A veteran communications professional is being named interim executive director of University Relations at Mississippi University for Women. Anika Mitchell Perkins, currently associate director, will assume the position Oct. 1 following the Sept. 30 retirement of Maridith Geuder.
An 18-year veteran of public affairs at the university, Perkins is a 1993 journalism and mass communication graduate of The W and will receive her master’s degree in December from Kent State University. Prior to joining The W, Perkins worked for five years at The Commercial Dispatch, first as a reporter before being promoted to news editor.
“Anika has a deep knowledge of the university, the community and the state,” said President Jim Borsig. “She is respected by colleagues and the media for her professionalism and has been a key player in advancing the university’s brand awareness. We are looking forward to the contributions she will make in her new role.”
Active in professional organizations, Perkins is a past recipient of the Golden Triangle Public Relations Association of Mississippi’s Practitioner of the Year, as well as awards from the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi (CPRAM). She is a member of CPRAM, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, Southern Public Relations Federation, the Communicators Working Group of the state Institutions of Higher Learning and the Public Relations Association of Mississippi-Golden Triangle.
At The W, she chairs the Quality Enhancement Plan Marketing/Communications Subcommittee and was involved with the Commemoration of Desegregation Committee and MUW 20/20: Envisioning our Future, Fulfilling Our Promise Task Force. She also is on-campus adviser for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., and the Coretta Social Club.
In the community, Perkins currently serves as a board member for the Boys & Girls Club of the Golden Triangle and has served on the boards of Habitat for Humanity and the Columbus Arts Council. She and her husband Pete have twin daughters, Kelsey and Kennedy. They are members of Southside M.B. Church Inc.
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