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Mississippi State University

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Mississippi State University
File:Miss state univ seal.jpg
MottoLearning, Service, Research
TypePublic University
Established1878
PresidentGeneral Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong
Undergraduates12,555
Postgraduates3,546
Location
Starkville
,
Mississippi
,
USA
CampusRural
Colorsmaroon and white
MascotBulldogs
Websitehttp://www.msstate.edu

Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in north east-central Mississippi in the town of Starkville and is situated 125 miles northeast of Jackson and 23 miles west of Columbus. It is the largest public university in the state.

History

File:MSU drill field.jpg
Lee Hall at Mississippi State University

The University began as The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi (or Mississippi A&M), one of the national land-grant colleges established after Congress passed the Morrill Act in 1862. It was created by the Mississippi Legislature on February 28, 1878, to fulfill the mission of offering training in "agriculture, horticulture and the mechanical arts . . . without excluding other scientific and classical studies, including military tactics." The university received its first students in the fall of 1880 in the presidency of General Stephen D. Lee. In 1887 Congress passed the Hatch Act, which provided for the establishment of the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1888. The university has since had its mission expanded and redefined by the Legislature. In 1932, the Legislature renamed the university as Mississippi State College.

Further, in 1926 the university had received its first accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

By 1958, when the Legislature again renamed the university as Mississippi State University, the Graduate School had been organized (1936), doctoral degree programs had begun (1951), the School of Forest Resources had been established (1954), and the College of Arts and Sciences had replaced the General Science School (1956).

The School of Architecture admitted its first students in 1973, the College of Veterinary Medicine admitted its first class in 1977. The MSU Vet school (commonly referred to as the CVM) is the largest veterinary school in the nation under one roof.

The School of Accountancy was established in 1979.

The University Honors Program was founded in 1968 in order to provide more rigorous course curricula for academically talented students, as well as to facilitate guest lecture series, forums, and distinguished external scholarships. The program has been vastly expanded to form its own college after Bobby Shackouls, a MSU alum and retired CEO, donated $10 million to found the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College in April, 2006.

Presidents

Main article: List of Presidents of Mississippi State University

University campus

Mississippi State University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees.

Today, the university has the following academic units:

  • College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
  • College of Architecture Art and Design
  • College of Arts and Sciences
  • College of Business and Industry
  • College of Education
  • James Worth Bagley College of Engineering
  • Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College
  • College of Forest Resources
  • College of Veterinary Medicine

As of fall 2005, the current total enrollment of Mississippi State is 16,101. The university contains 160 buildings, and the grounds of the university comprise about 4,200 acres (17 km²), including farms, pastures, and woodlands of the Experiment Station. The university also owns an additional 80,000 acres (320 km²) across the state.

Mississippi State University also operates an off-campus, degree-granting center in Meridian where both undergraduate and graduate programs are offered. In cooperation with the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, the College of Engineering offers the Master of Science degree to students in Vicksburg.

Mississippi State's campus is centered on the main quadrangle, called the Drill Field (pictured) due to its heavy use by the ROTC. The Drill Field is defined at its north and south ends by the mirror-image buildings, Lee Hall (the original University building, now the division of languages building) and Swalm Hall (the Chemical Engineering department). Old Main was the original dormitory, west of Lee Hall; it burned in a tragic fire, and was replaced by the Colvard Student Union. The largest building fronting the Drill Field is the Memorial Library.

From the Drill Field, the campus radiates in all directions. The College of Engineering can be found mostly to the east side of the Drill Field; to the north are the Arts and Sciences, including Computer Science, and Architecture. Humanities are found to the south, while Agriculture dominates the west section. To the west and northwest are also found the athletic facilities, including Scott Field and the Humphrey Coliseum, or The Hump.

Beyond the main campus (and the series of commuter parking lots ringing the main campus) are the North and South Farms. While still used for their original purpose of agricultural research, the Farms are also host to newer facilities, such as the astronomical observatory and Veterinary College (South Farm) and the Engineering Research Center (North Farm). At the far west of campus, one finds first the fraternity and sorority houses, and beyond them the Cotton District and downtown Starkville, Mississippi.

Student life

Housing

Residence halls at Mississippi State University:

  • Aiken Village - Family and Graduate Student
  • Arbour Acres Apts. - Graduate/Upperclass Co-residential
  • Cresswell Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Men
  • Critz Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Co-residential
  • Evans Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Men
  • Griffis Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Co-residential[Honors]
  • Hathorn Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Men
  • Hull Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Co-residential[Honors]
  • McKee Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Women
  • Rice Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Women
  • Ruby Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Co-residential
  • Sessums Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Women
  • Suttle Hall - Freshman/Upperclass Men

Student organizations

The most prominent student organization is the Student Association, the governing body for MSU's 16,000 student body. Other prominent organizations include the Residence Hall Association, the Black Student Alliance, the Campus Activities Board, Music Makers, the Engineering Student Council, Arnold Air Society, the Stennis-Montgomery Association and many others.

