Long-time employees will be honored

First steps are being taken in an effort to establish on campus a permanent display that will honor faculty and staff who devote their careers to the university.

Preliminary plans call for a listing of the names of individuals who have retired from the university or died while employed here after at least 10 years of service.

"Mississippi State is great today because of the efforts of hundreds of loyal faculty and staff who devoted careers and lives to this institution," said President Donald Zacharias. "Employees at every level and in every part of the university make vital contributions that ought not be forgotten.

"We hope this effort will help all of us to recall and honor those who laid the foundations we continue to build on."

The Naming of Facilities Committee has responsibility for overseeing the research effort that will collect the names of eligible employees since the beginnings of the institution in 1878. Other names would be added yearly.

Most of the work of compiling the initial listing is expected to be finished this fall. A graduate assistant will be employed in the History Department to work with staff in Human Resources Management and the University Archives on the project.

The names likely will be organized for display by decade or by presidential administration, and initially will be made available on a World Wide Web site.

Eventually, a permanent structural display is planned for an appropriate site on campus, said Dr. Billy Ward, vice president for institutional advancement.

Possible locations include the foyer of Mitchell Memorial Library, the Chapel of Memories, or the planned Memorial Gardens and Arboretum. The Campus Planning and Development Committee will recommend a specific site.

A procedure will be available for seeking exceptions to the 10-year service requirement by providing documentation to the Naming of Facilities Committee of an individual's exceptional contributions, Ward said.

A moratorium on naming campus facilities for retiring or deceased employees will be in effect until the current employee recognition project is completed.