Millsaps College has named CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston as the 2003 Alumnus of the Year. This award was established by the College in 1950 and is presented annually to an individual in recognition of outstanding contributions to his or her chosen profession, church and community, as well as to Millsaps. Pinkston, a member of the graduating class of 1973, will be presented with the award at the annual College Awards Dinner at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20 in the A. Boyd Campbell College Center at Millsaps.

"During his impressive career in journalism, Randall Pinkston has risked his own safety to bring vital information of international importance to the American public," said Millsaps President Frances Lucas-Tauchar. "He truly exemplifies the spirit of open inquiry, social advocacy and global citizenry that Millsaps fosters in its graduates. We are proud to include him among our alumni."

A native of Yazoo County, Randall Pinkston has been a New York-based CBS News correspondent since 1994. He reports regularly for the "CBS Evening News" and contributes to other CBS News broadcasts. Pinkston has most recently covered the war in Afghanistan from the front lines in Tora Bora and Jalalabad, devastating earthquakes in Turkey, the Albanian refugee crisis in Kosovo and U.S. military participation in the Balkans, and Saddam Hussein's past refusals to allow U.N. inspection officers to enter Iraq.

Pinkston received of a 1996 Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism and the Edward R. Murrow Award for the documentary "CBS Reports: A Legacy of Shame." Pinkston is also the winner of two Emmy Awards: one in 1998 for his coverage of the death of Princess Diana and another in 1997 for his work reporting the TWA Flight 800 disaster.

Prior to his New York assignment, he was based at the CBS Washington bureau, where he joined the network as a White House correspondent. While there, Pinkston became a fixture on "CBS This Morning" and CBS Radio, reporting on the Persian Gulf War.

Before joining CBS News, Pinkston worked for WCBS-TV, the CBS-owned station in New York (1980-90). While at WCBS-TV, he was honored by the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association, the Council of Churches of the City of New York and the Scripps Howard Foundation for a series on the lack of government care for the mentally ill and physically handicapped. He received the Outstanding Journalist Award from Black Citizens for a Fair Media and the Public Service Award from the Greater New York Safety Council for his reporting on teenage drunk driving, reports that helped set the stage for changes in the state's drunk driving laws.

Pinkston began his career in Jackson as an anchor/reporter at WLBT-TV and as an announcer at WJDX-FM Radio. Pinkston and his wife, Patricia McLain, currently live in Bergen County, N.J.

Festivities at the College Awards Dinner will also include the presentation of the Jim Livesay Awards. These awards honor the spirit of commitment in which Jim Livesay served the College as an alumnus, a member of the College administration and a volunteer. The Livesay Awards will be presented to Dr. James R. Cavett Jr. of Jackson, ('41) Dr. Jeanne Middleton-Hairston ('71) of Jackson and Washington, and Lem ('71) and Alice ('71) Mitchell of Magnolia. Additionally, Ruma Haque ('83) of Jackson will be posthumously honored.

For more information, call the Millsaps Office of Alumni Relations at (601) 974-1038.