Rayford “Ray” Vaughn of Starkville, a senior Mississippi State University administrator, is being honored by the Kansas State University Alumni Association for professional achievements and distinguished service. Vaughn, the university’s associate vice president for research, has been named a 2012 Alumni Fellow at the Manhattan land-grant institution where he earned master’s and doctoral degrees. Among more than 164,000 K-State graduates, only 245 alumni have received the recognition, according to information provided by the 154-year-old school.

A Hattiesburg native who joined the faculty in 1997, Vaughn is among a select group holding the highest Mississippi State faculty rank of William L. Giles Distinguished Professor. He has led in gaining international recognition for the university as a center of excellence in both information assurance education and research.

Prior to coming to Starkville, Vaughn had a 26-year career in the U.S. Army, retiring as a colonel. During military service, he commanded the Army’s largest software development organization and helped create the agency that today centrally manages all Pentagon information technology support.

While on active duty, he also had a three-year assignment with the National Security Agency’s National Computer Security Center. At the super-secret cryptologic intelligence agency, he authored national-level computer security guidance, among other duties.

In addition to MSU teaching and research in the areas of software engineering and information security, he has directed the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering’s centers for Computer Security Research and Critical Infrastructure Protection.