Alumni gift funds student lounge renovation
September 29, 2015
STARKVILLE, Miss. – As a result of an alumni gift, the student lounge in Carpenter Hall received a new interior and a new name.
A ribbon cutting and dedication was held in the new Ronnie and Joy Martin Student Lounge on September 11, honoring the alumni couple that made it possible. In addition to supporting a major update of the basement-level space, the Texas residents have established an endowment to provide continuing support for its maintenance and future upgrades.
After graduating from Bagley College of Engineering in 1969, Martin pursued a 33-year career with Texaco, eventually serving as vice president of exploration and production. He currently works as the senior managing director at FTI Consulting in Houston, Texas.
The mechanical engineering alumnus and his wife Joy, a 1970 graduate from the College of Education, were inspired to give back to their alma mater out of gratitude – not only for the education that prepared them for future careers, but also for meeting each other.
“This is where our life together began. If it weren’t for Mississippi State, maybe I wouldn’t have found her,” Martin said. “It’ll always be a special place for us.”
After deciding where to make the gift, the Martins contacted Paul Zimmerman, Bagley’s assistant director of development and Pedro Mago, mechanical engineering department head. Since being named department head, a goal of Mago’s was to renovate the student lounge, giving students a welcoming place to come together, study and socialize.
“The Martins wanted to support mechanical engineering with an emphasis on the students,” Zimmerman said. “When Dr. Mago and I proposed updating the student lounge, it was a perfect match.”
Work on lounge took place over the summer with guidance from interior designer Lorin Chancellor at Sullivan’s Office Supply in Starkville.
A room that once contained a single work table now houses six large tables, several armchairs and a kitchenette. It also now has carpeted flooring and, on newly painted walls, dry-erase boards and abstract paintings.
“Our students, faculty and staff are very grateful to Ronnie and Joy Martin,” Mago said. “ I cannot thank them enough for their generosity and their great support of our department. The new student lounge is already making a big impact in the lives of our students.”
Noting that engineering majors had nothing like the lounge when he was a student, Ronnie Martin concurred with Mago’s observations.
“I think it’s just going to be a wonderful place for them to come, have an environment that they can study in and communicate with one another,” Martin said.
As a result of this project, a two-year campaign has been developed to completely renovate Carpenter Hall. The last major renovation was done nearly 50 years ago, in 1967.
“We are just so impressed with the faculty,” Martin said. “They really have the interest of the students at heart, and we’ll definitely be looking for other opportunities to help out here.”
To view more photos from the dedication, visit the BCoE Flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/msuengineering/sets/72157658969732211/.
To learn more about supporting future renovations and other BCOE giving opportunities, visit http://www.bagley.msstate.edu/giving/development-office/.
Find the BCoE online at www.bagley.msstate.edu.
By: Amanda Meeler