Contact: Sammy McDavid
Another Mississippi State faculty member is receiving national recognition for his work helping students schedule their academic coursework and meet requirements necessary for graduation.
John E. Forde, an associate professor of communication, is among 16 university and college employees selected for a 2001 Outstanding Academic Advising Award. He was nominated in January after being named MSU's top adviser for the 2000-01 school year.
The awards are given annually by the National Academic Advising Association, a professional organization of more than 6,000 members committed to the educational development of students. The 2001 honors will be presented formally in October at a national conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Forde is the latest MSU faculty member chosen for the organization's top honor categories. Among others are foreign languages professor Ben Blaney, curriculum and instruction professor Dwight Hare and political science professor Diane Wall.
The Kansas State University-based association, in cooperation with American College Test Inc., established the awards program in 1983 "to recognize significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising."
Purdue University and the universities of Alabama at Birmingham, Minnesota and Texas are among others schools with faculty or staff advisers being honored this year.
Forde, formerly of Laurel, holds a bachelor's degree from MSU, and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi. Before joining the faculty in 1987, he was public relations director at William Carey College in Hattiesburg.