Contact: Amy Cagle
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State alumni chapters around the country will continue a decade-long tradition of late-summer send-off parties for local students attending the university for the first time.
Co-sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association, its chapters and other groups, this year's events take place between July 12 and Aug. 6. In addition to the students' parents and friends, the parties involve the active participation of students and alumni chapter members.
"These parties are designed to encourage excitement and enthusiasm for incoming freshmen and transfer students for our 137-year-old land grant institution," said Jeff Davis, the alumni association's executive director.
Nearly 60 chapters throughout the state of Mississippi and in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C., have scheduled 2015 "send-offs."
"Last year, we had remarkable support from our chapters for these special events," said Davis. "This year, we anticipate them being even bigger and better as our association marks 130 years of representing MSU in areas and hometowns across our great nation."
Representatives of the MSU Alumni Association and various campus offices will be on hand at many of the events to answer questions regarding university life.
"Many faculty and staff volunteer their time each year to attend these events because they exemplify MSU's dedication and support of our Bulldog family during this rewarding send-off experience," Davis said.
Move-in day on the Starkville campus is Saturday, Aug. 8. Fall classes begin on Monday, Aug. 17, on both the Starkville and Meridian campuses.
Mississippi State University has more than 132,000 living alumni, and many of them are affiliated with one of 95 alumni chapters worldwide.
To view the schedule of send-offs or obtain other details about the MSU Alumni Association, visit alumni.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi's flagship research university, available online at www.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.