Introduction < Mississippi State University (2024)

ONE-HUNDRED FORTY-FIRST ANNUAL BULLETIN
Volume XCVIII

2023-2024

Mississippi State University is a comprehensive, doctoral degree granting, land-grant university. It forms part of a cohesive community with the growing city of Starkville, population 25,000. Located in the eastern part of north-central Mississippi, the university is 125 miles northeast of Jackson, 165 miles southeast of Memphis, and 150 miles west of Birmingham. It is served by U.S. Highway 82, state highways 12 and 25, and by commercial air service through Golden Triangle Regional Airport, 14 miles east of campus.

Mississippi State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, specialist, and doctoral degrees. Questions about the accreditation of Mississippi State University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).

Mississippi State University comprises the following academic units: the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, including the School of Human Sciences; the College of Architecture, Art, and Design, including the School of Architecture; the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Business, including the Richard C. Adkerson School of Accountancy; the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, including the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering and the Richard A. Rula School of Civil and Environmental Engineering; the College of Forest Resources; the College of Veterinary Medicine; the College of Education; the Graduate School; the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College; and the College of Professional and Continuing Studies. Four regional research and extension centers representing both the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) and the Mississippi State University Extension Service are located in different parts of the state. MAFES conducts research at 16 off-campus sites throughout the state. The Mississippi State University Extension Service offers programs and services in all 82 counties of Mississippi. Supporting the academic and educational programs of the total university are the Mitchell Memorial Library and branch libraries.

Mississippi State University operates off-campus sites with undergraduate and graduate programs in Meridian, Miss., as well as the School of Architecture's fifth-year program in Jackson, Miss.

Several centers and institutes perform specialized teaching, research or service activities. Among these are the Alliance for System Safety of UAS Through Research Excellence (ASSURE); Center for Cyber Innovation; Institute for Market Studies; Institute for Systems Engineering Research (ISER); Institute for Computational Research in Engineering and Science (ICRES); Center for Safety and Health; High Performance Computing Collaboratory; Mississippi State Chemical Lab (MSCL); National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (nSPARC); Research and Curriculum Unit; Institute for Imaging and Analytical Technologies; Carl Small Town Center; Gulf Coast Community Design Studio; Biological and Physical Sciences Research Institute; Center for Computational Sciences; Cobb Institute of Archaeology; Institute for the Humanities; Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development; Center for Family Enterprise Research; Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach; Center for Retail and Cotton Product Development; Center for Educational Partnerships; Early Childhood Institute; Mississippi Writing/Thinking Institute; National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision; T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability; Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) and CAVS Extension; Center for Computer Security Research (CCSR); High Voltage Laboratory; Institute for Clean Energy Technology (ICET); Raspet Flight Research Laboratory (RFRL); Forest and Wildlife Research Center; Extension Service; Center for Governmental and Community Development; Southern Rural Development Center; Center for Environmental Health Sciences; Energy Institute; Geosystems Research Institute (GRI); Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology (IGBB); International Institute; Mississippi Water Resources Research Institute; Northern Gulf Institute (NGI); Social Science Research Center (SSRC); Sustainable Energy Research Center (SERC); Center for Cyber Education; Agricultural Autonomy Institute; and Marvin B. Dow Advanced Composites Institute (ACI).

Mississippi State has completed or initiated capital improvements totaling more than $1.2 billion since 2009. These projects include new student residence halls, academic classroom buildings, teaching and research laboratories, a student veterans’ center, athletic venues, dining facilities, a United States presidential library, a conference and convention center, and roadways, sidewalks, parking garages, and other essential infrastructure.

The university began as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi, 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 College received its first students in the fall of 1880 in the presidency of Stephen D. Lee. In 1887, Congress passed the Hatch Act, which provided for the establishment of the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1888. Two other pieces of federal legislation provided funds for extending the mission of the College: in 1914, the Smith-Lever Act called for instruction in practical agriculture and home economics to persons not attendant or resident, thus creating the state-wide effort which led to Extension offices in every county in the State; and, in 1917, the Smith-Hughes Act provided for the training of teachers in vocational education.

By 1932, when the Legislature renamed the College as Mississippi State College, it consisted of the Agricultural Experiment Station (1887), the College of Engineering (1902), the College of Agriculture (1903), the School of Industrial Pedagogy (1909), the School of General Science (1911), the College of Business and Industry (1915), the Mississippi Agricultural Extension Service (1915), and the Division of Continuing Education (1919). Further, in 1926 the College had received its first accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. By 1958, when the Legislature again renamed the institution, as Mississippi State University, the Office of 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 been created (1956). The College of Architecture admitted its first students in 1973. The College of Veterinary Medicine admitted its first class in 1977, and the School of Accountancy was established in 1979.

Past Presidents of the College/University

1. Stephen D. Lee (1880-1899)
2. John Marshall Stone (1899-1900)
3. John Crumpton Hardy (1900-1912)
4. George Robert Hightower (1912-1916)
5. William Hall Smith (1916-1920)
6. David Carlisle Hull (1920-1925)
7. Buz M. Walker (1925-1930)
8. Hugh Critz (1930-1934)
9. George Duke Humphrey (1934-1945)
10. Fred Tom Mitchell (1945-1953)
11. Benjamin F. Hilbun (1953-1960)
12. Dean W. Colvard (1960-1966)
13. William L. Giles (1966-1976)
14. James D. McComas (1976-1985)
15. Donald W. Zacharias (1985-1997)
16. Malcolm Portera (1998-2001)
17. J. Charles Lee (2001-2006)
18. Robert H. Foglesong (2006-2008)
    

Vision and Mission Statements

Vision

At Mississippi State, we’re redefining the role of a land-grant university. We provide an innovative, hands-on learning experience, meeting all students where they are and equipping them for a world that needs their talent. We’re working to help our communities prosper while exploring cutting-edge solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. Together, we’re taking care of what matters in the 21st century — starting in our own backyard.

https://www.president.msstate.edu/communications/vision-mission/

Mission

Mississippi State University is a public research, land-grant university with a mission to provide access and opportunity to all sectors of Mississippi’s diverse population, as well as other states and countries, and to offer excellent programs of teaching, research, and service.

Mississippi State University offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs across many disciplines.

The university embraces its role as a major contributor to the economic development of the state and beyond through targeted research and the transfer of ideas and technology to the public, supported by faculty, staff, students, and alumni relationships with industry, community organizations, and government entities.

Mississippi State University is committed to its tradition of instilling among its community ideals of diversity, citizenship, leadership, and service.

Building on its land-grant tradition, Mississippi State University strategically extends its resources and expertise for the benefit of Mississippi's citizens, the nation, and the world by offering access for working and place-bound learners through its on- and off-campus education and research sites, Extension, and distance education programs.

President's Cabinet / Officers of the University

Academic Deans

Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning