Board of Trustees holds annual Diversity Awards recognition: Senator David Jordan and Dr. Lokesh Shivakumaraiah recognized

February 18, 2022

Mississippi Valley State University was well represented Thursday, February 17, 2022, when the Mississippi Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning celebrated Black History Month and held its annual Diversity and Inclusion Awards ceremony.

The board recognized campus and community leaders for advancing diversity and encouraging understanding and respect.

The Honorable David L. Jordan, Senator, Mississippi State Senate, who is a graduate of MVSU, received the Karen Cummins Community Service Award, and Lokesh Shivakumaraiah, Ph.D., Executive Director of International Relations and Assistant to Provost at MVSU was also honored as the faculty member at MVSU who has worked to advance diversity. 

Shivakumaraiah said it is an honor to be recognized by IHL with this award.

“The MVSU nomination humbles me, and it further motivates me to continue to collaborate with faculty and departments to increase global awareness and bring more global opportunities for MVSU students,” he said. In addition, I appreciate Dr. Kathie Stromile Golden, Dr. Abigail Newsome, and Ms. Cristina Radulescu for their support in pursuit of diversity and inclusion goals through our campus internationalization initiatives. I am also incredibly thankful to our Study Abroad Ambassadors and student leaders who have supported us in our events and activities,” he added.

Since becoming a member of the MVSU faculty, Shivakumaraiah has worked tirelessly with the campus community to spread diversity by working with various departments.

“The Office of International Programs works with our leadership, faculty, and staff for incorporating year-long cross-cultural activities to train our students, the next generation of leaders for work and life in the global world,” said Shivakumaraiah.

His goal is to prepare students at MVSU to be innovative problem solvers with solid work ethics, practical communication skills and demonstrate leadership with conviction, social courage, and intercultural sensitivity.

“We bring a variety of globally themed events, programs, and scholarship opportunities to our MVSU students and campus community.

Shivakumaraiah has used many events to promote diversity and inclusion on the MBSU campus.

“Our programs such as Study and Intern Abroad, on-campus events such as International Week, Delicious Destinations, Global Lecture Series, and Travel Tuesdays all provide a structured and safe environment for exposure to global perspectives, to explore cross-cultural communication, challenges stereotypes, and gain foreign language proficiency, and develop emotional and cultural intelligence among students,” he explained.

“These platforms bring together our American and international students and faculty on campus to facilitate cross-cultural exchanges. We also pursue external grants and promote prestigious scholarships and fellowships such as Fulbright, Boren, Gilman, Critical Language Scholarships, and Rangel Fellowships to further support our students and faculty to gain global academic and research experiences.

As a Member of the Mississippi Legislature since 1993, Senator Jordan has been a stalwart supporter of education on all levels, serving on the Education Committee throughout his tenure of service.

Having spent 33 years as a public-school teacher, Senator Jordan understands the transformative power of education and that a holistic approach is necessary to help all students succeed. As a result, he wrote legislation to promote character education in public schools, which helped prepare Mississippi students to become ethical, honorable, and principled leaders.

Senator Jordan is currently serving as Chairman of the Senate Drug Policy Committee and a member of the Education, Agriculture, County Affairs, Finance, Housing, Municipalities, Tourism, and Environmental Protection, Conservation, and Water Resources Committees. His efforts to change the state flag were instrumental in its passage in 2020.

His life of service was described in his memoir, David L. Jordan: From the Mississippi Cotton Fields to the State Senate, A Memoir, which was published in 2014 by the University Press of Mississippi and shared his life from his earliest days working in the fields with his family of sharecroppers through his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement and his time in the Mississippi State Senate.

Senator Jordan and his wife, Christine Bell Jordan, reside in Greenwood and have four children: David L. Jordan, Jr., Joyce Jordan Dugar, Dr. Donald Jordan,