Mississippi State President Mark E. Keenum, left, presents Richard Adkerson with the distinction of Alumnus of the Year on behalf of university's Alumni Association.
Mississippi State President Mark E. Keenum, left, presents Richard Adkerson with the distinction of Alumnus of the Year on behalf of university's Alumni Association. Adkerson, an MSU accounting graduate living in Phoenix, Ariz., serves as chief executive officer of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc., the world's largest publicly traded copper producer. A longtime supporter of his alma mater, Adkerson completed his degree with highest honors in 1969 and earned an MBA a year later. In 2007, the university's school of accounting was named after Adkerson.
