A $7.1 million renovation of Jones Hall on the Mississippi University for Women campus will begin in May upon approval from the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning.
The renovation is expected to finish in time for students to move in for the spring 2026 term, Chief Financial Officer and Interim Vice President for Operations Carla Lowrey told The Dispatch. Lowrey said the renovation is on the agenda for the IHL to consider in March.
“We don’t anticipate to physically start the renovation until after the spring semester is over and all of the students move out of the dorm,” she said. “Likely it will take through the fall of 2025 for that project to be finished just because of the turnaround time on materials.”
The renovation will be the first major update of Jones Hall, which houses more than 200 students, since it was built in 1964. The bulk of the work will include mechanical, electrical, plumbing and demolition that will bring the building up to current code. There will also be new flooring and paint added to the building interior, and all of the building’s bathrooms will be reconfigured.
Lowrey said the remodeling will bring closed off parts of the building up to code while also giving the dorm a modern update that students will enjoy.
“The inside of the building will feel and look like a brand new building,” she said. “We want newer dorms on our campus like all the other schools … want because that’s what (students) want to live in.”
Because Jones Hall is designated as a state landmark, Lowrey said exterior modifications will be limited and coordinated with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
Also in March, the W will request the IHL approve a chiller plant renovation on the south side of the campus that will support the Jones and Kincannon residence halls, as well as the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science residence halls, Goen and Frazer, which are housed at The W.
Other updates underway on campus include a stormwater retention center and sewer upgrades to prevent flooding, the Orr Chapel front porch, roofing repairs at eight campus buildings, and exterior renovations to doors and windows at four other buildings.
Lowrey said the Jones Hall renovation will hopefully provide a better understanding of how to move forward with further dorm renovations.
“Our hopes are once we finish Jones Hall, we will have a blueprint for the other dorms, and it will make it more cost effective for us to slowly go through the south campus dorms as funding allows,” she said.
In a press release from the university, President Nora Miller said the ongoing work is a part of a master plan to update campus facilities.
“We are updating our campus facilities master plan to include facilities used by MSMS,” Miller said. “This process will be informed and guided by a project that includes Strategic Capital Planning, Benchmarking and Classroom Space Utilization.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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