The Mississippi State University Foundation Board of Directors approved establishing a new donor recognition program for lifetime donors to MSU, according to MSU Foundation executive director Frank Shannon.

The Legacy of Leadership, which recognizes lifetime cumulative giving, is the name of the new program.

"We wanted to expand an existing program to recognize major gifts made by donors at a variety of levels," said Shannon.

Shannon said the program is tiered, to recognize these different levels of giving. The levels are the Ben E. Hilbun Torchbearers ($50,000-$99,999), the Eugene Butler Fellows ($100,000-$499,999), the Stephen D. Lee Society ($500,000-$999,999), the Dean W. Colvard Founders ($1,000,000-$4,999,999), the William L. Giles Partners ($5,000,000-$9,999,999), the James D. McComas Cabinet ($10,000,000-$24,000,000), and the Donald W. Zacharias Roundtable ($25,000,000-above).

Assistant director of prospect and donor relations Trish Hughes believes recognizing lifetime giving by incorporating more giving levels was necessary.

"Previously, we had the Butler Fellows and the Lee Society, but once a person was recognized in the Lee Society, that was the highest level in which they could be recognized even though they may continue to contribute to the university," said Hughes.