Contact: Sid Salter

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University is complying with a resolution passed today [Oct. 25] by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning related to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14042.

The IHL resolution requires all employees of Mississippi’s public universities to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8, as mandated by the presidential order, or obtain an approved exemption.

In a statement released after the Board of Trustees’ decision, MSU President Mark E. Keenum said:

“Mississippi State University is governed by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, as are all of our state’s public universities. The Board must comply with all state and federal laws and guidelines, including presidential executive orders from the White House. Therefore, the Board’s resolution today [Oct. 25] that mandates university employees in the state be fully vaccinated is the direct result of President Biden’s Executive Order 14042 and its stipulation that federal contractors be vaccinated.

“As a National Science Foundation Top 100 research university, Mississippi State has extensive contracts with the federal government and partnerships with many federal agencies that are affected by President Biden’s order. MSU will comply with this directive from the Board of Trustees, as we do with all of the Board’s guidance. We are beginning the process of notifying employees of the federal vaccine requirement, as well as the exemptions available to them under the law for which they may be eligible.”

Additional information for employees will be provided this week.

The IHL news release is posted online at www.mississippi.edu/pr/newsstory.asp?ID=1720.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.