Contact: Zack Plair

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. will discuss his work in public service Thursday [Nov. 19] as part of the Lamar Conerly Governance Forum at Mississippi State.

Organized by the university’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration, the program featuring the mayor and former Mississippi representative begins at 2 p.m. in the fourth-floor suite of the Swalm Chemical Engineering Building.

The program is free and open to all. Due to space limitations, those planning to attend are encourage to arrive as early as possible.

An Edwards native, Flaggs became mayor of Vicksburg in 2013, following a 25-year tenure in the Mississippi House of Representatives. In the House, he chaired the Corrections Committee, as well as served on the Appropriations, Banking and Financial Services, Constitution, Legislative Budget, Public Health and Human Services and Rules committees. Flaggs is affiliated with the Wiseman Toastmasters and Optimist Club and is a former member of the Vicksburg Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.

Whit Waide, assistant clinical professor for political science and public administration and head of MSU’s pre-law program, called Flaggs an “engaging speaker” and “gifted conversationalist” who would bring valuable experience and real-world insights to share from the podium on Thursday.

“Mayor Flaggs is rare amongst political leaders in that he is respected by both Democrats and Republicans alike,” Waide said. “He isn’t afraid to reach across the aisle and work with people with different political beliefs. This is precisely the type of speaker that exemplifies the purpose of the Conerly Governance Forum — someone who can be a role model to our future leaders by simply understanding and demonstrating what politics is supposed to be about: compromise.”

The lecture series is made possible by major support from Conerly, a 1971 MSU accounting/pre-law graduate and longtime partner in the Destin, Florida, law firm of Conerly, Bowman and Dykes LLP. He is both a former national MSU Alumni Association president and continuing College of Business Alumni Fellow.

Mississippi author and civil rights activist Curtis Wilkie delivered the forum’s first speech last spring, and Mississippi 2nd District Congressman Bennie Thompson spoke at MSU in October.

Department head K.C. Morrison said hosting Flaggs for the series continues to add to its purpose.

“This forum gives our students an opportunity to hear about the qualities that contribute to good leadership from a reputable leader,” Morrison said. “[Flaggs] was deemed to be a strong leader in the legislature, and now he leads a municipality. He will be able to speak to the roles he has played and what it takes to be a success in them.”

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.