Mississippi State University Spring 2020 Commencement Exercise
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MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY Commencement Ceremony SPRING 2020 MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY Commencement Ceremony SPRING 2020 Friday, May 1, 2020 2:00 P.M. MISSISSIPPI STATE ® Spring 2020 Dear Graduates, Congratulations! This is a truly special time for you, and it is also a special time for our university and for me personally. As a fellow Mississippi State graduate, I welcome you to our alumni family of more than 147,000 Bulldogs who hold degrees from this outstanding institution of higher learning. Of course, none of our other graduates have faced the unique circumstances you have faced this semester. I admire your courage and perseverance as our global community deals with COVID- 19 and its unprecedented disruption of our lives, including our traditional commencement ceremonies. While we may not be together in the same place to celebrate your graduation, we are united as members of the Mississippi State family. We are proud of you and your achievement! Graduates of this university – your university – have been going out into the world since the very first commencement in 1883. They’ve helped change the face of the nation and the world – excelling in business and industry; in medicine, science, engineering, and agriculture; in education, government, and public service; the liberal arts and humanities; and a wide range of other fields. With your newly earned degree, I am confident you are well prepared for whatever comes next. I also know that you will continue to uphold our timeless values of integrity, hard work, and respect. Remember, too, that Mississippi State will always be a part of you. I want you to continue being a part of it by joining the MSU Alumni Association and returning to campus often to visit us. I hope to see many of you back on campus this fall as we continue to honor you and your fellow 2020 graduates. Congratulations again on this most significant achievement. Godspeed – and Hail State! Sincerely, Mark E. Keenum President Office of the President 4000 Lee Hall • P. 0. Box 6018 • Mississippi State, MS 39762-6018 • Phone: 662-325-3221 • [email protected] THE MACE The Mace is a club-like staff used in academic ceremonies, especially Commencement. It represents the President’s authority and leadership. The Mace is carried by the Mace Bearer, who leads the procession. The design of the Mace you see here today is symbolic of Mississippi State University’s primary missions. The carved flame at the top represents the Torch of Knowledge. The three “faces” under the torch are symbolic of our three-faceted mission – Learning, Research, and Service. The staff comprising the rest of the Mace represents the faculty and staff, who serve in support of the goals of the institution. The Mace of Mississippi State University was made by the late Francis Newton Matthews, Associate Professor of Industrial Education. He was an authentic craftsman in woodwork. This Mace is a fitting testimony to the intricate skills he possessed and his love for the craft that often found outlet in the creation of things of beauty such as you see here. MACE BEARER Mr. Peter Summerlin Assistant Professor Department of Landscape Architecture Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award The Mace Bearer for the Spring Commencement is the 2019 Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award recipient, Mr. Peter Summerlin. Mr. Summerlin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY From a comprehensive set of educational options and groundbreaking research to award-winning service initiatives and an environment that embraces intellectual and creative freedom, the Mississippi State experience is transforming and empowering communities throughout the world. As one of the national land-grant colleges established after Congress passed the Morrill Act in 1862, the school opened its doors in the fall of 1880 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi. Today, MSU stands as one of the nation’s leading research universities, providing access and opportunity to students from all sectors of the state, as well as from all 50 states and 86 countries. A Carnegie Foundation R1-Very High Research Activity doctoral university, Mississippi State is among the National Science Foundation’s Top 100 research universities and ranks in the top 5% nationally in agriculture-related research, a position it has held for over two decades. The university’s research and development expenditures reached $244.1 million in 2018, accounting for more than half of the total $479.9 million spent in this area by all Mississippi institutions. Further setting MSU apart is its commitment to strengthen global food security and eliminate starvation in developing countries, its designation as the national lead university for the FAA’s Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, and its pursuit of solutions to large-scale problems in automotive design, cybersecurity, and weather and ocean modeling via the world’s fourth fastest academic supercomputer. From building the world’s first autonomous SUV to exploring new entrepreneurial opportunities to discovering energy solutions for tomorrow in the largest university-operated high voltage lab in North America, MSU’s student-led teams are thinking beyond boundaries to build a better future. Through the Years 1862 The Morrill Act establishes a nationwide system of colleges 1914 The Smith-Lever Act establishes the cooperative extension called the land-grant system, endowed by grants of public lands. system to share knowledge directly with farmers and farm families. 