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Alumni News
MSU RECOGNIZES 2021 Alumni Fellows
Agroup of Mississippi State University’s notable alumni are selected each fall as Alumni Fellows. They are honored in recognition of the ultimate measure of a university—the quality of its alumni.
Sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association and the university’s eight academic colleges, the program recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves in their respective careers. It also provides an opportunity for honorees to share their extensive knowledge and real-world experience from their respective fields with MSU students and faculty.
Through the years, the Alumni Fellows program has served as a means for enriching students’ MSU experiences by exposing them to outstanding alumni who are willing to talk about specific competencies, attitudes and efforts needed to succeed.
The MSU Alumni Association welcomed the 2021 class of Alumni Fellows to campus in September. They are among the university’s more than 155,000 living alumni worldwide. The newest honorees include:
CAMILLE SCALES YOUNG
Madison, Mississippi
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
With more than two decades of experience in state and federal government affairs and a wealth of issue expertise, Camille Scales Young is helping to lead change through her personal and professional endeavors. The Shannon native currently serves as principal and director in the Jackson office of Cornerstone Government Affairs, a full-service, bipartisan consulting firm based in Washington, D.C.
Young first discovered her love for politics during her time as a student at Mississippi State University when she participated in a summer internship on Capitol Hill. She earned both a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in agriculture and Extension education from MSU in 1994 and 1996, respectively.
After graduating, Young worked with the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation in various positions, including communications specialist, director of media relations and government relations specialist, which enabled her to spend time on Capitol Hill and in the Mississippi Capitol providing support for the agricultural community. She then spent 10 years as a government affairs representative with Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A. before assuming her current role.
In addition to her MSU education, Young also holds a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University and has been very involved in both workplace and community diversity and inclusion activities. She was honored to serve as national board president of the MSU Alumni Association and, during her tenure, she increased participation of many diverse factions of the alumni base.
Young is involved in community activities like the boards of directors for BankFirst, Cal-Maine Foods, Mississippi Power Company, the Woodward Hines Education Foundation, Mission Mississippi and the Mississippi 4-H Foundation. She is a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. At MSU, she is also involved with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Department of Communication advisory boards.
She has been honored for her professional accomplishments and service to the community as a member of the Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 50 Business Women and as a Woman of Distinction by the Girl
Scout Council of Middle Mississippi. In 2017, Young was recognized in the inaugural class of Top 50 Most Influential People in Mississippi.
JANET MARIE SMITH
Baltimore, Maryland
College of Architecture, Art and Design
Renowned architect and urban planner Janet Marie Smith is well-known in the sports world for her work on some of America’s most classic venues. Named one of the 30 Most Powerful Women in sports by Adweek.com, she joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 after working with other Major League Baseball teams, including the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox. She currently serves the organization as executive vice president of planning and development.
Smith began her big-league career in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1989. There, she made a name for herself through her work on Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which set the standard for a new wave of ballparks after its opening in 1992. From there, she also helped transform Atlanta’s 1996 Olympic Stadium into Turner Field, oversaw the preservation and expansion of Fenway Park and the development of the Philips Arena (now State Farm Arena), home to the NBA Atlanta Hawks and NHL Atlanta Thrashers.
Outside of baseball, Smith has worked on urban development projects, including Battery Park City in New York and Pershing Square—downtown Los Angeles’s oldest park. She worked on the concept design for the renovation of the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California, and was a member of one of the two final teams in the competition for the World Trade Center site in New York City in 2002.
Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Mississippi State University in 1981 and later received a master’s degree in urban planning from City College of New York. At Mississippi State, she took an interest in civic buildings and cities. She was always interested in architecture on a larger scale and the impact spaces could have on cities. The School of Architecture helped grow that passion for her through field trips to New York and Chicago and lecture series that brought renowned architects to campus to speak.
The Jackson native credits MSU with serving as a launchpad for her career and has remained connected to her alma mater over the years. She delivered the keynote address during MSU’s 2013 commencement exercises and was a champion for the recent renovation and expansion of Dudy Noble Field, which has earned rave reviews nationally since opening. She also has extended support to the School of Architecture, student scholarships and faculty awards in the College of Architecture, Art and Design.
Smith’s work is recognized at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in its “Diamond Dreams” exhibit honoring the historic involvement of women in baseball. She was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2020 and was earlier recognized by Sports Business Journal as both a Power Player for Design and Development and as a member of their 2017 Class of Champions.
