Millsaps College President Frances Lucas has been awarded the third annual Women in Higher Education Mississippi Network Leadership Award.
The statewide organization established the award to recognize a woman each year who has demonstrated leadership and a commitment to promoting initiatives that identify, develop, encourage, mentor and advance women in higher education. Last year’s winner, Dr. Myrtis Tabb, assistant vice president for partnerships and special projects and interim director of human resources at Delta State University, presented Dr. Lucas with the award at WHEMN’s recent conference in Hattiesburg.
“I am greatly honored to receive this award, especially because I know there were numerous talented women who were nominated for this recognition,” Dr. Lucas said. “It has been a joy and a pleasure to be involved with women around our great state who are dedicated to the educational needs of all Mississippians.”
WHEMN comprises institutional representatives from each of the state’s junior and senior colleges and universities. The annual conference is designed to deliver practical information and networking opportunities to other higher education professionals in the state.
“Dr. Lucas is recognized as a strong advocate for the development of women throughout the Mid-South and challenges and inspires her professional and personal peers to do the same,” said Dr. Tabb. “The WHEMN award highlights the outstanding work of Dr. Lucas as a leader of leaders.”
Brit Katz, vice-president and dean of students at Millsaps, nominated Dr. Lucas for the award and describes her as a person who “embodies progressive, focused and inclusive leadership and management.”
Her more than 30 year career in higher education includes many firsts. In 2000 she was named Millsaps’ first female president and since has flourished in a role that allows her to promote the benefits of a liberal arts education in a rapidly changing world. Previously, she became the first woman to hold a vice-presidential role at both Emory University and Baldwin-Wallace College, where she also earned the distinction of being the youngest vice-president for student affairs in the country.
Dr. Lucas has received multiple awards in recognition of her outstanding leadership in higher education from state, regional, and international organizations. Most recently, she has received the 2007 Leonard Goldberg Citation presented by the Senior Student Affairs Officers in the Associated Colleges of the South, membership in the 2008 Class of Dynamic Women of Mississippi and the 2008 International Shield Award from the Delta Gamma Fraternity.
