Contact: Leah Barbour
Photo by: Megan Bean
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Local golf enthusiasts joined Mississippi State University administrators, faculty, staff and students this week for the unveiling of two on-course shelters at the MSU Golf Course.
The new structures at the fourth and 10th holes, complete with men's and women's accommodations and cart parking spaces on each side, were designed and built by second-year architecture majors and building construction science students.
Both the School of Architecture and the building construction science academic program are part of MSU's College of Architecture, Art and Design.
The work was completed during the fall semester collaborative studio, coordinated by associate professor Hans Herrmann and assistant professor Emily McGlohn of the architecture school, along with assistant professor Tom Leathem and lecturer Lee Carson of building construction science.
"Thank you for your active involvement, for the collective leadership from all our faculty and for everyone involved in this," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "This is an opportunity to really showcase what Mississippi State talent is about. What a great new addition this is, not only to this golf course, but to our professional golf management program."
The PGM program, housed in the College of Business, is the second oldest sanctioned by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. Students completing the four-and-a-half-year curriculum receive a bachelor's degree in marketing and 16 months of practical work experience.
Michael Berk, architecture school director, said MSU is the only institution of higher learning in the country to require all second-year architecture and building construction science students to complete a full year of collaborative studio.
"There's no other school in the nation to require two full semesters of working together," agreed Jim West, dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Design. "Our students have the opportunity to do truly collaborative work, and we're always interested in having these types of projects for the community and our students and faculty."
Though building construction science and architecture students have completed their portion of the project, MSU Department of Landscape Architecture students will continue by improving the landscaping around the buildings, said Craig Capano, director of the building construction science program.
"This is only the first of many projects that I hope we can all do together," he said. "We've already started discussions about next fall, and the faculty have some great ideas. And that's what Mississippi State is all about--it's about learning; it's about changing; it's about improving."
Sharon Oswald, College of Business dean, emphasized the on-course shelters also benefit PGM students.
"I want to thank the faculty, and particularly the students, on behalf of the PGM program and the MSU Golf Course," Oswald said. "We love collaborative projects, and anything we can ever do to help, we will."
The 6,390-yard, par-72 course, located three miles east of campus at 1520 Old Highway 82, opened to the public in 1986. Along with the two on-course shelters, cart path and driving range, the course features a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse with men's and women's locker rooms, a snack bar, and a fully stocked golf shop and classroom.
Learn more about the course at www.golf.msstate.edu; about the PGM academic program, at http://bit.ly/PGMatMSU.
MSU, Mississippi's flagship research university, is online at www.msstate.edu, meridian.com/msstate, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate, pinterest.com/msstate or twitter.com/msstate.