INTRODUCTION

Many students, faculty, and staff describe the Alcorn campus as a ‘home away from home’. This nurturing setting creates a strong sense of belonging and community that reinforces Alcorn’s history and mission. With this in mind, the plan envisions the campus as a collection of neighborhoods – each with its own unique features that contribute to the overall character of the campus, connected by shared landscape, open space, mobility, and infrastructure systems. Guided by the Strategic Plan and the three plan drivers, the campus plan’s vision for each neighborhood provides a framework to guide the prioritization of campus investments.

The extents of each neighborhood are defined by physical proximity, walkability, and clusters of compatible uses. In general, neighborhoods located next to campus entrances are oriented toward shared community use and service, whereas neighborhoods around the campus core predominantly serve the academic and residential campus community.

This chapter highlights the projects planned for each neighborhood and their alignment with the plan drivers. In addition, a summary is provided of each neighborhood’s unique vision and opportunities, through a comparison of existing and proposed conditions, including quotes from participants of the Discovery Survey.

8 Northwest Neighborhood

6 Core North and Honors

7 Heritage Village

5 Campus Core

4 Lott and Revels Neighborhood

9 Natchez Campus

3 Athletics and Agriculture

2 Campus Air Strip

1 Gateway Village

Gateway Village Vision

The Gateway Village creates an impactful arrival experience to the Lorman Campus and serves as the new heart of the University’s community service and visitor engagement.

Enhanced landscape and signage along ASU Drive bring visitors to a new Welcome Center. Comprised of a renovated Carter Dairy and building addition, the Center provides a hub for combined recruiting, branding, legacybuilding, and community service efforts. Featured amenities include an Agriculture Museum, the Policy Center, and the campus bookstore or a similar visitor-oriented retail space. A landscaped plaza, centered around the existing historic silo, links this complex to new visitor parking lots and the new Agricultural Research Service building. The plaza flexibly hosts visitors and offers views of demonstration fields that showcase Alcorn’s agricultural research initiatives. A continuous pedestrian walkway and bridge connect the Welcome Center to the enhanced atrium lawn at the Ecology Building, catering to events and receptions. An expanded security gate along ASU Drive also serves as an information center for drivers entering the campus.

East of ASU Drive, the recently renovated Product Development Center showcases innovative products made by entrepreneurs and researchers.

Further north, the expanded faculty housing village offers a sense of community separate from the student-centered neighborhoods, where faculty living on campus can enjoy various scales of both shared and private outdoor spaces.

Bring life to the main entrance with faculty, alumni, and community events

Serve regional farmers with the Policy Center at the Welcome Center

Enhance community partnerships by creating an inviting new Welcome Center and central gathering space

ASUDrive

Exhibit Alcorn’s research to visitors at the Product Development Center and Dairy

Redesign the Carter Dairy landscape to create greater visibility and an enhanced arrival experience

MS-552

AirStripRoad

Bring more visibility to Alcorn’s agricultural research and demonstration fields

Improve visitor arrival with a new entrance and parking sequence

Serve the local area with enhanced fire and EMS facilities