The community is invited to celebrate Mississippi State University-Meridian’s 50th anniversary during an EMBDC Business After Hours in the Riley Campus Courtyard from 4:30 – 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25.

MSU-Meridian opened the Meridian branch, as it was called at the time, on the campus of Meridian Community College on Aug. 17, 1972. The first MSU-Meridian office was located temporarily in MCC’s Ivy Hall, before the operation moved to what is now known as Hardin Hall.

Originally designed to serve only 350 students. The first MSU-Meridian office was located temporarily in MCC’s Ivy Hall, before the operation moved to what is now known as Hardin Hall.

Fifty years later, the university has grown to two campuses. The College Park Campus built in 1993 and located on Highway 19 North across from MCC, houses the divisions of Arts and Sciences and Education.

The Riley Campus located in the heart of downtown Meridian, encompasses the MSU Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts, which opened its doors in the fall of 2006.

The center is the result of a $10 million contribution in 2000 by The Riley Foundation to restore the Grand Opera House and the Marks Rothenberg department store into the state-of-the-art, multi-functioning facility it is today. In 2009, The Riley Foundation donated $6.2 million to expand MSU’s Meridian Riley campus and strengthen its downtown presence for the university. This gift included the donation of the Newberry Building, a four-story structure adjacent to the MSU Riley Center. Opened in January 2012, the Robert B. Deen, Jr. building, which was named after one of the founding members of the establishment of The Riley Foundation in 1998, houses the Division of Business.

Adjacent is the I. Alfred Rosenbaum building which houses a state-of-the-art Physician Assistant program, its first inaugural class began January 2021. The three-story facility, renovated with a $5.5 million grant from The Riley Foundation, opened in 2016, and is home to the second Phil Hardin Foundation Library and the Bulldog Shop, which features MSU cheese and ice cream, as well as fresh sandwiches, coffee and MSU apparel.