BRUCE THOMAS
Lenexa, Kansas
College of Arts and Sciences
Bruce Thomas is a distinguished meteorologist better known as the “Weather Radio King” among audiences in the Midwest. His career in weather began during his time as a student at Mississippi State University in the early 1980s, and today he continues his work as chief meteorologist for the News-Press Gazette TV station in Saint Joseph, Missouri, and a consultant for predictive weather modeling platform Weather2020.
Before his current role, Thomas served as a marketing meteorologist and national spokesperson for Kansas City, Missouri-based Midland Radio Corporation. His television and radio broadcasts promoted weather safety across America’s tornado-prone areas and helped position Midland Radio as a leader in sales of early-warning weather products, including NOAA Weather Radios for home and business use.
A native of Mississippi, he spent most of his childhood between Jackson and Biloxi. Thomas enrolled at MSU at the age of 16 and began pursuing his studies in geosciences. The geology field trips to Big Bend National Park and the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas were among his favorite student experiences. Thomas was also proud to serve as the first student weather forecaster on campus, sharing his weekly forecasts in MSU’s student-run newspaper, The Reflector.
Thomas also credits the mentorship he received at Mississippi State for much of his success. Last year, he created the Dr. Charles L. Wax Endowed Climatology Faculty Fellowship at MSU in honor of Wax, a professor emeritus and former geosciences department head who greatly influenced Thomas’s education and passion for meteorology.
While Thomas’s educational career began at MSU, he completed his bachelor’s degree in broadcast meteorology from Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado. He also pursued postgraduate studies at Texas A&M University while serving as the local television weatherman for nearly a decade in central Texas. After receiving recognition for his television coverage during a tragic tornado outbreak in Jarrell, Texas, Thomas’s career skyrocketed, and he was hired as a severe weather expert by KCTV5 CBS station in Kansas City.
Thomas is a member of the American Meteorological Society, where he earned the designation of Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, and is a past president and lifetime member of the National Weather Association. His dedicated service and career spanning more than three decades has garnered several honorable distinctions, including the National Weather Service Weather-Ready Nation Champion Award in 2019 and the prestigious U.S. Department of Commerce NOAA/National Weather Service Mark Trail Award in 2006.
KATHY ST. JOHN
Madison, Mississippi
College of Business
Kathy St. John believes her Mississippi State University student experience gave her the tools to lead and work with others in accomplishing goals for the betterment of all—an attribute she continues to uphold each day. As a proud advocate for her alma mater, she is grateful for the honor and opportunity to represent the College of Business as its Alumni Fellow.
The Brookhaven native graduated from MSU with a bachelor’s degree in marketing in
1979. She later pursued a graduate degree in secondary education from the University of Southern Mississippi before beginning her career.
St. John employed her MSU degree primarily in the landscape, property management and health care industries over the years. She was a co-founder of St. John & Associates, a commercial and residential landscape business in Hattiesburg before assuming the role of marketing director and sales lead at Hillenmeyer Nurseries in Lexington, Kentucky. In 2005, she transitioned into health care. She served as managing director and contracts consultant for senior-living health care group purchasing organization NAPA HealthCare Connection, Inc. in Lexington for nearly a decade, retiring in 2015.
Of all her professional endeavors, St. John is most proud of an entrepreneurial venture that she started in 1988 while living in Memphis, Tennessee. The business, which began as a small property management operation intended for homeowner associations in planned unit developments and single-family neighborhoods, grew to encompass 11 developments with 750 homes. St. John used her MSU education to successfully navigate the business, managing communications and financial operations for each development’s board of directors. A competitor offered a profitable buyout and St. John agreed to sell her self-made business in 1994.
Outside her professional pursuits, St. John is also passionate about giving back, particularly through her service and commitments at MSU. Inspired by her father, a fellow Bulldog graduate, she established the Kathy Moreton St. John Endowed Fellowship in Marketing in 2011 and was an early investor in the Market Innovation Lab and Observatory, enabling the college to purchase necessary equipment to kick-start the innovative program. Over the years, she and her husband, Drew, have generously contributed to areas across the university including athletics and student and faculty support. They also created the St. John Family Endowed Professorship in Wildlife Management in 2017.
St. John is a member of the marketing advisory board, which she earlier chaired for several years, and was recently nominated to chair the executive advisory board for the College of Business beginning in 2022. She also serves as president of the Jackson alumnae chapter of Delta Gamma Fraternity and chaired the capital campaign for renovations of the Delta Gamma house on the MSU campus. The second-generation Bulldog believes that giving back to MSU is a continuation of a heritage instilled in her by her dad and considers the nomination to chair the executive advisory board to be the “icing on the cake” for her retirement years.
