Mississippi State is honoring Hal Parker Jr. as its National Alumnus of the Year during the MSU Alumni Association 2025 awards banquet Friday [May 30].

Mississippi State Assistant Professor Candace Lukasik has published her first book “Martyrs and Migrants: Coptic Christians and the Persecution Politics of U.S. Empire” (NYU Press). The book examines how Coptic Christian migrants from Egypt navigate religious identity through the lens of American political and religious frameworks.

Mississippi State spring summa cum laude communication graduate Rileigh Campbell of Caledonia is the Public Relations Association of Mississippi’s Student of the Year.