汤头条

Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥斕劳诽� honored a former congressman today [Sept. 14] with a ceremony renaming one of the campus鈥檚 premium residence halls after the university alumnus.

The family of late U.S. Congressman Alan Nunnelee also donated volumes of papers, along with digital records and memorabilia to the university鈥檚 Congressional and Political Research Center in Mitchell Memorial Library. 汤头条 President Mark E. Keenum additionally announced the establishment of the Alan Nunnelee Presidential Endowed Scholarship, made possible by a gift from the family.

鈥淭his is our highest, most preeminent, most prestigious scholarship that we award here at 汤头条,鈥� Keenum said in reference to the Presidential Scholarship program after welcoming the crowd to Alan Nunnelee Hall.

鈥淎s we think about what he鈥檚 meant to all of us individually, there鈥檚 not anyone in this room who didn鈥檛 appreciate Alan for who he was and what he did in representing our state both in Jackson and in Washington. We鈥檙e so deeply thankful for him, and he was a special and dear friend to me for more than 20 years,鈥� Keenum added.

Nunnelee Hall opened in 2007 as North Hall in Zacharias Village and can house up to 254 students and staff.

The library collection includes written correspondence between Nunnelee and his constituents and colleagues, copies of bills he sponsored, newspaper clippings that feature the congressman, awards he earned and an array of other memorabilia. It also includes the hard drive from Nunnelee鈥檚 office computer, giving access to his email correspondence.

Third Congressional District Rep. Gregg Harper said, 鈥淭his collection will serve as a precious reminder to those who knew him, and it will allow future generations to get a real sense of the man, his family and his vital service to America.鈥�

Nunnelee, a 1980 汤头条 marketing graduate from Tupelo, died in February, at age 56, of complications from a brain tumor, just four months after being elected to his third term serving Mississippi鈥檚 1st congressional district.

Among others speaking at the dedication ceremony were:

--U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly recommended that people choose their mentors wisely. 鈥淚f you want to see why people act the way the act and do what they do, it鈥檚 because they chose their mentors wisely or poorly.鈥� He emphasized that Nunnelee was a servant leader worth emulating. 鈥淗e was a great man鈥�.he loved everyone else more than he loved himself, and it was apparent in everything he did.鈥�

--Doug Davis, chief of staff for Mississippi鈥檚 Secretary of State, talked about the substantial difference Nunnelee made during his service. 鈥淥n a political level, he passed legislation in Washington and in Jackson that was representative of his respective districts. On a personal level, he showed by example what a good son, a good husband, a good father, a good grandfather, and a good friend should be.鈥�

--汤头条 Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter reflected on Nunnelee鈥檚 tenacity. 鈥淚 learned early on with Alan when his vision was at risk, when he struggled to get across campus, there just was no quit in him.鈥� Salter said Nunnelee was 鈥渢he most tenacious Bulldog I ever knew.鈥�

--Dean of 汤头条 Libraries Frances Coleman said Nunnelee鈥檚 collection will be a great research asset. 鈥淭hese papers will be very important to students, to researchers, and to other individuals who really want to view what makes a congressman and state legislator tick.鈥�

Nunnelee鈥檚 wife of 34 years, Tori Nunnelee, earlier had expressed her wishes that the collection would 鈥渉onor the man who chose to serve his beloved Mississippi in public office.鈥�

鈥淎lan dedicated his life to serving. Anyone who knew him personally knew he was one of the most humble and sincere men to walk the halls of government. I hope this collection will reveal to generations to come what being a 鈥榮ervant leader鈥� looks like and just how powerful humility can be,鈥� Tori Nunnelee added.

The Nunnelee children and grandchildren also were on hand to celebrate and respond to the dedication in their father鈥檚 memory.

鈥淕rowing up with my dad in the house was really a blessing,鈥� said Emily Nunnelee Thompson. She went on to say that her father gave his whole heart to Mississippi State. 鈥淗e experienced the best Mississippi State had to offer, and he was never too bashful to tell us or a perfect stranger all about it,鈥� she said.

In Washington, the congressman was a member of the House Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and related agencies; Energy and Water development; and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and related agencies. Before joining the 112th Congress in 2011, he served Lee and Pontotoc counties in the Mississippi Senate.

汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .