FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 13, 2012
Contact: Laurel Kammer
(662) 329-7119
llk@muw.edu
MUW announces Ban and Bunnell as HEADWAE honorees
COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women junior Menuka Ban and instructor of English Todd Bunnell will be recognized at the Higher Education Appreciation Day, Working for Academic Excellence (HEADWAE) in February.
HEADWAE was established by Mississippi Legislative Resolution No. 88 in 1987 to annually honor the academically talented students and faculty members of Mississippi's higher education institutions who have made outstanding contributions in promoting academic excellence.
The Appreciation Day, hosted by the Legislature each February in Jackson, is the Legislature's way of saying "thank you" to these students and faculty for their commitment to the future of Mississippi.
Ban is a mathematics and political science major from Bhaktapur, Nepal. She serves as vice president of MUW’s Student Government Association, community advisor for MUW’S Community Living Organization, W-Rep and mathematics tutor. She also is involved in several other campus organizations including Stand Up-Speak Up Toastmasters club and the International Student Association. Ban is a member of the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi and Kappa Mu Epsilon mathematics honor society.
Bunnell was the 2011 Faculty Member of the Year. He is currently serving as coordinator of composition and director of the TESL Certificate Program and Writing Center. Originally from Urbana, Ohio, Bunnell came to MUW in 1996 as an adjunct instructor and full-time lecturer at Mississippi State University. Along with being an English instructor, Bunnell served as sports information director at MUW from 2001 to 2003. Bunnell earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Wright State University (Dayton) and a master’s degree in English with a creative writing emphasis and a TESL Certificate from Mississippi State University.
On Appreciation Day, which will be held Tuesday, Feb. 28, the honorees are invited to the state Capitol where they are welcomed by the lieutenant governor and recognized in each chamber of the Legislature. A luncheon follows wherein each student and faculty honoree is recognized by name in front of their guests, institution leaders, corporate sponsors and legislators.
The goal of the Appreciation Day is to encourage excellence among those involved in higher education as a way to further leadership, increase knowledge across the broad spectrum of education and promote good citizens capable of thriving in today's society and prepared to meet future challenges.
To this end, one student and faculty honoree are annually selected from each of the 36 public and private member institutions of the Mississippi Association of Colleges to participate in the Appreciation Day activities. Additionally, the generosity of the corporate sponsors provides for each honoree to be accompanied to the luncheon by two guests.
For more information about HEADWAE, visit http://www.mississippi.edu/headwae/.
