The Ogletree House Through the Years

Digital Images of the Proposed Structure

The Building Committee

The Ogletree House was originally built as the President’s Home for Mississippi Normal College. At a cost of $18,000, it was opened in 1912 and is one of the five original buildings on the Hattiesburg campus of The University of Southern Mississippi. The building served as the home for the first five presidents of the institution until 1975.

In 1976, the Alumni Association, utilizing a campaign chaired by Hattiesburg physician Lamar Gillespie and with the faithful service of then Alumni Director Powell Ogletree, launched an effort to raise $200,000 to build a new home for the University’s president. Given that the Alumni Association would generate the funding for a new president’s home, the University allocated the existing structure to the Alumni Association for use as the new Alumni House. The Association moved from its offices in the Student Union (now McLemore Hall) into the Alumni House.

Later, on August 20, 1987, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, commonly known as the College Board, approved a request from then Southern Miss President Aubrey K. Lucas to have the facility named the Ogletree House in honor of Powell G. Ogletree who had announced his retirement from the University effective October 31, 1987. The Ogletree House was dedicated on November 7, 1987, honoring Powell’s 34 years of service to Southern Miss as director of alumni relations.

Through the years, the Ogletree House has been refurbished and expanded. However, none of these modifications compares to what is currently being undertaken – a $3 million full restoration and expansion that would restore the Ogletree House to its initial state and also almost double its original square footage. The new Ogletree House will include a large new room for Board and committee meetings and other functions, new offices, a new courtyard, much needed storage space, new restrooms to accommodate large groups, a renovated kitchen, and other work spaces for use by the Association staff, volunteer leadership, and alumni at large.

The wear and tear on this 95-year-old historical structure was almost immediately evident as you entered the facility. However, the building is a symbol of all that is good about Southern Miss: her history, her legacy, her alumni, her bright future. The building needs to be restored, but, more importantly, all that it stands for deserves to be elevated to a new level of greatness.

Join the Campaign   •    Campaign Home    •    Leave Your Legacy