Millsaps
College announced the 2004 Alumna of the Year and four 2004 Livesey
Awards, which recognize distinguished alumni, on Thursday, Feb.
19, at a campus ceremony featuring hundreds of alumni and friends.
The Alumna of the Year award was presented
to Nina Cunningham Redding in recognition of her outstanding work
on behalf of numerous community service organizations, most notably
Habitat for Humanity.
A native of Memphis and the daughter
of a Methodist minister who also attended the College, Redding entered
Millsaps in 1958. She was active in many campus organizations, graduating
cum laude from Millsaps in 1961 with a degree in history.
The executive director of Habitat for
Humanity/Metro Jackson since 1990, she has worked tirelessly to
improve the quality of life for Jackson's citizens. Under her leadership,
Habitat has housed 264 families and has grown to become one of the
top 20 Habitat affiliates in the country. Redding is also a dedicated
volunteer with various church and civic organizations. She serves
on the community advisory board of BankCorp South and the community
advisory board of the Junior League of Jackson. She is an active
member of Christ United Methodist Church, the Cursillo Movement
and the Kairos Prison Ministry. Redding has served as a Sunday school
teacher and board member of Christ United Methodist Church, an officer
in the PTA chapters of McLeod Elementary and Chastain Junior High
School, an officer in the League of Women Voters and a board member
of the Good Samaritan Center.
"Nina's service is an incredible
example of what this world needs," said Millsaps College President
Frances Lucas. "Her leadership has propelled the Metro Jackson
Habitat for Humanity into one of the most effective chapters in
the country, and I'm proud to say that the Millsaps community has
helped in this important work. We are pleased to be associated with
her work with Habitat and with her as a representative of Millsaps
College."
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson said,
"When we define the strength of the fabric that is the Jackson
community, we look to people like Nina Redding, whose work has indelibly
affected the tapestry of our city."
The Livesay Awards honor the spirit
of commitment in which Jim Livesay (1920-2001) served the College
as an alumnus, a member of the College administration and as a volunteer.
"The awards acknowledge leaders who represent the excellence
of Millsaps," Lucas said. "They are outstanding examples
of all that Millsaps is and can be."
The Livesay Award winners are Mississippi
Supreme Court associate justice James Graves Jr., William (Billy)
Carter Jr., Karen Ezelle Redhead and Janet Gildermaster.
Appointed to the Mississippi Supreme
Court by Governor Ronnie Musgrove in October 2001, Graves' impressive
professional history includes service as a circuit court judge and
director of the Division of Child Support Enforcement of the Mississippi
Department of Human Services. Graves received a B.A. from Millsaps
College in sociology in 1975 and went on to receive a law degree
and a master's in public administration from Syracuse University.
Well respected for his outstanding ability as a judge, Graves received
the National Conference of Black Lawyers' 1992 Judge of the Year
Award and the National Bar Association's first Distinguished Jurist
Award in 1996.
Carter has made significant contributions
to the Millsaps community as an alumnus and professor. Carter was
born in Clarksdale, and attended public schools in Greenwood and
Lexington. After graduating from Millsaps College with a B.A. in
1948, Carter received an L.L.B. from the University of Mississippi
School of Law in 1950, and in 1953 he organized the first Legal
Aid organization in the state. He served three terms as the chair
of the uniform probate code study committee of the state bar and
three terms as chair of the complaints committee. He is currently
with the Jackson law firm Wise Carter Child & Caraway, which
he joined in 1950 and where he has served as both managing partner
and president.
Redhead has demonstrated a strong spirit
of commitment to and support for Millsaps College. While a student
at Millsaps, Redhead served as secretary of the Student Body Association
and vice president of Kappa Delta, and was a member of the Millsaps
Singers. She received a master's degree in social science with a
history emphasis from Mississippi College in 1994, and taught social
studies for 11 years at Murrah High School in Jackson. She was the
2000 recipient of the Parents for Public Schools Teacher of the
Year Award and the 1997 Law-Related Educator of the Year Award.
A member of the Millsaps College Alumni Council from 1998 to 2003,
Redhead served on the executive committee and as president. She
is currently mentoring three education students as part of the Millsaps
Faith & Work Initiative's Lilly Internship program.
Gildermaster is an accomplished artist
whose works are held in corporate and private collections throughout
the United States. and Europe. Her love of the arts and the College
has made her an invaluable source of support for the Millsaps Art
Department in recent years. The Gildermaster Sponsored Scholarship
directly benefits art students, and the Gildermaster Art Gallery
Endowment has helped to significantly increase the Gallery's operating
budget. Thanks to her generosity, the department has purchased equipment
for the print shop and has set up a computer lab for art students.
Gildermaster was the first director of the Mail Car Art Gallery
in Ponchatoula, La., where she worked from 1979 to 1993.
