Legislation allowing Mississippi State University to garner an 18 percent sales tax refund will increase funding to the university’s lecture and performance series.
Before his retirement, former MSU President Charles Lee expressed interest in taking the money from the refund and applying it to the Lyceum and other lecture series of the university, vice president for student affairs Bill Kibler said. The university will have about $175,000 returned to it from the new sales tax refund legislation this summer.
“I came up with a proposal to allocate money in three different directions,” Kibler said. “A large portion of the funds will go to what we’re calling a global or international lecture series. It will select speakers that will come to Mississippi State University that either represent a global perspective because they’re from abroad or someone from this country whose expertise is global.”
Approximately $100,000 will go toward creating the international series. The rest of the refund will go toward the currently existing programs on campus. About $50,000 will go to the Lyceum performance series while the remaining funds will support other lecture series.
“Lyceum’s funding has been insufficient in the past,” Kibler said. “This [refund] will provide us with a stable stream of funding. The money will essentially allow us to double the funding that was allowed for Lyceum last year.”
The Lee Hall Auditorium will be fin ished next semester with over 1,000 seats, allowing the Lyceum series a facility upgrade.
With the completion of the renovations to the Riley Center at MSU in Meridian, though, the series will see a completely new facet.
“Ten thousand dollars of the Lyceum funding is intended to help provide access for students and faculty to the performing arts series that will be held at the Riley Center,” Kibler said. “It is one of the oldest and most beautiful facilities of its kind.”
The money allotted to the Riley Center portion of the Lyceum series will allow students to be transported to the center, which is a state-of-the-art theater that will feature plays, musicals and other performing arts next semester.
The 40-year-old-plus Lyceum series will improve greatly after the new funding, said Maridith Geuder, director of university relations.
Costs of performance groups have continued to rise, while the budget for the series has remained static since it was based mostly on minimal designated funding.
The money from the refund will allow more acts and acts that were previously too expensive for the series.
Some funding for the series comes in the form of donations.
“We have a loyal donor, Dr. Dominic Cunetto, who has donated for three or four years now,” Geuder said. “He has consistently supported the series with some of his personal resources. We encourage others who may be interested to do the same thing.”
The money from tickets comes solely from non-students. The Lyceum series board believes students should be allowed to attend at no cost.