Student media

Mississippi State's local radio station is WMSV. Prior to WMSV, Mississippi State had a student-run radio station, WMSB which went off the air permanently at the end of the spring semester of 1986.

The student newspaper is the Reflector, published twice a week.

Greek life

Mississippi State's Greek system comprises 18 fraternities and 11 sororities. Fraternities and sororities take part in a number of philanthropic programs and provide social opportunities for students. Formal rush takes place at the start of every fall semester.

IFC Fraternities

Panhellenic Sororities

National Pan - Hellenic Organizations

Among numerous national fraternities and sororities, Mississippi State University is home to the Omicron Chapter of the nation's largest Christian fraternity, Beta Upsilon Chi.

Athletics

The university's athletic teams participate in NCAA's Division I in the competitive 12-member Southeastern Conference (West Division) under the mascot Bulldog, and its colors are maroon and white. Mississippi State competes in the NCAA in football, basketball (men's and women's), baseball, softball, tennis, golf, soccer, volleyball, track and field, and cross country running.

The university made history on December 1, 2003, when it hired Sylvester Croom as its head football coach. Croom was the first African-American named to such a position in the history of the SEC.

I want to make sure everybody understands, I am the first African-American coach in the SEC, but there isn't but one color that matters here - and that color is Maroon.

The football stadium is Davis Wade Stadium, a.k.a. Scott Field, in the northwest part of campus; nearby is the basketball arena, the enclosed Humphrey Coliseum, aka The Hump. Adjacent to the Humphrey Coliseum is the baseball stadium, Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium, known for having the largest on-campus attendance record in NCAA baseball (14,991 vs. the University of Florida on April 22, 1989[1]) and is noted for the Left Field Lounge, an outfield area where many fans gather and enjoy the games in a tailgate-like atmosphere.

Traditions

The school colors are maroon and white. The current mascot is the Bulldog. Past mascots have been the Aggies and the Maroons.

Cowbells are significant part of any Mississippi State University Experience. The tradition began after a jersey cow wandered on to the football field in the early 1900's, disrupting a game. Subsequently, State won the football game and the cow became a symbol of good luck. Eventually, the cow was replaced with just the cow's bell. Handles were welded onto the bells to ease ringing and are now manufactured and sold specifically as athletic noisemakers. Football games have been known for the tradition of 55,000 State fans clanging cowbells, despite the Southeastern Conference banning the "artificial noise-makers." The school's fight song is "Hail State."

Hail dear ole State!

Fight for that victory today!

Hit that line and tote that ball.

Cross the goal before you fall!

And then we’ll yell, yell, yell, yell!

For dear ole State, we'll yell like H-E-L-L!

Fight for Mis-sis-sip-pi State.

Win that game today!

Go State!

Accolades

  • The university has produced 16 Truman Scholars and is one of 38 universities recognized by the Truman Foundation as an honor institution. The competitive Truman Scholarships are awarded to those who plan a career in public service. (2003)
  • Mississippi State has had eight Barry M. Goldwater Scholars since 1999. The national scholarship recognizes academic excellence in the sciences, mathematics and engineering. (2003)
  • Mississippi State ranks among the top 15 in the nation in awarding bachelor's degrees in both engineering and education to African-Americans, according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
  • Mississippi State is among the nation's 100 "Baccalaureate Bargains" for 2002, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. (2003)

Interesting facts

  • MSU was once home to the world's largest dormitory, Old Main. It burned down in a fire and one student, Henry Allen Williamson, died as a result.

The Barnes & Noble at Mississippi State Bookstore housed in the Cullis Wade Depot, a two-story emporium on the west side of campus is being called the "premier college operation" of the world's largest bookseller.

  • About one-fourth of the teachers and administrators in Mississippi public schools hold at least one degree from Mississippi State. (2003)

Notable alumni

John Grisham
Congressman Marsha Blackburn
Public service and activism
Academia
Literary
Business
  • George Bryan, Sara Lee Corporation Vice - President and Organizer for the 54th U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship
  • Fred Carl, Jr., Founder and CEO of Viking Range
  • Toxey Haas, Founder and CEO, Mossy Oak Outdoors
  • Ronnie Parker, Founder of Pizza Inn
  • Hartley Peavey, Founder of Peavey Electronics
  • James L. Flanagan, (1948), technical pioneer in speech transmission and acoustics
  • Joe Frank Sanderson, co-founder of Sanderson Farms
  • Leo Seal, CEO Hancock Holding Company (Hancock Bank)
Sports
Other

References

"Dudy Noble Field, Polk Dement Stadium"

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