1878 Mississippi A&M in Starkville is established as Mississippi’s 1918 The Mississippi Legislature assigns responsibility for extension land-grant institution. work to Mississippi A&M College. 1880 Institution opens its doors to 354 students. 1920 International students begin attending MSU. 1887 The Hatch Act establishes the agricultural experiment station 1932 Mississippi A&M College becomes Mississippi State College. system with a focus on applied research. 1933 Mississippi State becomes a charter member of the 1888 The Mississippi Legislature passes the experiment station Southeastern Conference. act that helps lay much of the groundwork by introducing the first 1954 experiment station bill in 1885. A separate School of Forest Resources is established. 1958 1892 The state legislature appropriates funds for a “mechanical” Mississippi State College becomes Mississippi State University. (i.e., engineering) curriculum at Mississippi A&M. 1959 Old Main, at one time thought to be the largest college 1898 First electric lights used on campus. dormitory in the United States, burns. 1961 1902 The School of Engineering is established. The position of vice president for the agricultural division is established. 1962 The McIntire-Stennis Forestry Act passes, further 2012 MSU becomes one of only five universities in the nation establishing the importance of commercial forests. to share the distinction of hosting a presidential library when the Ulysses S. Grant Association board of directors designates the 1963 MSU’s all-white Bulldog basketball team makes national Ulysses S. Grant Collection at Mitchell Memorial Library as the news by defying an unwritten state law and surreptitiously Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library. departing Mississippi to play against the integrated Loyola (Chicago) Ramblers–and its four African American starters–in 2013 MSU’s Diamond Dogs make school history in the 2013 the NCAA Tournament. Though MSU lost the game and Loyola College World Series by playing in the finals for the first time. It went on to win the national championship, a courageous trend of was the ninth time the Bulldogs played in the College World Series. defying segregation and embracing equality had begun. 2014 An English and philosophy double-major from Vicksburg, 1964 The Mississippi Legislature, recognizing the significance of Donald M. “Field” Brown, is awarded the Rhodes Scholarship. 17 million acres of commercial forestry to the state, establishes the Forest Products Utilization Laboratory. Mississippi State’s 2014 football team becomes the fastest squad in college football history to rise from unranked to No. 1, a spot it 1965 Richard Holmes, MSU’s first African-American student, held for five weeks. The Bulldogs, who earned a trip to the Capital enrolls without incident. One Orange Bowl, finished the season with an impressive 10-2 record, while posting a perfect 7-0 mark at home for only the 1972 Mississippi State University-Meridian is chartered as a second time in school history. degree-granting instructional site under the direction of the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning. 2015 The Federal Aviation Administration selects an MSU- led team to operate a new National Center of Excellence for 1974 The Mississippi Legislature approves the establishment of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, launching a new era of commercial the College of Veterinary Medicine. unmanned aircraft research, development and integration into the 1977 The MSU Extension Service’s 30-minute “Farmweek” TV nation’s air space. program debuts statewide on Mississippi public broadcasting 2016 Inspired by an overwhelming response to “Infinite Impact” stations. “Farmweek” is the longest-running program of its type - the most successful fundraising campaign in university history - in the nation. President Mark E. Keenum announces an historic retargeting to 1994 The Forest and Wildlife Research Center is established by raise $1 billion by 2020. the legislature. 2017 Posting its best record in school history, including a historic 1996 MSU’s men’s basketball team advances to the NCAA Final Four semifinal win that snaps UCONN’s 111-game winning Final Four Tournament for the first time in school history. This streak, MSU’s women’s basketball team finishes as national runner achievement remains unequaled in State history. up in the 2016-17 season. 2002 With a $25 million gift, the College of Engineering 2018 MSU celebrates its 140-year anniversary by recording becomes the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering.