Inductee News

Peter Hess, Class of 1966 - 2007 inductee.

Dr. Keith M. Bell Sr., Class of 1974, 2007 inductee.

Courageous in the pursuit for education equity, a former superintendent gets his EdD. Some people seem to “outlive” others — not necessarily longer or more trouble-free lives, but with a fuller, more buoyant existence. Consider Keith Bell. At 62, he will be the second oldest doctoral student to graduate at Ohio State’s autumn commencement on Dec. 16.

Read the full article from The Ohio State University.

Dennis S. Sankovich, Class of 1973, 2016 inductee

October 5, 2021 Stranahan Theater hires interim executive director

The Stranahan Theater has a new leader, at least for the next six months.

The theater’s board of trustees announced Monday that Dennis S. Sankovich is taking over immediately as interim executive director. He replaces Stephen Hyman, who resigned on Sept. 9.

Mr. Sankovich is a Woodward High School graduate who earned a bachelor and master’s degree at the University of Toledo. He began his professional career at Bowling Green State University, before serving as executive director of the Toledo Jazz Society. He then served as regional manager of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra in New York and later spent 16 years as executive director of The Ritz Theatre in Tiffin.

January 31, 2019

MERIDIAN, MS – Dennis Sankovich, the executive director who oversaw the creation of the MSU Riley Center and shepherded it through more than a decade of bringing top performing artists from around the world to downtown Meridian, is retiring the end of March.

“Dennis guided the MSU Riley Center from construction to its triumphant opening, and from concept to its current status as a mainstay of Meridian civic life and anchor of our downtown Riley Campus,” said Terry Dale Cruse, Ed.D., administrative director and head of campus at Mississippi State University-Meridian. “The university, the community and all of east central Mississippi owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude.”

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