A
Adkerson then helped pay tribute to Graham, who was retiring from Arthur Andersen, and through donations from colleagues and friends, established the H. Devon “Von” Graham Jr. Accounting Excellence Endowment Fund, which is used for faculty development activities, student enrichment programs and equipment purchases. More recently, Adkerson established the Accounting Professor’s Endowed Fund and made possible a technologyenhanced classroom in McCool Hall dedicated in honor of his former professors, William A. Simmons, Dora R. Herring, Joseph F. Curry, R. Scott Wofford, William L. Cross, and the late William W. Littlejohn. He also participated in a fund in honor of the late Roland Jones, one of his former professors in the College of Business and Industry, who established the Professional Golf Management Program at Mississippi State. “I had as good an education as possible in preparation for a career in accounting and I wanted to honor the individuals who were directly responsible,” he said. Looking back, Adkerson remembers that he almost didn’t attend Mississippi State. He had won a National Merit Scholarship in engineering to North Carolina State. Eventually, MSU won out and Adkerson enrolled as an engineering major. It was not until he spent a summer working in a school bus construction factory in his hometown of Kosciusko that he decided he definitely wanted to crunch numbers instead. So he switched majors after Professor Littlejohn advised him to work toward an accounting degree if he wanted to pursue a career in business, explaining that “accounting is the language of business.” As an accounting student, Professor Simmons helped Adkerson get jobs at the Starkville livestock sales barn and at his public accounting firm. Adkerson credits the practical experience he gained while working as a student with the fast start he achieved in his career following graduation. “The professors I had during my time at Mississippi State are some of the university’s finest. It was their quality of teaching and their enthusiasm that established perspective for me and motivated me to work hard,” he acknowledged. Dr. Dora Herring returns the compliment. “Richard was one of the best accounting students our program has ever had—he was inquisitive and always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit,” she said. “His name is synonymous with the MSU accounting school. When the program has needed Richard Adkerson, he has been there.” Adkerson’s most recent commitment to his alma mater is not in the form of a financial obligation—but rather a true gift of himself. He sits at the helm of a steering committee composed of other loyal alumni and friends who are assisting the MSU Foundation with securing leadership gifts for its major gifts campaign, now in the silent phase. “Richard Adkerson was the logical choice to head the
steering committee for The Mississippi State Campaign based on his background, his dedicated support of many areas of the university and his genuine love for Mississippi State,” said Richard Armstrong, executive director of the MSU Foundation. Through the “State of the Future” campaign, Adkerson hopes Mississippi State will reconnect with lost alumni and achieve objectives beyond the campaign’s goals. “The campaign will serve as a way of bringing the MSU family together and galvanizing support for the university,” he said. The older of two boys, Adkerson was born in West Tennessee. While he was growing up, his family migrated to Mississippi and lived in Corinth, Kosciusko, Brookhaven, and Tupelo, where his father managed department stores. During his senior year in high school, his father bought a retail business and the family settled in Kosciusko. Adkerson enjoys athletics—in New Orleans, where he is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and especially at Mississippi State. He is passionate about Bulldog athletics and shares a skybox at Davis Wade Stadium with MSU basketball coach Rick Stansbury. “I’m happy to say that many of my family members are MSU fans—even my three boys, Clark, Tyler and Ryan— who did not attend Mississippi State,” Adkerson confessed. “Until my mother died in 2002, we would gather for a huge Thanksgiving and play a highly competitive touch football game at Kosciusko’s high school Whippet stadium, then we’d all go to the Egg Bowl,” Adkerson said. “Even though my brother regrettably went to the University of Mississippi, my two nephews attended MSU. One nephew, Jeff, recently joined the staff of Mississippi State as program coordinator of the Professional Golf Management Program. Although my cousins in Tennessee are split between Bulldogs and Rebels, the Adkerson family is predominately wrapped in maroon and white.” Adkerson also enjoys hunting and fishing and spends as much time as possible at wife Nancy’s rice farm in Southwest Louisiana and his company’s hunting camp on the King Ranch in South Texas. Although Nancy is a graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana, she now shares his love of the university and has developed a great appreciation for “all things Mississippi State.” Although Adkerson is a busy man, he devotes time to causes he believes in. One cause Adkerson definitely holds dear to his heart is ensuring the future of Mississippi State. “There’s just something about the Mississippi State University spirit that keeps me under its spell, and I hope through this campaign alumni and friends will step forward to support our university so that it can continue to provide quality education for its students.”
A Fall 2003
L
U
M
N
U
S
15