Farmer named year’s best

Dr. Lance Nail, dean of the College of Business at The University of Southern Mississippi, recently announced Richard T. Farmer, chairman emeritus at Cintas, has been selected as the 2011 Boardman Entrepreneur of the Year.

Farmer guided Cintas, which began as his grandfather’s rag-cleaning business during the Great Depression, to a diversified business-services company with revenues that exceeded $3.5 billion in 2010. Among the 30,000-plus Cintas partners are numerous Southern Miss graduates.

Farmer’s commitment to higher education is reflected in the $30-million contribution he made to his alma mater, Miami University of Ohio, and the business school that bears his name. Nail credits the Farmer School of Business for providing the blueprint to success the Southern Miss program has enjoyed and hopes to maintain.