RONA JOHNSON-BELSER
Birmingham, Alabama
College of Education
Rona JohnsonBelser is an inspiring educator who dedicated her career to helping others. Although she retired from her role as a childhood teacher with the Jefferson County School System in Birmingham, Alabama, she continues to make a difference in students’ lives at Mississippi State through her involvement.
A native of Burnsville, Johnson-Belser attended Northeast Junior College before transferring to MSU in the fall of 1971. She graduated from the MSU College of Education in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in special education and began her longtime career in the special education field, working with children and adults with special needs in Mississippi and Alabama. She strived to meet and ensure the individual needs of each of her students and their families were met. Through her work, she became a recognized advocate for people with special needs.
Johnson-Belser believes her student experience at MSU gave her the confidence and training needed to become a successful special education teacher. Moreover, she is grateful for the fond memories and lifelong friends made on campus, which set the foundation for her lifelong love and support for her alma mater.
As a result, Johnson-Belser and her husband, Dan, have proudly given back to MSU in various ways for four decades. Among the areas they generously support are student scholarships, Bulldog athletics, the T.K. Martin Center and the Steinway Piano Fund. The couple also actively contribute to the advancement of the College of Education and the College of Veterinary Medicine and have established endowed scholarships bearing their names in both colleges.
In addition to financial commitment, Johnson-Belser also shares her expertise and time. She is a member of the College of Education’s dean’s advisory board and continues to serve as an inaugural member of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s dean’s council. For her contributions, Johnson-Belser was honored by the veterinary college with the Vice President’s Pegasus Award in 2019.
A loyal and dedicated alumna, JohnsonBelser is also an active member of the MSU Alumni Association through involvement with her local Birmingham chapter. She previously served as an officer of the chapter and helped lead the greater association as a member of the Alumni National board of directors.
JOHN D. DAVIS, IV
Flowood, Mississippi
James Worth Bagley College of Engineering
John D. Davis IV was drawn to the medical field from an early age, and today, he is addressing issues that impact the health and lives of Mississippians as a renowned neurosurgeon and founding partner at NewSouth Neurospine. Born in Starkville and reared in Jackson, the third-generation Bulldog graduated Summa Cum Laude from MSU’s James Worth Bagley College of Engineering with a degree in biological engineering in 1988. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, elected as Mr. MSU and president of the Student Association, and was named the university’s Outstanding Student.
Davis earned his professional degree in 1992 from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed residency in neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1999, during which time he earned a master’s degree in health finance and management, also at Johns Hopkins. It was that training that spawned his vision for a spine center of excellence.
After years of planning, NewSouth NeuroSpine, Mississippi’s only comprehensive, multispecialty spine-focused practice, opened for patient care in 2008 in a new, state-ofthe-art facility in Flowood. Davis, who has a
particular interest in cervical spine or neck disorders, practices there with twelve other surgical and non-surgical spine care physicians representing four specialties.
Davis has completed terms on the board of directors and the nominating committee for the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and as president of the Mississippi Neurosurgery Society and chairman of the board of directors for NeurosurgeryPAC, organized neurosurgery’s only political action committee in Washington, D.C. He currently serves on neurosurgery’s Washington Committee and as a delegate from Mississippi to the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies, where he was previously elected chairman of the Southeast Quadrant. Additionally, Davis is a member of the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission Advisory Council and a certified peer reviewer for World Neurosurgery.
Through his esteemed career, Davis was chosen in 2017 as a substitute unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant for the National Football League, where he oversees evaluations of players who may have suffered concussions. He also was recently appointed by Gov. Tate Reeves to serve on the Mississippi State Board of Health.
Outside his profession, Davis also actively contributes his time and support to his alma mater by serving on the board of directors for the MSU Foundation, where he chairs the directors and governance committee. For his loyalty and service, he has been recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the Bagley College, the MSU Biological Engineering Alumnus of the Year and the Central Mississippi Chapter of the MSU Alumni Association’s Alumnus of the Year. In 2017, he was a keynote speaker at the university’s fall commencement exercises.
GLYNN PITTMAN
Walker, Louisiana
College of Forest Resources
George G. “Glynn” Pittman is a 45-year veteran of the forest products industry who has managed facilities from Texas to New England. The Memphis, Tennessee, native attributes his love for forestry to his father, who often told stories about the work he did with the Civilian Conservation Corps to expand conservation efforts during the Great Depression. Eager to follow in his father’s footsteps to become a secondgeneration forester, Pittman studied forestry at Mississippi State and graduated from the College of Forest Resources in 1976.
He began his career with International Paper Company as a field forester in central Mississippi and later advanced to more progressive roles. Over the years, he supervised logging operations and assumed plant management responsibilities at treated wood products facilities.
