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Ļć½¶Ö±²„celebrates renovations of historic Ballew Hall

Contact: Vanessa Beeson

STARKVILLE, Miss.ā€”Ļć½¶Ö±²„ celebrated the grand opening of the newly renovated Ballew Hallā€”the administrative hub for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Stationā€”with a ribbon cutting today [March 7].

The renovations provide state-of-the-art spaces for student engagement, recruitment and administrative functions, and the facility includes modern teaching areas, versatile conference rooms and a spacious auditorium. Belinda Stewart Architects in Eupora and Ethos Contracting Group in Starkville completed the work.

Ļć½¶Ö±²„President Mark E. Keenum and Vice President for the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Keith Coble helped celebrate the university milestone with CALS and MAFES leaders, faculty, staff and students, among other campus and community guests.

ā€œThis beautiful facility shows our commitment to our work and how important agriculture is for us as a university and our mission to serve our state,ā€ Keenum said.

Scott Willard, CALS dean and MAFES director, said the historic facility built in 1962 now will further enhance discovery and innovation in agriculture and life sciences at MSU.

ā€œExciting changes are underway in both CALS and MAFES, including new leadership in several departments and the recent restructuring of multiple departments to strengthen the collegeā€™s future,ā€ Willard said. ā€œMAFES continues to lead in automated and precision agriculture research, as well as groundbreaking innovations in the life sciences, both of which directly address the needs of our farmers, constituents and stakeholders. This space will foster the collaboration needed to drive these areas of growth.ā€

Key donors include the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, Southern AgCredit, Chris and Martha Robertson, and Susanne Boyd Purvis and her husband, David Purvis. MFBFā€™s contribution supports the recruitment suite, which will welcome prospective students to campus, while Southern AgCredit named the downstairs conference room. Additionally, Susanneā€™s mother, Ļć½¶Ö±²„Professor Emerita of Human Sciences Catherine Boyd, joined her daughter and son-in-law in naming the Ballew Hall auditorium in honor of the late Professor Emeritus Leroy H. Boyd, who was a faculty member in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences for almost 40 years. The Robertson Development Suite was named after the memory of Warren P. Robertson, a former graduate student in the college.

Additional naming opportunities are available for several rooms in Ballew Hall for individuals, alumni or stakeholder groups interested in honoring a legacy and helping to support CALS or MAFES. Those interested can contact Will Staggers, director of development, at wstaggers@foundation.msstate.edu or Lacey Gordon, assistant director of development, at lgordon@foundation.msstate.edu to learn more.

For more on MSUā€™s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, visit . Visit to learn more about the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

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