Mississippi State lost one of its most influential faculty members and administrators on April 12. Harry Charles Fleming Simrall, dean emeritus of the Bagley College of Engineering, professor emeritus of electrical engineering and namesake of Simrall Hall, died at the age of 90. His wife of 64 years, Mary Virginia, assistant professor emerita of chemistry, died Sept. 19, 2000.
Simrall’s history at MSU is long and varied. He holds bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering (1934) and mechanical engineering (1935) from MSU. He received his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois in 1939. His teaching career began in 1934, when he was an instructor of electrical engineering at MSU. By the end of his career, he had severed as assistant professor, associate professor, professor, head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and dean of the College of Engineering. He served as dean from 1957 to 1978.
However, his academic titles don’t tell the full story. As a student, Simrall “climbed the poles and strung the wires” when electricity was installed on campus. He was also editor in chief of The Reflector.
Bagley College of Engineering Dean A. Wayne Bennett was one of Simrall’s many friends.
“I’d have to put getting to know Harry Simrall as the number one blessing of coming to MSU,” Bennett said. “I knew of him (before arriving at MSU) because of his national reputation. He was respected throughout engineering education.”
According to Bennett, no job was too small for Simrall.
“After World War II, there was a lot of surplus military gear available. Much of that gear, Harry personally unpacked and Mary Virginia inventoried it and put it into use,” Bennett said. “That was the kind of person he was. He just did everything that needed to be done.”
Simrall also played a large role in bringing Raspet Flight Research Laboratory to Starkville.
“Harry Simrall gets a lot credit for where the college is today. During his time as dean, budgets were very tight. It was not an easy time. His hard work and commitment … helped set the stage for the growth that has come since then,” Bennett said.
Simrall was also heavily involved with the MSU Alumni Association, where he served as vice chairman from 1990 until his death. One of his chief goals was improving scholarship opportunities.
“If there’s one thing that he stood for, it was making opportunities available to students and helping with the cost of college,” Bennett said.
Simrall’s involvement was not limited to academics. He also played an important role in helping MSU’s famous 1963 men’s basketball team sneak out of Starkville and play in the NCAA tournament.
“The president (Dean Colvard) was made inaccessible so (police officers) couldn’t serve an injunction (preventing the team from leaving Mississippi), and Harry was a key part (of making sure Colvard couldn’t be reached),” Bennett said.
Univeristy President J. Charles Lee first met Simrall when he became dean of Forest Resources.
“He was a great mentor to me in my first job as a dean. Beyond that, his insight and his courage provided much of the foundation for the outstanding engineering program that we have today,” Lee said. “There are thousands of engineering students that think the world of him, and appropriately so.”
Rodney Foil, former dean of the College of Forest Resources served with Simrall on the Dean’s Council from 1973 to 1978. He recalled how Simrall fought for the engineering college.
“He was very strong advocate for his faculty and attracted some very strong faculty members who went on to become department heads and deans here and elsewhere,” Foil said.
According to Foil, Simrall’s car-buying habits were closely followed on campus:
“He would buy a brand new Buick every two years. There were a lot of people waiting to get his cast-off automobile at Millsaps (car dealership). Some faculty and staff would be in line the day he traded it in.
Foil said Simrall’s greatest legacy will be his contributions to academics.
“He had an extremely strong commitment to academic quality. MSU has the reputation of a good engineering school thanks in part to him,” Foil said, adding, “Dean Simrall is real legend on this campus.”