Erin Kempker, chair of the Mississippi University for Women Department of History, Political Science, and Geography, and Lisa Shrestha, senior biology student, will represent The W at the Higher Education Appreciation Day, Working for Academic Excellence (HEADWAE) Appreciation Day in Jackson Tuesday.
One student and faculty honoree are annually selected from each of the 34 Mississippi public and private universities and colleges to participate in the Appreciation Day event and luncheon. Honorees will begin the day with a visit to the State Capitol where they will be recognized by the Senate and House of Representatives and given a tour of the Capitol.
Kempker was named The W’s faculty member of the year during 2017 spring commencement ceremonies. She has served as an associate professor of history for the department since 2008. At The W, Kemper has held the role of chair of the Academic Integrity Committee, president of the American Association of University Women and been a member of the Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Council. In 2016, she chaired a working group for a committee that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of the university.
As member of the Ina E. Gordy Honors College, Shrestha is described as a brilliant student, who is quick a learner and demonstrates rare leadership qualities. Throughout 2017, she worked to complete research to determine the optimal conditions to enhance the sensitivity of immunoblotting protein. The results of her research will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and presented at the annual meetings of the Mississippi Academy of Science in 2018.
Shrestha has served as the vice-president of the Nepalese Student Association and is currently vice president of Phi Kappa Phi. She also a member of Gamma Sigma Epsilon.
HEADWAE was established by Mississippi Legislative Resolution to annually honor academically talented students and faculty members of Mississippi’s higher education institutions who have made outstanding contributions in promoting academic excellence.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.