Mississippi State University

Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in north east-central Mississippi in the town of Starkville and is situated 125 miles northeast of Jackson and 23 miles west of Columbus. It is the largest public university in the state.

History

The University began as The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi (or Mississippi A&M), one of the national Land-Grant Colleges established after Congress passed the Morrill Act in 1862. It was created by the Mississippi Legislature on February 28, 1878, to fulfill the mission of offering training in "agriculture, horticulture and the mechanical arts . . . without excluding other scientific and classical studies, including military tactics." The university received its first students in the fall of 1880 in the presidency of General Stephen D. Lee. In 1887 Congress passed the Hatch Act, which provided for the establishment of the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1888. The university has since had its mission expanded and redefined by the Legislature.

Related Topics:
Congress - Morrill Act - Mississippi Legislature - Stephen D. Lee - Hatch Act

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By 1932, when the Legislature renamed the university as Mississippi State College, it consisted of:

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• the Agricultural Experiment Station (1887)
• the College of Engineering (1902)
• the College of Agriculture (1903)
• the School of Industrial Pedagogy (1909)
• the School of General Science (1911)
• the College of Business and Industry (1915)
• the Mississippi Agricultural Extension Service (1915)
• and the Division of Continuing Education, (1919).

Further, in 1926 the university had received its first accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

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By 1958, when the Legislature again renamed the university as Mississippi State University, the Graduate School had been organized (1936), doctoral degree programs had begun (1951), the School of Forest Resources had been established (1954), and the College of Arts and Sciences had replaced the General Science School (1956).

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The School of Architecture admitted its first students in 1973, the College of Veterinary Medicine admitted its first class in 1977, and the School of Accountancy was established in 1979, rounding out the present structure.

Related Topics:
Architecture - Veterinary Medicine - Accountancy

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