Hattiesburg, MS - Emboldened by the mission “Building Better Business,” The University of Southern Mississippi aims to become Mississippi’s premier business school with the help of a new on-campus facility.
To that end, The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation, in partnership with the University’s College of Business, has announced a $10 million fundraising campaign to help construct a 90,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building. The new structure, with an estimated project cost of $33 million, will be located adjacent to the Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship, facing U.S. 49 South.
The university received $11 million from state bonds in 2010, and an additional $15 million is being sought from the Mississippi Legislature in state bonds for 2011.
The project is being funded completely by private donations and state bonds. The $3 million above the project cost will be used to establish an endowment to support the maintenance of the facility in perpetuity. No timetable has been established for construction.
“The College of Business is a premier program at Southern Miss,” said University of Southern Mississippi President Martha Saunders. “When completed, this new building will provide our students state-of-the-art business tools and a distinct advantage for real-world business experience in a global marketplace.”
College of Business Dean Dr. Lance Nail noted that the new facility will serve as a destination point for students, scholars, leaders and executives-in-training from around the world, designed in a way that is expandable for future needs.
“The successful business of the future will be globally integrated and forced to process data more quickly and critically than ever before,” said Nail. “We would perform a disservice to our students to not prepare them for this future—and the new building is essential to that mission.”
Among the other notable features, the building will:
- Increase the square footage dedicated to the College of Business by 50 percent;
- House the Center for Healthcare Sales and Marketing and the Center for Financial Services, allowing students, faculty and professionals to work, research and learn together;
- Provide students with study and gathering spaces, including the new student leadership suite; and
- Improve the technology with which business education is delivered to Southern Miss students, including a distance learning lecture hall and tiered, case-oriented classrooms equipped with digital displays and comprehensive multimedia stations.
Following a ceremony held March 29 at the Trent Lott Center during which the fund-raising campaign was announced, Southern Miss Vice President for Advancement Bob Pierce noted that $2 million had already been pledged, including gifts of $250,000 from Southern Miss alumni Louis and Lou Ann Poynter of Hattiesburg, $250,000 from alumni Carlos and Judy Tolosa, Chuck Atwood and the Caesars Foundation, and a $1 million gift commitment from alumni Tom and Jana McDonnell of Madison. Tom McDonnell is the owner of U-Save Auto Rental.
“We are grateful to those alumni and friends of the University who have already stepped forward with their support for this important project during the silent phase of the campaign,” Pierce said. “I believe that despite the lingering issues with the economy, those who care about Southern Miss will want to participate in making this high-profile facility a reality. Our College of Business deserves a quality home to further enhance its already strong reputation, and once the building is completed it will have a positive impact on the entire University.”
The College of Business programs include more than 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students each year. In 2010, the College of Business entered the U.S. News & World Report rankings for business programs for the first time, effectively placing it in the top 15 percent of business programs in the United States. Since 1967, the College of Business has been housed inside Joseph Greene Hall (originally named the Business Administration Building).
“The College of Business has simply outgrown the size and technology of Joseph Greene Hall,” said Nail. “With our enrollment growth and demand for classroom space across campus, we have almost maxed out our classroom capacity and will be forced to turn away students in the near future without the additional capacity of the new building.”
For more information about the College of Business fundraising campaign, contact the USM Foundation at 601.266.5210 or visit www.usmfoundation.com/businessbuilding
About Noetic Technologies:
Noetic Technologies, Inc. began as an initiative of The University of Southern Mississippi and is geared toward marketing and commercialization of the university’s technology. Noetic assists Southern Miss in the areas of contract negotiations, managing confidentiality & disclosure agreements, technical marketing, and intellectual property strategies.
Since 2004, Noetic has played a vital role in bringing ideas to the marketplace for several high tech startup companies. Noetic’s management team comprises over fifty years of combined experience in market research, product development, process management, and marketing strategies.
About Southern Miss:
The University of Southern Mississippi, founded in 1910, is a comprehensive doctoral and research-extensive university fulfilling its mission of being a leading university in engaging and empowering individuals to transform lives and communities. In a tradition of leadership for student development, Southern Miss is educating a 21st century work force providing intellectual capital, cultural enrichment and innovation to Mississippi and the world.
Southern Miss is located in Hattiesburg, MS, with an additional campus and teaching and research sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; further information is found at www.usm.edu
 |