Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering announces 2023 Wall of Fame honoree

An alumnus from Mississippi State University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Bagley College of Engineering has been selected for the department’s 2023 Wall of Fame.

Frank Gallaher will be honored during a luncheon on November 10 in Simrall Hall on the Mississippi State campus in Starkville. He will also have his name permanently displayed in Simrall Hall. This is the third year for the department to honor alums with the award.

Gallaher lives in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, but spends significant time in Starkville, Mississippi. He is the managing member of Gallaher & Associates, LLC, a managing consulting company serving the gas and electric energy field.

After graduating from Mississippi State University in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, he continued his education at MSU, obtaining a master’s in electrical engineering in 1969. He then went to work for Mississippi Power & Light (now Entergy Mississippi) in Jackson, Mississippi. After fulfilling a two-year ROTC obligation as an officer in the US Army, he returned to Mississippi Power & Light in Jackson. His career with Entergy took him from Jackson to New Orleans to Beaumont, Texas, where he was President of Gulf States Utilities, subsequently Entergy Gulf States. He returned to New Orleans in 1996 as regulated utility COO and retired from Entergy in late 2003 as President of Transmission & Fossil Operations. He formed a consulting company, Gallaher & Associates, LLC, in 2003 and continues as a Managing Member.

Gallaher has been very active with the Bagley College of Engineering over the years. He was an original Dean’s Advisory Council member when it was created. He is very proud that his wife Gayle and all their children are graduates of Mississippi State, with their son obtaining a bachelor’s in electrical engineering in the mid-1990s. Their grandson recently received an MBA from Mississippi State after obtaining a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from MSU, thus having three generations of engineers with degrees from MSU.

Gallaher says that having an engineering degree from Mississippi State has been very beneficial over the years. The practical aspect of engineering, which is a focus of the Bagley College of Engineering, is recognized as producing engineers who are immediately capable of producing for employers.

Gallaher is married to Gayle Smith Gallaher, and they have three children and seven grandchildren. He is a member of Old Overton Golf and Country Club, Starkville Country Club, Old Waverly Golf and Country Club, and a founding member of Mossy Oak Golf Club. Gallaher continues to serve on the Bagley College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council.