Gulf Park campus The university's operations on the Mississippi Gulf Coast began in 1947 when Mississippi Southern College first organized classes at Van Hook Hall, on the Methodist Camp Grounds in
Biloxi. In 1958, the operation was moved to Mary L. Michael Junior High School in Biloxi. To meet the educational needs of various occupational fields, the university relocated in 1964 to Keesler Air Force Base. In addition, it obtained classroom facilities for night classes from the Jefferson Davis campus of the
Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College. It called this complex the USM Harrison County Resident Center. In September 1966, Southern Miss extended its offerings by adding the Jackson County Resident Center, located on the Jackson County campus of the
MGCCC in Gautier. The Jackson County Center was built for the university by the Jackson County Board of Supervisors. This effort was encouraged by Shelby Thames when he was executive vice president of USM. The center was constructed with the intention of enabling students in Jackson County to complete four-year degrees in several fields through combined programs at MGCCC and USM. In 2009, however, the university decided to close its Jackson County Center and consolidate course offerings at other teaching sites on the Gulf Coast. The Gulf Park College for Women in
Gulfport, Mississippi, opened in 1921. The last commencement was held in 1971 and the University of Southern Mississippi acquired the campus in 1972. In March 1972, USM moved its Harrison County Resident Center program from the Jefferson Davis campus of MGCCC to the Gulf Park campus, located on Highway 90 in
Long Beach. One of the most prominent landmarks on campus is the
Friendship Oak. This huge live oak tree on the lawn of Hardy Hall and the Administration Building, dates from approximately 1487. The earliest available reference to the moniker Friendship Oak is found in an article written by Bob Davis, correspondent for the
New York Sun. He described the tree in his book
People, People, Everywhere (1936). In July 1972, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning established the USM Gulf Park and
Keesler Air Force Base Center as an upper-level degree completion regional campus of the university. It offered programs leading to degrees at the baccalaureate and graduate levels. University development has continued and on August 19, 2002, Southern Miss admitted its first class of freshmen on its Gulf Park Campus. USM is the only comprehensive university in the state with dual-campus status. In the early 21st century the Gulf Park campus serves as the central campus for several remote teaching centers, including: • The Stennis Space Center Teaching and Research Site is located in Hancock County on the Mississippi-Louisiana border; it is NASA's largest rocket engine test facility. Stennis also is home to the university's Department of Marine Science. • Gulf Coast Student Service Center Teaching Site: located in Gulfport, this became the interim site of the Gulf Park campus following Hurricane Katrina, from 2005 to 2012. • Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Teaching and Research Site (GCRL), located in Ocean Springs, is home of the Department of Coastal Sciences, the Center for Fisheries and Research and Development, the Marine Education Center, and the Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center. • Point Cadet Teaching Site, located in Biloxi. The R/V
Tommy Munro, a 97-foot research vessel, is a unit of
GCRL and docks at Point Cadet. • The Keesler Center, located on Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, provides courses for military personnel as well as the civilian community. Other USM units in the Gulf Coast region are elements of the College of Marine Sciences; the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs; the J. L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium on Point Cadet in Biloxi; the Hydrographic Science Research Center; and the Center for Marine Sciences at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County. On August 29, 2005,
Hurricane Katrina caused about $115 million in damage to Gulf Park. Classes were relocated to the Healthmark Center in Gulfport. In 2012, the Gulfport campus was closed and all facilities were moved back to the renovated Long Beach campus. The Friendship Oak survived this storm as it survived
Hurricane Camille and countless lesser storms that have hit the area.
Libraries • The
Cook Library, located on the Hattiesburg campus, contains the principal collections of books, periodicals, microforms, government documents and other materials which directly support the instructional programs of The University of Southern Mississippi at all levels. • The
McCain Library and Archives houses the Library's Special Collections and University Archives on the Hattiesburg campus. Collections include the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection as well as Mississippi oral history, manuscripts, and civil war materials. • The
Gulf Coast Library, located on the Long Beach campus, is part of the University Libraries serving the Gulf Coast campuses (Gulf Park, Keesler, and Jackson County campuses). This state-of-the-art library is the only comprehensive university library on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. • The
Gunter Library is located at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL), Ocean Springs, MS campus. The Library provides technical information for the research staff, resident faculty and students, and visitors. Included are files of abstracts and reprints, books and journals, expedition reports, dissertations, and reference works. Special book collections support the academic program of the Laboratory.
Landmarks •
The District is located near the intersection of US Highway 49 and Hardy Street. The historic district of campus is anchored by the five original buildings of the campus: Ogletree Alumni House, The Honor House, College Hall, Forrest Hall, and Hattiesburg Hall. It is also the traditional tailgating site for students during football season. It is home to Lake Byron, which has served as a focal point for many university activities and several weddings. •
The Century Gate is a brick and stone wall at the front of the university, between East and West Memorial Drive. It was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the university's founding in 1910. It displays the
university seal, as well as the words "The University of Southern Mississippi." •
The All-American Rose Garden is one of two All-American Gardens in the state. The garden at Southern Miss was developed by the Hattiesburg Area Rose Society in 1972 through the leadership of the late William Wicht, a Hattiesburg resident who served as the first president of HARS. A memorial to Wicht's efforts to make the garden a reality is located next to the garden. Since its official dedication in 1974, the Southern Miss rose garden has received numerous awards for maintenance and display. Many a student has tried to impress his sweetheart by picking a rose, which if caught, carries a fine of up to 500 dollars. The
All-American Rose Garden is a
rose garden found near Hardy Street on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. The garden has a semicircular form and contains many types of
hybrid roses in 32 rose beds. It has existed since 1973 and was accredited the status 'Public Rose Garden' by the All-American Rose Selection Inc. in 1975. Many
biologists and
botanists come from all over the world to study the roses found in the rose garden. Due to the large number of rare roses in the rose garden, plucking out a rose is against college policy, and getting caught results in a
fine of $500. •
The Eagle Walk is found underneath the upper deck of M.M. Roberts Stadium. Two hours prior to football game day, a cannon is fired, which begins the procession. ROTC, The Pride of Mississippi Marching Band, university officials, and football players make a march through this street to the cheers of thousands of fans. Every fall, the incoming freshman give the walls and street a "fresh coat of paint" as they have done for half a century. •
The Dome is a nickname for the Lucas Administration building found at the Hardy Street entrance to campus. It is so named due to the large cupola at the peak of the roof. Originally, it had an orange-copper color, which faded to a dull green over the years. In 2001, a restoration project was undertaken to paint the dome back to its original copper color. The Dome houses the offices of the president, vice president and other supporting staff. •
Shoemaker Square is an expanse of land formed near The Hub and the Walker Science Building Quad. The bricked fountain is focal point of the "Friday Night At the Fountain", a student-led pep rally prior to Saturday football games. The fountain has been tainted with soap suds by pranksters on many occasions. •
The Little Rock can be found in the historic district of campus. It is traditionally painted weekly and is used to promote various campus athletic, academic and fine art events. Occasionally, it can be found to be painted with logos of secret societies that exist on campus. •
The Eagle Statue, formally named "Lofty Return", is a massive three-ton sculpture of a
Golden eagle, measuring 22 feet tall and 20 feet wide, and resting on an eight-foot-high pedestal. It stands behind Southern Hall, facing Hardy Street. A slightly smaller replica of it was also erected on the Gulf Park campus as a symbol tying the two campuses together. ==Academics==