“This is a beautiful campus,” new State Superintendent ofEducation Dr. Henry L. Johnson said Friday while meetingMississippi School of the Arts officials during his first visit tothe Whitworth College campus.

Johnson’s comments echoed those of many other officials who havevisited the campus as the school prepares to open next August.Johnson praised arts school officials for patterning their programafter some of the best arts schools in the country, including NorthCarolina, where he was previously associate statesuperintendent.

“If you do that, you will find your reputation will grow aswell,” said Johnson, who was named Mississippi Superintendent ofEducation following Dr. Richard Thompson’s resignation in June.

Johnson touted arts education’s influence on students’intellectual development. He also called for a strong collaborationbetween arts school officials, state education leaders and localschool officials.

“As we do those things, we’ll get better and better and strongerand stronger,” Johnson said.

MSA Executive Director Dr. Vicki Bodenhamer updated Johnson onarts school plans and additional funding needs.

“We have enough money in hand to open the school as far asfacilities go,” Bodenhamer said about funds for buildingrenovations and new construction.

The Student Life Center, which will house residential students,is scheduled to be completed in January. Bodenhamer saidapproximately $20 million in bond funding is needed to completeother building plans for the campus.

Bodenhamer reported good progress on statewide publicity andprivate fund-raising efforts.

The arts school is expected to be featured in “Mississippi”magazine before Christmas, and an article is also planned for theMississippi Medical Association Journal.

In fund-raising, famous artist Wyatt Waters has beencommissioned to do a painting of Lampton Auditorium. A limitednumber of prints will be available and all proceeds will go tobenefit the school, Bodenhamer said.

Also, 50,000 brochures have been printed and will be sent outsoon as part of a publicity/fund-raising campaign.

“I’m just really excited about the potential here,” Johnson saidduring a group discussion with arts school staff.

Johnson said a state-run school is a “powerful statement” aboutthe state’s commitment to education. He mentioned the possibilityof collaborations between the arts school and the Math and ScienceSchool in Columbus.

“That would be wonderful,” Johnson said.

Regarding support, Johnson encouraged arts school officials tobe active in relating to the community. He said the more the artsschool can relate to ideas that are familiar to the people, thesupport support the school will receive.

“I’m excited the State of Mississippi saw fit to do this,”Johnson said, adding that the arts school will be a wonderfulcomplement to the math and science school. “It should provide awonderful resource for our regular schools.”