Lifetime Achievement Award presented to 91传媒鈥檚 Hays for contributions to the arts
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 91传媒 faculty member has received a Lifetime Achievement Award this spring from the Mississippi Alliance for Arts in Education for her dedication to theater education.
Tonya S. Hays, assistant professor of theater performance in 91传媒鈥檚 Department of Communication, is a recipient of the Dr. Penny聽Wallin Lifetime Achievement in Arts Education Award for 鈥渃onsistently making meaningful contributions to her art form and advocating for the arts throughout her career.鈥 聽
Hays received the prestigious award at the MAAE annual meeting during 鈥淎rts Day at the Capitol鈥 in Jackson. Founded in 1992, the MAAE advocates for high quality, comprehensive and sequential arts education for all Mississippi students and recognizes and celebrates excellence in arts education throughout the state.
鈥淭his award is a wonderful way for MAAE to say that they continue to value my work and the work of anyone who has dedicated their life to arts education,鈥 Hays said. 鈥淚 am so thrilled to be a part of the 91传媒 family and work with incredible colleagues in the theater program as well as in the Department of Communication."
A member of the MAAE board of directors throughout the past decade, Hays said award namesake Penny Wallin has been a 鈥減assionate advocate鈥 for the arts and receiving an award in her name validates and honors Hays鈥 career.
MAAE also recognized Theatre 91传媒 as a School of Excellence for 鈥渃ontributions to theater education at an institution of higher learning鈥 in 2020, the year Hays joined the university.
In the late 1990s, the organization recognized Hays for her work with WINGS Performing Arts Program, an after-school program at Gulfport鈥檚 Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, the state鈥檚 first聽children鈥檚 museum.
鈥淚 had the honor of creating this program and working with it for 20 years.聽It is still going strong, I am proud to say,鈥 said Hays, who serves as advisor of 91传媒鈥檚 Alpha Psi Omega Eta Pi Chapter of the national theater honor society.
A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Hays earned a Bachelor of Arts from Oklahoma Baptist University and her Master of Fine Arts from Texas Christian University. At 91传媒, she directs Theatre 91传媒 programs and teaches acting, directing, playwriting, Theatre for Young Audiences and Theatre for Change.聽
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