Contact: Maridith Geuder
The Hearin Foundation is making another major gift to Mississippi State, this one to enhance teaching, research, scholarships, and faculty development at the state's only professional architecture training program.
A four-year, $400,000 gift will enable the School of Architecture to attract top-level graduate students, said university president Donald W. Zacharias.
"Maybe once in a lifetime something as special as the Hearin Foundation comes along to make a significant difference in the future of our academic programs," he said. "This gift will help keep our students and faculty on the cutting edge of design and creativity in one of our most important degrees.
"We are grateful to the foundation for its unique contribution to Mississippi State and for its desire to see us maintain our national competitiveness," he added.
The foundation was established in the will of Robert M. Hearin Sr., the Mississippi Valley Gas Co. chairman and chief executive officer who died in 1992. The organization primarily supports the state's universities and colleges and economic development activities.
Last week, the Jackson-based philanthrophy provided $4.6 million to Mississippi State's College of Engineering for undergraduate and graduate education programs.
Established in 1973, the architecture school was the first in the nation to require students to use laptop computers in their design classes and laboratories. Last year, it launched a master's degree specialization in digital design and computer visualization, technologies that allow virtual "walk-throughs" using computer-generated images.
"Students and faculty members have developed visualizations to support the state's economic development efforts surrounding a former NASA plant site in Tishomingo County," said Dean John McRae. "We've also worked on projects to support revitalization efforts in Meridian."
At the national level, McRae said architecture faculty and students "have designed digital projects for the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History, giving Mississippi students access to some of that institution's collections."
Mississippi State architecture students have earned top awards in national student competition for digital design, bringing home three of four awards in a 1996 contest.
"We're very grateful to the Hearin Foundation for supporting our goal to develop a nationally prominent visualization program," McRae said. "We're confident that our efforts will benefit the state of Mississippi."