding 995-297-1 (.768).

Kinnison led the Statesmen to the 2012 World Series Finals in Cary, NC, where they were defeated by West Chester University.

DSU Athletics Announces Creation of the Legends of the Green-and-White Society

Twins Heidi and Laura Nichols are the recipients of the 2012 Keller Swimming Scholarship given by twins Chrissy Keller LaMastus ’96 and Katherine Keller Batenhorst ’96.

Katherine and Chrissy created the scholarship as a way to honor their parents, Paul and Marguerite Keller, for their support, encouragement, and sacrifices over the years.

The Delta State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced the Legends of the Green-and-White Society, a new arm of the Green-and-White Fund. The Legends of the Greenand-White Society serves to honor four Delta State University legends, Dave “Boo” Ferriss, Margaret Wade, Horace McCool, and Lloyd Clark, while raising much needed funds for Statesmen and Lady Statesmen Athletics.

For more information about the Legends of the Green-and-White Society, please contact Ronnie Mayers at 662-846-4300 or Matt Jones at 662-846-4284. You may also request information via email at athletics@deltastate.edu.

Midlick Takes Over Lady Statesmen Basketball

Men’s Soccer Team Makes History It was a historic year for the Delta State Men’s Soccer team. For the first time in school history, the Statesmen secured a spot in the Gulf South Conference tournament and even advanced to the final game. Although the Statesmen lost the Championship game against Christian Brothers University, the team certainly has accolades to be proud of.

Former Head Coach Matt Watts was named the Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year, marking the first time a Delta State soccer coach has received the award.

Also for the first time in history, five Statesmen were named to the GSC First and Second teams. Caue Da Silva (forward) and Steven Simmons (defender) were named All-GSC First team. Daniel Deblaere, Sebastian Ridout, and Amine Rahmani were all named to the AllGSC Second team as midfielders.

David Midlick, a proven recruiter and NCAA Division I assistant coach, was formally introduced as head coach of the Lady Statesmen basketball program in July.

The Memphis, TN, native brings nine years experience at the NCAA Division I level back to the Mississippi Delta. During his time with Tennessee State and Austin Peay State, Midlick established himself as a great evaluator of talent and proved his ability to develop student-athletes into successful players on and off the court.

Prior to coming to DSU, Midlick spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Austin Peay State University, where he served under head coach Carrie Daniels and the Lady Governors.

Midlick was in charge of forwards and centers development, while assisting with recruiting, academic tracking, scheduling, compliance, and game planning. Two of his signees in the 2011 APSU class were ranked nationally by ESPN. Midlick spent four seasons at Tennessee State University prior to joining the Austin Peay coaching staff. While with the Lady Tigers, Midlick helped engineer a complete turnaround from winless squad to Ohio Valley Conference contender.

Midlick was a successful physical therapist in Greenville, MS, before embarking on the path to becoming a college head coach. He twice served as head boys basketball coach (1994-97, 19992003) at Washington School and also served as varsity girls coach from 1999-2002. Between his stints at Washington, he coached varsity boys and girls at Indianola Academy.

Midlick enjoyed a strong playing career at the University of Mississippi under head coach Ed Murphy. In his three-year career, Midlick scored 459 points for an average of 5.8 points per game, while leading the Rebels in free-throw percentage (83.7) all three seasons and three-point field goal percentage in 1989.

The Rebels were a National Invitational Tournament participant in 1989 and a Southeastern Conference Tournament finalist the following season. Midlick was a three-time Academic AllSEC selection (1989-91), a 1991 SEC Male Scholar-Athlete and a finalist for SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Midlick received his bachelor’s degree in biological science in 1991 from the University of Mississippi and followed that with a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1994.

He is married to the former Leslie Biddle of Grenada, MS, also a physical therapist. They have two sons, David Jr. and Will.

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 13

Development

Delta State DNA Shines Through Delta State University means so many things to so many people. According to Dr. Ernest Brothers (’94), a chemistry major from Greenville, MS, “Delta State has always meant to me that there are possibilities beyond my circumstances. DSU will always be a part of my DNA, and it is the people that make up Delta State that I value the most.

“What inspired me to attend Delta State was the reputation of the chemistry department and also the convenience of a commuter campus that allowed me to work full time and attend school full time,” he said. “My experience at Delta State was transformational.

I quickly learned the value of attending a liberal arts institution, which enables you to develop academically and socially in art, music, history, and science.”

Brothers’ time as a student was enhanced by the dedication of his professors, and when he returned as a faculty member, there were several students who made an impact in his life.

“There are several professors that influenced me, but the most notable would be Dr. Henry Outlaw, who was also my advisor and mentor. He demonstrated to me that it’s not how you start or where you start, but how you finish,” he said. “I had the unique opportunity to both attend DSU and work at DSU. I would have to say that specific students who made an impact on my life were those I taught chemistry to and those that were under my guidance in the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation Program.

They inspired me that my reason for coming to work every day was not about me, but to help shape, mold, and craft them for their career goals and aspirations.”

14 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

“Ernest was a former student of ours in the Physical Science department,” said Outlaw. “When he came to us he was just out of the Marine Dr Ernest Brothers, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Corps and had done a tour of duty in Iraq.

He was highly focused would make me competitive for any career and took his course work very seriously. Upon path. My aspirations have always been senior graduation, he became the director of the administration, and DSU gave me the support Bridge Program and was an excellent mentor I needed to pursue both my MPPA degree and and role model for many African-American the Ph.D. in Urban Higher Education,” he said. students.

“It was truly an honor for me to have President “I have followed his career over the years as Hilpert serving on my dissertation committee he has climbed the academic ladder. We still and also the support of then Provost, Dr. John keep up on Facebook, and I count him as one Thornell, who often gave me insight on what I of my very good friends. I am extremely proud needed to do to get to the next level.” of him and his success in higher education.

Through his work in higher education, Many people do not know that he is an he sees the importance of scholarships and excellent chef and cooks BBQ ribs that melt in financial aid. “When a student carries the stress your mouth!” of uncertainty regarding whether or not he or Brothers also holds a Master of Science she will have the financial resources to remain in Natural Science from Delta State, a Master in the academy, it hinders his/her ability to stay of Public Policy and Administration from focused on academics, and subsequently puts Mississippi State University, and a Ph.D. the student at risk.” in Urban Higher Education from Jackson Brothers recalled some of the best advice State University. As the Assistant Dean of he’s ever received is from former Delta State the Graduate School at the University of President Dr. David Potter. “I once asked how Tennessee, he oversees the Office of Graduate do you become a university president? He Training and Mentorship and serves as the replied ‘stop fantasizing about it, and take the Associate Director for Diversity Enhancement next job that will get you a step closer.’ I have for the National Institute for Mathematical and used that advice and given that advice to many Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS). people to navigate the trajectory of higher He attributes his professional success to education administrations,” he said. his time at Delta State. “I always felt that the Brothers and his wife Charlotte currently education and training that I received at DSU reside in Knoxville, TN.

Providence Cooperative Farm The Providence Cooperative Farm Endowed Scholarship has its beginning dating back in 1936 with the operations of Providence Cooperative Farm in Rochdale, Sunflower County, Mississippi. The organization experienced difficulties with the gumbo soil and relocated in 1938 to the 3,600 acre, and later 1,800 acre Providence Cooperative Farm, Tchula, and Holmes County, Mississippi.

