Jackson State University honored retiring faculty and staff earlier this semester in a special celebration held in the Student Center. The keynote speaker for the event is also a JSU retiree. Dr. Gwendolyn Spencer Prater, founding dean of the School of Social Work, founding dean of the College of Public Service and dean emerita at Jackson State retired in 2011.
Prater said that she is pleased to have left two endowed scholarships to support JSU students upon her retirement, one for public service and the other for social work.
President Carolyn W. Meyers and Dr. Evelyn J. Leggette, provost and senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs, were among those expressing gratitude to the retirees for their years of service to the university. Vice president for Research and Federal Relations, Dr. Loretta Moore, presided over the celebration. The following is a list of the 2015-2016 retirees:
College of Business
Dr. Mercidee Curry, Instructor – 15 Years
Ms. Lori T. Swanier, Director of Career Services – 23 Years
College of Education and Human Development
Dr. Allan Simmons, Associate Professor – 27 Years
College of Liberal Arts
Mr. Mauricio Alegria, Assistant Professor – 27 Years
Ms. Arneda Alexander, Secretary – 20 Years
Dr. Richard Chiles, Assistant Professor – 25 Years
Dr. Bonnie Gardner, Instructor – 31 Years
Dr. Herd Graves, Administrative Assistant – 33 Years
Dr. Karen Laubengayer, Professor – 31 Years
Mr. Dowell Taylor, Band Director/Assistant Professor – 31 Years
College of Public Service
Dr. Anna M. Marshall, Clinical Assistant Professor – 7 Years
Dr. Gregory Opara-Nadi, Director of Contractual Services, MURC – 15 Years
Dr. Jerry Watson, Associate Professor/Ph.D. Program Chair – 1 Year
College of Science, Engineering and Technology
Dr. Carl Drake, Assistant Professor – 30 Years
Dr. Edna Holbrook, Assistant Professor – 27 Years
Dr. Mohammad Khadivi, Professor – 27 Years
Division of Academic and Student Affairs
Ms. Lauren Y. Campbell-Cummings, Office Manager/Housing – 29 Years
Ms. Sarah Franklin, Transcript Unit Supervisor – 27 Years
Dr. James Renick, Senior Vice President and Provost – 4 Years
Ms. Mary Sharpe, Writer/Researcher – 22 Years
Division of Business and Finance
Mr. James Lane, Site Care Technician – 22 Years
Ms. Alcinia Pugh, Executive Director – 24 Years
Mr. Larry Ross, Carpenter Foreman – 22 Years
Mr. Milton E. Smith, Patrol Officer – 2 Years
Mr. Curtis Wells, HVAC Technician – 13 Years
Division of Information Management
Mr. Charles E. Patton, IT Technician – 33 Years
Division of Federal Relations and Sponsored Programs
Ms. Sonja Robinson, Director of Sponsored Programs –26 Years
Division of Institutional Advancement
Ms. Clara M. Collier, Assistant to the Director – 38 Years
Mr. James H. Ewing, Media Relations Specialist – 1 Year
Ms. Jean C. Frazier, State Relations Coordinator – 15 Years
Division of Institutional Research
Dr. Arthur Jefferson, Assistant Director – 41 Years
School of Public Health Initiative
Dr. Nola T. Radford, Professor – 11 Years
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Note: For more images, view Retirement Photo Gallery.
