The construction of the new dormitory located next to Crosby Hall is well underway is on schedule to be completed in July to accommodate students moving in this August. It is set to house two living-learning communities and the transfer student community.
According to Jennifer McClure, assistant director for marketing, this new residence hall will house 304 students for the 2015-16 school year. The students that live there for the 2015-16 school year will be the members of Mind-Body-Soul freshman interest group (currently called The Well), the Global Perspective Living Learning Community and the transfer student community. According to McClure, the new dorm is being referred to as Residence Hall No. 1 until it is given a permanent name.
“The layout of Residence Hall No. 1 will be identical in layout to Burns Hall,” said McClure. The members of the Mind-Body-Soul freshman interest group for the 2015-2016 school year currently reside in Pittman Hall along with the Global Perspectives Living Learning Community.
According to the University of Mississippi Department of Student Housing, the purpose of the Global Perspectives LLC is for students of different backgrounds to interact and to give them a new perspective of cultural awareness. The members for the 2015-16 school year consist of 40 American students and 40 non-American students.
The Mind-Body-Soul freshman interest group is for students who are interested in maintaining their wellness and spirituality by exploring their fitness, physical health, emotional wellness and emotional wellbeing in a community of students from diverse backgrounds. Next year, the members of the STEM Living Learning Community and Provost Scholars Living Learning Community will occupy Pittman Hall.
“The university does not currently have a transfer student community,” McClure said.
Dawood Al-Nasseri, an international transfer student from Oman, said, “I never lived in a dorm. I wish I had the opportunity to live on campus when I first came here.”
This new community will give transfer students a new way to acclimate to life at Ole Miss.
“Each room will be a double with its own bathroom, and a micro-fridge will be provided for each room,” McClure said.
Regarding where the students who live in this residence hall will park, Mike Harris, director of parking and transportation for the university, said, “I am on a committee that is examining the various options for those residential students.”
Harris said he will have more answers regarding the question of parking in the next few weeks.
This new dorm is not only additional housing for students but will give students the ability to live and grow together within their own respective living-learning communities.
