Contact: Maridith Geuder
Photo by: Kristen Hines
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Running across the Mississippi State campus Tuesday morning [Nov. 6] for his daily five-mile jog, university President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong kept one goal in mind: Go to the polls.
He and wife Mary, who voted early at the Humphrey Coliseum polling place, said their more than 30 years in the military and resulting global travels taught them the importance of a fundamental democratic right.
"We should never take the privilege of voting for granted," "Doc" Foglesong said. "Whatever the outcome, it is an opportunity to participate in the process of choosing our leaders. We should never lose sight of the fact that many countries don't have our freedom of choice."
Immediately after becoming MSU president last year, Foglesong said one of the first things he did was register to vote. "I encourage all citizens to vote," he said.
Foglesong retired from the U.S. Air Force with the rank of four-star general. His last active duty service was as commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe. In 2006, he was named by President George W. Bush as co-chair of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.