Construction in the center of Mississippi State University’s campus, especially around Dorman Hall, has sparked curiosity among students and faculty. The building, constructed in 1968, is undergoing a full-scale renovation after decades without major updates.

Dorman Hall has historically been home to forestry, biochemistry and plant and soil sciences departments. As a primarily lab-based building, its infrastructure gradually fell behind modern safety and air-quality standards.

Why the renovation is necessary

Cory Gallo, the assistant dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and assistant director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, has been overseeing part of the project.

“The biggest reason to renovate this building is because codes for air quality have changed drastically since the 1960s for labs,” Gallo said. “And so, the biggest expense we’re putting in this building…is really the air handling.”

Because that work is mostly internal, Gallo said people may not realize the significance of the changes.

“Most people will care about what it will look like. Most people will never know the difference, if the air quality is any different, but it will be better for them,” Gallo said.

What’s changing inside

Michael Cox, the interim head of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, said the renovation required a complete overhaul of the interior.

“The contractor that’s in there now has just completely ripped out basically everything and is putting all new back in and bringing it up to ADA standards and modern teaching methodologies and technologies,” Cox said.

One major change is improved accessibility. A new ADA-accessible entrance is being added on the building’s south side. Darrin Dodds, associate director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said it will make daily access easier.

“Having that ADA entrance on the south end will make it a lot more convenient for the folks that need that,” Dodds said.

Cost and size

The $42 million renovation is funded entirely by the state. Gallo said replacing Dorman Hall with a new building would have cost nearly triple that amount. According to Dodds, Dorman Hall was previously the fifth-largest building on campus and measures about 140,000 square feet.

To control costs, the project team is reusing materials when possible.

“We’re trying to save funds and resources by reusing as much as possible,” Gallo said.

Moving out

Preparing the building for renovation was a significant effort.

“It really was a monumental effort to get that thing cleaned out. It was a lot,” Dodds said.

Dodds credited Gallo with how well the transition went, saying he executed a perfect plan for everyone to move out in an organized fashion.

“It went as smoothly as it could possibly go, given the magnitude of the move,” Dodds said.

Cox recalled a major incident when a person attempted to set the building on fire in 2006 after being removed from a campus event.

“They were having a concert over at the amphitheater. This guy had taken some drugs and gotten drunk; they kicked him out, so he found an open door into the bottom of Dorman and lit it off. It’s a cinder brick building; it’s not going to burn. But it made a big enough of a mess,” Cox said.

Gallo said the team relocated equipment throughout the state during the move-out, including old lab benches.

“We’ve even took the benches… and moved them around the state to various field labs we have, so they get new equipment,” Gallo said.

Impact on faculty and students

During the renovations, departments, faculty, graduate students and classes previously housed in Dorman have been scattered across campus. Cox said this has made communication and meetings between faculty harder to facilitate.

“We see a lot less faculty meetings where we can get together as a group and discuss things because we don’t really have any place to go,” Cox said.

Before closing, Dorman Hall’s Room 140 served as one of the largest classrooms on campus, hosting up to 300 students at a time and classes across a wide variety of majors. Dodds said its use changed constantly.

“I might hear Beethoven or ACDC coming out of there…or a trigonometry class…or some kind of medical class,” Dodds said. “You never knew what was going to come out of 140 Dorman.”

Looking ahead

Despite the challenges of the renovation, Gallo said the long-term outcome will be worth it.

“It’s been a difficult process, but I think it’s going to be a really good one for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences,” Gallo said.

The next phase of the project, which focuses on the building’s design and appearance, is expected to open for bids in December. According to Gallo, the building is scheduled to be completed in summer 2027 and reopened for classes in fall 2027.