New G.V. 'Sonny' Montgomery Advisement and Career Services Center dedicated at MSU-Meridian
Terry Dale Cruse, Administrative Director and Head of Campus at MSU-Meridian; C.D. Smith, president of the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning; Dr. Judy Bonner, MSU Provost and Executive Vice President; and Brad Crawford, Executive Director and President of the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Foundation celebrate the dedication of the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Advising and Career Services Center on MSU-Meridian's College Park Campus.
A new advisement and career services center at the Mississippi State University-Meridian campus now honors the late U.S. Rep. G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery, a Meridian native and MSU alumnus.
Officials dedicated the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Advisement and Career Services Center during a formal ceremony Friday [May 19] at MSU-Meridian’s College Park Campus. The facility, which opened in 2016 in the space that formerly housed the Barnes and Noble bookstore, provides students a centralized location to guide them through college at MSU-Meridian and into a career.
“This gift significantly impacts the success of our Partnership Pathways initiative with local community colleges while also promoting retention of current students,” MSU-Meridian Administrative Director and Head of Campus Terry Dale Cruse said. “The Sonny Montgomery Advisement and Career Services Center serves as a hub for recruiting students to the Meridian Campus, encouraging them to reach graduation, and connecting them to meaningful jobs after degree completion.”
The center is supported by MSU and the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Foundation, which was established more than a decade ago to support and encourage Montgomery’s greatest interests.
“The Montgomery Foundation is excited to be able to partner with MSU-Meridian,” Montgomery Foundation Board President and Executive Director Brad Crawford said. “Congressman Montgomery believed education is important, and this center represents his commitment to education, MSU and MSU-Meridian. This partnership is a natural fit.”
The center serves as a “front door” for the College Park campus. Academic advisers can assist students interested in MSU-Meridian’s Partnership Pathways agreements with local community colleges, designed to help students complete a four-year degree program after transitioning from a two-year college. Career Center personnel can help students find employment and internship opportunities, prepare resumes and improve job interview skills.
The Montgomery Foundation has continued its namesake’s support of America’s veterans. During his 15 terms in Congress, Montgomery was known as “Mr. Veteran” because of his unwavering support for military service members. The Montgomery G.I. Bill he established preserved the strength of the all-volunteer military force by providing education benefits for active duty National Guard and Reserve members.
The foundation has donated approximately $620,000 to Mississippi State, building upon gifts Montgomery made to the university for student scholarships before his death in 2006. Led by the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans, MSU has become one of America’s most veteran-friendly universities. The lobby of MSU’s Center for America’s Veterans at Nusz Hall was dedicated to Montgomery last November. In addition to MSU, the Montgomery Foundation has supported several veteran-related causes and leadership programs in the Meridian area. For more on the foundation, visit www.sonnymontgomery.org.
MSU-Meridian serves the region of East Mississippi and West Alabama by providing highly educated and strongly motivated leaders in the fields of education, business, social services, the humanities, health care and technology. For more, visit www.meridian.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
James Carskadon | Public Affairs
