Alumnus Magazine | Summer 2020

Support for Programs:
• More than $1 million has been secured for an
endowment to perpetually support MSU’s Phi Beta
Kappa Chapter. The realization of this long-sought goal
to shelter a chapter for this prestigious honor society
came in 2018, enhancing the university’s national
reputation.
• A Study Abroad Excellence Endowment in the Judy
and Bobby Shackouls Honors College assists with travel
expenses for full-time honors students who participate
in the Shackouls Summer Study at the University of
Oxford in England.
• An endowment for a precision agriculture certificate
program enables student participation in field research
and related environmental factors, crop inputs,
equipment, and IT software and hardware. The
certificate program stems from the joint collaboration
within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, with
partnerships in the Bagley College of Engineering, the
Geosystems Research Institute, the university’s extension
centers and stakeholders from industries.
• Many contributors continuously infuse the Mississippi
4-H Youth Development Program with annual support
for the development of tomorrow’s leaders. By
investing, contributors provide valuable resources
and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for students that
foster important outreach and service and keep the
organization relevant for today’s participants from
across Mississippi, ages 5-18.
• MSU Libraries was gifted the largest privately owned
Abraham Lincoln collection in America, allowing
the university to pair it with the Ulysses S. Grant
Collection. These state-of-the-art museum exhibits on
the 16th and 18th U.S. presidents make Mississippi
State one of only six universities in the nation to house
a presidential library.
• A number of contributors have gifted land and
timberland, creating Legacy Forests within the MSU
Bulldog Forest in the College of Forest Resources
to provide research and education opportunities for
students and faculty. Campaign gifts of real estate and
timberland are benefiting areas across the university.
• A new kinesiology program in the College of
Education is now housed in the Kress Building at the
MSU-Meridian Downtown Campus. The studentfocused
learning environment prepares students
at a high level to enter and make an immediate
contribution to the local workforce and prepare for
more advanced health care areas.
• The campaign brought support for mass-timber
designs in the College of Architecture, Art and Design
to educate School of Architecture students about the
value of building with wood through the design of a
proposed state-of-the-art wood structure for public
outreach and education. Additional support assists
the College of Forest Resources’ Department of
Sustainable Bioproducts with travel, research, conference
participation and hosting, and other activities that
further work with cross-laminated timber and masstimber-related
technology.
• The College of Veterinary Medicine received support
for the purchase of a second mobile unit, along with
support that helps cover many of the expenses incurred
as personnel of the Mobile Veterinary Clinics pay regular
visits to 20 North Mississippi animal shelters where
MSU veterinary students spay and neuter homeless
animals and learn as they help communities.
• Universitywide program support for Infinite Impact
totaled $626.5 million.
THE LEGACY OF
INFINITE IMPACT
There is truly no end to Infinite Impact’s
legacy at Mississippi State. Infinite Impact
strengthened the connection of contributors
by capitalizing on the desire of alumni and
friends to both assist and inspire fellow
Bulldogs and people everywhere through
their giving.
Building on that momentum, MSU will
continue to seek resources to further
enhance its trifold mission of teaching,
research and service, as well as its stature
and reputation. Day in and day out,
mutually beneficial partnerships with
alumni, friends and corporations can expand
shared capabilities and resources. There will
always be a place for philanthropy at MSU,
and Infinite Impact will be remembered as
a pivotal chapter in the continued pursuit
of excellence. •
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