The Delta Foundation was chartered in Mississippi in 1947 with the goal to provide tenant farmers with land of their own. The Providence Cooperative Farm was more than just a farm because it also operated a cooperative store, credit union, school, summer youth camp, medical clinic, and gas station. Even during World War II, the farm served as a dairy for an Army base. Gene Cox was farm manager, and his wife, Lindy, was the clinic nurse. Dr. David Minter served as clinic physician, who, along with his wife, Sue, resided on the farm.

Farm operations were discontinued in 1955 and sold to the Nature Conservancy and Department of Interior (US Fish and Wildlife Commission) to expand the Morgan Brake, a wildlife refuge. An Indian Mound was donated to the Mississippi Historical Commission with assistance from Governor Winter.

With proceeds of the sale, members of the Delta Foundation Board of Directors, comprised primarily of descendants of the Cox and Minter families, began providing college scholarships to Holmes County students. In 1964, Ms. Fannye Booker operated one of the first Head Start programs in Mississippi at the farm. The farm became a conservation model during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

“At the beginning, Delta State wasn’t on our list,” said Carol Cox Nooe, explaining schools targeting Holmes County, such as the local community college, were the initial outreach focus. “We began looking closely at the financial stability of the schools to make sure they were solvent. Delta State has always seemed financially sound, and my younger sister, Pat Cox Wells, graduated from there.

Before she died last year, we had decided to reduce the “Before receiving the Providence Cooperative foundation and gift a significant Farm Endowed Scholarship my family endowment to Delta State,” wondered if they could even afford to send thus the beginning of the me to my first year at Delta State.”

Providence Cooperative —Olivia O’Reilly, Freshman Farm Endowed Scholarship at Delta State University. Other Providence Cooperative Farm Endowed Scholarships have from Pickens, MS, said, “before receiving been established by The Delta Foundation at the Providence Cooperative Farm Endowed Holmes Community College and Tugaloo Scholarship my family wondered if they could College to ensure the continuance of the even afford to send me to my first year at Delta mission in the spirit of its founders.

State. I am now a freshman at DSU with plans The first Providence Cooperative Farm to attend graduate school after graduation. My Endowed Scholarship recipient, Olivia family and I are so grateful for this scholarship, O’Reilly, a freshman Psychology major and it has lessened such financial stress.”

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 15

Development

Q&A with Henry Outlaw Dr. Henry Outlaw graduated from Delta State in 1961. He returned to DSU as assistant professor of chemistry in 1966, and in 1970 he became a professor of chemistry and Chair of the Department of Physical Sciences. He remained in this position until 2002 and began working part-time with the Delta Center for Culture and Learning. Outlaw worked at the Delta Center for about 3 ½ years before he began working with the Delta State Foundation. He fully retired on July 1, 2012, but he can still be seen around campus.

What year did you come to DSU? I came to Delta State in the fall of 1957 as a student and graduated in 1961 with a degree in chemistry and biology. I got my Doctorate in biochemistry. My initial goal was to teach in Med School, but I found out quickly it was not for me. I had fallen in love with the Delta, so I came back to teach at Delta State, and I retired in 2002. I worked here for almost 50 years.

What is your favorite memory as a student?

Delta Council brought Wernher von Braun to Delta State in the spring of 1958. He had just been appointed the head of NASA, and several of us went to hear him talk in Whitfield Gym. After that speech, we all changed our majors, and it changed our lives.

How would you encourage students to come to DSU? Delta State for me was a public school with a private school atmosphere. Teachers really care about you here, and my life would have been totally different if I hadn’t come here.

What do you love most about DSU? When I walk across the campus, almost every place I walk I’ve had an experience there of some sort. There are two main reasons that I returned to Delta State. One, I’d gone to school here, so I know the place and I really enjoyed teaching students. And two, the people of Cleveland take you in and nurture you.

Why are scholarships so important?

When I came here, they had just instituted a

work study program. It allowed me to go to school and earn an income. Sometimes, we miss out on kids because of money issues.

There will always be a need for scholarships, and every little bit helps.

What was your perspective on giving prior to your work in fundraising, and what is your perspective now?

Seamless. I was the Chair of the Physical Science Department, and we did fundraising long before I worked in the Foundation Office.

We started building scholarships, but my perspective has gotten broader as far as needs.

Make a Difference to your DSU Simple and Easy Way to Make a Bequest or Adjust Your Existing Will.

The following are four examples of types of outright gift provisions. The sample language illustrates how a bequest or a gift through a living trust can be accomplished and is intended to be used for educational purposes. We encourage donors to share this information with their legal counsel and recommend that anyone undertaking estate planning do so with the consultation of an attorney.

SPECIFIC BEQUEST TO THE DSU FOUNDATION:

A specific bequest gives a specific item or specific piece of property.

I give _______________ (describe asset, amount of residue or % of residue) to The DSU Foundation, Inc., a Mississippi non-profit corporation, 1003 West Sunflower Road, Cleveland, Mississippi 38732, to further the objectives and purposes of DSU (or specify the College, or a School, Division, or Department at DSU).

CODICIL:

Sample language for including the University in your existing will is accomplished through a codicil.

I, _______________, hereby amend my last Will and Testament, executed on the _______ day of ____________, in the year ______. I direct that all provisions of that Will remain in effect but direct in addition that the Delta State University Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit corporation duly existing under the laws of the state of Mississippi and located at Cleveland, Mississippi, shall receive the sum of ________ dollars (or _____ percentage of my estate) to be used as the Board of Directors of the Foundation may direct or for the stated purpose of _______________.

Contact the Delta State Foundation for assistance or more information: 662-846-4704 | foundation@deltastate.edu

16 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

Leading by Example A Davidson Family Story When Dr. Littleton Stacy Davidson and his wife, Fay Spruill Davidson, of Cleveland, established the Stacy and Fay S. Davidson Scholarship for outstanding liberal arts students in 1995, it set a precedent that other scholarship donors have followed: the fouryear Davidson Scholarship covers not only tuition but also room and board, books, and other fees.

Recipients of the Stacy and Fay S. Davidson Scholarship are quick to share the impact the Davidsons have and continue to have on them.

Carrie Willis, class of 2011 biology major, said “Dr. and Mrs. Davidson were genuinely interested in my academic career at Delta State.

I cannot say enough how grateful I am for their compassion and the opportunities I’ve received as a recipient of their scholarship.”

Sophomore interdisciplinary studies major Gerald Milton said, “when I first got to Delta State, I was looking at student loans and was worried about the debt I would have by the time I graduated. Because of the Stacy and Fay S. Davidson Scholarship, I am now looking forward to graduate school after receiving my undergraduate degree.”

The Davidson family has generously provided funding for other areas of the university: Delta State Annual Fund, James and Jessie Lee Simmons Scholarship, Fellowship of Christian Athletics, Kent Wyatt Enrichment Fund, Bologna Performing Arts Center, and also men’s basketball, football, and choral music programs. Also, Fay Davidson was instrumental in securing funding from the university from the Gertrude C. Ford Foundation. “When we first came here, Delta State didn’t have a doctor for the football program,” said Fay Davidson. “He helped out for about 12 years and did the same thing for Cleveland High School. He was very active in the community with Boy Scouts.”

The couple met at Galloway United Methodist Church in Jackson when he was

a student in the first graduating class (1955) of the University Of Mississippi School of Medicine, and she was a student at Belhaven College. Before they married in 1958, Dr. Stacy Davidson cautioned his fiancée: “Fay, my first priority will be my patients unless something happens to you or our children.” “And that’s the way it’s always been,” she said with a nod of approval.

Dr. Stacy Davidson interned at Baylor Medical Center in Houston followed by service in the Army at Fort Rucker, AL, for two years. The Davidsons settled in Cleveland in 1960. Initially, Dr. Stacy Davidson was a general practitioner who made house calls many evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Noting the need for an ophthalmologist, as there were none in Cleveland and few in the Mississippi Delta, Dr. Davidson pursued additional training in the late 1960s and then opened Cleveland’s inaugural ophthalmology practice.

Among many leadership posts at the University of Mississippi, University of Mississippi Medical Center, and the Mississippi State Medical Association, Dr. Stacy Davidson recently completed a lengthy term on the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees.

Even though Fay Davidson earned a liberal arts degree from Mississippi College, her sons, John Stacy Davidson of Jackson and Friley Spruill Davidson of Dallas, have always been her top priority. Sadly, weeks before Christmas in the year he turned 49, Friley Davidson had a massive heart attack and died suddenly.

“It feels the same as if it happened today,” said Fay Davidson. “In anything philanthropic we do, we always include him. When people ask about my children now, I always say I have one in my heart and one in Jackson.”

In addition to their two sons, the Davidsons have four grandchildren—Brantley, Samuel, Andrew, and Caroline Davidson.

Dr. Davidson with 2009–2010 recipient Carrie Willis.

Gerald Milton, of Olive Branch, is the 2011–2013 scholarship recipient.

Even though he was diagnosed with colon cancer fifteen years ago, Dr. Stacy Davidson continues to work part-time at Davidson Clinic, P.A. “I’ve been cancer free and all my tests come back negative,” he said. “God’s been good to me.”

Dr. John Hilpert, President of Delta State University, said, “Dr. and Mrs. Davidson have shown their commitment to higher education generally and students in particular through years of service and generous support of this scholarship program. Many students and their families struggle to pay the high cost of achieving a university education.

The Davidsons recognized this need and responded. We are grateful to them.”

To make your gift to the Davidson scholarship or other scholarships go to www.deltastategiving.org. To request more information please call 662-846-4704 or email foundation@deltastate.edu.

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 17

Clockwise from leff: Hallye Skillion, English Education; Trent Calvin, Math Education; Kayla Woods, Nursing; Joel Salazer, International Business and Marketing

Delta State University is doing its part to help future generations receive the

DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY

Scholarship Initiative By: Judy Smith

education necessary to help change the world and bring about a promising tomorrow. In September, Delta State President Dr. John M. Hilpert announced the Delta State University Scholarship Initiative with the goal of raising $15 million by June 2015. In the history of the university, this is one of the largest concerted efforts to raise scholarship funds to assist students with the ever-increasing rise in tuition and other college expenses.

18 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

“The importance of assisting students with educational expenses “These scholarships represent my future and cannot be overemphasized,” Hilpert said. “Federal and state programs my security . . . They are my way to make a have failed to keep pace with increasing costs, and many families find change in my life and hopefully the lives of themselves in a squeeze because of the negative economic situation. other students as a future educator.”

Young people need help, and the scholarships generated by giving to this initiative will provide the necessary assistance.”

—Hallye Skillion, Junior • English Education The Delta State University Scholarship Initiative has been in development for the past few years. As student funding has declined and tuition has continued to increase, University leaders and Delta State University Foundation Board members saw the need for financial sole provider for her home, supporting herself and her disabled mother, assistance increase at an alarming rate, and the scholarship funds raised an alumnus of DSU, while working two jobs. Despite the work load from through the initiative will help students pay for the many expenses of her employment and course work, caring for her mother, and grieving college that occur along with tuition, such as textbooks, living expenses, the loss of her beloved aunt and DSU alumnus, Jaime Gardner, Skillion lab fees, and other various fees. The need for financial assistance for graduated from Northwest Community College and received scholarship students cannot be overstated. It is vital to the survival of the university. funds to continue her education at Delta State University.

“Within the past few years, Delta State University and the Delta State “To me, these scholarships represent my future and my security,” University Foundation began the planning process for a comprehensive Skillion said at the announcement for the scholarship initiative. “They fund-raising effort designed to secure private funding for a myriad of are my way to make a change in my life and hopefully the lives of other projects and programs on campus,” Dr. Gary Bouse, chief development students as a future educator. The scholarships I received give me a way officer said. “As we moved forward in our preparation, it became readily to make my mother smile, for her to be proud of what I’m doing at her apparent that the future of our institution would be driven by enrollment, school, and also to bring honor to my aunt and my father.” and that we should proceed immediately into an initiative to increase both An unfortunate consequence of the rising cost of attending college endowed and annual scholarships for the benefit of qualified current and is the influence that it is having on students’ career choices. Rather than future students.” following their hearts and the majors of their choice, many students “Obviously, with tuition continuing to increase, along with other are making career options based on expected salaries, turning to higher expenses, scholarships are very paying positions and veering away important to students,” said Ned from service employment, such as Mitchell, co-chair of the Delta State social work or teaching positions University Scholarship Initiative and because of their tendencies to offer DSU Foundation Board Member. somewhat lower compensation.

“Without help, a graduating senior Hilpert hopes that the scholarship will have a heavy debt load when he or initiative’s greater availability of she leaves the university. Even though financial assistance will “empower there have been some increases in students to pursue their career funding assistance, it is not enough to interests whatever they may be.” keep up with the increased numbers

“When I began working in of students applying for financial higher education administration aid. There is no doubt a significant 35 years ago, most federal and state scholarship is a great recruiting tool to dollars for student aid were offered attract more good students.” as grants,” Hilpert said. “Today the According to a report in The New reality is exactly the opposite, and Nan Sanders ’67 and Ned Mitchell ’62 unveil the funds raised so far.

York Times, there are more than $1 many students find themselves trillion in outstanding student loans. In the early 1990s, only 45 percent borrowing thousands each year. This is a trend that skews career choices of students borrowed money for college expenses, but now the Times and places a significant repayment burden on graduates at the outset of reports that about two-thirds of students borrow funds from private their careers.” lenders to pay for their education and supplies. As of 2011, the average The Delta State Scholarship Initiative is showing great promise. debt for students that borrowed funds to attend college was $23,300, Considerable progress has already been achieved as Foundation and 10 percent of graduates owed more than $54,000. Those numbers Executive Director Keith Fulcher revealed that approximately $7.8 have only increased as the price of tuition, supplies, and other expenses million has already been raised toward the goal, and that success has continue to rise. brought great optimism to the university.

Junior English Education major Hallye Skillion understands well the “My hope is that we can reach our goal of $15 million early, and then struggles that many college students face when they seek to further their revise the goal upward to accommodate many more students in a broad educations. Skillion’s father passed away while she was in high school, and array of educational fields,” Mitchell said. “We want to help DSU to while she was attending Northwest Community College she became the become the very best regional university in the nation.”

