C.D Smith credits his success in the business world to the education he received at Mississippi State University of Meridian.

“I know full well that had it not been for MSU Meridian, there’s no way I could have gone this far,” said Smith, the regional director with AT&T Mississippi who earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the school.

Smith joined other MSU-Meridian alumna Thursday night as the school celebrated its 50th anniversary.

“I’m a proud graduate of MSU Meridian, and I’m so happy that we have this campus here for those of us who are non-traditional students,” he said.

Stacey Thompson, who earned a master’s degree at the school, was one of those non-traditional students.

“MSU Meridian has really benefited me in my life and career,” said Thompson, the Equal Opportunity Officer for the City of Meridian “As a full-time student and mother, I was able to stay home and close to family and get my education right here within the community.”

MSU-Meridian opened the Meridian branch, as it was called at the time, on the campus of Meridian Community College on Aug. 17, 1972. Its first office was located temporarily in MCC’s Ivy Hall before the operation moved to what is now known as Hardin Hall.

Fifty years after it opened, MSU-Meridian continues to grow. The College Park Campus, built in 1993 and located on Highway 19 North across from MCC, houses the Arts and Sciences and Education divisions.

The Riley Campus, located in the heart of downtown, encompasses the MSU Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts, which opened its doors in the fall of 2006.

The center is the result of a $10 million contribution in 2000 by The Riley Foundation to restore the Grand Opera House and the Marks Rothenberg department store into the state-of-the-art, multi-functioning facility it is today. In 2009, The Riley Foundation donated $6.2 million to expand MSU’s Meridian Riley campus and strengthen its downtown presence for the university.

“It’s great to see how far things have gone for the campus,” said Terry Dale Cruse, the school’s associate vice president and head of campus. “Over the next five to ten years, you’ll see this campus take a greater role in health care education.”

“We already have our PA program, which is the first master of physician assistant program in the state of Mississippi from a public university, he said. “This PA program has laid a solid foundation for us to consider ways to further contribute to training more healthcare professionals.”