MSU celebrates 60th anniversary of Dr. Holmes’ admission
JANS – July 19, 2025, marked a pivotal moment in Mississippi State history – the 60th anniversary of Dr. Richard E. Holmes becoming the university’s first African American student.
“The abiding legacy of Dr. Richard Holmes at our university is that of integrity, hard work, mutual respect, and a sense of purpose,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. “I am so proud to call him my friend and to reflect on his sacrifices and accomplishments.”
University students recently wrote letters to Holmes, thanking him for his pioneering role in the 1960s and reflecting on the impact his legacy continues to have on campus today.
His journey was a key component in the Civil Rights Movement’s push for integration. He earned two degrees from MSU – a liberal arts degree and master’s degree in microbiology. In 1977, he graduated from medical school at Michigan State University.
Moving back to the South, Holmes served as an emergency room doctor for more than 20 years in Birmingham, Alabama, and later joined MSU as a staff physician at the campus’s Longest Student Health Center in 2003. Now retired, Holmes resides in Columbus with his wife Judie Granderson.
The university honored Holmes in 1991 with the establishment of the Richard E. Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, now known as the Holmes Center for Student Success.
Holmes was admitted to MSU three years after James Meredith’s forced entry to the University of Mississippi. Meredith’s enrollment was backed by federal troops and triggered deadly rioting in 1962. Holmes’ acceptance also came one year after the “long hot summer” of 1964, when three young civil rights workers were murdered in Neshoba County. His enrollment, acceptance and academic journey with MSU marked a historic day for the university and the Magnolia State.
