Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The formal launch of a biography about a major 20th century Magnolia State public servant takes place Wednesday [May 27] at Mississippi State.
The 5-7 p.m. public program features author Donald H. "Don" Thompson of Golden. He will discuss "Stennis: Plowing a Straight Furrow, The Story of Statesman John C. Stennis," his 176-page book released Wednesday [the 20th] by Oxford-based Nautilus Publishing.
The free event takes place at the university's John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Economic Development, among several campus memorials to its distinguished late alumnus and longtime United State senator.
Thompson, a professional forester, also is an MSU graduate, with bachelor, master's and doctoral degrees all awarded by what now is the College of Forest Resources.
He will be joined on the program by Margaret J. Womble, Stennis' daughter, and they will be available to sign copies of the book.
Stennis (1901-95) graduated in 1923 from then-Mississippi A&M College. He went on to attend law school at the University of Virginia, where he was selected for Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Cho Rho honor societies.
With his A&M and legal educations in hand, the Kemper County native returned home and won election to the Mississippi House of Representatives. He later served successively as a 16th Judicial District prosecutor and circuit judge before being elected in 1947 to the U.S. Senate.
After serving continuously in Congress until retirement in 1988, Stennis came back to MSU, where he helped teach and serve as an inspiration for future public servants.
The Stennis Institute is located adjacent to the Longest Student Health Center near the intersection of Hardy and Morrill roads.
For more on the book launch, telephone 662-513-0159.