History Guides the Future
Author: Chloe Madison
Ballew Hall (Photo by Russ Houston)
Mississippi State University's former butcher shop is fulfilling a new purpose for the land-grant institution with a major renovation. Ballew Hall served as MSU's Meat Laboratory for nearly six decades before it moved to the newly constructed Meat Science and Muscle Biology Laboratory in 2019. Now the renovated facility will serve as an educational space for students and office space for faculty and staff.
The redesigned 25,000-square-foot building provides a hub for collaboration and discovery within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES). Renovations include a flexible teaching lab, development suite, conference room, recruiter suite, auditorium, and administrative spaces. Though the building has received a modern makeover, former students, faculty, and staff may recognize familiar elements such as the iconic green tile and the names of people and organizations that have helped shape the future of learning and research at MSU.
In 2023, Susanne Boyd Purvis and her husband, David Purvis, along with her mother, Dr. Catherine Boyd, named the Ballew Hall auditorium after their father, father-in-law, and husband, respectively, Dr. Leroy H. Boyd.
Leroy, an Ellis County, Oklahoma, native, served as a faculty member in the animal husbandry department (renamed the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences) for 38 years. He was among the first occupants of the newly constructed building, which opened in 1962. From 1963 until his retirement in 2001, Leroy focused on ruminants and taught classes about sheep, horses, western equitation, and livestock judging, which was his lifelong passion.
"My father would probably say he's 'tickled pink' that his name is on a room at Ballew Hall," Susanne said. "But at the end of the day, I know that my dad and I would just be glad to make sure the room is equipped with the technology and furnishings for students to have a great learning experience. He was really invested in teaching his students and preparing them for not just a future career but for their everyday lives so that they could be successful in their endeavors."
A gift from the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF), another long-term supporter of MSU agricultural research, service, and teaching, is making its mark on the renovated building through the naming of the recruitment suite.
"It is vital that Mississippi's largest land-grant university and largest general farm organization are on the same page for the future of agriculture in Mississippi," MFBF President Mike McCormick said. "The field is changing every day from technology to natural resources, and how they are utilized to sustain our land to grow the food, fiber, and shelter we all consume day in and day out. We rely on CALS to educate the next generation of agricultural leaders and Farm Bureau members to continue Mississippi's rich legacy of agriculture."
Will Staggers, director of development for CALS, said these gifts are essential to education and research within the historic building.
"To have their support and their names throughout the building is an incredible gesture and exposes students, who will be in and out of these halls all day, to the legacy of support and family in the field of agriculture," Staggers said. "Their generosity is changing the face of MSU's campus, preserving the building's legacy more than 60 years in the making, and providing essential support for generations of CALS students to come."
Both Mississippi Farm Bureau and the Purvis and Boyd families are longtime supporters of CALS and the university through previous scholarships and donations.
If you are interested in the naming opportunities available in Ballew Hall, contact Staggers at (662) 325-2837 or wstaggers@foundation.msstate.edu or Lacey Gordon at (662) 325-6312 or lgordon@msstate.edu.
Date: 2024-07-12
