Mississippi Valley State University is moving forward and getting recognized, according to Dr. Jerryl Briggs, its president.
Among recent developments at MVSU was the donation of a $2.5 million check for student scholarships from an anonymous donor.
That money, Briggs told the Greenwood Rotary club Tuesday, was on top of a $250,000 donation from the same donor earlier this year.
Briggs said he received a call in August from a representative of the benefactor. The benefactor, Briggs said he was told by the representative, had read about the president as well as the university and encouraged Briggs to fill out an application for a donation.
By the end of August, Briggs said, the university had received a $250,000 check from the benefactor. This also will go toward student scholarships.
Last month, Briggs was contacted by the representative again.
“We see what you did with that first donation in helping your students,” Briggs said he was told. “Our donor wants to give you all a second donation.”
The representative made it clear to Briggs that the donor wants to remain anonymous, the president said, adding that Briggs himself has not been told the name of the individual or corporate benefactor.
Briggs said the donations indicate that MVSU gets noticed “when you do the right things for your students.”
Another positive development for MVSU, the president said, was the September opening of a Chick-fil-A restaurant on the university’s campus.
Located within the student center, MVSU’s Chick-fil-A was only one of a few restaurants that has opened amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the president said. Briggs also listed two instances in which MVSU was recognized far beyond the Delta.
One took place during a NASCAR race in August in Daytona, Florida.
FedEx featured MVSU and three other historically black universities during that race on the car driven by Denny Hamlin. Briggs showed the civic club a section of the car, featuring the MVSU logo, that the university received as a souvenir from the event.
Also, an MVSU ad appeared in one of the programming booklets for the San Francisco 49ers football team.
“Obviously Jerry Rice had a lot to do with it,” Briggs said with a laugh, referring to the former MVSU receiver who went on to a Hall of Fame career in the NFL, spending 16 of his 20 seasons with the 49ers.
“Our university is being recognized, our university is being supported,” said Briggs, who also thanked the local community for its support for MVSU.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 662-581-7239 or gedic@gw-commonwealth.com.
