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Date 7-11-06
Contact Leigh Anne Wilson 601.266.6307
WITH PHOTO
Hattiesburg—Students, alumni, and university
officials today held formal ground-breaking ceremonies for The Village,
the University of Southern Mississippi’s newest campus living opportunity
for female students.
The $18 million construction project is expected to take approximately
14 months and will provide additional housing for 354 sorority members
and upper-class scholarship recipients. The project is located on
a 10-acre portion of land formerly occupied by a part of the Pine
Haven Family Housing complex.
The Village will give students a very attractive on-campus housing
option when they come to Southern Miss, said Dr. Chris Crenshaw,
director of Residence Life. “The Village, designed with student
input, will offer the women a more modern style of campus life with
high quality residence features,” Crenshaw said. The opening is
tentatively set for the fall 2007 semester.
Thom Saunders, with the McCarty Company of Tupelo, Miss., is the
project’s architect, and the general contractor is B.W. Sullivan
Construction of Hattiesburg.
Twelve structures make up the complex that includes nine 30-bed
residence halls, one duplex unit, one 60-bed residence hall and
a commons building. Sorority women will occupy the nine units with
upper-class women occupying the 60-bed hall. Wilber Hall, where
women in Greek organizations currently reside, is slated to serve
as a freshman residence hall.
Among the speakers at today’s ceremonies were Southern Miss alumni
Bonnie Warren, national president of Kappa Delta sorority, and Ronald
Doleac, past national president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, along with
current sorority council officers.
“Our Greek Life program at Southern Miss is growing and we are
attracting quality women students because of facilities like The
Village. This is a very exciting time for our students and for the
university, as Southern Miss is excelling in offering a powerful
student experience to complement quality academics,” said Erin Rust,
Greek Life manager.
One of the structures in The Village will be a general use facility
complete with three 1,400-square-foot meeting rooms, a catering
kitchen with appliances, laundry facility, vending machines, management
offices for Residence List staff and green space for large gatherings.
“One of the great benefits of The Village is the 60-bed residence
hall for upper-class scholarship women. This is a significant boost
to the recruitment and retention of scholarship women at Southern
Miss,” said Dr. Joe Paul, vice president for Student Affairs. “We
are raising the bar for campus housing to go along with the enriching
academic and student experience you get here,” said Paul.
The bedrooms will be the largest on the Southern Miss campus with
full-size beds, furnishings, walk-in closets, vanities, and private
bath for each room. Other spaces will include a covered porch and
a patio yard.
Click to enlarge
Students, alumni and university officials officially toss the first
shovels of dirt on the University of Southern Mississippi's newest
campus residence complex, The Village. Set on a 10-acre portion
of the Hattiesburg campus, it will be a 354-bed residence complex
for sorority and upper-class scholarship women. Pictured from left
are Dr. Joe Paul, vice president for Student Affairs, Bonnie Warren,
national president of Kappa Delta Sorority, Shannon Davis, Phi Mu
undergraduate, and Lyndsey Jalvia, Alpha Kappa Alpha undergraduate,
and Ronald Doleac, past national president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
The $18 million project is expected to take 14 months to complete.
(Southern Miss photo by Jana Bryant).
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