Update: April 25, 3:50 p.m.
A portion of the pediment to the pavilion connecting Conner Hall and Holman Hall collapsed onto the brick sidewalk on Business Row in the early afternoon on Tuesday, April 22.
No students were injured, and University of Mississippi Facilities Management responded to the scene.
Mike Dunavant, associate director of facilities operations for facilities management, called the collapse of the pediment a “structural failure.”
“The element just randomly fell off of there (around 2 p.m.). Structural failure,” Dunavant said.
The university reopened the arrival pavilion connecting Conner and Holman Halls on April 25. While closed from the time of the collapse, a structural engineer assessed the area and found that all other stone areas are structurally sound.
A statement released by the university on April 25 announced that water infiltration was the cause of the collapse.
“While repairs to the damaged stone and suggested waterproofing measures are being planned, the area is safe for passage,” Jacob Batte, director of news and media relations at the university, said.
Dunavant suggested weathering may be a contributing factor to the collapse.
“That’s an odd thing to happen to a facility after (28) years,” Dunavant said.
Holman Hall, which houses the School of Business Administration, was constructed in 1997.
Dunavant said facilities management will inspect the rest of the structure.
“I mean, we don’t know why it did it, but we’re obviously checking the rest of it,” Dunavant said. “We’re going to post it all off and then have a structural engineer check all the way around and make sure there’s nothing else.
Dunavant said facilities planning will be vital in spearheading the next steps to ensure the structure is returned to its original state.
“We’ll probably get a structural engineer in this week if we can get somebody that quick, and they’ll cut it all off,” Dunavant said.
Editor’s note: This story originally said University of Mississippi Facilities Management would leave the debris until a full inspection could take place. The debris was removed on Tuesday afternoon.
