Contact: Sammy McDavid
The late Robert H. McCarty
A veteran state entomologist and administrator will be memorialized Sept. 11 on the campus of Mississippi State University.
The late Robert H. McCarty's name will be added to the Bureau of Plant Industry Building during a 3 p.m. public ceremony at the state Department of Agriculture and Commerce facility. The building is located on Stone Boulevard, adjacent to Thompson Hall, home of MSU's College of Forest Resources.
McCarty, a Clarke County native and Starkville resident, was bureau director and state entomologist from 1993 until suffering a fatal heart attack Oct. 26, 2000.
State Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell Jr. will join McCarty's wife Frances, son Jack and daughter Robin in unveiling a bronze plaque that announces the renaming. A reception and building tour will follow.
"Robert McCarty was committed to doing an exemplary job for everyone associated with agriculture," Spell said. "It is appropriate that we recognize his contributions by naming the plant industry building after him."
In March, the Mississippi Legislature authorized both the name change and a resolution citing McCarty's role in securing funding during the late 1990s that transformed an outdated 1973 structure into a modern, computerized facility.
A 33-year state employee, McCarty received bachelor's and master's degrees from MSU in 1964 and 1973, respectively. He began a professional career in 1963 as a DeSoto County pest management consultant. Later that year, he joined the MSU Extension Service as assistant county agent for Sharkey and Issaquena counties.
In 1967, he was hired as district entomologist by the State Plant Board, which evolved into the Division of Plant Industry and was placed under the auspices of the agriculture and commerce department. The division was renamed the Bureau of Plant Industry in 1991.
The Robert McCarty Scholarship Fund in MSU's Office of Development has been established by McCarty family and friends. Awards will go to production agriculture majors.
For more information on the ceremony, telephone Patti Drapala at (662) 325-3393.