Contact: Amy Cagle
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A Mississippi State graduate and her husband are establishing a scholarship to benefit future majors in one of the College of Arts and Sciences’ largest departments.
Anna Minor Grizzle is a 1994 communication department graduate. In endowing the academic award, she and husband Steven have designated that enrolling out-of-state students be given priority in the selection process.
The couple resides in Nashville, Tennessee, with sons Reid and Sawyer.
Anna Grizzle came to MSU as a freshman from Huntsville, Alabama. Also a 1998 University of Alabama School of Law graduate, she now is a member of the Bass, Berry & Sims firm in Music City, working extensively on healthcare regulatory, compliance and enforcement issues.
Steven Grizzle, a University of Alabama communication graduate, is an entrepreneur currently developing a barbecue sauce called “The Tailored Pig.” He previously was in the insurance business.
As a member of the department’s advisory board, Anna Grizzle has maintained close ties with her alma mater.
She said the inspiration for providing financial support to MSU came, in part, from a continuing appreciation for Bill Foster, her faculty mentor. Now retired in Starkville, Foster was the longtime assistant vice president in the Division of Student Affairs.
Recalling how Foster once told her, “We made you who you are, and we won’t ever forget about you,” Anna Grizzle said that encapsulation of a mentor-student relationship represents what she and Steven hope their scholarship will mean for future students.
“The communication department provided me with many opportunities that established the foundation for my success today,” she continued. “The scholarships offered by the department and MSU allowed me to capitalize on these opportunities without the worry of how to pay for college.
“Steven and I are thrilled to provide these same opportunities to other students through the scholarship,” she added.
In expressing appreciation to the Grizzles, department head John Forde said, “Anna is one of our outstanding graduates. She has stayed connected to the department and appreciates the support provided by specific faculty and the university community when she was a student.
“We are thankful for the contributions Anna and Steven are making to provide opportunities to our current and future majors,” Forde said.
Students applying for the Grizzle Scholarship must have at least a 3.0 overall grade-point average (based on a 4.0 scale) and demonstrated financial need. For more information, contact Frances McDavid, departmental scholarship chair, at 662-325-8935 or fmcdavid@comm.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.