Points of Pride

Alumni

  1. Recent MSU graduate Joey Beachum catapulted himself and his alma mater to the national stage recently when he realized his lifelong dream of competing on his favorite game show--and walked away with the $100,000 top prize.Recent MSU graduate Joey Beachum catapulted himself and his alma mater to the national stage recently when he realized his lifelong dream of competing on his favorite game show--and walked away with the $100,000 top prize. The Saltillo native emerged victorious after beating out more than 14,000 hopefuls in preliminary screening and competitions to be one of 15 contestants in the College Championship series of the long-running television game show "Jeopardy!"

  2. Benjamin A. "Ben" Needham of Washington, D.C., was honored as the 2009 Young Alumnus of the Year by the Mississippi State Alumni Association. Needham, originally from Laurel, is a 2001 political science major and currently works for Grassroots Solutions, a consulting firm based in the nation's capital that helps nonprofits, corporations, political campaigns and other organizations train and mobilize supporters at the local level. The annual award recognizes a former MSU student 32 years of age or under who is making significant achievements to both the local community and the alumni association.

  3. James Worth "Jim" Bagley of suburban Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, is the Mississippi State Alumni Association's 2009 National Alumnus of the Year. Bagley, a 1961 electrical engineering graduate, is executive chairman of California-based Lam Research Corp., a leading supplier of wafer processing equipment and services. He also holds a 1966 master's degree in the same academic field and was honored by his alma mater in 2005 with an honorary doctorate in science.

  4. Mississippi State has more than 115,000 living alumni.

  5. About one-fourth of the teachers and administrators in Mississippi public schools hold at least one degree from Mississippi State.

  6. Seven Mississippi State graduates are presidents of state community colleges.

  7. Best-selling novelist John Grisham is a 1977 MSU accounting graduate.Best-selling novelist John Grisham is a 1977 MSU accounting graduate.

  8. Four of nine Mississippi Supreme Court justices, including the chief justice, are MSU graduates. They include Chief Justice William L. "Bill" Waller Jr., 1974; Presiding Justice George C. Carlson Jr., 1969; Associate Justice Jess H. Dickinson, 1978; and Associate Justice David A. Chandler, 1972, 1974 and 1988.

  9. Dr. Rusty Linton of Columbus recently was named the 2009 Team Physician of the Year by the Southeastern Conference. The award is presented annually by the Southern Orthopedic Association. Linton, an alumnus, has served as the primary orthopedic surgeon for MSU student-athletes for more than 20 years. He joins Dr. Robert Collins, MSU's team physician and head of the campus' Longest Student Health Center, in receiving the award. Mississippi State is the first institution in the SEC to have both their team physician and orthopedic surgeon honored with the award.

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