The Mississippi State University Alumni Association is bringing back a class ring from the university’s past and plans to restart a tradition after selling fewer than 300 rings last year.
The new rings go back to the traditional design developed by H.F. “Slim” Allen and L.G. Balfour in 1935. Each ring will have the student’s degree, such as B.S. for Bachelor of Science, on one side and the year of graduation on the other. The student can also have an inscription made on the inside of the ring, said Libba Andrews, associate director of the Alumni Association.
“A school ring is like a diploma that an MSU graduate can wear around. And it can be used as an automatic bond when you’re around other alumni,” she said.
The Alumni Association also hopes the new rings will encourage people who disliked the previous style of rings, where the trend was to have an open design instead of university symbols, to purchase one, Andrews said.
Alumna Natalie Abel Kimbrough, a 2004 alumna, said she chose not order a class ring. “I did not order a class ring, and I do not regret it at all, but it is only because I do not think class rings are attractive at all,” she said.
When a student orders a class ring, not only will it show pride for the student’s school and accomplishments, but sales from the ring will provide funds to the university and the Alumni Association, said Jimmy Abraham, director of the Alumni Association.
The university will hold a ring ceremony May 2 in the Hunter Henry Center. The ceremony will begin at 4 p.m., and students will learn what the symbols on the rings mean and get the chance to meet the presidents of the university and the Alumni Association.
If a student wants to participate in the ring ceremony, his or her ring must be ordered before Feb. 24, Andrews said.
“The ceremony will be held to congratulate our seniors, have campus officials there and wish them well, and to find out what the class ring is truly all about,” Abraham said.
The rings can be ordered any time online at www.balfourcollege.com by eligible alumni and students, Andrews said.
Undergraduates are eligible after completing 60 credit hours, and transfer students must have 30 MSU hours, she said.
Brochures have been mailed, and MSU alumnus Scott Gerard will be on campus Feb. 21-24 as a representative for the rings. He will help students purchase their rings and answer questions about them, Abraham said.
“We want to build a tradition where students want to earn the right to wear one of these rings,” he said.