Engineering alums create ݮƵstudent travel endowment
Contact: Addie Mayfield
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A recent commitment from Des Moines, Iowa, residents and ݮƵ alumni Fred Buie and Valeska Buie has created a student travel endowment in the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
The Frederick V. Buie Student Travel Endowment will assist with travel expenses for undergraduate and graduate students to attend conferences to present their research papers.
Fred Buie earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial engineering at ݮƵin 1978 and 1991, respectively. In 2008, Buie was honored as an ݮƵBagley College Distinguished Engineering Fellow, and he currently serves as a member of the departmental advisory board for the Bagley College.
In 1998, after a nearly two-decade progressive career in manufacturing and engineering management with General Electric (GE) Company and McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company, Buie purchased Keystone Electrical Manufacturing Company of Des Moines, where he is now president. Serving electric utilities throughout the nation, the company manufactures protection and control relay panels used in the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power.
Also with Keystone Electrical Manufacturing Company, Valeska Buie serves as vice president. She earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from MSU’s Bagley College in 1977 and an MBA from Mississippi College in 1984.
Over the years, the couple has contributed to several areas within the Bagley College, including student scholarships and faculty support. The Buies noted that conference attendance enriches students’ academic experiences, and also gives further exposure to heighten the reputation of the department and the university.
“It is our hope that this endowment will help broaden the exposure of our students and also shine a light nationally on some of the great work that is being accomplished at Mississippi State,” Fred Buie said.
For more information on creating an endowment in the Bagley College of Engineering, contact Bennett Evans, the college’s director of development, at 662-325-0386 or at bevans@bagley.msstate.edu.
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