Week of grand openings precede MSU's first home football game

Contact: Maridith Geuder

STARKVILLE, Miss.--A range of grand openings for campus facilities and landmarks will precede Mississippi State's Thursday night [Aug. 31] televised home football game against the University of South Carolina.

Music, book signings and other events will be part of the opening festivities Wednesday [the 30th] and Thursday for the university's new Barnes & Noble bookstore, a major part of the equally new Cullis Wade Depot, located just west of Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.

Additionally on Thursday, the university formally unveils a new addition to a major research center, the High Performance Computing Collaboratory. The facility is located in the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park north of campus.

Among activities preceding the 7 p.m. kickoff of the Bulldogs' (and USC Gamecocks') 2006 Southeastern Conference season, Mississippi State will dedicate its new primary tailgating area. Known as The Junction, the student-inspired green space now provides an expansive "front lawn" to both the stadium and depot.

"This will be a week of exciting activities that provide much to celebrate as the Bulldog nation gets into the spirit of a busy fall," said MSU President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong.

Additional information on the week's events include:

Wednesday

--9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., high-performance computing symposium at the HPC facility. Speakers include state College Board member Roy Estess, a former director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Stennis Space Center, at 10:30 a.m.; and Tom Ballard, director of economic development and partnerships, University of Tennessee-Battelle/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, at 11 a.m.

--4 p.m., B&N formal opening ceremony on the building's south side. Speakers include Foglesong; Ray Hayes, MSU vice president for finance and administration; JR Love, MSU Student Association president; B&N President Max Roberts; and Mary Boulware, representing the Cullis Wade family.

(Store tours will follow, as well as music provided by a local band, Backyard Pickers. B&N also is planning a variety of book signings, other musical performances and coffee hours surrounding its opening. For more, visit http://msstate.bkstore.com/bkstore/content.)

Thursday

--10 a.m., HPC grand opening, Cochran Park. Speakers include Gov. Haley Barbour and U.S. Congressman Chip Pickering.

--1:30 p.m., Junction grand opening under president's tent. Foglesong and Hayes will be joined on the podium by student leaders, as well as Betty Black, national president of the MSU Alumni Association.

Also scheduled Thursday is the official premiere of Foglesong's rock band BARK at 3:45 p.m. on the bookstore's second floor. MSU's chief executive serves as lead singer for the nine-member group of volunteer faculty and staff musicians.

For more information about these events, telephone Julie Lemons at 662-325-0724.