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 19

On his 65th birthday, Dr. John M. Hilpert was settled into box seats at Busch Stadium, a gift from his wife, Pat, to watch the St. Louis Cardinals have the home field advantage against the Washington Nationals. Even though the Cardinals lost that day by two runs, they eventually clinched a playoff spot. Hilpert, the seventh president of Delta State planning to retire after nearly a decade of service to the university, was nonetheless pleased.

The Hilperts had traveled to their native stomping ground, where they met and fell in love more than four decades ago, to celebrate their wedding anniversary and his birthday. After a long weekend of baseball, an art show and wine festival, and visiting old haunts, the couple was anxious to return to Delta State. “Who knew a university president was so romantic?” asked his wife, Pat. “We’re looking forward to opportunities and what adventure comes next in life,” said Hilpert, with wistfulness in his voice about leaving his beloved campus. “I’ll miss the people, the active engagement in culture and opportunities to be of service. When you’re in this position, you really feel like you’re making a difference in the development of communities in the Delta. To get beyond that day-to-day involvement, there’s a lot of value that’ll be missed, so we’ll have to find ways to create for ourselves projects that have value attached to them.”

Hilpert won’t be penning his memoir—at least not just yet.

“That seems like an overreach,” he joked. Instead, he and Pat will 20 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

likely hit the open road in her red Ford Mustang convertible, singing along to “oldies but goodies” with the top down. They have a routine: she drives while he texts. Until knee surgery prompted a change for him, they regularly jumped on motorcycles for recreational touring.

“We’ve always had a dream of setting out in the car, driving along the back roads of America, discovering places as we go,” said Hilpert.

“We hope to get a chance to do that and to take a nostalgic look at old places we’ve lived. We want to reconnect with friends.”

Lately, the Hilperts have been packing boxes from the president’s house on campus, and divvying the belongings between their homes in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, near where their two granddaughters live, and Lake Village in Arkansas, located less than an hour from Cleveland. Several years ago while planning for retirement, they acquired property on Lake Chicot, a 20-mile-long, former main channel of the Mississippi River known for excellent fishing.

Managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Chicot is the largest oxbow lake in North America and Arkansas’s greatest natural lake.

“We’ve been very happy with it,” said Hilpert, who enjoys piloting the family pontoon boat on the lake. “It’s far enough that we won’t be in the way, but close enough to get back and visit. We’ll return often for BPAC performances, sporting events, and to see friends. Who can miss Pig Pickin’?”

The Hilperts’ homes are located 900 miles apart. The Sioux Falls

Photograph by Gib Ford

As Delta State President John Hilpert nears retirement, he reflects on his decade of service to the university and gives a peek at his retirement plans.

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 21

home will serve primarily as a summer base; the lake house will be a three-season residence.

“We’ll head north when it gets hot, and south when it gets cold,” said Pat. Two sons live in the “Mount Rushmore State”—Josh, 35, an attorney practicing family and criminal law with a general practice firm in Sturgis—home of the famous annual motorcycle rally—and father of 10-year-old Julia; and Adam, 30, who recently moved from a corporate job in Texas to his schoolteacher wife Megan’s family farm on the border of South Dakota and Minnesota, along with 2-year-old Abby. “They’re doing great,” noted Hilpert.

To reach their middle son, Zach, 32, it’s a longer stretch. He’s on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

“Zach stays quite busy,” said Hilpert. “He teaches in a program for new students that introduces them to research methodology and a variety of different academic skills. He also teaches adjunct courses at William & Mary, his doctoral institution in his field of American history and culture.”

Hilpert’s children have undoubtedly followed their father’s example of making their mark. His tenure at Delta State is longer than three of his six predecessors, and his impact has rippled throughout the state. He has served a term as president of the Mississippi Association of Colleges and three terms as Chair of the Board of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

“Ten times now, I’ve stood in this spot at this occasion to talk about this university—its mission, its opportunities, its challenges, and its accomplishments,” Hilpert began his final State of the University Address, “One Last Time,” at the opening convocation on August 17.

“This one last time seems somehow momentous in my mind, but I know it’s just because of the life change coming for Pat and me,” he said. “What’s one last time for me is just another time for the university where changes happen all the time. People come and go. Technologies come and go quickly, while buildings come and go at a more leisurely pace. Even the basic capital of our enterprise—knowledge—comes and goes, or at least evolves. This progression is the human experience, and it’s what makes a career in higher education so engaging.”

Hilpert led Delta State through one of the

22 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

most difficult times in the history of public higher education, both in Mississippi and nationwide, mixed in with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in 2005. “More than five years of a depressed economy have exacted a toll,” he said. “As state revenues suffered, so did public universities here and elsewhere. Reductions in state appropriations meant deep budget cuts on the campuses, not once or twice, but year after year. The federal mood soured, and that meant even more reductions as earmarks disappeared and financial aid programs eroded.

Tuitions increased. Positions were lost, and facility needs were delayed or ignored. Perhaps worst of all, good ideas had to be shelved for better days to come.”

Under Hilpert’s leadership at Delta State, 8,259 degrees have been awarded—70 percent to undergrads; 30 percent to graduate students—exceeding the university’s goal in number and classification. “Few other regional universities—none in Mississippi—have that percentage of graduate activity, and it’s both a mark of the quality of this institution and a pillar of the academic strength of our curriculum,” he said, congratulating the faculty and staff on making a difference in so many lives.

Despite financial hardships, Delta State has overseen brick-and-mortar improvements since 2003: Kent Wyatt Hall, the Dorgan Center, the Thigpen Annex, the Crawford Building, Foundation Hall, University Apartments, the Central Mechanical Plant, additions to Caylor-White-Walters and the School of Nursing, a second hangar at the aviation facility, the half-mile lighted walking track, and a new classroom building at the Coahoma Higher Education Center. In addition, the university worked with the City of

Cleveland to construct a new fire station near the airport, and several facilities on campus had major renovations. “Of special note is the Hazel and Jimmy Sanders Sculpture Garden that’s become the focal point for the creative and visual arts on the campus and vaulted Delta State into the position of presenting more public sculpture than any other campus in Mississippi,” he said.

Delta State surprised many folks when the institution won the opportunity to be the only rural site to host Summer Training Institutes for Teach for America.

Administratively, Hilpert has expanded shared governance, with the President’s Cabinet including the Faculty Senate President and a Dean as full voting members. Their successes include: surpassing a $35 million capital fund drive goal in 2005 and topping $80 million in external funds since that time; increasing annual grants from $3 million to nearly $14 million; establishing the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area; helping attract the Grammy Museum to Cleveland; creating the Center for Global Information Systems; and opening the Delta Music Institute (DMI), which has its own mobile recording lab and DMI label.

In retirement, Hilpert plans to take a few months to get settled before considering other roles. “I don’t plan to take any other permanent full-time job,” he said, adamantly. “However, I’ve signed on with a national organization that makes retired university presidents available for interim assignments.”

One thing’s for sure. With a running list of items to accomplish that’s already three pages long, grass won’t be growing under his feet.

During his time as 7th President of Delta State University, Hilpert has overseen many positive changes in the university, including the construction of Foundation Hall, the completion of the Delta Music Institute, improvements to the aviation facilities, the institution of the Healthy Campus/Community Initiative, and the realization of the Hazel and Jimmy Sanders Sculpture Garden.

