Martha D. Saunders, Ph.D.
President
The University of Southern Mississippi
Dr. Martha Dunagin Saunders is the ninth president of her alma mater, The University of Southern Mississippi. She took office on May 21, 2007, continuing an illus- trious career of higher-education leadership. As a new president, Dr. Saunders worked quickly to build a plan for the future of the University through a widely inclusive strate- gic planning process involving faculty, staff, students and alumni. Four goals emerged from the process including • a climate for academic success,
• an enhanced national image,
• stronger connections with the com-
munity and
• a culture of healthy minds, bodies and
campuses.
Today, the University can point to strategic metrics that indicate significant progress
toward each of those goals. In 2010, every
measure that matters projected upward,
including student enrollment and retention,
the number of degrees awarded, private giving, external research funding and national
media hits.
Dr. Saunders came to Southern
Miss from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she served as its
first-ever female Chancellor. Prior
to her appointment at the University
of Wisconsin-Whitewater, she was
vice president for academic affairs at
Columbus State University in Columbus,
Georgia.
She previously held the position
of dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences at the
University of West Florida
(UWF), where she earned the rank
of tenured professor of communica-
tion. At UWF, she also worked
as director of the University
Honors Program.
Throughout her 30-year career in higher
education, Dr. Saunders has taught thousands of students. Her philosophy of education follows three simple guiding principles:
know your students, connect them to bigger
things and set a good example.
Dr. Saunders’ training and experience in
the field of communication led to numerous
publications on crisis communication and
public relations; widely anthologized published speeches; and the Public Relations
Society of America’s highest national award,
the Silver Anvil, on two occasions. In 1995,
she won the Silver Anvil for her role in
UWF’s “Just 2 It!” public safety communication campaign. Dr. Saunders also guided
The University of Southern Mississippi’s
efforts toward its first Silver Anvil Award in
2011, when the institution was honored for
public relations work from throughout the
Centennial Celebration of 2010.
A native of Mississippi, Dr. Saunders
earned her B.A. in French from
The University of Southern
Mississippi in Hattiesburg; her
and research from Florida State
University in Tallahassee.
