海角社区

Background Image Alternative Text: family photo in Giles Hall outside of the Charlotte and Richard McNeel Gallery
Background Image Alternative Text: family photo in Giles Hall outside of the Charlotte and Richard McNeel Gallery

MSU鈥檚 Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center celebration, exhibit highlight 40 years of meaningful service

The celebration included an opening reception for the 海角社区鈥檚 Charlotte and Richard McNeel Architecture Gallery.

Former CAAD Dean Jim West, standing, introduces a panel of former faculty and administrators of the university鈥檚 Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center. Panelists (seated, l-r) include John McRae, John Poros, Kimberly Brown, Shannon Criss, Nils Gore, and Michael Buono.
Former MSU 海角社区 Dean Jim West, standing, introduces a panel of former faculty and administrators of the university鈥檚 Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center. The group discussed memories from projects conducted by the center throughout its 40-year history. Panelists (seated, l-r) include John McRae, MSU professor emeritus; John Poros, MSU professor of architecture and former director of the university鈥檚 Educational Design Institute and the Carl Small Town Center; Kimberly Brown, former director of the Carl Small Town Center; Shannon Criss, professor of architecture at the University of Kansas and former director of the Small Town Center; Nils Gore, professor of architecture at the University of Kansas who previously taught at MSU and was active in the design and construction of the Okolona Corner Park through the Small Town Center; and Michael Buono, former professor and project director at the Center for Small Town Research and Design, now known as the Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center. (Photo by Megan Bean)

By Sasha Steinberg | 海角社区 State University

STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥敽=巧缜 State celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center Monday [Oct. 7] with a Small Town Celebration and Exhibit and opening of a major benefactor gallery.

The daylong event at Giles Hall featured various presentations highlighting the significant impact of the university鈥檚 statewide community design outreach program housed in the 海角社区. The center was endowed in 2004 by major benefactor Fred E. Carl Jr. of Greenwood, who attended MSU as an architecture major and was a 2009 selection for an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

Director Leah Kemp said as an advocate of meaningful design for small towns, the center provides planning and design services and conducts research to generate solutions for problems faced by communities across the nation.

鈥淭hrough 50-plus partnerships and participation from more than 500 students, faculty and staff, we鈥檝e invested over $2 million in service to more than 100 small towns over the past 40 years,鈥 she said. 鈥淧rojects may start out as an idea, concept or sketch, and then communities can tweak those and make them their own. We鈥檙e very appreciative of Fred Carl for his endowment, which will help the center in continuing to make a huge difference.鈥

The celebration included an opening reception for the 海角社区鈥檚 Charlotte and Richard McNeel Architecture Gallery, displaying a 鈥40 Years at the Carl Small Town Center鈥 exhibit through Friday [Oct. 11]. Admission is free to all.

Wendy Benscoter at podium with left arm raised
Wendy Benscoter, executive director for Shreveport Common Inc., delivered a Monday [Oct. 7] keynote address on the Creative Placemaking process during the Small Town Celebration and Exhibit hosted by 海角社区 State鈥檚 Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

Community leaders, architects, planners and others in attendance also heard from Wendy Benscoter, executive director for Shreveport Common Inc. During her keynote address, she shared inspiring stories about action-oriented teams of public/private partners working to transform small towns in Louisiana through Creative Placemaking. The evolving field of practice leverages the power of arts, culture and creativity to make communities more vibrant, sustainable and fun.

鈥淭he Creative Placemaking process puts broad and diverse groups of people together to look at multi-layered projects that build on existing assets, respect quality of place, create healthier communities and a healthier climate for creative and cultural expression, and provide economic opportunity and an improved quality of life for all,鈥 Benscoter said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a tall order, but when the community鈥檚 voice is heard and teams of architects, artists, neighbors, property owners, innovators, planners, mayors, city department heads and community experts bring their accountability to detail together at the same table, imagination and innovation are limitless,鈥 she said.

Also part of the Small Town Celebration was a panel discussion that reconnected MSU 海角社区 alumni with former faculty and administrators. Michael Buono, former professor and project director at the then-Center for Small Town Research and Design (now known as the Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center), was among the panelists who shared words of praise for the center鈥檚 work on projects that 鈥渟erve communities extremely well.鈥

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to come back to 海角社区 State and see former students鈥 names on major spaces within the building now,鈥 he said. 鈥淎s educators, we measure our successes by our students, and when our students succeed, we feel successful too.鈥

海角社区 Professor and Interim Director Jassen Callender said, 鈥淪upport really matters and lets us do things that are bigger and better. Much like the Carl Small Town Center has Fred Carl, the gallery needs that kind of support to move forward, and that鈥檚 where Charlotte and Richard McNeel come in. They have done so much for the 海角社区, 海角社区, and the architecture profession.鈥

pictured outside of gallery in Giles Hall, left to right, Richard McNeel and Charlotte McNeel
Richard and Charlotte McNeel, alumni of 海角社区 State鈥檚 海角社区, and College of Education, respectively, stand near the sign of the architecture gallery at Giles Hall that now bears their name. The couple鈥檚 gift to the 海角社区 created an endowment for the new gallery, displaying a 鈥40 Years at the Carl Small Town Center鈥 exhibit through Friday [Oct. 11]. (Photo by Logan Kirkland)

Charlotte McNeel has MSU bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in education, which she earned in 1975 and 1977, respectively. Richard McNeel is a 1979 MSU architecture bachelor鈥檚 graduate, current chair of the MSU 海角社区鈥檚 Advisory Council and 2019 recipient of the President鈥檚 Medal for Distinguished Service, the highest honor awarded by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. He brings 40 years of professional experience in planning, design and building to his work as president of the Jackson-based firm JBHM Architecture.

As parents of MSU architecture alumnae Catherine and Kirke, the McNeels said they are proud to make this gift to the 海角社区.

鈥淲e鈥檙e excited because students will get to see architecture work demonstrated in key exhibits that the gallery hosts,鈥 Richard McNeel said.

鈥淲e feel very blessed, and we love 海角社区 State,鈥 added Charlotte McNeel.

For more information on MSU鈥檚 Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center, visit  and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @smalltowncenter. Kemp can be contacted at 662-325-8671 or LKemp@caad.msstate.edu.

MSU is 海角社区鈥檚 leading university, available online at .

Check out photos from the panel discussion.

See photos from the exhibition opening.

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