Sheridan © MMX

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 23

Pat Hilpert moves full steam ahead, on her own and with her husband, Delta State President John Hilpert.

By LYNNE JETER

hen her husband, Delta State President Dr. John Hilpert, took a job with a college in Pennsylvania after a stint in Michigan, Pat Hilpert remained behind for a few months while she worked full-time and cared for their three then-preschool boys.

“I remember traveling to visit John because we still had to sell the house, everything needed to be packed up, and I was winding down my job,” Hilpert recalled fondly. “I had the baby in one of those little front slings, I was pushing one in a stroller, and the third one was walking alongside me holding the hem of my shirt. I remember saying, ‘whatever you do, don’t let go of mommy’s shirt.’ It was like this compact block of humanity, four heads trying to make their way through the airport.”

With an infectious laugh and quick wit, Hilpert’s sunny disposition quickly makes it evident that she has excelled in all pursuits, while also making them seem effortless. For nearly 30 years, she worked as a nurse and “thoroughly enjoyed it,” she said. “Every time John changed jobs to advance his career, nursing was a profession in which I could always find a job.”

Of her varied career posts, including three times as director of nursing at healthcare facilities and a few semesters as a clinical nursing instructor, her favorite role was head of the emergency room nursing staff at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, before it became known as Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

That trauma center saw 4,000 patients a month; another 10,000 passed monthly through the evening ambulatory clinic. “It kept me from getting bored, time passed quickly, and I felt like I was spending the day helping people,” she said.

Always the family photographer, Hilpert’s picture-snapping exploded

24 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

when she acquired her first digital camera a few years ago. When the Smithsonian Institute held a national photo contest, “Barn Again,” looking for the best depiction of a barn, Hilpert took top prize.

“I’d already started a photograph collection of beautiful barns in South Dakota, and it was quite easy to pick my favorite and send it in,” she explained. “I’d taken a picture of a big red barn next to a pond, with the barn reflected in the water, on a South Dakota back road. It was already there; I had nothing to do with it. It was simply beautiful on its own.”

She’s working on a series of pictures to either group in a book or sell individually. “Now that John’s retiring, I hope to exercise that artistic part of my personality more often,” she said. While in South Dakota, she was a partner in an art gallery business.

Hilpert’s passion for photography wasn’t always appreciated by their three sons—Josh, Zach, and Adam. “When they were in school and still at home, and we were heading out somewhere, we’d ask if they wanted to go with us,” she recalled, with a laugh. “At first they said yes. Then they said no . . . not if mom’s taking her camera. They knew an hour-and-a-half trip would sometimes turn into five hours because I’d constantly be saying ‘stop!’ John, on the other hand, has always been quite patient.”

After raising three boys, Hilpert is delighted to have two granddaughters—Julia, 10, and Abby, 2. “Back then, little boys’ clothes weren’t very creative and, let’s face it, were a bit boring,” she said. “I always admired the ruffles, the cross-stitch, and the different flourishes that you find on little girls’ clothes. Julia and I go school shopping in the summer, and that’s when I get my fix of the clothes, matching shoes, and hair ribbons. It’s been fun. Julia is very outdoorsy; her dad recently introduced

her to target shooting. But when it comes to clothes shopping, she’s girlygirl.”

Whether it’s Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, or South Dakota, Hilpert jumps into the culture whole-heartedly. “When we first moved to South Dakota, we put on our leathers and rode our motorcycle to the annual Sturgis Bike Rally,” she said. “It was practically mandatory! Sturgis is a fun place to go and to see through the eyes of visitors and family who want to go. We joined in the South Dakota culture just as we’ve enjoyed the southern culture.”

Hilpert also has a keen sense of humor. On a business trip to California with her husband, she busied herself by shopping downtown.

When she stumbled across a tattoo parlor that also sold temporary transfers, she decided to have a little fun. “John was appalled when I showed him this bumblebee on my shoulder,” she said, with a laugh. “He was glad to learn it would wash off.”

While packing for the move to homes in Arkansas and South Dakota,

Hilpert is already calculating the next step. “We’ve never lived full-time in either home, so the first few months will be important to us,” said Hilpert, who’s also eyeing new recreational options. “I asked John if it would be okay to trade our road bikes for jet skis, but he won’t give them up!”

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 25

u With the Classes

Class Notes Dr. Clyde Muse, of Raymond, recently received an honorary Doctor of Science degree during Delta State’s 2012 Spring Commencement ceremony. This recognition is bestowed upon individuals who have made significant and estimable contributions to the university, higher education in general, or areas of society. Dr. Muse has more than 60 years of service in the public education field.

1960s

AYERS

1967

SANDERS

Gene Ayers is this year’s recipient of the Delta State Alumni Association Legacy Award.

Nan Sanders was named the Hugh Ellis Walker Alumni Service Award recipient by the Delta State University Alumni Association.

1968

Dr. Walter McNeil Campbell, III received the Outstanding Accounting Educator Award at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Alabama Society of CPSs in June. Recipients of this award are chosen by a vote of members of the Education Committee from nominations submitted.

Campbell’s commitment to student success and feedback from former students were key components in the committee’s decision.

Jean Eakin Jones, of Porter, TX, was promoted to Director of Laboratory Administration for St. Michael’s Labs, Inc., which has clinical laboratories in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Las Vegas.

Jack Kyle, of Minter City, will be spending 15 days in China trying to persuade cultural officials to loan some of the nation’s porcelain to the proposed Mississippi Arts Pavilion and Gardens. Kyle is working to develop this worldclass art museum in downtown Greenwood.

26 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

1970s 1972

William N. LaForge, of Washington, DC, was a visiting professor of law at John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) in Lublin, Poland, this past spring. He taught a course in BusinessGovernment Relations and U.S.Lobbying.

LaForge is an adjunct professor in the School of Business at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. KUL was the academic home of Pope John Paul II prior to his ascending to the papacy. He chaired the Department of Ethics for two decades.

Ronnie Mayers has been named Interim Athletic Director at Delta State.

1974

Daniel D. Davis, of Hattiesburg, was recently named manager of the Marketing and Public Relations Department of Southern Pine Electric Power Association, where he has worked since March 2011.

1979

Malcolm R. French has just signed a contract with Martin Sisters Publishing for the first of three novels.

as Area Sales Manager for their propane division in the southern USA territory.

Kaylon Bruner-Tran, PhD, of Nashville, TN, has recently been promoted to Associate Professor (with tenure) at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Dr. Bruner-Tran’s current research efforts are focused on identifying the developmental origins of reproductive disease and dysfunction.

1990s 1990

Chuck Scheiderman received his masters of science in construction management from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is now employed as a project manager with Satterfield & Pontikes Construction Group in New Orleans, LA.

1991

ElizaBeth Angle Beckham, of Leland, is now the owner/operator of her own small business, The Starving Musician Bakery and Music Publishing Company, located on Cotton Row in Downtown Cleveland, which opened in July of 2011.

Kathy Elmore, of Batesville, has recently purchased her own business, an established florist, The Flower Company in Batesville.

