Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Jimmy W. Abraham, associate vice president for external affairs at Mississippi State, will serve as interim vice president during the university's search to fill the position.
Dennis A. Prescott, who has held the position since 1999, recently announced he has accepted a position at Baylor University in his native state of Texas. The search to find his replacement is being headed by Bill Kibler, MSU's vice president for student affairs.
"Jimmy has a deep knowledge of Mississippi State and has served in successively responsible positions for more than three decades," said President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong. "We appreciate his willingness to assume temporary additional duties while the search process is under way."
A 1975 MSU graduate and Clarksdale native, Abraham will continue leadership responsibilities as executive director of MSU's Alumni Association, and, while holding the interim position, for the fund-raising arm of external affairs, Foglesong said.
"We want to aggressively move ahead with our capital campaign, 'State of the Future,'" he said. The $400 million campaign, launched in 2004, currently has raised more than $330 million in private donations and pledges.
A concurrent $100 million effort Foglesong has titled "Reach for Excellence" seeks to raise $25 million in each of four categories: academic excellence; scholarships, student growth and development; faculty development; and campus beautification.
"Jimmy will provide continuity for these efforts," Foglesong said.
Abraham served as a longtime student affairs administrator at MSU before being named last year to his position as associate vice president for external affairs and executive director of the alumni association.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.