Delta State plans $10 million Ward Hall revival, campus upgrades

Delta State University moved a long-awaited Ward Hall revival closer to reality after landing new state support for construction, repairs and infrastructure work across campus.

The biggest share of the funding will help bring Ward Hall back online. The 1930 residence hall has been closed for more than a decade, and the university now expects to convert it into a modern student housing complex while preserving its historic exterior. Officials said the project’s total cost has climbed to about $10 million and that Ward Hall is expected to reopen in fall 2028.

State lawmakers supplied the money through two bills. Delta State received $1,234,544 through Senate Bill 3053, while Senate Bill 2189 added another $6.8 million for facility upgrades and demolition work. Much of that money is tied to Ward Hall restoration and to removing the Court of Governors, which will be replaced with green space.

President Dr. Daniel J. Ennis has cast the Ward Hall project as both a practical upgrade and a visible sign of momentum for the university. He said the building remains an important part of Delta State’s identity and that reopening it would show the campus is moving forward. The green space created by the Court of Governors demolition is also expected to improve the town-and-gown connection between the university and the surrounding community.

The funding package reaches well beyond one residence hall. Delta State plans work at Walter Sillers Coliseum, softball and baseball lighting, a new hangar door at the university airport, improvements to Broom Hall and the nursing school, new flooring in Foundation Hall, campuswide HVAC updates, roof repairs, wastewater and stormwater drainage work, and an addition to Statesmen Boulevard. The list also includes an Ewing Hall chiller upgrade.

Taken together, the projects show a university trying to do two things at once: preserve a landmark that has sat dark for years and fix the less visible systems that keep campus running. For students, the changes could mean better housing, safer athletic facilities and more reliable heating, cooling and drainage. For the campus itself, the return of Ward Hall would mark a rare restoration of a building that has shaped Delta State’s image for generations.