Southern University unveils a new amphitheater for outdoor learning

Southern University and A&M College unveiled its latest addition to campus in March: an outdoor classroom and amphitheater that serves as a space for students to relax and learn on the Mississippi River bluff, while preserving the university’s rich history. 

The $1.7 million project was funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). The idea for the gathering space was born from the university’s desire to provide safe learning spaces during COVID-19. The venue was designed by Carbo Landscape Architecture and built by The Luster Group, a local commercial construction firm led by Southern alumnus Floyd Luster.

“The indoor spaces weren’t sufficient to be able to create social distance and still accommodate the population or the attendance needs for a particular project,” says Huey Lawson, the director of Title III Programs at Southern. “So the notion came up of, what if we built an amphitheater? Or at the time, it was more of an outdoor classroom.”A “soft opening” of the space took place in March. The official opening will occur once all audio and video equipment is received and installed, which should be completed in the next few weeks, Lawson says. Since the unofficial opening, students have begun to hold events there and to use the space to take a break between classes. With terraced seating, the area accommodates more than 1,000 people.

“Students have gravitated to it, and we’re happy to see the volume of use it’s seeing already,” Lawson says. 

Once the outdoor venue is fully complete, students will be able to reserve the space through scheduling software or by calling the Southern University Welcome Center.

“If you were to sit in the amphitheater and look through it, you’ve got a clear view directly onto the Mississippi River,” Lawson says. “It is able to capture the sunset from the seated area of the amphitheater with the sun kind of smack dab in the middle of the opening in the back of the amphitheater, so the venue is beautiful.”

Besides its views, the amphitheater also holds the university’s history. Designers of the facility met with elder statesmen of the university and university historian Dr. Charles Vincent, who helped incorporate archival artifacts, like the school’s historic bell, into the design. The bell sat on the original campus site, which was also a plantation, Lawson says.

“That bell became an artifact, because that same bell called slaves in at the end of a workday,” Lawson says. “Once we became the university, the bell was eventually used to let students know when it was time to change classes.”

Lawson says the new venue is more than simply another location for gatherings and that its symbolism sends an impactful message to all who visit the campus.

“We wanted a facility on the riverfront that made a statement—that also wielded power,” he says. “When people come up to see it, when people sit in it, we want their response to be ‘Wow.’”