In 2012, he joined Stella-Jones Corporation, where he serves as vice president of utility pole operations, overseeing multiple facilities across the southern and southeastern U.S. Before his current role, Pittman helped establish the company’s Southern Yellow Pine Division, which now encompasses 12 facilities across the South. As director of operations, he led the hiring and training of the division’s management team.
An active member of the Louisiana Forestry Association, Pittman is past president of the Southern Pressure Treaters Association and has chaired several of the industry’s key standard-setting committees through the American Wood Preservers Association. He also was recently appointed to a five-year term on the board of directors for the Louisiana Forestry Commission by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Pittman has been an active adviser in other civic organizations and at his alma mater. He volunteers his time and support on the advisory boards for the College of Forest Resources and its Department of Sustainable Bioproducts. He also served on interview committees to assist the university in filling the positions of the sustainable bioproducts department head and the dean of the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine.
CAMILLE HOPKINS
Washington, D.C.
College of Veterinary Medicine
Camille Hopkins has always been fascinated by nature and is passionate about the wellbeing of wild animals. Accordingly, after graduating from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and earning a bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University, she graduated from Mississippi State University’s DVM program in 2004. She continued her studies, receiving a master’s in veterinary medicine science focusing on wildlife epidemiology from MSU in 2005 and a doctorate in disease ecology from Virginia Tech in 2014.
As a student, Hopkins was awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health Graduate Research Fellowship in 2009. The award provided enhanced support for her study of forest disturbance and its ecological impacts on the La Crosse virus, a mosquitoborne disease that can cause seizures, coma, paralysis and permanent brain damage in severe pediatric cases.
Additionally, Hopkins interned in the Republic of South Africa and at the Wildlife Center of Virginia. She gained clinical veterinary experience at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park and completed arboviral diagnostics and surveillance training at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Arboviral Diseases Branch. A veteran officer of the U.S. Army Reserves Veterinary Corps, Hopkins also cared for military working dogs during two overseas deployments.
After completing her graduate studies, she joined the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Reston, Virginia, where she could apply her clinical and research experience as the wildlife disease coordinator in the Ecosystems Mission Area. In her current role, she oversees the national aquatic and terrestrial wildlife disease portfolio and represents USGS in interagency efforts to respond to wildlife diseases, including zoonotic diseases. She also participates in international discussions and meetings and contributes to Department of the Interior emergency management activities related to wildlife diseases.
Hopkins’s passion for her work, matched by an impressive resume, has propelled her successful career over the years. Beginning in individual animal wildlife medicine, she is now engaged in efforts with regional, national and international implications. More importantly, because several diseases she studies can be transferred from wildlife to humans, her work has made significant contributions to the health and wellbeing of animals and humans alike. n
ALUMNI News ALUMNI TAILGATE RETURNED FOR 2021
After being sidelined for the 2020 football season, the MSU Alumni Association was eager to welcome alumni and friends back to the Hunter Henry Center for the official alumni tailgate.
At the event, guests were able to visit with fellow Bulldogs while enjoying food, drinks and other special entertainment features.
Visit alumni.msstate.edu/tailgate in 2022 to purchase tickets to join the fun and cheer on the Dawgs with alumni and friends before home football games.
ALUMNI News
Alvin Franklin of Jackson has joined the Mississippi State University Foundation staff as assistant athletic director for development.
In his new role, Franklin serves as a liaison between MSU Athletics and the MSU Foundation as he works to secure major gifts for both organizations. He began his duties on July 1 alongside veteran fundraisers and associate athletic directors of development Stephen Foshee and Rob Jenkins.
Franklin served as a graduate assistant for Bulldog Athletics while pursuing a master’s degree in kinesiology and sport administration at MSU from 2015-16. Prior to attending MSU, he played collegiate baseball at Meridian Community College and Jackson State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in economics in 2015. He also holds a second master’s degree in higher education with a focus in college administration and leadership, which he earned from Purdue University Global earlier this year.
In 2016, Franklin began his career in athletics at Hinds Community College. Employing his former experience in baseball as a student-athlete, he held a joint role as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Hinds baseball program and as the sports information director for the school’s athletic department.
He later transitioned into progressive roles in athletic fundraising and development, serving first as athletic development associate at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and later as assistant director of athletic development at the University of South Alabama. Before returning to MSU, Franklin managed a large major giving portfolio across the southeastern U.S. and assisted with external revenue and communication strategies as director for athletic development for major gifts at Purdue University.
Adding to his resume and MSU connections, Franklin also has been an active member of the National Association of Athletic Development Directors since 2015 and became an inaugural member of the NAADD Diversity Working Group sub-committee upon the group’s creation in 2020. Through this, Franklin is helping to build a support network for minorities in collegiate athletics development through education, advocacy and awareness. He also was selected to attend the NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar in 2016.