1980s 1982

Dr. Jimmy Avery, of Cleveland, was recently named Director of the Southern Regional Aquaculture Center. Dr. Avery will continue to serve as the MSU Extension aquaculture specialist, as he has since 1999, in addition to serving in his new administrative role at the aquaculture center. Dr. Avery was also recently recognized for his contributions to Mississippi’s catfish industry.

Elvis Clark Secoy, Jr., of Rolling Fork, was recently elected President of the Mississippi Justice Court Judges Association.

1985

Harry Tarsi, of Olive Branch, recently completed a week-long product training session with the Cavagna Group in Milan, Italy, touring their seven manufacturing facilities in the area as part of his ongoing training for his new position

Warren Guerriero (’91) was recently inducted into the Hinds Community College Sports Hall of Fame. He played baseball for both Hinds and Delta State University.

1992

HUDSPETH

1952

Coach Bill Marchant was named the Delta State University College of Education’s Alumnus of the Year.

GUERRIERO

1969

1950s

Amy Carroll Hudspeth, a Lady Statesmen Basketball Championship veteran, is now the women’s coach of the Kirk Academy Raiderettes basketball teams in Grenada, MS. Eunica Rogers, of Memphis, TN, has taken a job as art instructor at Ole Miss.

1995

Heath Douglas was recently named Managing Partner of the law firm Lake Tindall, LLP, in Greenville, MS. Stephanie (Smith) Egger, of Madison, was named one of the Mississippi Business Journal’s 2012 Top 40 Under 40. Egger is chief executive officer for the Jackson Heart Clinic, Mississippi’s largest cardiology clinic.

1996

Dr. Neil Quinton was recently elected to the position of Secretary of the Southeastern Society of Pediatric Dentistry. In 2013, he will be vice president elect, and in 2014, he will be president elect. He will serve as president in 2015 of the entire Southeastern District which represents Pediatric Dentists for the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Paul “Bubba” Mancini received the Kent Wyatt Young Alumnus Service Award from the Delta State University Alumni Association.

2001

Trey Rayburn was named Commercial Aviation Instructor and Assistant Chief of Flight Instruction at Delta State University.

UMFRESS

2000s 2000

Dr. Jason W. Umfress was elected president of the South Carolina College Personnel Association.

Clint Black is the Central Mississippi Business Account Rep for Cable One.

Shakebra Young, of Walls, recently received her Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Human Services from Capella University.

BATENHORST

Lylla (Cooper) Joe, of Madison, was named as one of the Mississippi Business Journal’s 2012

Katherine Keller Batenhorst recently completed a post-graduate residency in Gerontology, with a concentration in aging as it relates to speech, voice, swallowing, and cognition.

Katherine is a speech-language pathologist, working with both children and adults at Brooks Rehabilitation in St. Augustine, FL.

1998

Top 40 Under 40. Joe is the communications specialist for the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency.

Joseph C. Pieroni, of Memphis, TN, was the West Tennessee 2011 Chairman’s Club Winner.

YOUNG

Jeff Posey has been awarded the doctorate degree in higher education from Delta State University following a successful defense of his dissertation, Environmental Sustainability Practices in Selected Publicly Supported Community Colleges, which involved community college presidents in 11 southern states. Posey was appointed in 2011 as Director of Institutional Planning and Research for Copiah-Lincoln Community College, where he provides leadership in the data analysis, accreditations, and continuous improvement processes. Posey and his wife, Joanna (’94), reside in Brookhaven and have two children.

1999

BLACK

Chris Fleming was named Mississippi’s 2012 Middle Level Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. As part of this honor, Mr. Fleming has received an invitation to the National Principals Institute in Arlington, VA.

JOE

1993

Montie Moore is the new Volunteer Services Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Human Services/Division of Youth Services at Oakley Youth Development Center. He recruits and manages non-religious volunteers as well as other programs that benefit the youth in their care and the staff who care for them.

2013 ALUMNI AWARDS The deadline to submit nominations for the Delta State University Alumni Association Service Awards for 2012 is May 3. Scan the QR code with your smart phone to print the nomination form.

Outstanding Alumnus of the Year Alumni Hall of Fame

Kent Wyatt “Young Alumnus of the Year” Award Hugh Ellis Walker Alumni Service Award

Gladys Castle “Friend of Delta State” Award Legacy Award

SUBMIT TO: DSU Alumni Association, P. O. Box 3104, Cleveland, MS 38733 For more information contact Jeffrey Farris, (662) 846-4794.

NOMINATIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED OR DELIVERED BY MAY 3, 2013.

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 27

u With the Classes

JONES

Ryan T. England, of Southaven, was named to State Farm’s prestigious Chairman’s Circle. This award recognizes an agent’s outstanding sales ability, honoring agents who align their business with the long-term direction of the company and who are advocates for their customers.

Kacy (Smith) Jones, a former Delta State softball player, is a full-time cardiology nurse practitioner who has started HeartHelp, a business whose mission is to help keep patients medications up to date.

Dan Purvis, of Alexandria, LA, is now a licensed realtor working for Noles-Frye Realty, Inc., a Latter & Blum company.

John Walker, of Greenville, has been recognized as one of the top businessmen in Washington County by the Delta Democrat Times.

2006

Mindy Dean Boyd, of Richland, MS, recently graduated from Mississippi College and obtained her second Masters degree, in Dyslexia Therapy. Mindy was also nominated by Richland High as the Greater Metro Teacher of the Year for 2011-2012.

2008

Rae Crews is the current center manager of Vascular Access Center in Cleveland.

She has been promoted to also handle the responsibilities of Regional Manager of the Vascular Access Centers in Memphis, TN, and Durham, NC.

Lisa Smitherman (’13), a senior accountancy major from Grenada, MS, was recently presented with the Mississippi Society of CPA’s Scholarship.

Friends

Homer Sledge III was awarded the Gladys Castle Friend of Delta State Service Award by the Delta State University Alumni Association.

Faculty/Staff

Stephanie Batchelor Farris was named the Director of Child Development at Delta State University.

Justin Neely is now coaching boys and girls basketball at Horn Lake Middle School.

2003

2013

SLEDGE

George W. Boston, III is now a buyer for CoreMark International, Inc. in Forrest City, AR.

2009

Blessing Chekwa was named primary assistant basketball coach for the Delta State Lady Statesmen basketball team.

Mark Bellipanni was hired as a loan officer and vice president at the Belzoni branch of BankPlus.

Dr. Degail J. Hadley, D.O. of Cleveland has accepted a position at Bolivar Medical Center as Family Medicine Physician.

2005

Sy Runnels graduated with honors from the School of Mortuary Science at East Mississippi Community College. He has taken a position with the Greater Jackson Mortuary Services in Jackson, MS.

Rhonda Mitchell has been named the Senior Secretary for the Registrar and Institutional Research Center.

2010

Kyle Rodgers is a Warrant Officer for the U.S. Army. He is currently attending flight school, flying Blackhawks, and will graduate in April.

2011

Reeves Gaddy was hired as an admissions recruiter for Delta State.

Cheryl Oleis has been named Senior Secretary for Alumni Affairs.

RICHARDSON

2004

MITCHELL

Carla Ross is the current Regional Coordinator for the DSU region of the America ReadsMississippi (ARM) AmeriCorps program.

OLEIS

ROSS

Kelly Cosby is a provisional member of Junior Auxiliary of Batesville, MS.

