Mississippi State professor wins prestigious teaching award

A Washington, D.C.-based education foundation has named a Mississippi State teacher as its 1995 Mississippi Professor of the Year.

Dr. Hank Flick, a professor and assistant head of the communication department, was selected in October. He was among five nominees from four state schools for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's annual national recognition program.

The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education established the recognition program in 1981 and works with the Carnegie Foundation and various higher education associations in its administration.

Flick, a member of the Mississippi State faculty since 1971, is a specialist in small group and interpersonal communication. The Oakland, Calif., native, who holds a doctorate from Southern Illinois University, teaches courses in interviewing, small group communication, media relations, and persuasion, among others.

Flick said he was "humbled" when notified of the national honor. One of the greatest personal benefits derived from teaching, he said, "is that it keeps you young. You must constantly upgrade the information you teach and refine your knowledge of people because students today are different.

"Students today are visual, and lecturing to them doesn't work."

Flick has received three major campus awards in the past two years. In 1994, he received the John Grisham Master Teacher and Mississippi State Alumni Association's service awards. In 1995, he was chosen for the Alumni Association's Upper Level Teaching Award.

In addition to his teaching duties, Flick serves as special assistant to Athletic Director Larry Templeton on matters related to student athlete development and intercollegiate athletics. Since 1977, he also has served as the public address announcer for varsity football and basketball home games.