FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 20, 2007
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7124

MUW faculty member, student recognized by the Mississippi Legislature
  
COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women’s Dr. Jane Hurley Wenstrom, professor of mathematics, and Amarachukwu C. Imediegwu, a senior biology major from Nigeria, were recognized today as part of the 20th annual Higher Education Appreciation Day/Working for Academic Excellence (HEADWAE) program.
   
Wenstrom and Imediegwu were among 72 outstanding students and faculty members from 36 Mississippi public and private universities who received special recognition from the Mississippi Legislature.
  
“The Mississippi Legislature, the corporate community and others involved in higher education are given the opportunity to recognize the academic achievements of outstanding students and faculty at our institutions of higher learning,” said Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, who also chairs the HEADWAE committee. “These honorees, through their personal and academic achievement, demonstrate that a quality education can be found right here in Mississippi’s colleges and universities.”
   
Honorees visited the State Capitol where they were welcomed and recognized by the Senate and House of Representatives before participating in a tour of the Capitol. An awards luncheon followed at the Jackson Marriott Downtown.
   
Kathleen Koch, a CNN general assignment correspondent based in Washington, D.C., and native of Bay St. Louis delivered the keynote address.
   
HEADWAE was established in 1988 by the Legislature to honor the academic achievement of individuals and the overall contribution of the state’s public and private institutions of higher learning.