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| Dr. Lynn Varner<\/SPAN>, Director\/Chair for The Thad Cochran Center for Rural School Leadership and Research, smiles moments after unveiling the plaque bearing Senator Thad Cochran\u2019s name. The Senator looked on with Delta State University President, Dr. <\/SPAN>John Hilpert<\/SPAN>. <\/SPAN><\/TD> | Senator Thad Cochran addresses the crowd, minutes after the official dedication of The Thad Cochran Center for Rural School Leadership and Research on <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>University<\/SPAN>\u2019s campus. <\/SPAN><\/P><\/TD><\/TR><\/TABLE><\/SPAN><\/P> Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>University<\/SPAN> dedicated The Thad Cochran Center for Rural School Leadership and Research with a ceremony honoring the <\/SPAN>United States<\/SPAN> senator yesterday afternoon inside the atrium of Kent Wyatt Hall. <\/SPAN><\/P> The senior senator, who was in attendance for the ceremony, has long been a proponent of education in the <\/SPAN>Magnolia<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN>, and the dedication seemed most fitting, as Dr. John M. Hilpert, <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>University<\/SPAN>\u2019s President, directed, \u201cSenator Cochran, your work on behalf of our state makes all of us proud and grateful. <\/SPAN><\/P> \u201cWe are particularly thankful for the attention you give to the universities and to our students. <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN> and the other seven public institutions are better in all dimensions \u2013 teaching, research, and service \u2013 because of you and your purposeful public service. This day is not only about you and for you, it is because of you,\u201d Hilpert observed.<\/SPAN><\/P> Housed in the <\/SPAN>College<\/SPAN> of <\/SPAN>Education<\/SPAN>, The Thad Cochran Center for Rural School Leadership and Research works to prepare educational leaders who can address the unique challenges of the Mississippi Delta region, by providing the knowledge necessary to improve leadership effectiveness, teacher quality, and thus, student achievement. Dually, the Center promotes a vibrant learning community committed to the development of exemplary educational leaders. <\/SPAN><\/P> Its Masters\u2019 in Educational Leadership program remains a vital cog to the Center. First conceptualized in 1997 by a group of nation-wide, high-powers in education, the Center\u2019s first class entered into the 14-month, intensive program in 1999. <\/SPAN><\/P> The Program has since earned recognition as winner of the 2006 Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Award for Best Practices; been featured in Education Week<\/SPAN><\/I> and the Delta Business Journal<\/SPAN><\/I>; and probably most significantly, received honors from Stanford University, after an intense national study, as one of the top eight leadership programs in the nation.<\/SPAN><\/P> As <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN>\u2019s seventh president noted, \u201cMost often, Senator, these ceremonies occur in front of a building or a suite of offices that will bear your name, but today we will name a center that is too big in its scope and mission to be identified only as a fixed place. Of course there are offices and classrooms in our <\/SPAN>College<\/SPAN> of <\/SPAN>Education<\/SPAN> where some of the work happens, but the <\/SPAN>Thad<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>Cochran<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>Center<\/SPAN> for Rural School Leadership and Research embraces all of the Mississippi Delta as its place. Beyond the Delta, the rural schools of this nation will benefit from the efforts and expertise of our faculty and students, as well as the hundreds of Delta educators who work with us.\u201d<\/SPAN><\/P> The Center\u2019s director, Dr. <\/SPAN>Lynn Varner<\/SPAN> assisted in the presentation, as the plaque bearing Cochran\u2019s name was unveiled to an audience of about 200. <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>University<\/SPAN> also presented the Senator with his own plaque commemorating the day, as well as a certificate heralding the Mississippi Republican as an honoree <\/SPAN>Delta<\/SPAN> <\/SPAN>State<\/SPAN> alumnus. Some of Delta State\u2019s best and brightest students have interned inside Senator Cochran\u2019s office, with some having gone on to become members of his staff. <\/SPAN><\/P> In response, the Senator offered, \u201cI am deeply grateful and appreciative of your kind words today. It is no secret; education is a personal love of mine. Growing up in a school teacher\u2019s household, education was so important and so valued. <\/SPAN><\/P> \u201cWe must continually work to strengthen our state\u2019s education system, and this center is an important first step, a step in the right direction,\u201d Cochran concluded. <\/SPAN><\/P> Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi in 1937 to William Holmes Cochran and Emma Grace Cochran, a school principal and a teacher, respectively, William Thad Cochran graduated from Byram High School near Jackson and received a B.A. degree from the University of Mississippi with a major in psychology and a minor in political science in 1959. After a time in the United States Navy (1959-1961), he attended the University of Mississippi School of Law and graduated in 1965. He then practiced law for seven years. <\/SPAN><\/P> |
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