The University of Mississippi’s South Oxford Center on Lamar Boulevard is open, providing nearly 485,000 square feet of crucial space for growing programs. UM’s Counselor Education Clinic for Outreach and Personal Enrichment is the first of nine tenants to move into the SOC throughout the 2018-19 academic year. Photo by Marlee Crawford/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
OXFORD, Miss. – This month, the first occupant of the University of Mississippi’s South Oxford Center on Lamar Boulevard began moving into the space, which provides nearly 485,000 square feet of crucial space for growing programs.
The site, which is the former location of Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi, was purchased last year and officially turned over to the university March 1.
Besides the Counselor Education Clinic for Outreach and Personal Enrichment, eight more tenants will move into the SOC throughout the 2018-19 academic year:
- Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction
- Center for Health and Sport Performance
- Center for Research Evaluation
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
- Living Blues magazine
- National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering
- North Mississippi Japanese Supplementary School
- Office of Food and Nutrition Security
“The quality and quantity of space available at the South Oxford Center contributes to the university’s ability to efficiently address the allocation of space on our campus,” said Larry Sparks, UM vice chancellor for administration and finance. “We are pleased that this space offers an excellent option for support units, teaching and research activities, and other functions that serve external constituencies.”
The university, which has been planning for additional needed space on campus, purchased the 15-acre site in June 2017. It includes a 485,000-square-foot building, a parking garage, surface parking spaces and underground parking spaces.
The purchase provides almost seven times more space than similar costs for new construction.
“The South Oxford Center will provide the needed space for academic units to expand their research and teaching activities,” Associate Provost Donna West Strum said. “Faculty are currently setting up their labs and clinics, which will provide services to the community in a more convenient place.”
The University of Mississippi’s South Oxford Center on Lamar Boulevard is open. Over the next several years, the center will welcome new tenants, which allows for the expansion of multiple academic, research and service units. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
Over the next several years, the South Oxford Center will welcome new tenants, thus allowing for the expansion of multiple academic, research and service units. Faculty, staff, students and South Oxford Center visitors will enjoy a safe, productive workspace as well as a common library area, an exercise room and additional amenities.
Future tenants to relocate to the facility will be selected over the coming months.
The building’s hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. An on-call shuttle service between the South Oxford Center and the main campus will be provided this fall.
Ole Miss staff and students who need transportation from the facility can call 662-915-7235 to set up a time for pickup 30 minutes in advance.
The shuttle will run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and passengers will be picked up and dropped off at the South Oxford Center’s main entrance and at the Kennon Observatory on campus.
A continuous bus service may be implemented as demand warrants to connect the South Oxford Center to the main campus.
For more information about the SOC, visit http://soc.olemiss.edu/.