Mississippi State University will rename the Student Media Center Friday in honor of Henry F. Meyer, a former journalism teacher and adviser to The Reflector.
A dedication ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. in front of the media center, located between the State Fountain and the University Florist.
The center, which is home to The Reflector and The Reveille offices, will be officially renamed the Henry F. Meyer Student Media Center.
Meyer’s former students Sid Salter, perspective editor of The Clarion-Ledger, and Charlie Mitchell, managing editor of the Vicksburg Post, will speak at the ceremony. Also speaking will be Jimmy Abraham, interim vice president of student affairs, and Peter Rabideau, provost of the university. Meyer’s daughter, Marjorie Goldner will represent the family at the event.
“We invite his former student, friends, and colleagues to join us for this special program,” said Abraham.
“Meyer’s major contribution to the university was serving almost three decades as adviser to The Reflector,” said current adviser Frances McDavid.
“He also was a founding member of the journalism component for the communication department,” she added.
Meyer hired Denise Kellum as Reflector business manager in 1988, a position she still holds today.
“He was just an absolute joy to work with,” Kellum said. “He had a witty humor about him, and he always stood up strong for what he believed in-especially students’ right to free speech.”
“He was very knowledgeable, like a walking encyclopedia,” Kellum continued. “He always knew the right answers. And last but not least, he was a cherished friend.”
Kellum said Meyer’s influence will continue for many years to come.
“His legacy will live on in The Reflector,” Kellum said. “Even students who never met him will continue to benefit from his leadership in keeping The Reflector student-run.”
“His legacy will also live on in our current adviser (Frances McDavid) as well,” Kellum added. “She once said that she entered journalism because of him, and she continues many of the same traditions and upholds many of the same values that he did.”
Meyer also taught at MSU from 1968-1978. As a teacher, Meyer had a great influence on his students.
“He used his big red Bic pen to provide corrections to turn beginning writers into professional journalists,” McDavid said.
On top of that, Meyer had decades of experience outside the classroom to bring to his students. He was owner and printer of the weekly Starkville News, now the Starkville Daily, from 1946-1965.
“When he became a teacher, he could use his background to explain the toughness it takes to be a journalist but also the compassion for humanity that is required,” McDavid said.
Today, The Reflector is independently operated by students and much of the reason the staff has been able to maintain that independence is because Meyer served as a defender of that over the years.
McDavid said Meyer supported The Reflector’s right to be independent in a case was even upheld in the state Supreme Court.