Contact: Sammy McDavid
Cleveland agribusinessman James Smith (l) with retired MSU administrator Kelton Anderson (c) and Vance Watson, the university's vice president for agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine.
Senior Raymond A. "Ray" Young of Hernando is the first Kelton Anderson Scholar in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Mississippi State.
Young, a horticulture major at the university, will receive $1,000 for the 2004-05 academic year. As a member of the campus chapter of the American Society for Horticultural Science, he recently finished in third place in the vegetable judging category during competition at the organization's national conference.
Young is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Young and a 2000 Hernando High School graduate.
Awarded through the department of plant and soil sciences, the scholarship honors the Starkville resident and former MSU Extension Service agent who led the extension agronomy department from 1951 until his retirement in 1982.
The Anderson endowment was established with a $25,000 gift from alumnus James E. Smith, who credits Anderson with his business and financial success as owner and president of Cleveland-based Delta Rice Services Inc. Smith's company provides private consultations for Delta rice growers.
Smith was hired by Anderson shortly after graduating from MSU.
"Dr. Anderson gave me the opportunity to work with rice farmers as an extension agronomist for the Delta Branch Experiment Station," Smith said. "Because of that experience, I now work with more than 250 farmers up and down the Mississippi River Delta."
Jud Skelton, development director for the agriculture college, expressed the university's thanks for Smith's support. "It's not very often that a former student pays tribute to his most influential mentor through the establishment of an endowed scholarship in his name," he said.
The Anderson endowment marks the second occasion in as many years that Smith has honored a former MSU professor. In 2003, the A. Wayne Cole Endowed Scholarship was established to recognize the faculty member who had Smith as his first doctoral student.
For more information on the scholarships, contact Skelton at (662) 325-0643.