Nelson is top Black History Month educator

The associate dean of Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine is the state's Black History Month Educator of the Year.

Dr. Phillip D. Nelson was honored by the state Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning during its recent meeting on the Starkville campus. In the resolution, the College Board praised Nelson's devotion to and leadership for veterinary medicine and higher education.

Each of the eight state-supported colleges and universities nominated faculty members for the IHL award. Also nominated from MSU was Dr. Robert L. Jenkins, associate professor of history.

Dr. Phillip Nelson (c) is congratulated by Vice President J. Charles Lee (l) and President Malcolm Portera

A former Jackson resident and Jackson State University graduate, Nelson earned a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Tuskegee Institute and a doctorate in veterinary immunology from North Carolina State University.

He has taught at both Tuskegee and Mississippi State in the area of small animal internal medicine. At Tuskegee, he went on to head the department of small animal medicine and surgery until 1994, when he returned to MSU as associate dean and associate professor.

Nelson "has established himself as an exemplary educator who has been instrumental in actively recruiting minority students to the College of Veterinary Medicine," said J. Charles Lee, vice president of agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine.

Specifically, Lee cited Nelson's major role in the 1997 creation of the Mississippi Minority Veterinary Medical Association. "He continues to provide leaderships for this important endeavor," Lee added.

Nelson holds major honors from North Carolina State for teaching and from Tuskegee for research. At MSU, he received the veterinary college's Pegasus Award for distinguished clinical instruction.

He is a member of the 100 Black Men Association and a charter member of its Columbus chapter.