After concluding an eventful year of growth and advancement, we’re back in the swing of things at Mississippi State. Jan. 17 marks the beginning of the spring semester when we welcome new and returning students to campus to start the next phase of their MSU journeys.

As a leading research university, we’re focused on preparing students for the future while providing opportunities to solve society’s most pressing problems—a vision reflected once again in the latest National Science Foundation’s Top 100 ranking of research universities. Topping $300 million last year, MSU’s record research and development expenditures outpaced the national average and accounted for more than half the total reported by all Mississippi institutions surveyed. 

And there’s more: MSU ranked in the top 15 for agriculture and natural resources—a strength that benefits two of Mississippi’s top industries, agriculture and forestry—as well as aerospace, which reflects our role as a key player in the state’s growing aerospace sector. Additional top-ranked disciplines included industrial and manufacturing engineering, materials science, geological and earth sciences, social sciences, business management and business administration, and ocean and marine sciences.

In recent weeks, we also received word of a historic first when senior Madison Brode was named a recipient of the Marshall Scholarship—one of only 50 U.S. students selected to pursue graduate-level study in the United Kingdom. Madison thinks the honor is for the birds—literally! As a senior biological sciences major, she’s conducted significant research in ornithology and avian behavioral ecology at MSU and will build on those experiences in her U.K. studies. We congratulate Madison as the university’s first Marshall Scholar and wish her the best in this exciting new chapter of her academic career.

Throughout the coming year, I’m sure there will be no shortage of highlights to report from the Bulldog community. Thank you for being an engaged member and supporting Mississippi State’s mission of teaching, research and service. In our communities and around the world, we’re taking care of what matters.