Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The Mississippi State University Foundation is announcing five new members of its 44-seat board of directors that guides the fundraising arm of the 131-year-old land grant institution.
Having begun their three-year terms Jan. 1, the MSU alumni include:
--Mary M. Childs of Ripley, a 1980 banking and finance graduate and vice chairman and chief operating officer of The Peoples Bank;
--Beth Clay of Meridian, a 1967 English graduate and an attorney with The Clay Firm;
--Haley R. Fisackerly of Jackson, a 1987 management graduate and president and chief executive officer of Entergy Mississippi;
--Richard A. Rula, also of Jackson, a 1970 civil engineering graduate and president of Hemphill Construction Co.; and
--Turner A. Wingo of Collierville, Tenn., a 1967 general business administration graduate now retired from a real estate career.
Incorporated in 1962, the MSU Foundation works to solicit funding from private sources to supplement the university's legislative appropriations. The organization also administers academic fundraising activities and endowment funds.
Through the years, a host of prominent alumni and friends of the university have held board seats. Members may be reappointed after leaving the board for at least a year after their three-year terms expire. Those returning members include:
--Gary A. Blair of Brookhaven, a 1981 agribusiness and general business administration graduate and senior vice president and relationship manager of Land Bank South;
--Hassell H. Franklin of Houston, a 1959 management graduate and president and chief executive officer of Franklin Corp.;
--A.P. "Jack" Hatcher Jr. of Pinehurst, N.C., a 1949 civil engineering graduate and retired chairman and CEO of Robertson-Ceco;
--W.G. "Mickey" Holliman Jr. of Belden, a 1960 management graduate and retired chairman and CEO of Furniture Brands International; and
--Larry E. Homan of Fulton, a 1967 industrial arts education graduate and president and CEO of Tri-State Lumber Co.
Also returning to fill a special, one-year term is Linda M. Garrett of Atlanta, Ga. A 1969 accounting graduate, she is a principal of Garrett Associates Inc.
In addition to board members, the MSU Foundation re-elected last year's officers to another one-year term. They include:
--President Richard C. Adkerson of Phoenix, Ariz., a 1969 accounting graduate who completed a master's in business administration the following year. He is president and CEO of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. and co-chairman of McMoRan Exploration Co., an international oil and gas exploration and production company.
--Vice President James J. Rouse of Houston, Texas, a 1962 management graduate and retired ExxonMobil vice president.
--Treasurer Hunter W. Henry Jr. of San Marcos, Texas, a 1950 chemical engineering graduate and retired president of Dow Chemical USA.
John P. Rush, MSU vice president for development and alumni, is the foundation board's CEO; David Easley, executive director of finance, its chief financial officer; and Bo Hemphill, executive director of development, board secretary. They, too, are MSU graduates.
For more information on the MSU Foundation, visit www.msufoundation.com.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.