“Alvin’s experience as a student-athlete combined with his fundraising skills makes him a perfect fit for this role,” said Jack McCarty, executive director for development for the MSU Foundation. “We are so proud to welcome him back home to Mississippi where he will be working with the generous alumni and friends of MSU Athletics.”
A second-generation Bulldog, Franklin is the son of Alvin and the late Quoinsetta Watts Franklin, who met on campus in the 1970s and maintained strong connections with the university over the years. His father is a 1979 graduate of the MSU College of Business and a current Bulldog Club board member.
Upon his mother’s death, Franklin joined his father and sister in creating a gift to support MSU Athletics, which also carried a naming opportunity. As a result, a banner bearing his mother’s name now hangs in Davis Wade Stadium near the season-ticket seats the Franklin family has occupied for many years.
“Having the opportunity to pursue my career at the university that means so much to my family and me is such a blessing,” he said. “I love what I do because of the positive impact it has on student-athletes, and I’m proud to be a part of growing that impact at Mississippi State.”
Franklin’s office is located in the Bryan Athletic Administration Building, and he can be reached at 662.325.1244 or afranklin@ athletics.msstate.edu. n
ALUMNI DELEGATES
The MSU Alumni Association announced four new leaders of its student organization known as the Alumni Delegates. Founded in 1980, the organization serves as a link between MSU students and the Alumni Association. The 53-member group helps the association maintain strong ties with the university’s more than 155,000 living graduates. Alumni Delegate officers for 2021 include: Rohan Fisher of Colorado Springs, Colorado, a senior mathematics major, serving as president; Daniel Bond of Lumberton, a senior mathematics major, serving as vice president of member education; Bailey Dean of Spring Grove, Illinois, a senior kinesiology major, serving as vice president of public relations; and Christopher “Alex” Rial of Tupelo, a senior biochemistry major, serving as secretary. To learn more about MSU Alumni Delegates and see a complete list of current members, visit www.alumni.
msstate.edu/delegates.
RICHARDSON AND SMITH JOIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION STAFF
The Mississippi State University Alumni Association is welcoming Ava Richardson of Flowood as coordinator of young alumni programs and alumni outreach and Leanna Smith of Starkville as assistant director of alumni partnerships and business development.
Richardson, a 2021 communication graduate of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, began her role with the division in July. As coordinator for young alumni programs and outreach, she is organizing and implementing programs for the association to engage alumni ages 35 and under and providing support for furthering outreach efforts on behalf of MSU.
As a student, Richardson was a marketing and public relations intern for Starkville Academy, served as a student worker for the communications director of the College of Arts and Sciences and as a tutor at the MSU Writing Center. She also was an ambassador for her college and active with MSU Roadrunners and New Maroon Camp. During the fall 2020 semester, she was part of a student group whose coursework involved creating a strategic public relations plan for the association to enhance its messaging and increase young alumni participation.
“We are pleased to welcome Ava to our team of alumni professionals,” said Jeff Davis, executive director of the MSU Alumni Association. “She brings a fresh perspective and a strong skill set, and we look forward to her elevating our young alumni programs, expanding our outreach and launching our Bulldog Network platform, which will provide tremendous opportunity for mentoring, sharing career opportunities and putting the power of the MSU alumni network at the fingertips of Bulldogs everywhere.”
Smith, a fourth-generation Bulldog and Aberdeen native, is a 2009 graduate of MSU’s College of Business, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in business administration and French. She later earned a Master of Public Policy and Administration from MSU in 2016. Smith began her role with the association in October, where she is responsible for growing existing Alumni Association affinity partnerships and creating new revenue streams through official partnerships, event sponsorships and advertising opportunities with the association.
Smith has served in multiple roles within the Division of Development and Alumni over the past 10 years, most recently as stewardship coordinator. She is a graduate of the MSU Leadership Excellence for Accomplished Professionals (LEAP) Program and serves as a mentor for the MSU B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Program.
“We are thankful to keep Leanna in the division and welcome her to our Alumni Association team,” Davis said. “She brings a wealth of divisional and MSU knowledge, and a strong base of skills and experience. We look forward to her making an impact on our association by capitalizing on new opportunities to leverage the Alumni Association’s brand and reach, and by connecting the association with the community and industry for mutually beneficial partnerships.”
Richardson can be reached at 662.325.3349 or arichardson@alumni.msstate.edu. Smith can be reached at 662.325.3360 or lsmith@ alumni.msstate.edu. n
Ava Richardson Leanna Smith
