The votes are in and Mississippi Valley State University is pleased to announce that it is a recipient of a $50,000 grant awarded by the 2019 Home Depot “Retool Your School” program.

The annual competition is open to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and is designed to provide winners of the competition with funds to help complete a campus renovation project of their choice. The participating HBCUs were grouped into three clusters, based on size, and supporters were able to cast votes online and through hashtags used on social media.

In honor of the competition’s 10th year anniversary, the top three contenders from each cluster were announced as winners Monday, including MVSU in Cluster 2.

“I would like to thank the MVSU community for supporting our University,” said MVSU President Dr. Jerryl Briggs. “Your votes definitely mattered, and we are extremely grateful.  I would also like to thank Home Depot for this grant…the $50K will help assist us in our efforts to provide a quality educational experience for our students.”

MVSU’s Office of Advancement incited support from students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the Valley to capture the 2nd place win in Cluster 2. Other winners joining MVSU in Cluster 2 were Alcorn State University and Coahoma Community College.

MVSU received a total of 352,737 votes.

“This is a win we all brought back to Valley,” said MVSU Director of Development Kendall Tanner, who organized the campaign. “Thank you to the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of MVSU for your support and dedication to the campaign. This victory is a glimpse of the bright things that are in store for Mississippi Valley State University.”

MVSU will use the funding to help renovate the campus pavilion and make it more inviting and accommodating for the campus community and visitors.

To help support this MVSU initiative and other campus projects, visit www.mvsu.edu.