On the walls of Saunders Ramsey’s office at Mississippi State University hang two quotes. “The Man in the Glass,” a poem by Peter Dale Wimbrow, emphasizes that satisfaction with oneself matters more at the end of the day than public recognition and approval. “The Man in the Arena,” an excerpt from a speech by Theodore Roosevelt, is about the courage to act despite the possibility of defeat.

As the Executive Director of Campus Services, Ramsey uses these ideas in his leadership over campus facilities and landscape to make MSU a better place to be.

He grew up in Starkville, playing disc golf, having lunches at Perry Cafeteria and eventually leading in athletics as the captain of the MSU baseball team while majoring in Civil Engineering. Fast forward to now, Ramsey uses this connection with MSU to drive his passion for improving the campus experience.  To Ramsey, his work is about leaving an impact on MSU rather than his own glory. Since he began his position at MSU, Ramsey has prioritized the student experience in each change made on campus.

“I think good design can change people’s lives without them even knowing that it’s changing… Our job is to create a campus that people love their experience without them knowing that it’s done on their behalf, like they should feel like this is home,” Ramsey said.

One way he and his team shape and enhance the student experience is by focusing on the time spent between where students work and where they sleep. By making each aspect of campus infrastructure and landscape better, Ramsey leaves a lasting impact that shapes the MSU daily experience in ways that students might not realize.

Ramsey believes in the importance of the Campus Services team putting their hearts into everything they do, and it shows through the spaces that Ramsey has added and improved over the last five years.

“And so I tell our guys, bring your heart to work. Like, if you leave your heart at home, then you’re already behind. You know? I mean, if, if we, if we don’t come to work with our heart in our hands, then how can we possibly envision a greater experience for every student that steps foot on campus?” Ramsey said.

According to Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Jackie Mullen, through their work to get approval for the Alpha Chi Omega house project, she saw firsthand how Ramsey poured his heart into making the project happen in spite of the economic challenges. Mullen recalled the moment she told Ramsey that they had received the funding needed to make the project a reality.

“He reached over at his arm and said he just got goose bumps. So he said, I hadn’t felt that really just inspired in that way in a long time. And so I knew that this wasn’t just another project to him. It was something that he had invested his heart into,” Mullen said.

MSU Vice President for Finance and Administration Les Potts has worked closely with Ramsey over the last five years. Potts said that Ramsey is distinctly student-oriented and makes it a priority to communicate with students about the rationale behind projects.

“I think one of his first questions to himself is, what the students are going to think like, what are they going to think about this? Or, how best does it serve them?” Potts said.

Ramsey became the executive director of campus services in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, he was tasked with adapting campus infrastructure to the pandemic, which included creating more outdoor seating. Mullen said Ramsey has worked with the Student Association to identify various outdoor spaces where students can gather, which is just one example of how student-focused Ramsey is.

“So he worked with the Student Association to think about where we could create places for students to gather,” Mullen said. “And so now you see lots of Adirondack chairs and cafe tables because he recognized that students don’t just gather inside, that they also wanted to enjoy the beauty of the outside.”

Now, the spaces created through these outdoor seating efforts, like the Colvard Campground and YMCA Plaza, have become integral spots on campus.

According to MSU Vice President for Finance and Administration Les Potts, Ramsey’s knowledge and perception of the factors that make spaces special, including from a mental health perspective, have left their mark on campus.

“He’s planted like a couple of thousand trees since he’s been here. And I think that is that sort of ties to the story about how people feel about being out in nature and where they’re comfortable sitting and existing in that filtered light environment and everything,” Potts said.

In addition to outdoor seating efforts, Ramsey had a hand in the creation of the Hail State sign between Montgomery Hall and Perry Cafeteria, which is now a popular photo spot on the Mississippi State campus as a space with a recognizable visual identity for students and campus visitors to share. 

“And so our message there was, how can people know I’m at Mississippi State without me saying, ‘Hey, I’m at Mississippi State,'” Ramsey said. 

Ramsey called Potts one of the greatest leaders he has ever had, and Potts had similar praise for Ramsey.

“He’s been for campus beautification, a catalyst for change, since the day he got here,” Potts said. 

For Ramsey, enhancing the experience on the Mississippi State campus and considering others first is the core of all of his work. Rather than working for the credit, Ramsey truly desires to make the campus that he grew up on a better place for current and future students and faculty.

“It’s like constant accountability that I’m doing, that I’m doing what is right, and that when I look myself in the mirror, that I’ve done everything every day to make Mississippi state a better place to work or study,” Ramsey said. 

Ramsey said that he and his team are working to add 10 to 12 new ideas to the legacy library, a collection of ideas that they present to donors to help receive the support needed for projects like Shipley’s Water Bowl, which was named Shipley, the pet of the two donors who made the fountain possible. According to Ramsey, enhancing Chadwick Lake will be a key focus for his team going forward.

“It’s a legacy…” Ramsey said. “30 years from now, when you’re in the working world and I’m retired, I don’t need someone to look back and say, ‘look what Saunders did.’ But if they look back and are proud of their alma mater, I’ll know, right? When I look at when I look at the campus, I’ll know that I and my staff did everything we could to make this place a better place to be.”