STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University officials extended the school’s most successful fundraising campaign’s goal to $1 billion by 2020 after Infinite Impact reached its original $600 million goal in December.
The new goal represents the largest ever set by a Mississippi institution of higher learning, said MSU President Mark Keenum at an announcement ceremony Tuesday at The Mill.
“We take great pride in being the state’s flagship research university, but you have to have talent to do that,” he said. “You have to have brilliant scientists and researchers bring their energy and experience into the laboratories and testing facilities, and then take that first-hand knowledge and put it in the classrooms with our students. Infinite Impact is going to help us attract world class faculty, bring in quality students, enhance our facilities and construct new facilities. It’s amazing to see the generosity of so many of our donors, who stepped up and gave their own personal resources.”
The university quietly launched Infinite Impact six years ago and secured almost $350 million before it went public with the fundraiser in 2013. Last April, university officials announced the campaign broke the $500 million threshold.
Infinite Impact’s funds will be used to secure long-range planning efforts for the school’s eight academic colleges, the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College, library, athletics department and MSU’s Meridian campus.
Prior to Infinite Impact, raising more than $60 million in one year was seen as a lofty goal, said John Rush, MSU’s vice president for development and alumni. Now, the university is celebrating back-to-back years of securing $100 million in private donations.
In comparison, two previous fundraising campaigns — one from 1992-1997 and another from 2001-2008 — raised more than $600 million combined.
“We’re just getting started,” he said. “The opportunities are great for our university.”
Ahead of austere cuts implemented by Gov. Phil Bryant and the Legislature, Keenum said the pursuit of private funds has become imperative for all universities in the state.
“I know revenues are down and tough decisions have to be made by our leaders, but the best investment for our future — the best use of a tax dollar — is in higher education,” Keenum said. “We need more college graduates coming out of our universities with degrees, who then stay in Mississippi and help our state move forward. There is an absolute correlation on the wealth and well-being of a state and its educational attainment. We know that investing in higher education will help move the needle as far as transforming Mississippi’s economy. Budget cuts are disheartening because (the state’s public college system) gives back to the state way more than we receive in our annual funding. We return those monies many times over to the state.”
University leaders and representatives touted MSU’s successes since the launch of Infinite Impact, including strong seasons by its football, baseball and women’s basketball teams; work on the eco-friendly “Car of the Future;” serving as a center of excellence and lead university in the Alliance for System Safety of Unmanned Aerial Systems through Research Excellence (ASSURE); and other research projects.
MSU Foundation Board of Directors Chairman Earnie Deavenport said MSU’s research and education “drives Mississippi.”
Deavenport is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Eastman Chemical Company.
“We’re an economic engine for the state and a key asset in building Mississippi’s profile as a research, technology and innovation leader,” he said. “We plan to build on our momentum by expanding our footprint beyond Mississippi and exploring more options for our students to shape the world of the future.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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