Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--During afternoon ceremonies Oct. 6, Mississippi State will formally inaugurate Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong as the 18th president in its 128-year history.
The public program begins at 1 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum.
Foglesong, a former four-star general in command of the U.S. Air Force in Europe, succeeded Charles Lee in mid-April as the land-grant institution's chief executive.
A West Virginia native, Foglesong concluded 33 years of active military service in February. He holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from West Virginia University.
Gov. Haley Barbour and Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck are scheduled to take part in the installation ceremony. Among others are state Commissioner of Higher Education Thomas C. Meredith; Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning President D.E. Magee Jr.; Betty Black, national MSU Alumni Association president; WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr.; JR Love, president of the MSU Student Association; and Robert E. Wolverton Sr., president of the Robert Holland Faculty Senate.
Foglesong is the founder of the Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation, a non-profit organization he founded to identify future leaders and provide them with mentoring and financial support. He also is a director of Massey Energy, one of the nation's largest producers of coal, and the Michael Baker Corp., an international energy and engineering firm.
Foglesong also has been appointed by President Bush as co-chair of the United States-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs. He currently is carrying out that mission on a visit to the former Soviet Union.
Since coming to MSU, Foglesong has launched several institutional initiatives. A comprehensive campus-wide strategic review has produced "FutureSTATE 2015," which sets a series of goals for enhancing student growth and development, achieving financial stability, expanding research and economic development, and building pride and involvement throughout the university family.
Also during his first six months, Foglesong implemented Mississippi State Promise, a tuition-assistance program for academically qualified low-income state residents. Among others, he also has created the Sonny Montgomery Chapter of the Appalachian Leadership Honors Program; established the MSU Community Action Team to aid state municipalities; and laid the groundwork for the university's new Center for America's Veterans.
Music for the inaugural will be provided by the MSU Brass Choir and Combined Choirs, and the Golden Triangle Brass.
The ceremony precedes by about 24 hours the Mississippi State Bulldogs' home football game with the nationally ranked WVU Mountaineers at nearby Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.
For additional information, contact Jacqueline Deeds, chair of the inauguration committee, at 662-325-7834 or jdeeds@ais.msstate.edu; or Waanda Lee of the Office of the Provost at 325-3742.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.