IHL Approves $10M Science Building for Southern Miss Gulf Park Campus

A $10 million construction project has received approval from the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) allowing The University of Southern Mississippi to construct the 36,000 square foot Science Building on the university's Gulf Park campus in Long Beach.

Housing the university's College of Science and Technology, the three-story Science Building will feature nine teaching laboratories, research space, approximately 20 faculty offices, and the associate dean's office. The state-of-the-art facility will also feature an 80-seat instructional classroom.

“The approval of this construction project will allow the university to continue growing and meeting the needs of our students,” said Dr. Frances Lucas, vice president and campus executive officer for Southern Miss Gulf Coast. “I am excited that our students will have this unique facility here on the Gulf Park campus.”

Funding for the Science Building was approved by the state legislature in 2004. The project, currently in the planning phase with Allred Architectural Group, will continue the architectural style of the campus' Fleming Education Center and library. The Science Building, with its adjacent parking lot, will be located in the northwest section of the Gulf Park campus.

Bidding for the construction project will commence in the spring allowing construction to begin this summer. The Science Building is expected to be completed and occupied by early 2012.

For more information on Southern Miss Gulf Coast, visit www.usm.edu/gulfcoast.