An Expanded View

By Carolanne Roberts

Don Whitmire, the 2022 Alumnus of the Year for the College of Business, is currently settling into his new home and new life in Nashville – but oh, the places he’s been. And the differences he’s made.

Looking ahead to graduation and a degree from Mississippi State’s School of Accountancy in 1978, Don Whitmire thought he knew exactly what he was going to do: get a job with an accounting firm’s Jackson office, live at home in south Jackson with his parents for a year, save enough money to marry his love Peggy and “forever after have season tickets to Mississippi State football and go there every Saturday.”

Here’s what happened instead. His first job, with the Arthur Andersen accounting firm, took him to Houston for 11 years. Then he, Peggy and their three sons moved to New Orleans so he could join Freeport-McMoRan, now the world’s largest publicly traded copper company, at its New Orleans headquarters for four years. Next came another four fascinating years on assignment for the enterprise in Indonesia, nearly 10,000 miles from home. After a return to Louisiana, the Whitmires moved to Phoenix when company headquarters were relocated there. He retired from Freeport-McMoRan as Vice President and Controller and Principal Accounting Officer this past June, after 33 total years’ service.

Along the way are tales of sulphur mines, oil and gas transactions, the discovery of a huge copper resource speckled with gold deposits and a renewed involvement with his alma mater, including a very benevolent gift that helps fuel what is now the Richard C. Adkerson School of Accountancy.

Rewind to a sunny autumn day when Whitmire and his buddies, high schoolers keen on a football weekend, got themselves into the stands in Starkville. The numbers man remembers the score – and the mood.

Campus was alive, students were happy and State beat up on Vanderbilt 52-21,” he recalls. “By the time we left on Sunday, I knew I could see myself going there. I think the persona of State is that of good everyday Mississippi people getting together, a lot of them from small towns and possibly the first in their families to go to college.

Shortly thereafter, Whitmire found himself an MSU student studying accounting and became the first in his family to earn a college degree – one with honors, at that.

“I still say today that accounting is the language of business,” he remarks. “The orderliness of math has always appealed to me, and I’d had a course in bookkeeping in high school, which was unusual at that time. At State, I still remember the cohort of accounting professors who had been active in the profession and brought their different life experiences to our classes. I’m grateful that my life and time intersected with those professors. They showed us how accounting related to the real world.”

It seems that real world was populated by MSU alumni who offered connections and opportunities. H.D. “Von” Graham, whom Whitmire calls “the epitome of a Southern gentleman,” recruited Whitmire and other students for his team at Arthur Andersen. Richard Adkerson, namesake of the School of Accountancy, then led Whitmire from Andersen into a robust career at Freeport-McMoRan.

“I’d say a large majority of us currently on the Adkerson School of Accountancy Advisory Council started our careers at Arthur Andersen, and that’s a testimony to the quality of instruction we got at Mississippi State,” observes Whitmire, who recently chaired the Council.

Whitmire was recognized as the 2010 COB Alumni Fellow and named to the list of Top 100 COB Alumni during the College of Business’ Centennial Celebration in 2015.

Whitmire’s accounting side was balanced during college days with his participation in the Stephen D. Lee Honors Program, within which he served as President of the Student Honors Council.

“You took subjects like English, history and communications – mostly arts and sciences-related classes that made you think,” he says. “This was an optional program, run by a small group of dedicated professors, and a precursor to the full-fledged Shackouls Honors College of today.”

He also currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Honors College.

That well-roundedness came in handy in the career that followed. The Arthur Andersen years included work in the energy audit and energy regulations areas. Early work at Freeport-McMoRan included sulphur mining and oil and gas operations, which led to the biggest adventure – the posting to Indonesia, where the company had discovered a rich copper reserve.

“Here’s this guy from South Jackson, who had only been to Italy in high school and to Spain a couple of times for Freeport, suddenly moving to Indonesia,” he marvels. “When people talk about an assignment overseas, they usually are living in a major city, but we were at the mine itself in West Papua, a place that was very remote even to Indonesians.”

Whitmire receives the 2022 COB Alumnus of the Year Award from MSU President Mark Keenum.

Photo by Megan Bean

While the Whitmire family, shown here in 2014, has traveled the world, their roads often lead back to Starkville.

Photo by Rachel Curry Photography

This meant landing at the company airstrip at 50 feet above sea level then crunching along company-installed gravel roads more than 70 miles to an elevation of up to 10,000 feet. This was obviously no place like home, yet Whitmire, Peggy and their sons (who were in kindergarten, second and fourth grades) thrived. She joined clubs with other expatriate wives, and the kids attended a school with an American curriculum.

“They had more computer equipment than schools back in the States and amazing field trips, as you can imagine,” Whitmire says, adding that the family’s own expansive travels ranged from LegoLand in Denmark to Dachau in Germany (the latter to due to Whitmire’s deep interest in World War II).

Throughout the years – with the possible exception of those spent in Indonesia – the Whitmires have been a frequent presence on campus. All three sons hold MSU degrees. Don returns for sporting events and advisory board meetings. And their second home is not on a mountain or a lake. It’s in Starkville.

The Whitmires have graciously endowed student scholarships and the Don & Peggy Whitmire Fellowship, as well as the Whitmire Accelerating Students into the Accounting Profession Camp program at Mississippi State. This opportunity annually invites high school students to spend a few days on campus, living in dorms, experiencing the college atmosphere and learning about the possibilities offered by an accounting degree.

“Maybe it’s their first time away from home,” says Whitmire. “They have activities during the day with an emphasis on the world of accounting. For instance, they learn what a financial statement is and why it’s important, tax structures and their relevance and so on. If we do our job right, they come out interested in accounting at Mississippi State. Peggy and I are thankful to have the ability to supply consistent and steady funding for the program.

“I have been blessed,” he continues. “I have always had a deep appreciation for Mississippi State in general and the School of Accountancy in particular, for preparing and encouraging this young guy from South Jackson who didn’t have a very expansive view of what you could do in the world. I’ll always be grateful for that.”