Karnes Center Celebrating 40th Anniversary June 21 at Leadership Studies Program
Wed, 06/19/2019 - 04:18pm | By: David Tisdale
The University of Southern Mississippi’s Frances Karnes Center for Gifted Studies will mark four decades of service in providing quality programming for gifted and talented students across the state and nation during a banquet recognizing those completing this year’s summer Leadership Studies Program at 5 p.m., Friday, June 21.
Former students and those who support the Center will also be in attendance at the event, to be held in the R.C. Cook University Union on the Hattiesburg campus.
“We are so proud to invite our program supporters and former students to celebrate
this special occasion with us,” said Dr. Heather Houston, director of the Karnes Center.
“Being able to meet the changing needs of students who have depended on us for 40
years is no small accomplishment.
“The wisdom we have gained through our past successes, and even our past failures,
drives us to finding ever more innovative ways to support these special students,”
Dr. Houston continued. “We look forward to providing a variety of new opportunities
for gifted students and their families in the coming years.”
Named for its founder in 1999, the Karnes Center for Gifted Studies was founded in 1979 by Dr. Frances Karnes, a retired Distinguished University Professor of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education, who joined the USM faculty in 1973. The Center has furthered the education of thousands of gifted students and those with leadership abilities through teaching, research and service and academic and leadership enrichment programs, and provides support for teachers of the gifted and their families.
Karnes collaborated with many of her current and former graduate students in publishing approximately 200 articles in peer reviewed journals and more than 40 books on gifted education during her career, and has been a prominent advocate for legislation benefiting gifted education in Mississippi and across the nation. Her graduates have gone on to work in academia, private industry and the public sector to advance her vision for gifted education across the country and around the globe.
Under Dr. Karnes’ leadership, the Center secured multiple federal research grants and private support to meet its goals. Among her many honors and awards, she was the 2003 recipient of the Mississippi Association for Gifted Children’s Award for Excellence, the 2005 National Association for Gifted Children Distinguished Service Award, and the 2014 National Association for Gifted Children Ann F. Isaac's Founder's Memorial Award.
“The Karnes Center has made a major impact in the advancement of gifted studies in our state, region and nation,” said State Rep. Missy McGee, a USM alumna who earlier this year presented Dr. Houston with a proclamation from the State House of Representatives commemorating the Center’s 40th anniversary. “We’re grateful for the leadership of Dr. Karnes, and excited for the continuation of the Center’s success under the direction of Dr. Houston.”
For more information about the Center for Gifted Studies, which is housed in USM’s College of Education and Human Sciences, contact Dr. Houston at HL.HoustonFREEMississippi.