(1/22/09)
Nationally recognized Eudora Welty scholar and Millsaps College professor Dr. Suzanne Marrs is this year’s selection for the Scholar Award from the Mississippi Humanities Council.
The honor recognizes a humanities scholar who has participated in MHC programs and is an effective interpreter of the humanities to public audiences.
Dr. Suzanne Marrs Marrs, professor of English and Welty Foundation Scholar-in-Residence, has taught at Millsaps since 1988. As an expert on southern literature and author Eudora Welty, Marrs is a well respected author and speaker. Her most recent book, “Eudora Welty, A Biography,” was selected as an Editor’s Choice by the New York Times Book Review, as one of the Chicago Tribune’s “Best of 2005” in the non-fiction category, as one of Amazon.com’s top ten biographies of 2005 and as one of Booklist’s Top 10 Biographies in 2005-6. In 2006, the book also received the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Non-Fiction Award and the Mississippi Library Association Award for Non-Fiction.
“In addition to her scholarship, Dr. Marrs is a fine teacher who cares deeply about Millsaps College,” said Dr. Richard A. Smith, dean and vice president of Millsaps College.
In recognition of both her teaching and scholarship, she received the Millsaps College Distinguished Professor Award in 2004 and the Mississippi Humanities Council Award in 2002. She also has twice held the Stewart Family Chair of Language and Literature.
