Mississippi College Constructing Medical Sciences Building

Construction begins this summer on a medical sciences building at Mississippi College to enhance the university’s programs that prepare future physicians and dentists.

Work will begin in July and end a year later on the 20,000-square-foot building adjacent to the Hederman Science Building on the Clinton campus. It will include a 4,800-square-foot gross anatomy lab that will house MC’s human dissection course for undergraduate and graduate students.

Other features of the medical sciences building will include two large classrooms and a histology lab. There will be 2,700-square feet of office and research space for biology faculty to work with students at the Christian university.

MC leaders say the new building will give much more breathing room to a program bursting at the seams.

“The project is to accommodate the phenomenal growth in the biology program,” says Dr. Stan Baldwin, dean of the School of Science and Mathematics and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, who created and spearheads the master of medical science program.

The first master of medical sciences program at Mississippi College began with fewer than 20 students in 2005 and today enrolls 200 full-time students from 130 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. The MC program prepares students to enter some of the finest medical and dental schools in America. The program also prepares physicians from India with the academic skills needed to pass stringent medical boards.

Some of the students enrolled in the master of medical sciences program hold undergraduate degrees from such schools as Harvard, Duke, UCLA and Johns Hopkins.

MC leaders say they want the university to possess some of the best facilities that will put the Baptist-affiliated institution on a par with what is offered at a number of medical schools. At the MC building, students will be working with human cadavers that they will use for dissection purposes. Similar facilities exist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and other medical schools.

While there’s still time before ribbon-cutting ceremonies and construction crews to go to work, MC leaders are already putting out the call to potential donors. A story about the medical sciences building in this summer’s “Beacon” magazine says there are several opportunities for recognizing major donors through the naming of laboratories, classrooms, and the building itself.

Mississippi College’s programs in biology and the sciences have been strong for years. MC exceeds state and national averages with the percentage of students attending medical school.

The master of medical science degree is helping MC students succeed in medical and dental schools, graduates say.

“The master of medical science program is the reason I’m pursuing my dream profession,” says Brad Deere, a 2008 Emory University graduate. An alumnus of MC’s master’s of medical sciences program, he’s now a student at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine.

A new medical sciences building at Mississippi College is making big dreams grow that much larger.

People interested in more information about opportunities to give lasting recognition to major donors to the medical sciences building should contact Bill Townsend, Mississippi College’s vice president for advancement, at 601.925.3257.