University's largest gift ever to fund new engineering facility

The gift represents the single largest donation in the history of the university.

The new facility, which will house the Department of Chemical Engineering, general-use classrooms, and an auditorium, will be positioned on the south end of the historic Drill Field directly opposite Lee Hall.

University President Donald Zacharias said that Swalm also has secured from Gov. Kirk Fordice a pledge to support a request for $3 million in state funds.

"Dave Swalm wanted this building for Mississippi State University and he is taking the initiative to ensure that it becomes a reality," said Zacharias. "Dave is dedicated to the future of Mississippi State and its faculty and students. This is another example of that dedication."

Swalm entered Mississippi State in 1951 after graduating from Brookhaven High School. Following his graduation, he worked as a design engineer for Dow Chemical, as a production engineer for Texas Butadiene and Chemical Corp., as a regional manager for Sinclair Petrochemicals Inc., and as a marketer for Steuber Co. He is now chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Texas Olefins Co., the largest privately owned petrochemical raw materials producer in the U.S.

Since 1988, Swalm and his wife, Beth, who serves as president of the Swalm Foundation, have been responsible for gifts to Mississippi State in excess of $12 million. These contributions have supported faculty salary supplements, student scholarships, professional support for faculty, and equipment purchases.

A gift from Swalm funded the recently completed club house at the Mississippi State University Golf Course. He also donated a herd of cattle to the univer- sity's animal science department.

Swalm is a member of the Mississippi State University Foundation board, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and Chemical Marketing Research Association.

He and his wife are the parents of four children: Jennifer, Lisa, Clark, and Valerie.