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Four construction projects are in motion at ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Hattiesburg campus. They all have the same deadline – completion before students arrive on campus for start of the fall semester.

THOMAS FINE ARTS CENTER

Thomas Fine Arts Center has been a part of campus life for more than 60 years. It’s where ³Ô¹ÏÍø students, employees and friends gather for concerts, chapel services, operas, guest speakers, youth camps, and commencement ceremonies.

The building ³Ô¹ÏÍø calls “TFA” has seen ups and downs. Major repairs were needed in 2017 after an EF3 tornado struck campus. In 2019, a new elevator was installed. Tuscan Studios, a high-tech recording and audio lab, opened in 2022.

More changes are under way this summer as workers undertake a renovation of TFA’s auditorium. In the first phase, they gutted the space, right down to the floor. The re-built auditorium will feature:

• New theatre-style seating
• Carpeted aisles with safety lights
• Acoustic ceiling/panels to improve sound
• Dramatic new design and color palette
• Audio-visual equipment
• And in front of TFA, a new sidewalk allows easier pedestrian access to the building.

ART DEPARTMENT

For many years, ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s art classes met in borrowed spaces at the Hattiesburg campus. But a new, modern home for the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Art Department is under construction at the corner of Cherry Street and Tommy King Drive.

The 6,400-square-foot building with high, vaulted ceilings will include studio spaces for drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture. There will be gallery space for exhibitions – and lots of sunlight streaming through the building’s many windows. The open interior is meant to enable free communication among students and instructors.

Jeff Revette, chair of the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Art Department, said the decision to approve a new building came after three-fold growth in the number of art majors over the last two years.

TWO DORM RENOVATIONS

Last summer, ³Ô¹ÏÍø renovated Bryant Hall, one of the older dormitories on campus. Two more dorms are on the “to-do list” this summer – Polk Hall, built in 1962, and Bass Hall, which opened in 1963.

Upgrades include: new air-conditioning units in each room; modernization of bathrooms, including new showers, sinks, toilets, mirrors and floor tiles; and renovation of the lobbies, including new finishes and furniture.

TFA Auditorium

Thomas Fine Arts Auditorium is getting a floor-to-ceiling renovation.

Art Building

A new home for the art department was needed after a three-fold increase in the number of art majors.

Dormitories

Renovations at two dorms opened in the 1960s include modernization and amenities.

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