Today the university will inaugurate its 18th president, Robert “Doc” Foglesong, the retired four-star general who took office in April.
The 1 p.m. event at The Hump will mark a significant day for the Bulldog nation, Jeffrey Rupp, community and government relations director, said.
“It’s a time when you acknowledge the historic greatness of the university,” he said.
This event will mark the beginning of a new era in leadership for the university, Student Association President JR Love said.
“It’s a pretty tremendous day for the university to inaugurate a president with the credentials that President Foglesong has,” Love said.
The event will continue through the weekend with a football game against West Virginia, the university Foglesong obtained three degrees from. Foglesong is originally from West Virginia.
The program will have a formal format, but anyone is welcome to come.
“This is a public university, and this is a public event,” Rupp said.
The university will also host a reception at the Humphrey Coliseum after the program.
While the inauguration may center around Foglesong, the event has a larger, more important focus, Rupp said.
“This is less about Foglesong than it is about the Bulldog nation,” he added.
Gov. Haley Barbour and Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck will speak at the event. West Virginia University’s president will also speak, among several others, Rupp said.
The MSU president will be officially inaugurated during the ceremony of investiture, where a historic medallion will be placed around his neck. This medallion has been worn by several other presidents during their inauguration at the university, Rupp said.
Rupp said Foglesong is always on the move, and works nonstop to enhance what is already a great institution.
“The hardest part is keeping up with him,” Rupp said.
He fits the part of what Mississippi State needs. Historically, he holds some of the same leadership qualities that past MSU presidents have had, especially his love for the school and desire to energize this university, Love said.
The university has a long line of good leaders who loved the university and desired to see it involved in the affairs of the state and the nation and also to see it being productive in these endeavors, Love said.
According to a university press release, in his first six months, president Foglesong has implemented Mississippi State Promise, a tuition-assistance program. He also created the Sonny Montgomery Chapter of the Appalachian Leadership Honors Program. He established the MSU Community Action Team, which will help state municipalities, and he also set in motion the creation of a university Center for America’s Veterans.