The Sam Houston State University College of Humanities and Social Sciences is holding the official ceremony for the wall of honor recipients, Mar. 7, at 4 p.m. A dinner honoring the recipients will follow.
The recipients are distinguished alumni, Roy Hazelwood and Gen. Cecil N. Neely, and distinguished faculty, Richard Cording and Mattie Bea Medford. The wall of honor was established by the CHSS Alumni Advisory Board to recognize faculty and alums who have distinguished themselves throughout their careers through personal and professional achievements.
We are proud of all that they have accomplished, the honor that they have brought upon the college and university, and their outstanding contributions to the education of our students, John de Castro, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences said. We are pleased to be able to recognize and honor these extraordinary individuals and present them as role models for future generations.
Hazelwood and Neely both attended SHSU and joined the armed forces. Hazelwood served in the Federal Bureau of Investigations Behavioral Science Unit of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. He has received over 100 certificates and/or awards from police departments, and has addressed more than 100,000 professionals representing the disciplines of law enforcement, mental health, corrections and medicine in the world.
Neely completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Nebraska and earned the Master of Arts degree in history from SHSU in 1971. He also served as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon and as Nations Duty Officer for the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense.
Cording and Medford both were outstanding faculty members of SHSU. Cording developed and initiated the program in philosophy and became acting dean of the College of Humanities. He was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the first president of the Texas Deans of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Cording is currently a professor emeritus of philosophy and serves students as an adviser in the Student Advising and Mentoring Center.
Medford earned her M.E.D. in home economics at SHSU in 1963, and in 1970 she completed her doctorate from Texas Womans University. She was a faculty member in SHSUs home economics department and became chair of the department in 1975. Medford applied for an SHSU chapter of Kappa Omicron Phi so that students with an outstanding academic record could receive well-deserved recognition, as well as her many endowed scholarships she either established or helped to establish at SHSU for those students in programs in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences.
We are pleased and excited to honor those who are outstanding examples of service and dedication from Sam Houston State Universitys CHSS alumni and faculty, said Paula Lenz, chair of the CHSS Advisory Board. These recipients of our Wall of Honor award will serve as an inspiration to all who view their plaques on display in the Humanities Building.