Then and Now Longest Student Health Center
John Christopher Longest, M.D. became director of the student health center at Mississippi State in 1948. At the time, the university’s infirmary was housed in George Hall, which was built in 1902. Almost immediately after accepting the role of director, Longest began making plans for a “modern university health center.” The new health center was subsequently built in 1965 as a two-story, 11,000-square-foot facility with a full-time nursing staff for in-patients, and a full-service clinic with registered nurses, lab technologists, X-ray technicians, and a physical therapist. In 1988, Longest retired as the longest serving student health director in the U.S. and the center was officially named in his honor. In 2003, the John C. Longest Student Health Center celebrated its grand re-opening following a $1.8 million overhaul. The renovation, which added critical new space to accommodate the growing student population, included the addition of a covered drive-through, additional exam rooms, a physical therapy center, medical offices, a larger waiting room and reception area, a health education classroom, a meeting room, and an improved pharmacy. That same year, the center also transitioned from paper charts to a new computerized system for patient records and appointments. Today, the John C. Longest Student Health Center remains in operation on the corner of Hardy and Morrill roads, where it first debuted more than a half-century ago.
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FOUNDATIONS | Spring 2021
