MSU President Mark E. Keenum, right, recognizes the university's 2019 Alumnus of the Year, Richard A. Rula of Ridgeland. Rula was formally presented with the honor during the MSU Alumni Association's annual awards banquet Friday [March 1]. Among his many invaluable contributions at Mississippi State, Rula’s cornerstone contribution is helping make possible a new 70,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility under construction to house the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, including classrooms, research labs and high bay areas. In his honor, the facility will be known as the Richard A. Rula Engineering and Science Complex.