Mississippi State honors Nunnelee, receives papers from family
Contact: Allison Matthews
![Members of the Nunnelee family, as well as Ļć½¶Ö±²„officials and special guests dedicate Alan Nunnelee Hall on Monday [Sept. 14]. (Photo by Russ Houston)](/sites/www.msstate.edu/files/inline-images/NunneleeHallNaming_SignWithFamily%2526Friends_20150914_REH4118_0.jpg "Members of the Nunnelee family, as well as Ļć½¶Ö±²„officials and special guests dedicate Alan Nunnelee Hall on Monday [Sept. 14]. (Photo by Russ Houston)")
STARKVILLE, Miss.āĻć½¶Ö±²„ honored a former congressman today [Sept. 14] with a ceremony renaming one of the campusās premium residence halls after the university alumnus.
The family of late U.S. Congressman Alan Nunnelee also donated volumes of papers, along with digital records and memorabilia to the universityās Congressional and Political Research Center in Mitchell Memorial Library. Ļć½¶Ö±²„President Mark E. Keenum additionally announced the establishment of the Alan Nunnelee Presidential Endowed Scholarship, made possible by a gift from the family.
āThis is our highest, most preeminent, most prestigious scholarship that we award here at Ļć½¶Ö±²„,ā Keenum said in reference to the Presidential Scholarship program after welcoming the crowd to Alan Nunnelee Hall.
āAs we think about what heās meant to all of us individually, thereās not anyone in this room who didnāt appreciate Alan for who he was and what he did in representing our state both in Jackson and in Washington. Weāre so deeply thankful for him, and he was a special and dear friend to me for more than 20 years,ā Keenum added.
Nunnelee Hall opened in 2007 as North Hall in Zacharias Village and can house up to 254 students and staff.
The library collection includes written correspondence between Nunnelee and his constituents and colleagues, copies of bills he sponsored, newspaper clippings that feature the congressman, awards he earned and an array of other memorabilia. It also includes the hard drive from Nunneleeās office computer, giving access to his email correspondence.
Third Congressional District Rep. Gregg Harper said, āThis collection will serve as a precious reminder to those who knew him, and it will allow future generations to get a real sense of the man, his family and his vital service to America.ā
Nunnelee, a 1980 Ļć½¶Ö±²„marketing graduate from Tupelo, died in February, at age 56, of complications from a brain tumor, just four months after being elected to his third term serving Mississippiās 1st congressional district.
Among others speaking at the dedication ceremony were:
--U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly recommended that people choose their mentors wisely. āIf you want to see why people act the way the act and do what they do, itās because they chose their mentors wisely or poorly.ā He emphasized that Nunnelee was a servant leader worth emulating. āHe was a great manā¦.he loved everyone else more than he loved himself, and it was apparent in everything he did.ā
--Doug Davis, chief of staff for Mississippiās Secretary of State, talked about the substantial difference Nunnelee made during his service. āOn a political level, he passed legislation in Washington and in Jackson that was representative of his respective districts. On a personal level, he showed by example what a good son, a good husband, a good father, a good grandfather, and a good friend should be.ā
--Ļć½¶Ö±²„Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter reflected on Nunneleeās tenacity. āI learned early on with Alan when his vision was at risk, when he struggled to get across campus, there just was no quit in him.ā Salter said Nunnelee was āthe most tenacious Bulldog I ever knew.ā
--Dean of Ļć½¶Ö±²„Libraries Frances Coleman said Nunneleeās collection will be a great research asset. āThese papers will be very important to students, to researchers, and to other individuals who really want to view what makes a congressman and state legislator tick.ā
Nunneleeās wife of 34 years, Tori Nunnelee, earlier had expressed her wishes that the collection would āhonor the man who chose to serve his beloved Mississippi in public office.ā
āAlan dedicated his life to serving. Anyone who knew him personally knew he was one of the most humble and sincere men to walk the halls of government. I hope this collection will reveal to generations to come what being a āservant leaderā looks like and just how powerful humility can be,ā Tori Nunnelee added.
The Nunnelee children and grandchildren also were on hand to celebrate and respond to the dedication in their fatherās memory.
āGrowing up with my dad in the house was really a blessing,ā said Emily Nunnelee Thompson. She went on to say that her father gave his whole heart to Mississippi State. āHe experienced the best Mississippi State had to offer, and he was never too bashful to tell us or a perfect stranger all about it,ā she said.
In Washington, the congressman was a member of the House Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and related agencies; Energy and Water development; and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and related agencies. Before joining the 112th Congress in 2011, he served Lee and Pontotoc counties in the Mississippi Senate.
Ļć½¶Ö±²„is Mississippiās leading university, available online at .