MSU-Meridian campus courtyard unveiled

Published 1:16 pm Friday, August 4, 2017

A new square of downtown space has been completed for MSU-Meridian campus students — and also for local residents.

Officials from Mississippi State University, The Riley Foundation, The Phil Hardin Foundation, the City of Meridian and other community and business leaders, on Friday morning, the completion of the Riley Campus Courtyard at 23rd Avenue and 5th Street — a space that is now part of the MSU-Meridian campus.

“This is something that we’ll be able to use for our students,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum, in town for the ribbon-cutting. “The mayor and the city and others will be able to use this space for other important gatherings and events in downtown Meridian.”

The courtyard, according to a statement from MSU, is “the final piece of a renovation project that began 17 years ago with an initial contribution from The Riley Foundation.” That renovation includes the MSU Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts, the Robert B. Deen Jr. Building and the I.A. “Alfred” Rosenbaum Building, according to the statement.

After Friday’s ceremony, Terry Dale Cruse, administrative director and head of campus for MSU-Meridian, described how the space will be available for students and the public.

“It’s created primarily for our students as a social and learning opportunity outside of the classroom, but we also envision the community using it,” Cruse said. “We’ll work through that for people who are not affiliated with the university.”

Cruse said that it will be open when the campus is open.

“It will be interesting to see in the fall how students will start to use it,” he added.

Cruse said the gate will be open to the public during the day when school is in session.

“People from off-campus can come onto campus,” he said. “We have, of course, our rules of operation in place that people need to follow.”

If the gates are open, Cruse added, “we welcome people to stop by.”

Meridian Mayor Percy Bland addressed the gathering and expressed gratitude, on behalf of the city, in the investments made by The Riley Foundation.

“Those investments spurred on Courtyard/Marriott Threefoot,” he said. “Those investments spurred on activity that you’ll see with new restaurants and new businesses downtown. Those investments also helped to spur what we’ll see on 5th Street, that we just opened on Monday after a year and a half of work.”

Bland said he hoped all of the activity will help to generate “new housing and other new developments, not just to our downtown area but to our city.”

Keenum, speaking in an interview after the ceremony, characterized the space as an area where both students and other community members could gather in public.

“We want it to be a public space and a gathering place,” Keenum said, “for people to come downtown and feel welcome.”