CHEKWA

2002

Chris Richardson has been named primary assistant coach of the Delta State Men’s Basketball team.

Due to space limitations, beginning with the Spring 2013 Delta State Magazine, listing priority in the “With the Classes” section of the Alumni & Foundation magazine will be given to dues paying members of the Delta State University Alumni Association. To submit a class note, baby statesmen, wedding bells or miles away photo, send it to alumni@deltastate.edu or DSU P.O. Box 3104, Cleveland, MS 39042. The Association relies on numerous sources for “With the Classes” information and is unable to verify all notes with the individual alumni.

28 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

s,

er ni Memb m lu A r a De

Soon we will launch the sustaining life member program, a voluntary way for current paid-in-full lifetime members of the Delta State University Alumni Association to provide additional annual support to the Association with a yearly gift of $100.

ni tive alum c a e h t f to all o tion. grateful ly p my educa e e in d e m I am d porte have sup o h not have w s ld u r o e w b I m , e m larship mni scho lu ctive a e h t without a d n Without a l, o scho have o pay for t le b a would not n ip h s bee r la eat e scho ave a gr bers, th h m s e r m e i b n m alum i me e. Alumn m ly by o t le b ila pus, simp m a c n o been ava dents , ence stu lu f in And now o . t y ll t a u le t n u n o hip a , members ir e Program h t ip g h s in r w e e b n re e Mem ining Lif a t s u S upport with the inue to s t n o c n me. a mbers c nts like e e d m u t e s f li t even impac order to in n io t cia the asso again, Thanks N emphis, T M , y b s o Alex Cr 14, BSIS May 20

PROGRAM BENEFITS Sustaining Life members will be recognized for their generosity in an issue of Delta State magazine and listed on the Alumni Association’s website.

They will also receive a Sustaining Life Member Certificate and a special edition 2013 lapel pin. The program will raise funds to enhance the number of Hugh Ellis Walker Alumni Scholarships awarded to incoming freshman on an annual basis.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AT 662-846-4660 OR EMAIL ALUMNI@DELTASTATE.EDU. Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 29

u With the Classes All dates are in 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Leyla Jade to M/M Ali Can Kokce ’10 (Jourdyn Combs) on February 4.

Ann Archer to M/M David Allen Brown ’98 (Amanda Moranto ’05), of Greenville, on April 23.

Hudson Michael to M/M Michael Massaro (Heather Beeland ’03) on March 18.

HYATT

William Deason to M/M Andrew Brigham Aylward (Sarah Deason ’07) on October 19.

Ellison Patrick to M/M Cliff Burd (Friend) (Regan Howarth), of Cleveland, on March 8.

Mallory Ryan to M/M Ryan Meredith (Hope Young ’03), of Cleveland, on February 2.

Payton Marie to M/M Keith Burkett (Kim Stotts ’99) on February 8.

Jackson Lloyd to M/M Hollis Merwin (Lelia Weissinger ’06) on August 12.

KOKCE

BROWN

AYLWARD

Baby Statesmen

Magnolia “Maggie” Grace to M/M Michael Goodwin ’98 & ’01 (Dr. Karen Van Deventer ’01), of Coppell, TX, on October 11, 2011.

James “Cannon” Buchanan to M/M Michael Hart (friend) (Miriam Avery, friend), of Cleveland, on August 7.

MOORE PONGETTI

William Braxton to M/M Pete Golding ’06 (Carolyn Eley), of Cleveland, on February 12.

ROBINSONS

Carlisle Katherine to M/M Brian Ellis ’07 (Courtney Peaden), of Cleveland, on March 8.

Keeton Temple to M/M Montie Moore ’98 (Kelly Keeton Moore), of Jackson, on May 24.

Aiden Alexander to M/M Brett Hyatt ’08 (Brandi Ward ’08) on May 30.

Madelyn Grant to Dr/M Will Jennings (Madelyn Black ’00), of Tupelo, on February 2.

WILSON

GOLDING

ELLIS

COCILOVAS

BURKETT

Kaylee Ann and Daylon Anthony to M/M Stephen Cocilova ’04 on August 22.

Matthew Tenhet to M/M Allen Pongetti ’07 (Jennifer Rowland ’04) on February 24.

Frances Bernice and Helen Ree to M/M Jason Potts ’95 (Jeri Overall ’95) on October 23.

Wesley Alan and Mary Ansley to M/M Brent Robinson (Jennifer Lee ’00) on June 21.

Hadley Kate to M/M Chris Waller (Jana Hayes ’07) on November 15.

Greggory “Cade” and “Robin” Elizabeth to M/M Dennis Weaver III ’91 (Paula Rainey ’96), of Brandon, on December 16.

Eden Marie to M/M Michael Wilson ’00 (Jan Long, attended) of Collierville, TN on July 22.

Wedding Bells Megan Belenchia (’07) to Clint Walton, of Lyon, on March 23.

BELENCHIA-WALTON

Elizabeth Whittington (’05) to John Beggerly (’08), of Madison, on May 5.

Shanna Renee Davie (Friend) to Jonathan Hildebrant (’10) on July 8.

HOMAN-VANCE

Carley Wilson (’12) to Corey Douglas (’12), of Cleveland, on June 23.

WHITTINGTON-BEGGERLY

Mary Dixon (Friend) to Jeffrey Erickson (’01), of Clinton, on September 8.

30 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

Lauren Vance (’08) to James Homan (’05), of Shannon, on February 18.

Caitlin Pyron (’10) to Turner Wood on September 1.

WOOD-PYRON

Kimberly Ferren to Michael Lee (’03) on September 22.

LEE-FERREN

Hannah Griffin ’04 to Brett Williams on June 30.

GRIFFIN-WILLIAMS

All dates are in 2012 unless otherwise noted.

MCKNIGHT-HALL

Tabitha McKnight (’02) to Charles Philip Hall on March 3.

Jana Dufour McKellar (’01) to Charles Meyer (Attended), of Merigold, on March 11.

Lydia Margaret McCalop (’08) to Andrew Steele (’07), of Diamondhead, on March 11.

Petya Gancheva Petrova (’09) to Benjamin Wesley Whelan (’06) on August 4.

WHELAN-GANCHEVA

Emary Glyn Booth (attended) to William Bryan Walker II (’06) on September 22.

BOOTH-WALKER

MILES AWAY Where has the road taken you?

Share your travels with us. Let us see where you’re reading the Delta State

Alumni & Foundation magazine. E-mail your photos to alumni@deltastate.edu.

4637 Miles Away

4,708 Miles Away

Jamie Sample (’94) and Matthew Breazeal (’09) tour Paris, France, while chaperoning high school seniors from Kosciuscko in June.

Billy and Audrey Moorhead in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa.

891 Miles Away Joe Mitchell (’64) in Havana, Cuba.

1,150 Miles Away

323 Miles Away

ather Ryan (’02) and He at the 2) (’0 e es Carter Re ilding in AT&T “Batman” Bu e, TN. downtown Nashvill

Steven Bennett (’05 ) and Chelsea Welch Benn ett (friend) at The Victor ia House Ambergis Ca ye, in Belize.

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 31

u With the Classes

In Memoriam

All dates are in 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Tommy Boone ’49, of Starkville, on October 28.

Betty A. Cooper ’60, of Shaw, on March 29.

