Founded by Legislative Act on March 30, 1910, the University of Southern Mississippi was the state's first state-supported teacher training school. Originally known as Mississippi Normal College, this Mississippi university was built on 120 acres of cutover timber land donated by Messrs. H.A. Camp, A.A. Montague and Dr. T. E. Ross, and funded by bonds issued by the city of Hattiesburg and Forrest County in the amount of $250,000. A close relationship between the university, city, and county is still maintained today.

The University of Southern Mississippi has a stated purpose, and that is to "qualify teachers for the public schools of Mississippi." Mississippi Normal College opened for classes Sept. 18, 1912, and hosted a total of 876 students during its initial session (506 in the regular session and 370 in the summer term).

Now the University of Southern Mississippi is a comprehensive research university. The primary mission of this Mississippi university is to cultivate intellectual development and creativity through the generation, dissemination, application, and preservation of knowledge. The mission of the University of Mississippi is supported by the values that have been formed through the history and traditions of our institution.