Alumni Association honors five faculty members

Faculty members from accounting, communication, curriculum and instruction, and physics are winners of the Alumni Association's 1995 Faculty Awards.

At an April campus banquet, the annual honors program recognized "significant contributions to the welfare of humankind and the stature of Mississippi State University" in the categories of classroom teaching, research, and service.

Receiving awards this year were Marion Couvillion, Zoel Daughtrey, Hank Flick, Rodney Piercey, and James Turner. Each award was accompanied by a $1,000 check.

Since the program's inception in 1965, more than 135 Mississippi State faculty members have been honored. Selections are made by committees of faculty, students, and alumni.

Honored this year are:

• Marion Couvillion, Lower Level (freshman and sophomore) Teaching Award. The assistant communication professor was praised by students for the ability to "transform theories into reality through vivid explanations that increase awareness of the significance of effective communication." Couvillion holds degrees from Louisiana State and Mississippi State universities.
• Zoel Daughtrey, Service Award. The Tenneco Professor of Accounting was honored for his efforts with the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service in conducting annual tax workshops across the state, and for service to the Agribusiness Institute, which he helped establish and where he is the associate coordinator. Daughtrey holds degrees from Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and North Carolina State universities.
• Hank Flick, Upper Level (junior and senior) Teaching Award. Colleagues said they frequently are compelled to stop in the hall and listen to parts of the communication professor's lectures. His students said his teaching techniques allowed them "to not only learn the academic material covered in class, but also to understand more about life in general." Flick holds degrees from Memphis State University (now University of Memphis) and Southern Illinois University.
• Rodney Piercey, Research Award. The physics professor is described as "a skillful and versatile researcher" who has an international reputation in radiation detectors and data acquisition systems. Colleagues said that, single-handedly, he has established a high-quality research program and attracted national attention to the university. Piercey holds degrees from Centre College and Vanderbilt University.
• James Turner, Graduate Level Teaching Award. Former students said the curriculum and instruction professor uses a coaching approach in the classroom to bring a subject to life. Colleagues, who described his teaching as "exemplary, diligent, effective, and genuine," said he is an inspiration to students both in the classroom and in their later professional lives. Turner holds degrees from East Stroudsburg State College, Kutztown State College, and the University of Alabama.

"One of the highlights of the year for our Alumni Association is to honor our distinguished faculty," said John Correro, executive director of the association. "Each and every one of the university's faculty members plays an important role in the direction that this university is moving and in preparing these young men and women for productive futures."

While the five awards recognize those who have achieved significant accomplishments over the past year, Correro said the annual banquet honors all faculty members at Mississippi State.