Martha Dunagin Saunders President
Martha Dunagin Saunders is an American professor and academic official. A native of Mississippi, she earned her B.A. in French from The University of Southern Mississippi; her M.A. in journalism from the University of Georgia; and her Ph.D. in communication theory and research from The Florida State University. Saunders has served as the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the ninth president of The University of Southern Mississippi where she replaced embattled president Shelby F. Thames. She was the first woman ever elected to the presidential post at USM.