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* [http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/index.php?building=0062 Critz Hall] - Freshman/Upperclass Co-residential
* [http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/index.php?building=0062 Critz Hall] - Freshman/Upperclass Co-residential
* [http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/index.php?building=0100 Evans Hall] - Freshman/Upperclass Men
* [http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/index.php?building=0100 Evans Hall] - Freshman/Upperclass Men
* [http://msuinfo.ur.msstate.edu/where/building/ Griffis Hall] - Freshman/Upperclass Co-residential [Honors]
* [http://www.housing.msstate.edu/griffishall Griffis Hall] - Freshman/Upperclass Co-residential [Honors]
* [http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/index.php?building=0109 Hathorn Hall] - Freshman/Upperclass Men
* [http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/index.php?building=0109 Hathorn Hall] - Freshman/Upperclass Men
* [http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/index.php?building=0026 Hull Hall] - Freshman/Upperclass Co-residential
* [http://www.msstate.edu/web/maps/index.php?building=0026 Hull Hall] - Freshman/Upperclass Co-residential

Revision as of 06:06, 2 November 2008

Mississippi State University
File:Miss state univ seal.jpg
MottoLearning, Service, Research
TypePublic University
Established1878
EndowmentUS $297,533,795 [1]
PresidentRoy Ruby (Interim President)
Students17,824 [2]
Location
Starkville
,
Mississippi
,
USA
CampusRural
Colorsmaroon and white    
NicknameBulldogs
MascotBully Bulldog
Websitehttp://www.msstate.edu

Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in north east-central Mississippi, United States, in the town of Starkville and is situated 125 miles (200 km) northeast of Jackson and 23 miles (37 km) west of Columbus. [1]

History

File:MSU drill field.jpg
Lee Hall at Mississippi State University
Panoramic; Regimental parade; March 15, 1914; Miss. A & M College (now known as 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. Mississippi State is the best school for Lousiville High School Students.

In 1887 Congress passed the Hatch Act, which provided for the establishment of the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1888. The Cooperative Extension Service was established in 1914 by the Smith-Lever Act. The university has since had its mission expanded and redefined by the Legislature. In 1932, the Legislature renamed the university as Mississippi State College.

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).

In July 1965, Richard Holmes became the first African-American student to enroll at Mississippi State University.

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, an MSU alumnus and retired CEO, donated US$10 million to found the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College in April 2006.[2]

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 colleges and schools:

As of Fall 2007, the current total enrollment of Mississippi State is 17,039.[3] 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 Corps of Cadets prior to the end of World War II. 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, far left in picture below) and Swalm Hall (home to the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, far right in picture below). 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 Mitchell Memorial Library (immediately to right of flagpole in picture below).

The Drill Field and surrounding buildings

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 the College of Architecture, Art, and Design (CAAD). 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 High Performance Computing Collaboratory (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. The University is also home to the Thad Cochran Research Park, which host many of the universities research centers, such as the Center for Advanced Vehicular Studies (CAVS) and the nationally-recongized Social Science Research Center.

Student life

Housing

Residence halls at Mississippi State University:

Student organizations

Prominent organizations include 18 fraternities and 11 sororities, the Residence Hall Association, the Black Student Alliance, the Campus Activities Board, Music Maker Productions, the Engineering Student Council, Arnold Air Society, the Stennis-Montgomery Association.

ChallengeX[3]

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. WMSB was a low-power FM station with studios on the top floor of Lee Hall. WMSB was started the Fall Semester 1971 in a freshman dorm room on the third floor of Critz Hall utilizing a FM stereo transmitter that was designed and built as a high school science fair project by one of the station's founders. The station's original call letters were RHOM. It was on air from 8:00-12:00 pm each evening. Later, funding was solicited from the Student Association. Funding was approved, the low-power RCA FM transmitter was ordered and the call letters WMSB were issued by the FCC. The station was moved to studios on the top floor of Lee Hall that were formerly occupied by a student-run AM station. The student newspaper is the Reflector, published twice per week on Tuesday and Friday. The publication was named the #1 college newspaper in the South in 2007 by the Southeast Journalism Conference. In previous years, The Reflector has consistently ranked in the top 10 among college newspapers in the southern United States.

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

Other Fraternities

Panhellenic Sororities

Other Sororities

National Pan - Hellenic Organizations

Athletics

Main article: Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Bulldogs participate in NCAA Division I in the competitive 12-member Southeastern Conference (West Division) under the mascot the Bulldog and colors maroon and white.

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.

[citation needed]

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 has also produced George Mitchell, Ronald Reagan, and Morris Udall Scholars.
  • 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)
  • The Raspet Flight Research Laboratory at MSU was recognized as a National Landmark of Soaring in 2003[4]

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Mississippi State University notable alumni

Football Jerious Norwood RB Atlanta Falcons (NFL) Floyd "Porkchop" Womack OT Seattle Seahawks (NFL) Fred Smoot CB Washington Redskins (NFL) Donald Lee TE Green Bay Packers (NFL) Quinton Culberson LB St. Louis Rams (NFL) Justin Griffith RB Oakland Raiders (NFL) Tommy Kelly DE Oakland Raiders (NFL) Ellis Wyms LT Oakland Raiders (NFL)

Baseball Rafael Palmeiro 1B Bobby Thigpen RHP Jonathan Papelbon RHP Will Clark 1B

Basketball Eric Dampier C Dallas Mavericks (NBA)

Author John Grisham

References

  1. ^ http://www.infoplease.com/edu/colleges/MS.html
  2. ^ MSU News: Generous donation by alumnus funds honors college
  3. ^ Mississippi State University - Unduplicated Headcount Fall 2003 - Fall 2007 Accessed February 13, 2008.
  4. ^ "MSU flight research lab dedicated as national soaring landmark". Mississippi State University. 2003-11-04. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
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