Katrina Forces Campaign's Temporary Suspension

Oct. 10, 2005

More than one-third of the way to its $3 million goal after only two months of fund raising, the leadership of the campaign to restore and expand the Ogletree House has decided to temporarily suspend its efforts due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The campaign, launched in July, would fund efforts to restore and expand the Ogletree House, named for the longtime leader of the Alumni Association, Powell G. Ogletree, and home to the Association. To date, commitments to the campaign total more than $1 million.

Campaign officials anticipate fund-raising efforts will resume at the end of the calendar year.

"Hurricane Katrina was obviously the most significant natural disaster of our lifetime, particularly for the part of the country where a large number of our alumni live,” said Bob Pierce, executive director of the Alumni Association. “Now is the time to focus on relief and recovery for the thousands of Southern Miss alumni affected by this storm. While it is disappointing that we had to interrupt this promising campaign for a few months due to Katrina, I have no doubt, given the enthusiasm for the project to date, that we will ‘jump start’ the campaign at the end of the year and pick up where we left off.”

Leaders of the Association as well as the campaign are encouraging alumni and friends of Southern Miss to shift attention from the Ogletree House Campaign to the recovery efforts of the University. In addition to the countless numbers of faculty, staff and students whose lives away from the University have been impacted by the storm, damage on Southern Miss campuses in Hattiesburg and on the Gulf Coast totals an estimated $100 million. The University has established the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund for Southern Miss, which will assist students impacted by the storm as well as the University itself with other storm-related needs. Visit www.usm.edu/foundation or call 601.266.5602 for more information or to give to the fund.

"The temporary suspension of the Ogletree House Campaign is the right decision,” said Danny Mitchell, president of the Alumni Association. “The catastrophic event that has taken place in the southern part of our state and Louisiana demands that our priorities now lie with our alumni, friends, supporters and others who have suffered such terrible losses."

Campaign co-chair Dr. Aubrey K. Lucas agrees with the decision.

"It seems wise to briefly suspend our Ogletree House Campaign so that we can focus on the needs of family, friends and ourselves which have resulted from Hurricane Katrina,” said Lucas, who is president emeritus of the University. “Some of us will continue to give thought to how the campaign can be advanced when it resumes so that no momentum will be lost.”

Association Vice President Lou Ann Poynter, who is serving as co-chair along with Lucas, suggests that the Southern Miss family will respond in typical fashion to its current challenge.

"While Hurricane Katrina dealt a significant blow to our area and indeed our entire region, we will most certainly recover. All of us were impacted to some degree, but our alumni and friends will rebound. Southern Miss is known for its resilience and perseverance. We must direct our attention toward those in need at this time,” Poynter said. “Once we get back on track with the campaign at the end of the year and the timing is more appropriate, we will move forward and accomplish our goal. I believe the restored and expanded Ogletree House will become a testament to the fortitude of Southern Miss alumni everywhere.”

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 what now is The University of Southern Mississippi. The building served as the home for the first five presidents of the institution until 1975. The Association moved from its offices in the Student Union (now McLemore Hall) into the Alumni House in November 1975. Upon completing the Ogletree House Campaign, the Albert & Associates Architects’ design will greatly expand the size of the 93-year-old existing structure to approximately 12,000 square feet. Even with a temporary suspension of the campaign, construction of the facility is expected to begin in January 2007.

Ogletree, who led the Alumni Association for more than three decades, died in June at his home in Hattiesburg.

Ogletree is credited with building the Alumni Association into one of the top alumni associations in the country. During his tenure of leadership, the Alumni Association grew from 150 dues-paying alumni members to more than 17,500 active members. In addition, Ogletree had a hand in many of the defining events in Southern Miss history, among them the institution’s transition to university status, the mascot name change to Golden Eagles and the establishment of the USM Foundation and the Alumni Hall of Fame. Upon his retirement in 1987, the University named the Ogletree House in his honor.

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