Ph.D Student Elected President of National Organization

As a doctoral student in the Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education program, Benita Barnes has long been interested in the world of academe. Yet even just a few years ago, she wouldn't have thought she would be leading a nationwide organization of graduate and professional students.

But that is exactly what she is doing. In November, Barnes was elected president of the Washington, D.C. - based National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS), the umbrella group for more than two million graduate and professional students studying in the United States.

"It's a phenomenal opportunity," Barnes said. "We are an organization run by graduate students. We're very grassroots. The biggest bulk of our membership is made up of graduate student organizations at colleges and universities throughout the country."

"previous to me becoming president, no one had ever had a higher education background. Given my research and professional interests in higher education, this is a perfect fit for me."

Barnes is in the midst of her yearlong term in office. Already she has traveled to the nation's capitol on more than one occasion to lobby legislators in favor of legislation that would benefit graduate students. She is also working on having the organization conduct more research on the experience of graduate and professional students.

For Barnes, it has been a busy year. However, being busy in nothing new for Barnes, who until last spring was not only a fulltime doctoral student in higher education, but was pursuing a master's degree in measurement and quantitative methods. She earned her master's in May.

These days she is collecting data for her dissertation-and looking out for the interests of graduate and professional students.

"I am busy. There is no question of that," she said. "But it's my passion, and I can't think of anything else I would rather be doing."

Kinesiology Graduate Student Honored

Cooker Candace Perkins was one of only six graduate students at MSU to receive the Excellence-in-Teaching Citation at a ceremony at the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts in February.

The citation is awarded to graduate teaching assistants who have distinguished themselves by the care they have given and the skill they have shown in meeting their classroom capabilities. Perkins is a doctoral student in the Department of Kinesiology and the Department of Epidemiology.

She was lauded her for her creative and relentless approach to teaching. She is unafraid to employ any method necessary to disseminate information effectively. In a gross anatomy laboratory, she once compared forearm extensor muscles to a peanut-butter sandwich.

In addition to her teaching, Perkins has maintained an active scholarly agenda, presenting annually at the American College of Sports Medicine, and co-authoring a book chapter on athletes and pregnancy.

Her citation biography stated that she "embodies a clear devotion and passion for teaching, research inquiry, and excelling in her field."

Doctoral Student Receives Fellowship

Patricia Farrell was an inaugural national recipient of the Association for the Study of Higher Education/Lumina Foundation Dissertation Research Fellowship. The program funded eight dissertation projects. Farrell's dissertation is titled, "An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of State Non-Needs Merit-Based Scholarship Program." Professor Jim Fairweather is her advisor.

Terrific Team

Congratulations to Sarah Linz and Jessica Rehling, who are both master's degree student in the Student Affairs Administration program, for winning the 2003 Michigan College Personnel Association Case Study Competition.