A fund-raising drive is under way for an endowment to honor a former University of Southern Mississippi vice president and to fill unmet needs for doctoral students. The Karen M. Yarbrough Doctoral Education Endowment, announced Monday at a USM Foundation luncheon, will pay tribute to USM's 1982-1998 vice president for research and planning, who played a pivotal role in bringing USM's research efforts into international prominence. Yarbrough's USM career began in 1971 when she became founder and director of the Institute of Genetics. She also served as assistant dean and research coordinator in the College of Science and Technology from 1976 until being named vice president for research and planning. The greatest satisfaction, for me, was to enable others to do the work of the university.
Much academic research takes place at the graduate level.
But while individual colleges and departments provide support for doctoral students, the Graduate School doesn't have any money to support and reward doctoral students. Sponsor a Research Forum Series in which recipients present their research. Yarbrough's own activities demonstrate her commitment to advanced research and professional development. During her final year at USM, she served a dual role vice president for academic affairs as well as VP for research. A native of Memphis, Yarbrough attended Perkinston Junior College, earned a bachelor's in microbiology in 1961 and a master's in genetics from Mississippi State University, and a Ph.D. in genetics in 1967 from North Carolina State University.