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Mississippi State professor and director Stephen Middleton, left, welcomed journalist, author and screenwriter Vernon Smith, right, to the Starkville campus Wednesday [May 18]. A native of Natchez, Smith was one of the founders of the black studies education movement in 1968 and was on campus to address members of the African American Studies program's 10th anniversary planning committee. Joining Middleton and Smith were interim dean Rick Travis, second from left, and director of communication Karyn Brown, both of the . Offering a minor in African American Studies, MSU's AAS program will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2017.