The University of Mississippi’s reputation for strong teaching and research in the sciences will be bolstered by the addition of a new science building, thanks to a $20 million lead gift from the Gertrude C. Ford Foundation of Jackson.
The facility will be a significant addition to “Science Row” along the section between University Avenue and All American Drive. It comes on the heels of the construction of the Thad Cochran Research Center Phase II – an addition of more than 96,000 square feet that is described as the most technically sophisticated research building in the Southeast – and an expansion of Coulter Hall, adding almost 36,000 square feet.
The classroom space and technological advances offered by another science building will be critical to serve the continuing enrollment growth, UM leaders say. The fall semester opened with 23,096 students on all campuses, the largest enrollment in the state, leading The Chronicle of Higher Education to name UM among the nation’s fastest-growing colleges in its Almanac of Higher Education 2014.