ITTA BENA, Miss— Mississippi Valley State University alumnus Dr. Emmitt Y. Riley III has a passion for teaching. His apparent love for mentorship and education are two of the reasons why the Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at DePauw University (Ind.), was recently awarded the 2018 Anna Julia Cooper Teacher of the Year Award.

The honor was bestowed on the Itta Bena native by the National Conference of Black Political Scientists during its 49th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Ill., March 16, for demonstrating excellence in teaching, advising and mentoring.

ITTA BENA, Miss.— The Mississippi Valley State University Department of English and Foreign Languages and J.H. White Library will continue the Zelma T. Howard Lecture Series with a poetry reading featuring renowned poet George Drew.

The event will be hosted at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, March 29, in the Bendenfield Electronic classroom, located on the second floor of the library. The event is free and open to the public.

ITTA BENA, Miss— James Meredith, garbed in a complementary white suit and hat, stood tall while addressing the Mississippi Valley State University community during its 2018 Honors Convocation Thursday, March 22, in the Walter Roberts Auditorium.

The annual celebration is hosted by the University each spring to celebrate students who have excelled academically.

During his keynote address, Meredith told the honorees, “I am at the most important school primarily because of where it is and why it’s here.”