Contact: Sammy McDavid
Ceremonies dedicating the Dave C. Swalm Chemical Engineering Building will be held April 29 at Mississippi State University.
The public program begins at 2 p.m. in front of the four-story, 100,000-square-foot structure that is an exact exterior copy of historic Lee Hall, which it faces across the university Drill Field.
Just completed with support from Swalm and the Mississippi Legislature, the building houses the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering. Among major features are 10 classrooms with Internet connections at each desk, an auditorium with the latest in multimedia capabilities, and 17 fully equipped research laboratories.
Swalm, MSU President Malcolm Portera, President Emeritus Donald Zacharias, and College Board President Ricki R. Garrett will be among those speaking at the weekend ceremony.
Both the $18.6 million building and the school are named for the 1955 chemical engineering graduate from Brookhaven who went on to found Houston-based Texas Olefins in 1968 using his entire savings of $6,000. His company grew to become one of the largest privately held petrochemical companies and the largest manufacturer of butadiene, a gas used chiefly in the manufacture of rubber and paint. He sold the company and retired in 1996.
Swalm has contributed more than $24 million to Mississippi State, including more than $14 million for construction of the building bearing his name.
At spring commencement May 13, the university also will honor him with an honorary doctorate.
For more information on the dedication ceremony, telephone Dean of Engineering Wayne Bennett at (662) 325-2270.