One of the goals of the 136-page campus master plan draft unveiled last month is to share Mississippi State University’s vision to accommodate expanding enrollment numbers.
Dr. Ann Bailey, director of Housing and Residence Life, said she estimates right now MSU needs about 1,200-1,500 more bed spaces to accommodate the growth.
“Since we require freshmen to live on campus, we will need more bed spaces and housing,” she said.
Bailey said to facilitate MSU President Mark Keenum’s vision to increase enrollment to around 22,000 students, the growth has to begin in the freshman class. As freshmen move through their college careers, equally as large freshman classes replace them, beginning a process which will incrementally increase total enrollment.
Bailey also said growing numbers of upperclassmen are electing to continue to live on campus past their freshman and sophomore years, adding to the current housing dilemma.
As MSU expands, there are no current plans to demolish any existing residence halls. Though Rice Hall would seem a likely candidate for demolition, Bailey said it serves too many students at this point.
“The university wants to renovate Rice Hall,” Bailey said. “There are no plans on the drawing board to tear it down.”
Bailey said the seven-floor building houses about 500 students and will be renovated at some point, but the exact time when this will happen is not definite.
She said some small maintenance problems the new South Hall has encountered are normal.
“It is not uncommon for a building to experience leaks, etc. […] in its first year of operation,” she said. 
Freshman operational meteorology major Ross Mapes, a resident of South Hall, said over Christmas break, the toilet in his room overflowed and flooded the room. However, he also said other similar maintenance issues are only happening in rooms and are not visible in lobby areas.
“Other than that, I do not know of any problems,” he said.
Bailey said every new building undergoes many stresses in its first cycle of seasons.
Fred Mock, associate director of Facilities and Maintenance, said plans are already in motion for the new Arbour Hall, which will be built between the parking lot of Rice Hall and the current site of Arbour Acres. Construction will start this summer, and students will be able to move in by August 2012.
The master plan draft also calls for the site of what was Suttle Hall as well as the current site of Critz Hall to house three new residence halls similar to those of Zacharias Village. The master plan draft approximates this would add 1,200 more bed spaces to the north zone of campus.
Bailey said Sessums and McKee were renovated in the late ’90s, so they will probably be the next residence halls to be renovated.
“Those buildings are going to be due for some work,” she said.
For more information about the Campus Master Plan, visit planning.msstate.edu/plan.