Contact: Amy Cagle

STARKVILLE, Miss.—The Division of Development and Alumni at Mississippi State University fills two integral positions this month. Janet Carraway and Leann Markham, both MSU graduates, are accepting positions being vacated by retiring longtime university employees.

Janet Carraway becomes the executive director of finance for the MSU Foundation, succeeding David D. Easley, who is retiring following a 32-year MSU career. Additionally, Carraway will serve as chief financial officer of the MSU Foundation’s board of directors, beginning her first one-year term Jan. 1, 2020.

Most recently, Carraway was director of finance and budget with the MSU Foundation, supervising the accounting and business office of the MSU Foundation and Alumni Association. A 1984 and 1991 graduate with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accountancy and a certified public accountant, Carraway has helped lead financial reporting within the Division of Development and Alumni since 1993 when she joined the MSU Foundation as an accountant.

A native of Starkville, Carraway grew up as the daughter of an MSU agricultural economics professor. She began her career in public accounting and worked for a utility company before joining the university in 1992. Additionally, Carraway has served as a lecturer for financial accounting classes in the College of Business.

Also assuming a leadership role is Leann Markham who joins the Division of Development and Alumni as executive director of information services, succeeding Vickie Brown who retires Dec. 31 after more than 30 years of MSU service.

Markham has worked in Information Technology Services at Mississippi State for 20 years. She began her career in ITS as a graduate assistant in 1997 and then progressed through the department in various roles including database analyst, senior programmer analyst, systems analyst and senior systems analyst. After a brief stint as an assistant professor of management information systems at Mississippi University for Women in mid-2014, Markham returned to MSU in late 2015 as a senior systems analyst and team leader with Enterprise Information Systems, one of three primary units of ITS. During her time with EIS, she has supported the areas of account services, human resources, payroll, document imaging, facilities management, and development and alumni, where she was an analyst working with the division’s conversion to the Banner database.

A native of Red Bay, Alabama, Markham earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in business information systems in 1997, a master’s in business information systems with a minor in accounting in 1998, and a doctorate in community college leadership in 2009. She has taught classes at MSU, Mississippi University for Women, East Central Community College and Itawamba Community College.

“Janet Carraway and Leann Markham enjoy a great history with our division and are uniquely qualified to lead these critical areas with specialized expertise,” said John P. Rush, vice president for Development and Alumni. “As they begin their new roles, we anticipate a smooth transition for the MSU community and for our alumni, friends, and others who work with us on a daily basis with regard to financial and information systems.”

For more on the work of the Division of Development and Alumni, contact Rush at john.rush@msstate.edu or call 662.325.9306.

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