Exxon Mobil presents Mississippi State departments with $35K grant
December 19, 2014
From L-R: Exxon Mobil’s Breck Bacon and Stacy Forten, BCoE interim dean Jason Keith, Exxon Mobil’s Paula Jean Runge, assistant dean and director of Holmes Cultural Diversity Center Cedric Athens, Exxon Mobil’s Kathleen Ash, and department head of management information systems in the college of business Jim Chrisman
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Representatives from one of the world’s largest oil and gas corporations presented Mississippi State with a grant to fund student activities and research.
Through its Departmental Grants Program, Exxon Mobil Corp. provided $35,000 to support engineering, business and a cultural diversity programs on campus. Four company representatives, and Mississippi State alumni, visited their alma mater to continue Exxon’s support of the university they once called home.
“Exxon Mobil is one of the top hiring companies in the Bagley College of Engineering and we appreciate their continued support of our programs. These grants are very helpful to our departments as they help us maintain an excellent educational experience for our students,” said Jason Keith, interim dean of the Bagley College of Engineering.
Each year, the company awards departmental grants to support its most heavily recruited fields. The civil, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering departments received a total of $24,000 to fund educational efforts that relate to Exxon Mobil’s goals. An additional $6,000 will be shared by the Bagley College’s computer science program and the college of business and its management information systems program. The Holmes Cultural Diversity Center received $5,000.
“Exxon Mobil is happy to continue its support of Mississippi State and its students. The university’s commitment to excellence is reflected in the quality of its graduates,” said Paula Jean Runge, a 2004 Mississippi State graduate and safety adviser for Exxon Mobil Development Company. “Many MSU alumni in the engineering, computer science and business information systems disciplines have become valuable members of the Exxon Mobil family, helping to deliver competitive advantage for the company.”
Over the past 10 years, Exxon Mobil’s Departmental Grant Program has provided $20 million to universities in the subjects from which it recruits the most employees. In 2014, $2 million was given to 79 universities across the country to fund student trips, research, equipment and scholarships.
For more information about Exxon Mobil, visit www.exxonmobil.com.
The Bagley College of Engineering is online at www.bagley.msstate.edu.
By: Erin Boozer