- December 2023
Accountant II
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine
Office of the Dean
Animals probably aren’t top of mind when you think of finances and numbers, but as an accountant at the College of Veterinary Medicine or CVM, animals are Anna Rowlen’s favorite part of her job.
“Just walking through the building—it’s fun to see the different animals and knowing what you do plays a small role in the care they’re receiving,” Rowlen said.
Rowlen joined the CVM in May 2023, but she has worked at Mississippi State University since 2014, with three of those years in the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine’s vice president’s office as a business coordinator.
But accounting and business weren’t always in Rowlen’s plans.
“Since I was a child, I wanted to fly a plane,” Rowlen said.
And so, she did. Rowlen graduated from Delta State University in 2011 with a degree in aviation management and earned her pilot’s license.
“Flying is so much fun, but that career path can require you to be away from home often,” Rowlen said.
To expand her options, she earned a degree in business management from MSU in 2012. Rowlen is now on track to earn an MBA from MSU in May 2024.
“MSU has a family atmosphere, and it’s given me the ability to have a good work/life balance,” Rowlen said.
Rowlen and her husband, Doug, live just down the road from her hometown of Eupora and have two daughters, Kenna, 13, and Mary Clayton, 6. She enjoys reading and doing puzzles. She said the most challenging puzzle to date was a 2,000-piece picture of the ocean she completed with her mother.
