WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Nomination forms are now available for two Missouri State University awards presented annually by the Missouri State-West Plains and Missouri State-Springfield Alumni Team.
Both awards, the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Distinguished Faculty/Staff Award, will be presented during the Missouri State University annual spring gathering for alumni and friends May 1 at the West Plains Civic Center exhibit hall.
The Missouri State-West Plains Distinguished Alumni Award, in its 16th year, recognizes extraordinary achievement in personal and professional endeavors, along with loyalty to the university. The selection committee will review each nominee’s professional experiences, responsibilities and contributions to his or her field. Of importance also to the committee will be the nominee’s involvement in the community, including positions held in organizations and awards or testimonials received by the nominee for special contributions made to the community. Nominees must be former students of Missouri State-West Plains, officials said.
Previous recipients of this award include former Willow Springs School Superintendent Dr. Don Hamby, West Plains businessman Jim McFarland, Missouri State-Springfield marketing lecturer/Springfield businesswoman Sherry James Cook, former state employee and community leader Peggy Kissinger of West Plains, Thayer veterinarian Dr. Greg Langley, neurosurgeon Dr. Doug Green of West Plains, former Kabul Nursing Home Director George Colbert, Ozarks Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Jeannie Looper, Willow Springs businessman David Montgomery, optometrist Dr. Matthew Pigg, West Plains attorney Christena Silvey Coleman, West Plains banking executive Scott Corman, local health services administrator and businessman Mike Newton, local physician Dr. Scott Roush and Mountain Grove dentist Dr. Tom Todd.
The Distinguished Faculty/Staff Award, in its fifth year, honors a former full-time or per course Missouri State-West Plains faculty or staff member for achievement in his or her professional or academic field who also has shown a demonstrated commitment to the university’s mission. Nominees need to have previously worked for the university for at least five years and must not currently be employed by the university. Previous recipients of this award include former director of development and Emeritus Professor of History Carol Silvey, former Missouri State-West Plains campus dean Marvin Green, Emeritus Professor of English Dr. Connie O’Neal and Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Rita Fugate.
For more information or to obtain nomination forms, call the Missouri State-West Plains development office at 417-255-7240, e-mail the development office at WPDevelopment@MissouriState.edu, or stop by the office in Kellett Hall, 905 W. Main St., in West Plains. Nomination forms also can be accessed online at http://wp.missouristate.edu/development/Awards.htm. Nominations must be returned to the Missouri State University-West Plains Office of Development, 128 Garfield Ave., West Plains MO 65775, on or before Friday, March 28, 2014.