From Residence Halls to the Gore Arts Complex, Summer Renovations Are Booming at Mississippi College
The culmination of the life’s work of a pair of visionary leaders and the steady progress of a high-tech athletics practice facility will ensure the fall semester will be like none other at Mississippi College.
Faculty, staff, and administrators are preparing for a major influx of new students, thanks to the new Leland Speed Scholarship. Named in honor of the longest-serving board member in MC’s history, the scholarship provides full tuition for all admitted high school or undergraduate transfer students who are residents of Mississippi.
Although in use by the Department of Art for nearly a year, the Samuel Gore Arts Complex will be formally dedicated in the fall. The state-of-the-art facility is named for renowned artist and “Founding Father” of the Department of Art at MC, who foresaw transforming the old Clinton High School building into a creative space that would advance fine arts at the Christian University and in the community.
One of the finest practice facilities in Division II athletics continues to take shape on campus. When it opens next spring, the John and Charlotte McMath Golf Center, named for two of the most generous patrons of MC’s golf teams, promises to help Choctaw linksters compete for Gulf South Conference championships for years to come.
Construction and maintenance crews are working hard this summer on these major projects – and many smaller jobs – to provide a welcoming and comfortable environment for students, employees, and visitors, according to Glenn Worley, director of facility planning and construction at Mississippi College.
“You hit the ground running when the students leave and work around all the camps that come to campus during the summer,” Worley said. “We’ve got deadlines to meet, and the most challenging aspect of these projects is making sure the materials arrive on time.
“It’s like a juggling act, trying to get all of the planning done and bring all of the projects to a closure. It’s been this way during my whole tenure here. It’s all coming together – it always does – and then we’ll start planning for next year’s summer.”
Worley has managed day-to-day construction operations and long-term facilities planning at MC for decades. He said this summer’s projects are among the most ambitious to be completed before the fall semester.
Hederman-Gunter Residence Halls
Mississippi College has a “need for Speed” in completing renovations to a pair of residence halls that have not seen active duty since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hederman Hall and Gunter Hall, located directly behind Nelson Hall in the heart of MC’s main campus, are in the midst of major interior refurbishments as the campus prepares for a significant increase in incoming students this fall.
Recipients of the new Speed Scholarship are required to live on campus, necessitating the residence hall renaissance. The twin dormitories can accommodate up to 228 residents.
Worley said the upgrades might make MC alumni with fond memories of living in the residence halls want to move back in.
“It’s as different as night and day,” he said. “They will wish these residence halls looked like this when they stayed in them.”
Construction crews have placed new electrical wiring, hidden exposed ductwork throughout the residence halls, and installed a fire alarm system with new sprinkler pipes. The buildings also feature brand-new LVT plank-hardwood floors, a rubber cove base around the walls, and fresh, bright paint. The student kitchen has been completely remodeled, and the residence director’s apartment now includes a small kitchenette.
Worley said the taller ceilings and hallways in the buildings will be most noticeable to visitors.
“The interior is much more open,” he said. “We’ve got wire management raceways to hide all the wires that used to run up and down the hallways. They’re suspended from the ceilings, and lights are trapezed off the bottom of that.”
To enhance security, a “removable core” key system is being installed in both dorms, making changing locks much easier for campus maintenance workers. To make sure the buildings are up to code, staircase handrails are being raised, a new air intake system is being deployed, and each room is receiving dedicated electrical wiring.
To make sure the rooms are ready for students to move in this fall, members of the Mississippi College football team will help move all of the furniture back into the buildings before Welcome Week begins. It’s a site Worley is looking forward to seeing.
“After that we’ll have two weeks to get everything ready for the students to start tricking in,” he said. “We’re abiding by all the requirements of the City of Clinton. It’ll be good to have those residence halls up and running again.”
Institute for Southern Storytelling
The flagship program of the Gore Arts Complex, the Institute for Southern Storytelling, will showcase artists, musicians, actors, and writers with stories of hope and inspiration that have yet to be shared. Located in an annex to the complex, the Institute will feature a large LED wall, a virtual studio with cinema line studio cameras, editing suites, and camera packages for students to make documentaries and short films.
Worley said renovations to the annex – including a production office, a director’s office, a waiting area, and brand-new carpet throughout – are scheduled to be completed by Independence Day.
“It’s going to be similar to a darkroom – there’ll be a sign to let you know when someone’s actively filming inside,” he said. “We’ll enhance the electrical in there to give them the extra power they need to run the studio.”
The John and Charlotte McMath Golf Center
The McMath Golf Center is an indoor practice facility adjacent to the Girling Field House on the northwest portion of MC’s main campus that will feature two hitting bays outfitted with Trackman technology, a large putting green, coaches’ offices, and lockers for members of the MC men’s and women’s golf teams.
While workers await the brick façade and caste stone that will lend character to the front of the building, efforts to complete the project are underway. Attention is now being paid to the facility’s foundational landscape.
Roe Grubbs, executive director of operations at Mississippi College, is the resident landscape architect. When the land surrounding the building is graded for proper drainage, Grubbs will put pencil to paper and design a functional and attractive landscape for the facility, complete with appropriate irrigation.
Additional Summer Projects
With its move to the Gore Arts Complex, the Department of Art at MC has vacated the basement of the Aven Fine Arts Building. Later this summer, a large area near the bottom of the stairwell will be transformed into a student media center for MC’s Communication Department.
Plans call for a raised platform, a small office/conference room, a kitchen area, and enhanced communication technology.
“That area is getting a complete makeover,” Worley said, “but it’s going to be a nice little project.”
Another small summer project that will have a big impact this fall and winter is the installation of two custom fire pits: one to the west of Nelson Hall, and the other at the Latimer House overlooking Robinson-Hale Stadium.
A gift from MC alumnus Louis Riley ’91 in Denver, Colorado, the pits will each be in the shape of a large globe with graphic images razor-cut into the steel. Each pit will boast 240,000-BTU burners surrounded by lava rock media.
In addition to the renovation projects, Worley said several buildings on campus – including the B.C. Rogers Student Center, Nelson Hall, and Latimer-Webb Hall – will receive exterior cleaning this summer, the showers in Mary Nelson Hall will be refurbished, and the parking lot across from Cockroft Hall, and sidewalks across campus will be repaired.
“We’re going to work at warp speed to get these projects done before school starts,” Worley said.
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