MSU to receive major gift for new program from The Riley Foundation

Contact: Harriet Laird

The Riley Foundation will announce a multi-million dollar grant to Mississippi State University to provide a new academic program to be housed in the Kress Building, a Meridian campus facility that also will get major renovations under the funding.

The announcement is scheduled for Wednesday [Nov. 20], at 10 a.m.,at The Riley Foundation, 4518 Poplar Springs Drive, Meridian.

Making the announcement will be Riley Foundation Executive Director Becky Farley; Riley Foundation Chairman Robert B. Deen, Jr.; MSU President Mark E. Keenum; and MSU-Meridian Dean and Associate Vice President Steven F. Brown.

Farley, Deen, Keenum and Brown will be available to answer questions after the announcement.

The Riley Foundation gift will enhance educational opportunities in east central Mississippi and create career options for traditional students and adult learners. The program will begin in the spring of 2015 in the MSU-owned Kress Building, which will be renovated and furnished with new equipment and technology infrastructure.

The contribution is being made as part of MSU's current fundraising initiative Infinite Impact: The Mississippi State University Campaign.

For more information on the media event, contact Becky Farley, executive director, The Riley Foundation, 601-481-1430 or Becky@rileyfoundation.org; and Sid Salter, MSU chief communications officer, 662-325-7454 or sid.salter@msstate.edu.