Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State is announcing the dates and locations of 2009 summer "Send-Off" parties for new students coming to the university in August.
Co-sponsored for the fourth year by the MSU Alumni Association and Office of Admissions and Scholarships, the local events are taking place July 17-Aug. 6 in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas. Specific dates and locations may be viewed at www.alumni.msstate.edu/sendoff.
Hosted by area alumni association chapters, the parties will include one or more campus faculty or staff representatives to answer specific questions about the 131-year-old land-grant institution.
Jimmy Abraham, alumni association executive director, said nearly 50 alumni chapters are participating. "This will be our largest-ever send-off program," he observed.
In addition to leading the alumni association, Abraham is associate vice president for development and alumni.
"We are overwhelmed by the support our host chapters have shown," he said. "Our more than 115,000 alumni worldwide are proud to welcome our new students to the Bulldog family."
Chris Carson of the Alcorn County alumni chapter said the parties are a great place for students--and parents--to get pointers about daily life on a major university campus.
"MSU places an emphasis on 'getting involved' in campus activities and clubs," Carson said. "There seems to be one to fit everybody at Mississippi State, and it is the best way to meet new people and build lifelong relationships."
Rhonda Stutts of Huntsville, Ala., is a member of MSU's Alumni Recruiting Network who has helped organize send-off parties in her area for several years. She said "the benefits of a send-off party are great because we as alumni can share firsthand what makes State so special.
"This is a great opportunity for us to show who and what we are as a university," she added.
Each event will include food, soft drinks and, while supplies last, a "send-off" T-shirt for the students.
Of the 47 parties, 33 are being held throughout Mississippi; four in Alabama; three each in Tennessee and Texas; two in Florida; and one each in Georgia and Louisiana.
For additional information, contact Sheri Pape, the MSU Foundation's marketing and communication coordinator, at 662-325-7820 or spape@advservices.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.