Dr. John C. Longest

physician and director emeritus

Longest

Dr. John Christopher Longest ('44) of Starkville, a physician and director emeritus of the John C. Longest Student Health Center at Mississippi State, died Dec. 19, 1998. He was 75.

After attending Perkinston Junior College, Longest received his bachelor's degree at Mississippi State, a master's of education at the University of Mississippi, and graduated from Louisiana State University Medical School in 1947. He was a veteran of World War II.

In 1948, he became a college physician at Mississippi State, where he was the football team's physician for more than 40 years. He was named Sports Medicine Man of the Year by the National Athletic Trainers Association, and was an honorary member of the M Club at Mississippi State.

The student health center on campus, built in 1965 through Longest's influence, was named in his honor at the time of his retirement in 1988.

In the 1960s, Longest established the MSU Medical and Dental Alumni Association and the C.B. Mitchell Pre-Med Fund and Lecture Series. He received the Mississippi State Alumni Association's Faculty Achievement Award for Service in 1973.

Longest was a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and American College Health Association, and was past president of the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians. In 1993, he was awarded the Country Doctor of the Year Award.

The Dr. John C. Longest Pre-Med Scholarship Fund for Mississippi State students who plan to pursue careers in medicine honors his decades of service to the university. The fund is administered by the MSU Foundation.

This World Wide Web version of Alumnus was marked up by Chris Brown <brownc@ur.msstate.edu>.
For information about Mississippi State University, contact msuinfo@ur.msstate.edu.