One of Latasha Norman's professors at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi described the junior accounting major as one of her most dedicated students and "an independent thinker" in an interview with Black College Wire.

Norman, 20, of Greenville, Miss., has been missing since Nov. 13, just one day after her ex-boyfriend, Stanley Cole, was arrested for allegedly assaulting her in the parking lot of a restaurant. Cole, 23, was arrested for the crime and is scheduled to appear in Pearl City Court in Pearl, Miss. on a simple assault charge on Nov. 29.

Dr. Joann White, an assistant professor in the department of management and marketing, said Norman is enrolled in her Management 250 class, which teaches business computer applications.

White's class was the last one Norman attended before she disappeared.

"One of the remarkable things that I know about Latasha is that she was always there," said White. "Although it's a big class, I always made a point to check the seating chart, and I would check the roll each day."

White said Norman's dedication paid off, because she did very well on her assignments and tests. "A lot of times, the students would work together in groups, but Latasha tended to kind of work by herself. She pretty much could figure things out by herself, and that was remarkable. She was an independent thinker."

White became emotional as she discussed Norman's performance in her class. "A very nice young lady, very hard working, very caring, very respectful. Just an ideal student, and when I found out she was missing, I wanted to check to see if that was the Latasha Norman I had taught, and it was. And I was very sad."

Stephen Wells, a detective with the Jackson Police Department's Special Victims Unit, told Black College Wire the investigation was underway, but had not turned up a suspect.

"The case is ongoing. We're still in the initial stages of it," Wells said. "Of course, there's not much to work with, but we've accumulated as much information as we can."

According to an article published in the Clarion-Ledger, Danny Bolden, Norman's father, admitted that the relationship between Cole and Norman had been rocky.

"She's been trying to break it off with him," Bolden stated in the article.

White said she also had heard that Norman had "a very controlling boyfriend."

Anthony Dean, director of university communications, said JSU's police department is highly trained and that campus security is the university's chief concern. He said that no arrests have been made and that there are very few details available.

"All I can tell you is the case is being investigated by [the JSU police department] in conjunction with Jackson Police Department's Missing Persons division," Dean said. The University has since asked the FBI to investigate Norman's disappearance.

According to a statement on the JSU Web site, Norman "is of medium-brown complexion, stands approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs between 115 and 120 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white shirt and blue jeans."

Jackson State University has had few incidents of violence in the past two years. According to the Office of Postsecondary Education Campus Security Statistics Web site, JSU had two incidents of aggravated assaults in 2006 and five in 2005. The city of Jackson, however, has seen a dramatic increase in its crime level in recent years. According to CityRating.com, Jackson's rate for all violent crimes is 1.52 times the national average. The murder rate is 3.24 times the national average.

White said Norman "seemed to have had her head on straight and she knew what she wanted out of life, and I'm just devastated that she hasn't been found."

Anyone with information regarding Latasha Norman's whereabouts is asked to contact JSU's police department at (601) 979-2580 or the Jackson Police Department at (601) 960-1210.

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J. Samuel Cook-Dormoh is a recent graduate of Alcorn State University and a regular contributor to Black College Wire.