Southern Miss Timeline

2000
Southern Miss graduated its 100,000th student and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classified Southern Miss as a Doctoral/Research Extensive Institution, placing it among the top 150 institutions in the nation.
2001
President Horace Fleming resigned the presidency.
May 1, 2002
Dr. Shelby Thames becomes the eighth president of USM. Under his administration, a new academic structure is created for Southern Miss, in which the nine academic colleges were consolidated to five.
2002
The University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Park campus welcomes its first entering freshman, as a four year institution.
2003
A campus wide branding campaign leads to the new eagle head logo designed by Southern Miss alumnus Rodney Richardson and was released on Jan. 29, 2003.
2005
Hurricane Katrina hits the Mississippi Gulf Coast. All of the USM Gulf Coast sites sustained substantial damage, forcing classes on the coast to be cancelled for almost six weeks. With more than 120 faculty and staff displaced after the storm and campuses destroyed, Southern Miss came together to rebuild and rebound for the betterment of the coastal communities.
May 21, 2007
Dr. Martha Saunders becomes the first female and the ninth president of The University of Southern Mississippi.
2009
The Golden Eagle baseball team advances to the College World Series and finished the 2009 season as the nation’s eighth-ranked squad.

2001
Du Bard Language School
2001
McCarty Hall - Upper classmen residence hall
2002
Southern Miss Athletic Center - state-of-the-art 60,000-square foot athletic facility
2004
Center for International and Continuing Education - five story, 42,000 square foot center that provides academic space to Southern Miss’ international students and the Honors College.
2006
Thad Cochran Center- state of the art addition to the Student Union complex housing Barnes and Nobles book store, a new dining area known as the Fresh Food Company, and a conference facility which includes meeting rooms and a large ballroom.
2007
Pete Taylor Park Luxury Boxes and Press Box
2007
PowerHouse Restaurant - transformation of the 1934 campus Power House energy plant into a fresh, fast-casual restaurant. The facility received the 2007 Best Concept Award for Best New Facility from Food Management magazine.
2007
The Village - 354-bed residential community for upper-class female students, including honors students, scholarship recipients, sorority members and athletes.
2008
Trent Lot Center for Excellence in Economic Development
2008
South End Zone Complex at the Rock - five level addition to the South End of M.M. Roberts Stadium.