George Earns Fraternitys Prestigious Leadership Award

Jeffrey George, a University of Southern Mississippi alumnus who served two terms as the school's Student Government Association president, was the recipient of Pi Kappa Phi's Howard H. Baker Leadership Award during the fraternity's supreme chapter meeting July 28-31 in Austin, Texas.

The award, one of two national awards for student members given out by Pi Kappa Phi each summer, recognizes the student member of Pi Kappa Phi with the most outstanding leadership and involvement in campus and community organizations independent of his chapter. It is named for Howard Baker, a member of Pi Kappa Phi's Alpha Sigma chapter who served as U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1967-85 and U.S. Senate Majority Leader from 1981-85.

A native of Covington, La., George graduated from Southern Miss in May 2016 and will continue his studies at USM this fall as a graduate student in its economic development program. As he continues to pursue his career goal of becoming a public servant, George said he is “honored to be recognized with an award named after such a distinguished politician and diplomat like Sen. Howard Baker."

"I am proud to receive this award from an organization like Pi Kappa Phi that was actually founded on the premise of creating leadership opportunities for its members,” George said. “As a national organization, our motto is ‘Exceptional Leaders. Uncommon Opportunities' and I believe that truly defines the experience of the Theta Alpha Chapter at Southern Miss.

“My time as a member of the fraternity has helped me grow as a person, provided me with numerous friendships and meant so much to my college career. I am also extremely grateful for all the support of the Southern Miss Greek Life family,” he said.

"Jeffrey's involvement and experience with fraternity life at Southern Miss is exactly what we expect," said Charles Childress, director of the USM Office of Greek Life. "The expectation is that fraternity members encourage each other to reach their full potential in accordance with their national standards. I'm extremely proud of him, how Pi Kappa Phi challenges members to live their creed, and the chapter's success throughout the years."

For information about Pi Kappa Phi and Greek Life at Southern Miss, visit https://www.usm.edu/greek-life.