April 02, 2009

Senator Roger Wicker, Delta Council VP Chip Morgan Headline Founder's Day Breakfast

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker and Delta Council Executive Vice President Chip Morgan will be the keynote speakers at the 10th annual Mississippi Valley State University Founder’s Day Breakfast on Monday, April 20.

The breakfast begins at 7:30 p.m. in Dining Hall IV of the H.M. Ivy Cafeteria on the Itta Bena campus. Tickets are $15. Presiding over the program will be Bill Crump, director of governmental affairs for the Viking Corporation.

The breakfast is part of the annual Founder’s Week which celebrates the University history since its inception in 1950 under the direction of its founding president, James Herbert White.

Senator Wicker was elected to the United States Senate on Nov. 4, 2008, having served in the Senate for 10 months after an appointment by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour on Dec. 31, 2007.

Prior to serving in the Senate, Roger represented Mississippi’s First Congressional District, having been first elected in 1994. He was re-elected to a seventh term in November 2006. Before going to Congress, Roger was elected to two terms in the Mississippi State Senate, serving from 1987-1994.

He serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.

As a member of the House of Representatives, Wicker served on the leadership team as deputy whip. In 2001, he was elected to the Republican Policy Committee.  He was re-elected to that position in 2007.

Wicker has been a strong supporter of health care research activities. His efforts to fight heart disease were recognized by the American Heart Association which presented the congressman with its 1998 National Public Service Award. He was honored for developing an initiative to fund new, state-based disease prevention strategies and information activities. His work is helping educate more Americans about heart disease risk factors and how to reduce those risks.

Wicker has also been active in support of cancer research programs at the National Cancer Institute, diabetes research, and he has been recognized twice as a "champion" of polio eradication for his work on efforts to wipe out polio worldwide. He has also been instrumental in bringing more research funding to Mississippi universities to conduct studies on a wide range of health-related projects to fight disease and improve the quality of life.

Roger has been involved in activities to spur economic development and bring jobs to Mississippi. His advocacy for programs such as the Appalachian Regional Commission and Economic Development Administration has led to hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment in predominately rural areas.

A native of Pontotoc, Wicker is the son of former Circuit Judge Fred Wicker and the late Mrs. Wordna Wicker, He was educated in Pontotoc public schools and received his B.A. and law degrees from the University of Mississippi. While at Ole Miss, Wicker served as the Associated Student Body President and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

He is married to the former Gayle Long of Tupelo. They have three children: Margaret and son-in-law Manning McPhillips; Caroline and son-in-law Kirk Sims; and McDaniel. 

As executive vice president of Delta Council, Morgan is guiding the organization founded in 1935 by farmers, businessmen and educators who were committed to three principles: future development of agricultural productivity through research; highway improvements; and flood control. Since becoming executive vice president, Morgan has expanded the leadership role of the Delta Council to include improvement of access to health care; funding for higher education; adult literacy; confronting critical teacher shortages in the Delta; and forging a plan for higher education curriculum to train high school administrators in the Delta.

In addition, Morgan has served in a coordinating role and developed strategies for the organization’s input into national farm policy, major four-lane highway legislation for the State of Mississippi, and the successful completion of important flood control projects which have brought 100-year flood protection to communities such as Greenville, Greenwood, Cleveland, Belzoni and many other smaller communities for the first time in history.

The Oxford native attended Oxford public schools and graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in public administration. Prior to his current appointment in 1982, Morgan served as director of the Industrial and Community Development Department of Delta Council beginning in 1975.

He is married to the former Connie Rodgers of Belzoni. They have two children and one grandchild.  He attends Leland United Methodist Church.

Following the Founder’s Day Breakfast, the memorial service at the gravesite of President White and Mrs. Augusta Charter White, will be held.

– MVSU –