STARKVILLE, Miss. (WLBT) – Dr. Richard E. Holmes, Mississippi State University’s first African American student, died on Friday, October 16, according to the university. He was 82 years old.
“My wife and my four children, all now MSU students, join me in mourning the death of a man who profoundly and positively influenced our university. Dr. Richard Holmes was a man of courage, vision, and patience who enrolled at this university on July 19, 1965,” MSU President Mark E. Keenum said. “Later, he earned the honor of being our first Black National Alumnus of the Year. We were also fortunate to have him serve as a physician at our Longest Student Health Center. Dr. Holmes cast a long, productive, and impactful shadow over this institution, a shadow that also leaned forward. I will miss his company and his counsel.”
Holmes, a Starkville native, graduated with two MSU degrees, a liberal arts degree in 1969 and a master’s degree in microbiology in 1973…