Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Mississippi College to Convert Former Junior High into Arts Complex

  • By Matt Jones
  • 12/07/21

Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss., has announced that it will convert a former junior high school facility into a fine arts building. The college acquired the Clinton Junior High School building in 2010. The complex will be named in honor of Dr. Samuel M. Gore, a former MC Art Department faculty member, to become the Gore Arts Complex.

The Gore Arts Complex will feature amenities like studio space for drawing, painting, sculpture, papermaking, pastels and woodworking; an outdoor kiln in a covered courtyard; an auditorium; and more. Some features from the junior high like cubbyholes, coat racks, and terrazzo and wood floors will be kept in honor of the building’s history.

“It’s so fitting that this facility, where new generations of artists will learn, be named in memory of Dr. Samuel Gore,” said Dr. Blake Thompson, president of Mississippi College. “Dr. Gore lived to share the story of Christ and tell that story through art. There is no better example for future artists to follow. Dr. Gore transformed lives through his art, and his teaching—and MC—will continue that legacy in this building that bears his name.”

The project is being funded partially through a $1-million gift from a charitable organization. The college is partnering with CDFL and Alliant Construction for the renovation and design process. Construction began shortly after Thanksgiving, and the project is expected to be complete by the beginning of the fall 2022 semester.

“The potential of this building is remarkable, because it will have a multidisciplinary effect,” said Dr. Randolph B. Miley, professor and chair of art at MC. “With the new auditorium, we’ll have the opportunity to do outreach to the community with art. Once we get things running, I think the ideas are just going to start generating quickly. And it will attract more artists here to study.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • R.I. District Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Elementary School

    Cranston Public Schools in Cranston, R.I., recently announced the completion of Gladstone Elementary School, according to a news release. The 100,000-square-foot facility serves as a replacement for the 1950s-era former building, and it consolidates the student, faculty, and staff populations of Gladstone and Arlington Elementary Schools.

  • Missouri K–12 District Cuts Ribbons on Two New Middle Schools

    Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Mo., recently celebrated the completion of two new middle school facilities with ribbon-cutting ceremonies, according to a district news release. The district officially opened the new Pipkin Middle School and Reed Academy on Sept. 3, both of which were funded through the $220-million Proposition S bond program approved by voters in 2023.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.