Sanderson gift to help fund health and recreation center

Architect's rendering of the proposed Joe Frank Sanderson Center.

A major gift to The Campaign for Mississippi State by Laurel businessman and university alumnus Joe Frank Sanderson Sr. will help fund a student health and recreation center.

The gift was announced Oct. 22 at a pre-homecoming gathering of university alumni and friends on campus.

Sanderson

Sanderson, a 1947 accounting graduate, will provide a significant portion of the funding needed to construct the facility, which could cost up to $19 million. The university also is seeking other contributions and state support for the project.

"The university family has long dreamed of a facility that would provide students with a place to exercise and compete in intramural athletics, but the necessary funding never has been available," said President Donald Zacharias. "Through the generosity of Joe Frank Sanderson Sr., the university is now closer to providing its students with a much-needed, state-of-the-art recreation center."

The health and recreation building, to be named the Joe Frank Sanderson Center, will offer indoor swimming, basketball, racquetball, weight lifting, jogging, and other fitness areas for use by students, faculty, and staff.

"Mississippi State strives for the total educational experience, which means providing students with the opportunity to develop socially and physically, as well as academically," said Zacharias. "This facility will help meet the students' physical fitness demands."

Mississippi State has one of the largest intramural sports programs among Southeastern universities, with more than 3,000 students participating each year.

Sanderson is chairman of Sanderson Farms in Laurel, one of the nation's largest integrated processors of fresh and frozen chicken and other food products. The company produces nearly 90 million frying chickens annually.