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The Stage is Set: Theatre MSU raises curtain on 2026-27 season

The Mississippi State theater program’s upcoming season launches next month and features a sharp contemporary comedy, beloved children’s character, Shakespearean classic with an Appalachian twist and a fast-paced comic opera. All performances take place on the main stage of McComas Hall and tickets are available at www.events.msstate.edu.

Image Alternative Text: Amy Knight talks with Terry Likes on Communication Connection TV Show

Communication Connection: Amy Knight

Mississippi State University Department of Communication, Media & Theatre Head, Dr. Terry Likes, interviews an award-winning educator and advisor who excels in and out of the classroom. Amy Knight holds the rank of Instructor II. Her career began when she earned an undergraduate degree at William Carey University and then a graduate degree at the University of Southern Mississippi. She discusses her time in Hattiesburg teaching, getting involved with the Luckyday Scholars program and later, what brought her to Starkville.

Image Alternative Text: Greg Thorn, a Mississippi State lighting designer, and Becca Thorn, general manager of the university's radio station, posing with a studio light and a vintage radio

Greg and Becca Thorn both serve MSU

Mississippi State husband and wife Greg and Becca Thorn work in two different areas of the university, but both help students discover their own voices. Greg crafts stories through light, theater and live production as a faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences, while Becca shares them through her role in the Division of Strategic Communications and its Office of Public Affairs.

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Brown earns prestigious PRSA College of Fellows recognition

Mississippi State’s Karyn Brown has been named a Public Relations Society of America Fellow, one of the profession’s highest honors, and is among just seven communication professionals nationwide selected for induction this year into the organization’s College of Fellows.

Image Alternative Text: Greta Allen, Communication/Public Relations graduate, shows off her new office in The Mill

Communication Connection: Greta Allen

Mississippi State University Department of Communication, Media & Theatre Head, Dr. Terry Likes, interviews Greta Allen, a 2025 graduate with an emphasis in Public Relations, who now works with the MSU Foundation. Allen describes how her Communication and PR experiences prepared her for this role on campus.

Image Alternative Text: Two MSU students smile and hold microphones in front of a wall in the Junction radio station

Communication Kudos: May 2026
Image Alternative Text: Melanie Harris and Myrna Colley-Lee sit on the McComas Hall Theatre Stage and smile at the camera

Communication Kudos: February 2026
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MSU faculty, students earn national honors at Broadcast Education Association Festival

Mississippi State University faculty and students earned multiple national honors at the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts this spring, one of the premier competitions for student and faculty media work, highlighting excellence in film, scriptwriting, audio and broadcast production.

Image Alternative Text: MSU students pictured with certificates after winning 28 awards at the Southeast Journalism Conference.

MSU Journalists earn 28 awards at Southeast Journalism Conference

Mississippi State University student journalists earned 28 awards at the 2026 Southeast Journalism Conference earlier this semester, securing high-ranking placements in more than two dozen categories and demonstrating excellence across student media platforms.

Image Alternative Text: Photo of student winners from left, Wesley Webb, senior political science major from Oxford, Brooklin Gall, senior communication from Hattiesburg; Gracelyn Johnson, sophomore communication major from Amory; Ashton Stanley, senior professional meteorology major from Biloxi; and MSU Radio Station Manager, 91.1 The Junction, Becca Thorn represent MSU at this month’s Mississippi Association of Broadcasters awards ceremony.

Students break MSU communication awards record at MAB

Students representing Mississippi State University’s Department of Communication, Media and Theatre, along with MSU’s radio station WMSV-FM 91.1 The Junction, earned more than two dozen student and professional honors at the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Annual Awards this month, pushing the department past its previous record and to a new high of 102 awards during the academic year.

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Our People: Gil Carter

No matter what, Gil Carter was always going to find a career in education.“When people like politics, there’s the old saying that they have been ‘bitten by the bug.’ I was bitten at a young age,” laughed Carter, an assistant professor in Mississippi State University’s Department of Communication, Media and Theatre.

Image Alternative Text: Photo of Wayne and Jo Durst sitting in the chairs in the MSU McComas Hall Theater

Mississippi Theatre Association honors CMT legacies with named awards

The Mississippi Theatre Association renamed two of its annual DramaFest awards in honor of longtime Mississippi State faculty members Wayne “Dur” Durst and Betty “Jo” Durst, recognizing their decades of service and lasting impact on theater education in Mississippi.

Image Alternative Text: Kate Myers Headshot and Aubrey Carter Headshot

CMT students rake in broadcasting awards, propel department to Top 10 national ranking

Two Mississippi State University students in the Department of Communication, Media and Theatre have earned national placement in the Heart Journalism Awards program, one of the most prestigious competitions in collegiate journalism. The combined placements have secured a Top 10 spot for MSU in the national broadcast competition.

Image Alternative Text: Theatre MSU Poster advertising Fahrenheit 451

Theatre MSU brings the heat, razor-sharp wit to 2026 season

Mississippi State University’s Theatre MSU continues its 2025-2026 season this month with adaptations of “Fahrenheit 451” and “Sweeney Todd.” Spring shows begin Feb. 18-22 with the production of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.”

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Brown earns PRSA outstanding educator award

Mississippi State’s Karyn Brown is the recipient of the Alabama Public Relations Society of America’s Outstanding Educator Award, one of the organization’s highest honors recognizing excellence and influence in public relations education.

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