The ribbon cutting of McCain Hall and the 100-year anniversary of the establishment of the College of Engineering was celebrated Saturday with special guests such as Sen. Thad Cochran; State Rep. Billy McCoy; Dean of Engineering Emeritus Harry C. F. Simrall; and Jane Douglas, a daughter of Dewey M. McCain. McCain Hall, which was built in 1905, was recently renovated in order to restore this historical landmark.
McCain Hall was named after Dewey M. McCain, who led the civil engineering department from 1930 until his death in 1966.
“McCain Hall was last renovated in 1923 in which a third floor was added to the building,” Wayne Bennett, dean of engineering, said. “The renovation that we recently completed this past Friday took a total of two years to complete.”
This building will now provide more classroom space for MSU students and offices for staff.
“This building underwent a complete renovation in which the construction company replaced all of the walls to where now the building has a completely different layout from its original floor plan,” Bennett said. “A new wing was added which now contains an elevator, and modern bathrooms were also a part of the renovation.
“The first floor will provide classrooms for students, the second floor will contain offices and the third floor will contain a research area.
“There will also be a career center and a co-op office located in one of the suites on the third floor.”
The building also includes a new branch of the university’s Career Center, which will provide engineering students access to career planning and cooperative education opportunities.
“Classrooms will be used for engineering classes and classes for other colleges as well,” Bennett said.
Bennett said the renovations include wireless Internet access in classrooms that also will be used by other MSU academic departments.
Many Mississippi residents contributed to the completion of the McCain Hall renovation project.
“The renovation totaled $6.25 million in costs,” Bennett said. “The original building in 1905 cost much less in comparison, only $30,000 for complete construction.
“This renovation was made possible because certain alumni, corporate sponsors and representatives of Mississippi were willing to put their time and money into this project.”
The ribbon cutting, which was held Saturday at the front entrance of McCain Hall, was attended by many of the sponsors of this renovation.
Guest speakers Cochran, McCoy and Institutes of Higher Learning President Bryce Griffis said they were pleased to see their contributions benefit MSU.
“Many of the citizens who helped build Mississippi the last 100 years were educated in this building,” Griffis said. “MSU is the main source of engineering for the state, and it is an honor to be able to see this building restored.”
“I am very pleased to see that our efforts were successful in the renovation of McCain Hall,” Cochran said. “We hope to be able to continue the work that was done here through federal works.
“We actually just passed a bill in the Senate that is going to allow for nine new federal funded projects to come to Mississippi in which MSU will participate,” Cochran said.
“MSU has contributed to a large portion of my life because all of my children attended this college,” McCoy, representative and chairman of the House Ways and Committee, said.
“The House is responsible for matters such as Nissan and casinos coming to the state of Mississippi,” McCoy said. “We are always looking for ways to maintain and restore our historical buildings such as McCain Hall.”
The House of Representatives has more plans to benefit MSU and the state of Mississippi.
“Higher education is the engine that drives our state, and so we are currently making plans to make a major change in higher education. It will be taking place within the next 24 months,” McCoy said.
“Our new project will be long-lasting and will make an enormous difference in higher education. At this time I am not prepared to say any more than that about this project,” McCoy added.
The ceremony was closed with singing “Happy Birthday” to Simrall who reached his 90th birthday. In 1977, the computer engineering building was named after him for his hard work and lifelong dedication to his alma mater. Also in 1999 he was selected as one of MSU’s first honorary doctorates.