The College of Veterinary Medicine held its 30-year anniversary Friday, along with a ribbon cutting for two new research areas within the college.
A ribbon-cutting during Morgan Freeman’s 45-minute stay in Starkville marked the opening of the Morgan Freeman Equine Reproduction Research Unit.
“I was hoping to break a bottle over it,” Freeman said of the research facility as they prepared for the ribbon cutting. CVM Dean John Thomson; Vance Watson, vice president for agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine; Wayne Groce, CVM Office of Special Programs; and Richard Hopper, director of the new facility, held the ribbon on the stage of the Wise Center Auditorium as Freeman cut it.
“Good cornbread is a fitting description for this facility,” Groce said. “The ingredients are not very impressive, but if a good cook gets a hold of them, it is an amazing transformation.”
Thomson said that Groce was the cook in this facility who has doubled its capacity through money from Freeman, and the state and work from the college.
The college also had a virtual ribbon cutting on the auditorium stage for an environmental research lab in the Wise Center. The lab researches the effects of different agricultural compounds on the environment.
“It is the biggest research group in the college, and now it has one of the best laboratories on campus,” Groce said.
“What you have put together here is something you should be really proud of,” said Larry Yager, a representative of the National Institute of Health.
After the morning ribbon-cutting ceremonies, the college held its anniversary celebration with visiting speakers Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, Commissioner of Agriculture Lester Spell, 3rd District U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering and James Miller, founding dean of the college.
Miller spoke of troubles that the college went through in its establishment, and Dean Thomson said that until recently, funding has been low for the college, but Tuck has helped to make sure the college receives adequate funding.
“As long as I am blessed to be lieutenant governor, it will be a priority to keep the program funded,” Tuck said. “[The college] is something every citizen out of state can be proud of.”
Spell said that the reason for the college’s establishment from the law signed by the Legislature in 1974 is due to Miller and his work.
“No one could pull together the support Dr. Miller did to start the veterinary college,” Spell said.
He also said that the college has helped the state.
“The college has made an unimaginable impact on our state’s economy,” he said. “Mississippi has benefited greatly, and agriculture has benefited greatly.”
“I look forward to being your partner,” Tuck said to college officials. “I am happy to be home, and I am proud to be a Mississippi State Bulldog.”