Terry Gene Hamon (friend), of Hot Springs, AR, on June 19.

Stephen C. McCurdy ’71, of Greenwood, on June 21.

Cheryl Muzzi Adams ’72, of San Antonio, TX, on February 28.

Lloyd B. Courtney ’54, of Ruston, LA, on May 27.

Bill Henry ’81, of Starkville, on August 20.

Jimmie L. McKnight ’74, of Mound Bayou, on July 1.

Daniel Sharp Atkinson, Sr ’66, of Shaw, on July 30.

Mary Moore Mansker Crews (friend), of Cleveland, on July 29.

Dr. L. C. Henson ’50, of Winona, on July 1.

George S. McCaleb ’53, of Hoover, on July 4.

John P. Banks ’78, of Greenwood, on September 28.

Sarah D. Cummins (staff), of Cleveland, on September 28.

Lacy N. (Neill) Langford (friend), of Cleveland, on April 30.

Bobby A. Moore ’64, of Cleveland, on October 14.

Stanford D. (“Buddy”) Bethea ’72, of Gulfport, on June 3.

Sue Land Dear ’46, of Memphis, TN, on July 30.

Jacqueline H. (DePriest) Larson ’73, of Lafayette, LA, on May 2.

Paul D. Mounce ’09, of Cleveland, on October 12.

Mary James (Clark) Blakeman ’74, of Cleveland, on October 11.

Dot Dorr (friend), of Cleveland, on March 20.

John Randall Lemoine ’11, of Merigold, on September 1.

Gary K. Myrick ’71, of Thomastown, on October 18.

Glenda (Parchman) Brooks ’53, of Houston, on May 30.

David C. Ewing (friend), of Rolling Fork, on May 17.

Hettie Bailey Love ’76, of Itta Bena, on August 2.

John E. Oden (friend), of Greenwood, on June 5.

Virginia C. Brown ’69, of Gainesville, FL, on September 23.

Bonnie C. Farr ’40, of Cleveland, on September 2.

James C. Krugler ’69, of Boyle, on May 20.

Nelda (Reeder) Owings ’42, of Hamilton, on April 29.

Richard D. Chesteen, Sr. ’62, of Union City, TN, on May 1.

Joan C Gibson ’64, of Ocean Springs, on May 27, 2011.

Cheryl A. (Thomas) Marchant ’69, of Cleveland, on May 19.

Gary D. Palacios (friend), of Cleveland, on March 1.

Ronald H. Chester ’68, of Ocean Springs, on June 20.

Gene Edward Gilbow (donor), of Cleveland, on September 28.

Dorothy Shands Martin (friend), of Augusta, GA, on August 19.

Floyd Patterson ’59, of Town Creek, AL, on April 6.

John W. Christman ’75, of Smithville, on August 17.

Martha (Rogers) Gledhill ’43, of York, PA, on May 12.

Leslie Megan Mason ’09, of Ashland, on August 9.

Oscar C. Peace, Jr. ’79, of Hollandale, on September 27.

Harris L. Coleman ’49, of Florence, AL, on July 5.

William D. Grantham ’70, of Canton, on September 1.

Odis T. McCord ’80, of Southaven, on January 16.

Donald E. Perkins ’81, of Carrollton, on June 7.

LEROY EDWARD MORGANTI 1939–2012

ELIZABETH ‘LIZA’ VAUGHN 1969–2012

Leroy Edward Morganti, loved by many and respected by everyone, died September 6, 2012, at St. Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson. Dr. Morganti, born in Clarksdale in 1939 and a native of Rosedale, graduated from Rosedale High School in 1957. He received a baccalaureate degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, master’s degree from Mississippi State University, and doctorate from Delta State University. He also completed the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University. He served as a news reporter for The Hattiesburg American, Delta Democrat-Times, The Clarion-Ledger, and The Associated Press before joining Delta State in 1971 as Director of Public Information. From 1976-78, Dr. Morganti served as Press Secretary to the late Gov. Cliff Finch and returned to Delta State in 1979. In 1993, he was promoted to Vice President for University Advancement and in 2000 to Vice President for Executive Affairs and Chief of Staff, a role he filled until his retirement in June 2002.

Elizabeth ‘Liza’ Vaughn, age 43, of Cleveland, passed away on April 21, 2012, at her home. Liza was born on April 16, 1969, to Charles A. and Jane (Power) Jordan, Jr. in Yazoo City. She attended college at Mississippi State University and graduated from Delta State with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. Liza married Lawrence Edward Vaughn on October 31, 1992, in Greenville, MS, and was the mother of two sons, William Thomas and Joseph Tyler Vaughn. She was a former assistant Vice-President and head teller for the Cleveland Community Bank SSB for 16 years and for the past five years she has been the Assistant Alumni Director at Delta State University. Liza was very active in the Cleveland community where she was a member of the Cleveland Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow, life member of the Jr. Auxiliary, assisted with Relay for Life events, member of the USTA Tennis League and the Cleveland Country Club. She loved Delta State Athletics and especially loved tailgating with her friends and family at the games.

32 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 33

u Alumni Happenings

Steve Gray ’02, Janice Phillips ’77, and Gracie Sanders ’80 at the Jackson Alumni Meeting.

Bubba Mancini ’00, Anne Marie Mayers Pate ’04, Will Bradham ’01, Patrick Davis ’96 at the Bolivar County Alumni Meeting in Cleveland, MS.

DSU Alumni and friends at the Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter Meeting.

David and Sherri Abney at the Atlanta Mississippi in the Park picnic.

Area alumni and friends at the Mississippi on the Mall picnic in Washington D.C.

Former members of Renaissance with Gene Ayers, the DSU Alumni Association Legacy Award recipient, at Homecoming 2012.

Alumni and friends at the Mississippi in the Park picnic in New York City.

Alumni and friends in Nashville, TN, before the Delta State Statesmen played Vanderbilt University in men’s basketball.

Senator Bob Dearing ’57, Representative John Polk, Fred Foster ’55, and Floyd Eppinette ’57 at Pig Pickin’ 2012.

Representatives from Polk’s Meats served Polk’s sausage at Pig Pickin’ 2012.

Willie Collins, Tremaine Ross ’01, and Daniel Vassel (friend) at the Washington D.C. Alumni Chapter Meeting.

Amanda Polles (friend), John Polles ’05, Major Michael Harlow ’98, and Darla Harlow ’85 at the Jackson Alumni Meeting.

The Delta State Alumni Association participated in Mississippi in the Park this past summer in Atlanta. Area alumni and friends came by the Association’s tent to visit their alma mater.

The Past Presidents of the National Alumni Association were recognized on field at DSU Homecoming 2012.

The 2012 Delta State National Alumni Association Awards recipients at the Alumni Awards and Gala Dinner.

34 • Delta State Magazine • Winter 2012

Winter 2012 • Delta State Magazine • 35

DSU Box 3104 1003 West Sunflower Road Cleveland, MS 38733 www.deltastate.edu In an effort to reduce our environmental impact, only one magazine per household is mailed.

TRADITION.

Take it with you.

Susan Davis Maiten (’76), Patrick Davis (’96), and Courtney Davis (’14), three generations of Delta State alumni.

PURCHASE YOUR DSU ALUMNI CAR TAG TODAY Contact alumni@deltastate.edu or call 662.846.4660