STARKVILLE, Miss.--The primary meeting and group assembly area in Mississippi State's recently renovated Colvard Student Union now has a name other than "ballroom."
In weekend ceremonies, more than 200 university officials, local government representatives and friends gathered to officially name the approximately 9,200-square-foot, second-floor space in honor of retired student affairs administrator Bill R. Foster.
Foster, an Itawamba County native, retired in 1999 as associate vice president for student affairs after a 39-year campus career. He began working at MSU in 1960.
In the 1980s, the building originally called The Union was renamed for former president Dean W. Colvard, under whose leadership it was constructed in the early 1960s.
The ballroom, which can accommodate up to 1,000, always has been a major component of the central campus facility known as the "living room of our campus," said Bill Kibler, MSU vice president for student affairs.
Interim President Vance Watson and Braxton Coombs of New Albany, Student Association president, praised Foster for his decades of service, as well as for his continuing commitment to the community. A longtime Starkville resident, Foster remains active in the local Rotary International organization, where he has held numerous leadership positions.
"He is truly representative of the principles of 'the People's University,'" Coombs said.
After serving as union director, Foster was promoted to dean of student services in 1972. During his career, he also held an adjunct appointment as an associate professor of counselor education.
Foster earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics and science education from MSU, and a doctorate in higher education and student personnel from the University of Alabama.
