A major donation to Mississippi State from an alumnus and former Fortune 500 company executive will help engineering students enhance their skills at launching businesses.

Jack Hatcher, former chairman and CEO of Robertson-Ceco Corp., is providing $1.25 million to establish the Jack Hatcher Chair for Engineering Entrepreneurship.

A Ripley native now of Pinehurst, N.C., Hatcher is a 1949 civil engineering graduate who helped create Varco-Pruden, which would become second largest metal building firm in the United States. He subsequently spent 10 years as the head of Robertson-Ceco, a company widely recognized for building sophisticated architectural projects.

The first of its kind in MSU's College of Engineering, the Hatcher Chair, or endowed professorship, will work to create an environment that helps students better understand the business startup process, according to Dean Wayne Bennett.

"The world of technological innovation is exploding around us," Bennett said. "Many of our students are involved in projects that have commercial applications. Our goal is to one day have a long list of companies that got their start at Mississippi State's College of Engineering." Hatcher said discussions with Bennett and other MSU administrators convinced him the college "was serious about encouraging students to go into business for themselves, but lacked the leadership that a chair could provide."

Selection to be a chairholder is among the highest recognition faculty members at MSU can receive. Recruitment for the Hatcher Chair is under way, with inaugural classes planned for the fall semester.

Among initial activities will be the organization of student teams to apply technological solutions to marketplace needs, establishing links with companies and fostering a network of entrepreneur mentors for students and faculty.