Contact: Bill Wagnon
A $100,000 donation from the Meridian-based Phil Hardin Foundation will honor retiring Mississippi State University President Donald W. Zacharias.
The contribution establishes the Donald Zacharias Faculty Excellence Endowment at the university. The announcement was made Thursday at a Meridian luncheon attended by officials from the foundation, the city of Meridian and the university's Meridian and Starkville campuses.
"The Hardin Foundation joins with friends of learning everywhere in announcing the establishment of the Donald Zacharias Faculty Excellence Endowment," said foundation board president Mark M. Porter. "The Hardin Foundation family is honored to make the lead contribution to this fund" so the work of "a caring and enlightened individual may be remembered, emulated and continued."
"All of us at the Hardin Foundation are honored to join with many other friends to celebrate Dr. Zacharias' distinguished leadership for Mississippi State University by establishing this permanent vehicle to enable institutional renewal and excellence," added C. Thompson Wacaster, foundation vice president for educational programs and research.
Annual proceeds from the endowed fund will support faculty recognition and development, including rewards for outstanding faculty performance and support for teaching and program improvement.
Wacaster said that the Zacharias Endowment also would serve as a model for the establishment of other such endowed funds supporting faculty and as a catalyst for ongoing institutional renewal.
The Phil Hardin Foundation was established in 1964 to work for the improvement of education of Mississippians.
Among possible projects supported by the Zacharias Endowment: development of new courses, curricula and programs, or revision of existing ones; faculty travel to acquire new skills and knowledge; books, materials and equipment purchases; and the planning and implementation of special academic, artistic and intellectual events.
The vice president for academic affairs will administer the fund's income, while a committee of faculty and administrators will recommend specific projects for support. The committee will be appointed by the university's president.
"I am most grateful to Mr. Porter and the members of the Hardin Foundation, and I thank you for your generosity," said Zacharias, who announced his resignation last March after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. "This is the greatest gift, one which will enable our faculty to accomplish their missions with even greater vigor than ever possible in the past."
A native of Salem, Ind., Zacharias became Mississippi State's 15th president in September 1985, after serving for six years as president of Western Kentucky University. He also has been an administrator at the University of Texas and a faculty member at Texas and at Indiana University.
During his 12-year tenure, Mississippi State has realized unprecedented growth in enrollment, private support, construction and renovation, research activity, and athletic success. He has served the university longer than any of his predecessors except Stephen D. Lee, the institution's first president.
Zacharias plans to remain as president emeritus and Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning Professor, working on projects to advance the university and higher education. He also is a tenured professor in the communication department.
On Jan. 1, West Point native and Mississippi State alumnus Malcolm A. Portera will succeed Zacharias as Mississippi State's 16th president.