FY 22 ends with new milestone in fundraising success

Support from alumni, friends and partners enabled Mississippi State University to raise a record $125.3 million in cash and gift commitments for the 2022 fiscal year, exceeding MSU’s previous fundraising record and marking the ninth consecutive year of private gifts totaling $100 million.

The success of FY 22, which ended on June 30, was fueled through the generosity of 21,189 unique contributors. Their gifts strengthened support for areas across the university and are helping to uphold the 144-year-old land grant’s standard of excellence.

“The Bulldog family prioritized their support for MSU more than ever this past year, providing incredible momentum to drive the success of our students, faculty and the wider communities we serve,” said John P. Rush, president and CEO of the MSU Foundation. “We are grateful for their generosity and commitment to our university and look forward to building on this success together."

Alumni participation again reached over 19 percent (19.7), enabling MSU to maintain its ranking ahead of several major peer institutions in the measure of support among former students. Additionally, nearly 7,000 individuals contributed to MSU for their first time and more than $5.3 million of the total funds raised were accounted from gifts of $1,000 or below.

Such generous investments enabled more than 4,000 private scholarships to be awarded to students in FY 22. Other gifts from the just-ended year will support fundraising priorities such as scholarships and academic initiatives, enhanced research and outreach engagements, faculty support and campus infrastructure, among others that collectively contribute to more enriching student experiences and strategic overall success.

Most of the institution's fundraising is conducted by the MSU Foundation that was established in 1962 to help attract support from private sources.

More information about the MSU Foundation can be found online at www.msufoundation.com.

Foundation Board

Officers:

CHAIR — Anthony L. Wilson | Chairman, President and CEO of Mississippi Power Company | Gulfport, Miss.

VICE CHAIR — Rodger L. Johnson | President and CEO of JKC Holdings, Inc. | Atlanta, Ga.

TREASURER — Paul J. Karre | Senior Vice President HR/Communications for International Paper (retired) | Pawleys Island, S.C.

PRESIDENT AND CEO — John P. Rush | Vice President of Development and Alumni, Mississippi State University | MSU

MSU SECRETARY — Jack R. McCarty | Executive Director of Development, Mississippi State University Foundation | MSU

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER — Janet H. Carraway | Executive Director of Finance, Mississippi State University Foundation | MSU

Members:

David Abney | MSU Bulldog Club President | Executive Director of the Board, United Parcel Service (retired) | Atlanta, Ga.

Boyce E. Adams Sr. | Special Advisor of BankTEL- An Avid Exchange Co. | Columbus, Miss.

Richard C. Adkerson | Chairman and CEO of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | Phoenix, Ariz.

George H. Bishop | Chairman of the Board for GeoSouthern Energy Corporation | Sealy, Texas

D. Hines Brannan Jr. | Managing Director of Accenture (retired) | Atlanta, Ga.

George W. Bryan Sr. | Owner of Old Waverly Golf Club | West Point, Miss.

Frederick V. “Fred” Buie | President and CEO of Keystone Electrical Manufacturing Co. (retired) | Des Moines, Iowa

Mary M. Childs | President, CEO, COO and Chairman of The Peoples Bank | Ripley, Miss.

Albert C. Clark | President and CEO of C.C. Clark Inc. | Starkville, Miss.

Randy J. Cleveland | Vice President, Americas for ExxonMobil Production Company (retired) | Fort Worth, Texas

Earnest W. "Earnie" Deavenport Jr. | Chairman and CEO of Eastman Chemical (retired) | Greenville, S.C.

Timothy S. "Tim" Duncan | President and CEO of Talos Energy Inc. | Houston, Texas

David B. Hall | CEO and President of Hall Timberlands | Meridian, Miss.

Thomas G. “Tom” Hixon Sr. | Chairman of Phoenix Development Co. LLC | Ridgeland, Miss.

Herbert V. “Herb” Johnson | President of HVJ Associates Inc. | Houston, Texas

Mark S. Jordan | Real Estate Developer of Mark S. Jordan Companies | Ridgeland, Miss.

Francis C. "Franc" Lee | President and CEO of Tower Loan | Flowood, Miss.

Malcolm B. Lightsey Sr. | President and CEO of SunTech Inc. (retired) | Ridgeland, Miss.

Lewis F. Mallory Jr. | Chairman and CEO of Cadence Bank (retired) | Starkville, Miss.

Mike M. McDaniel | President of Saber Power Services LLC (retired) | Houston, Texas

J. Michael "Mike" McIlwain | CEO of Applied Technical Services | Kildeer, Ill.

Roderick A. "Rod" Moore | Executive Vice President and CEO of Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance (retired) | Brandon, Miss.

Becky E. Murphy | Senior Vice President of Sales for Sirius Computer Solutions (retired) | Dallas, Texas

Thomas B. "Tommy" Nusz | Chairman and CEO of Oasis Petroleum Inc. (retired) | Madison, Miss.

Linda F. Parker | Secretary of Sunbelt Wholesale Supply (retired) | Bolton, Miss.

Joffrey R. "Jay" Pryor | Vice President for Business Development of Chevron Corporation | Houston, Texas

Richard H. Puckett Sr. | Chairman and CEO of Puckett Machinery Co. | Flowood, Miss.

Walter D. “David” Purvis | Vice President Engineering of BHP Billiton (retired) | New Orleans, La.

Charles W. "Tex" Ritter Jr. | President and CEO of The Attala Company (retired) | Kosciusko, Miss.

James J. "Jim" Rouse | Vice President of ExxonMobil Company (retired) | Suwanee, Ga.

Richard A. Rula | President of Hemphill Construction Co. | Florence, Miss.

Michael W. “Mike” Sanders | President and CEO of Jimmy Sanders, Inc. (retired) | Cleveland, Miss.

Leo W. Seal III | President of Leo Seal Family Foundation | Bay Saint Louis, Miss.

Bobby S. Shackouls | Chairman, President and CEO of Burlington Resources Inc. (retired) | Houston, Texas

Charles R. “Charlie” Stephenson | CEO and Director of Heartland Natural Resources | West Point, Miss.

William A. "Lex" Taylor III | Chairman and CEO of The Taylor Group Inc. | President of Taylor Machine Works Inc. | Louisville, Miss.

Douglas T. "Doug" Terreson | Head of Energy Research for Evercore ISI (retired) | Point Clear, Ala.

R. Patrick White | Vice President of National Accounts for LSI Industries | Houston, Texas

Albert J. "Al" Williams | Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Chevron | San Ramon, Calif.

Laurie R. Williams | Assistant Vice President of Growth for Molina Healthcare of Mississippi Inc. | Madison, Miss.

Turner A. Wingo | Owner of Sherry's Hallmark (retired) | Starkville, Miss.

Stacy E. Thomas | Legal Counsel | Jackson, Miss.