Content about Announcements

The Office of Communications at The University of Southern Mississippi captured 11 awards – including a Grand Award for Print Media -- during the 2013 College Public Relations Association of Mississippi (CPRAM) Conference held May 20-21 in Gulfport, Miss.

Competing in the Senior Division among Mississippi universities, Southern Miss took home the Grand Award for its “Parent Handbook.” The judges called the submission a “Home run.”

Southern Miss collected first-place awards in the following categories:

Longtime higher education administrator Dr. Douglas Vinzant has been named the new Vice President for Finance and Administration at The University of Southern Mississippi. Pending IHL Board approval, Vinzant will begin his duties on June 17.

Vinzant comes to Southern Miss after serving as Vice President for Finance and Administration at St. Cloud University in Minnesota. He takes over for Dr. Tom Estes, who has served in an interim capacity for the past year.

The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation has announced Dr. Shannon Fleming as its next Executive Director, effective June 3. In this role, Fleming will serve as the chief staff executive for the USM Foundation, in addition to serving as the director of development for the University, and will be responsible for the Foundation’s strategic leadership, attainment of goals and objectives, coordination of fundraising activities and board management.

Founders’ Day on The University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg campus April 1 was a celebration of the institution’s past, its future and the people who have made it what it is today.

It was also the first day of the presidency of Dr. Rodney Bennett, the University’s 10^th executive officer. Bennett welcomed those in attendance at Bennett Auditorium (named for the University’s second president Claude Bennett) to the event that included honors and recognition for the achievements of students, faculty and staff.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26 at the Peck House for University of Southern Mississippi Professor Kenneth Vance Watson. The Peck House, which is part of the Southern Miss campus, is located at 3601 Pearl St. 

Dr. Sarah Morgan, associate professor in the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials at The University of Southern Mississippi, has been awarded a $60,000 grant from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation that will be used in her continuing solar cells research.

Morgan’s grant is part of $270,000 awarded by the foundation in research grants for sustainability programs. Other schools receiving grants include Georgia Institute of Technology, Auburn University and Arizona State University.

University of Southern Mississippi Vice Provost for Research Dr. Gordon Cannon has announced that Chase Kasper will become the director of the Office of Technology Development, effective Feb. 1.

Before accepting the Southern Miss post, Kasper served as associate director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer at Mississippi State University. He has been involved with technology licensing, intellectual property management and technology transfer in a university environment for almost 10 years.

The Provost’s Office is asking Southern Miss students and faculty to assist in the Fall 2012 Textbook Survey that is now available on SOAR. Faculty and students will find separate surveys, which must be completed before midnight on Friday, Nov. 16 to be included in the final results.

Dr. Bill Holcomb will serve as the new director of Athletic Training Education Program in the School of Human Performance and Recreation in the College of Health at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Holcomb brings a wealth of experience, having previously served as a faculty member for San Jose State, the University of Nevada Las Vegas and the University of North Florida. 

Dr. Michael Forster, dean of the College of Health at The University of Southern Mississippi, has announced that Dr. Trent Gould will serve as interim director of the School of Human Performance and Recreation (HPR) until a permanent director is named.

Gould, a member of the HPR faculty since 2003, has served as the school’s director for the previous three summer sessions. He takes over the department’s reins from Rick Green, who resigned as director in August.

University of Southern Mississippi Provost Dr. Denis Wiesenburg has announced that Dr. Joseph Peyrefitte, senior associate dean in the College of Business, will serve as interim dean during the college’s period of transition.

Peyrefitte will assume the dean’s role from Dr. Lance Nail, who will leave Southern Miss on Aug. 15 to accept a similar position at Texas Tech University. Nail has served as dean of the College of Business since July, 2008.

Dr. Ray Newman, a longtime health care executive and higher education scholar, has been named chair of the Department of Community Health Sciences at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Newman has served as a visiting professor at Southern Miss for the past three years in health policy and administration. Dr. Emmanuel Ahua had served as interim chair of the department since Dr. James McGuire stepped down in May, 2011.