Six times over the past two years, a busload of Mississippi State faculty and staff has crisscrossed the state in a 2,500-mile series of trips acquainting newcomers with the university's statewide role and building on ties in communities from the Tennessee border to the Mississippi River to the Gulf Coast.

About 40 individuals, most of them new to the university and many just arrived in Mississippi, have joined President Malcolm Portera and a few senior administrators and veteran faculty members on each of the 15- to 18-hour journeys.

Some of the hardier travelers among the newcomers have made three or four trips, others just one. But all have gained a broader perspective and a better understanding of their new state and their new colleagues.

They've toured one of the country's largest shipyards and a major oil refinery on the Gulf Coast; visited an ultra-modern catfish processing plant and watched cotton being harvested with the aid of remote sensing satellites in the Delta; and seen NASA rocket bodies being constructed and the National Geographic rolling off the presses in northeast Mississippi.

They've watched as Mississippians used high-tech manufacturing techniques to produce furniture, pianos, kitchen appliances, electronics, heavy machinery, electrical equipment, and newsprint, among other products. And they've been welcomed by counterparts at the University of Mississippi, Delta State University, and Alcorn State University, and at community colleges and public schools.

At almost every stop, they've met Mississippi State alumni and learned of university involvement in the economic and civic life of the state.

To make good use of the time and enliven the longer stretches of driving, senior faculty members have delivered on-board lectures relevant to the tour in progress. English professor Nancy Hargrove talked about William Faulkner on the way to his home in Oxford. Archivist and Civil War historian Michael Ballard described the battles of Corinth and Iuka on the trip between the towns. Former history department head Charles Lowery, now cataloging archaeological and historical sites along the Great River Road paralleling the Mississippi, talked about that project while cruising the Highway 61 "Blues Alley."

Each trip has concluded with a reception attended by local government and civic leaders and alumni. Host communities so far have included Corinth, Tupelo, Clarksdale, Greenville, Vicksburg, and Gulfport. The ongoing Mississippi Tour will hit the road again in fall 2000.