A $60,000 gift from Pascagoula-based Chevron Corp. is providing academic support for Mississippi State students.

The gift to the university's College of Engineering specifically will aid the departments of Chemical, Mechanical, Civil, and Electrical Engineering, as well as college outreach programs for women and minority students.

Walter B. Perez, a 1988 MSU mechanical engineering graduate and Chevron executive, recently was on campus to present the check to college Dean A. Wayne Bennett.

The gift also supports MSU's cooperative education program, which began in the engineering college in the 1950s. Today, the university-wide program enrolls some 900 students and is one of the largest in the nation.

"Chevron has been a strong partner of the College of Engineering for decades," Bennett said. "We greatly value their leadership as we help provide the engineering talent to strengthen their industry."

One of the oldest academic units at Mississippi State, the nationally accredited college currently offers bachelor's degrees in 10 fields.

In addition to engineering, Chevron provides continuing support for a number of other education and outreach efforts, including the 4-H program of the MSU Extension Service and the Richard Holmes Cultural Diversity Center.