Dodd, Coyne to represent MSU as 2016 HEADWAE honorees
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Senior Joseph M. “JoJo” Dodd of Picayune and Dr. Cody Coyne of the College of Veterinary Medicine are ɫƵ’s 2016 HEADWAE student and faculty honorees.
An acronym for Higher Education Appreciation Day—Working for Academic Excellence, the program has been held since 1987. Administered by the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of High Learning, the event annually recognizes individuals on campuses “who have made outstanding contributions in promoting academic excellence.”
A senior economics/pre-medicine major, Dodd is president of the university’s Student Association. Coyne, a professor of molecular pharmacology and immunology in CVM’s basic sciences department, is president of the Robert Holland Faculty Senate.
Joining students and faculty members from 34 Mississippi public and private institutions, they will travel to Jackson Tuesday [Feb. 2] to visit and tour the state capitol and be recognized formally by the Mississippi Legislature. The honorees also will be recognized at a luncheon at the nearby Marriott Hotel.
Dodd transferred to MSU in 2013 after a year at Pearl River Community College, followed by a year traveling and working across the country.
Before being elected president last year, he served as the SA’s policy director and was a regular contributor to the opinion section of the Reflector student newspaper. He also has served with others as the Bully mascot for athletic and other campus events.
“ɫƵ has afforded me such incredible opportunities, and this community has become my family,” Dodd said. “MSU has given far more to me than I could ever give back, but I am beyond honored to be able to represent MSU as its 2016 HEADWAE student honoree.”
Coyne joined the faculty at the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Basic Sciences in 1992. Before coming to MSU, he was an assistant professor of equine internal medicine/molecular pharmacology at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
In addition to a veterinary medical degree, the Colorado native holds a doctorate in radiopharmacology with a focus on nuclear medicine from the University of California at Davis.
Coyne said he appreciates being recognized with an “incredible honor that blends research, teaching, academic service and leadership.”
“I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I would be receiving this award,” Coyne said. “I’m looking forward to going down to Jackson with the rest of the honorees and having the opportunity to view a small facet of how the legislature serves our state government.”
Learn more about the HEADWAE program at .
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