Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A 19-year administrator at Mississippi State is assuming a leadership role in the university's efforts to support local and state economic development.
Melvin C. Ray will become associate vice president for economic development in the university's Office of Research and Economic Development. He has served most recently as special assistant to the president.
"This new role recognizes Dr. Ray's successes in economic development and his contributions to helping move our community and state ahead," said MSU President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong. "He will be instrumental in helping us focus university capabilities in ways that most benefit Mississippi."
A sociologist who founded MSU's Crime and Justice Research Unit, Ray has held a variety of administrative posts that give him a breadth of knowledge about the land-grant institution and it historical role in the state, said Colin Scanes, MSU vice president for research and economic development.
Ray also has served as associate and interim vice presidents for research, as well as a member of numerous state and regional boards.
"At the local level, Dr. Ray helped plan and secure funding for two technology-based incubators in the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park," Scanes said. Primary funding for the efforts came from the U.S. Economic Development Authority and Tennessee Valley Authority.
"Dr. Ray worked closely with the city and the state Department of Transportation to obtain initial funding for the MSU-Starkville shuttle system, and he has been a contributor to our Nissan, American Eurocopter and ClientLogic recruitment efforts," Scanes added. "He is a strong fit for the university's and the state's goals for the future."
In his new role, Ray will serve as a liaison with local, state and regional agencies, including the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, Mississippi Development Authority and Appalachian Regional Commission. He also will work to develop new cooperative initiatives, including a potential conference center to serve the university, city and Oktibbeha County.
"We look forward to the contributions he will make," Scanes said.
Ray has served as the chair of the Mississippi-National Science Foundation's multimillion-dollar Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. As a faculty member, he has received more than $1 million in grants and contracts.
Active in the community, he is president of the Starkville Boys and Girls Club, as well as a board member of the Starkville Chamber of Commerce, United Way of North Mississippi and Golden Triangle Enterprise Center, among others.
Ray holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and master's and doctoral degrees from Iowa State University.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For additional information, contact Dr. Ray at 662-325-3570.