Meridian native Elizabeth Barnacastle, a senior accounting major at MSU-Meridian gets valuable hands on experience at Rea, Shaw, Giffin & Stuart LLP.  Barnacastle began working for the accounting firm as an intern. She continues to work there as a staff accountant as she finishes up her studies.

This is such an exciting time to join MSU-Meridian! I feel fortunate to be coming on board in what promises to be an incredible year in many respects.

Thanks to the generosity of The Riley Foundation, renovation work is complete on the Rosenbaum Building, the third and final building that constitutes the Riley Campus situated in the heart of downtown Meridian. The former Kress Building will be named and officially opened later in the spring semester.

The updated facility houses the state-of-the-art kinesiology program and boasts Mississippi’s first digital cadaver lab. This touch-screen automated learning tool allows students to literally see the layers of human anatomy through cutting-edge technology. The facility prepares us to contribute meaningfully to an impressive local medical industry by preparing students, like Damian Roberts of Collinsville, for careers in various avenues of physical fitness, rehabilitative care, and health and sports sciences. Robert’s future goals include physical therapy school after graduation.

During my recent interview process, I was asked my initial impression of MSU-Meridian. I answered that question with one of my own.

“Do you know what you have here?!”

What other community can boast a regional campus of a leading research university that garners enough local support to have the resources and facilities we have? What other community has what we have in the MSU Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts. This fall, the center will celebrate 10 years of impressive shows such as those in our ongoing spring series, including Huey Lewis and the News, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Three Dog Night and LeAnn Rimes to name a few. The center also will be the site of a nationally televised production broadcasting the MSU Riley Center and Meridian across the nation.

In my travels all over the country visiting other colleges and universities, I can assure you what we have here in Meridian is rare. I’ve also been overwhelmed by support of alumni, local business people, community college leaders and friends of the university since moving to Meridian.

Yet, to whom much has been given – much is required. There are tremendous opportunities for us to grow. So many options are available to area students through high school dual credit programs, excellent community colleges, and an incredible four-year university offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

We are fortunate to be served by strong local community colleges, and this spring we will launch an aggressive plan to partner with them in helping students connect all the dots from dual credit to a terminal degree – if they so choose. A key component of this plan is helping students outline the shortest, most affordable path to their career goals and partnering with community colleges in providing intense advising to make sure students stay on track.

If we want to make our local economy stronger, we must identify students who want to stay here and help them reach their educational goals as quickly as possible. Most likely, students who study here will stay here and contribute meaningfully to our community.  

One such student is Elizabeth Barnacastle. Born and raised in the Meridian area, she is a junior accounting major who wanted to stay close to home while earning her degree. Elizabeth is Student Association Director of Meridian Affairs as well as a member of the new Collegiate DECA organization on campus. She also began a paid internship in January 2015 with the local firm Rea, Shaw, Giffin & Stuart LLP, which provided her hands-on experience and knowledge in tax and audit. Elizabeth continues to work for the firm, now as a staff accountant, as she finishes up her studies.

As the state’s leading research university, we also are uniquely positioned to serve a wide range of people in East Mississippi and West Alabama, where residents in Choctaw, Clarke, Greene, Hale, Marengo and Sumter, like Takelia McVay-Marzette of Pennington, Ala., are eligible for in-state tuition costs at MSU-Meridian. A work-study student pursuing a business degree in healthcare administration at our Riley Campus downtown, the wife and mother of three has experienced a significant cost savings by choosing to attend our local university over one in her home state of Alabama.   

Many students may also choose to transfer to our residential campus in Starkville, or take advantage of our numerous online programs. Either way, more intensive partnerships with community colleges will enhance the great educational work already underway locally.

Recently, Payscale ranked Mississippi State University as the state’s leading institution for return on investment. Additionally, our Business School continues to increase in national rankings while boasting the regions only AACSB-accredited business programs. Simply stated, students can stay local, pay less, and earn more.

I am excited about what the year holds for MSU-Meridian and eager to become increasingly involved in the local community.