FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2008

GOVERNOR BARBOUR APPOINTS GRACE TO EARLY CHILDHOOD ADVISORY COUNCIL

(JACKSON, Mississippi)—Governor Haley Barbour has appointed Cathy Grace, of Tupelo, to the State Early Childhood Advisory Council, a newly-established council that meets requirements in the federal Head Start Reauthorization Act of 2007. Designed to advance the development of a coordinated state early childhood system, the Council will provide leadership and assistance to early care and education programs as well as state agencies that provides services for children from birth to school entry.

“Cathy not only has the institutional knowledge to be successful in this role, but her passion for children and her years of experience make her an excellent addition to the Early Childhood Advisory council,” Governor Barbour said. “I know she will serve the state well, particularly our pre-kindergarten population.”

Grace is director of the Early Childhood Institute at Mississippi State University, where she has worked for nine years. Prior to this position, she was director of Lee County Families First; executive director of the Southern Early Childhood Association; and an assistant professor at the University of Southern Mississippi. Additionally, Grace is former president of the Mississippi Early Childhood Association.

In 2006, she was chosen as the University of Mississippi School of Education’s “Alumna of the Year” and was honored with a “Faculty Recognition” award at Mississippi State University in 2002.

A graduate of the University of Arkansas, Grace holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She earned a master’s degree in early childhood education from Arkansas State University and a doctorate degree from the University of Mississippi. She and her husband, Charles, have been married 29 years; they have two adult children, Whitney and Mason.