John F. Marszalek, a William L. Giles Distinguished Professor of History at Mississippi State, will deliver the university's Dec. 17 commencement address.
Some 1,230 students are candidates for degrees at the conclusion of the fall semester. Diplomas will be awarded at ceremonies beginning at 10 a.m. in Humphrey Coliseum.
Marszalek, who has written or edited 10 books, is a specialist on the American Civil War, the Jacksonian Period and race relations. In addition to lecturing throughout the nation, the 26-year MSU faculty veteran has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC news and public affairs programs.
Marszalek is best known for his award-winning books, "Sherman, A Soldier's Passion for Order" (1993) and last year's "The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny and Sex in Andrew Jackson's White House." "Sherman" was a finalist for the Lincoln Prize and winner of non-fiction honors from the Ohioana [cq] and Mississippi library associations. "Petticoat Affair" took the Southeastern Library Association Non-Fiction Prize.
His first book in 1974, "Court Martial," was made into a Showtime motion picture and reissued as a 1994 paperback, both under the new title "Assault at West Point."
With retired MSU history department head Charles D. Lowery, Marszalek co-edited "The Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights," named by Library Journal as one of the best reference books of 1992.
He holds degrees from Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., and the University of Notre Dame.
