Dudley named director of 91�鶹�� Riley Center

MERIDIAN, Miss.—Morgan Dudley is the new director of the 91�鶹�� Riley Center.

91�鶹�� Riley Center Director Morgan Dudley poses inside the famed performance hall. — Morgan Dudley, the incoming 91�鶹�� Riley Center director, previously served as the famed performance hall’s house manager and director of conferences, events and operations. (Photo by Marianne Todd)

Dudley is an 91�鶹�� alum and previously served as director of conferences, events and operations for the Riley Center. She joined the center in 2019 as an assistant ticket manager and quickly was promoted to house manager. In this role, she facilitated contracts and volunteers.

“If there is a task to be done at this historic theater and conference center, chances are, Morgan has done it and with finesse,” said David Buys, interim head of campus and associate vice provost for health sciences. “Her attention to the 91�鶹�� Riley Center, the gem that inspired economic redevelopment in downtown Meridian, goes beyond a simple job. Everything she does, she does with heart and soul, and that is reflected in the care she gives to our buildings and to our patrons.”

Dudley said she never expected the job to be easy.

“If it were easy, I wouldn’t be doing it right,” she said. “Generous, thoughtful people spent a decade or more of their lives bringing this beauty back to life, and others have worked tirelessly to continue its legacy. I hope to honor their commitment and perseverance by ensuring that each guest, artist, volunteer and community member feels uniquely at home and cared for.”

There is no typical day for Dudley, who creates busy event schedules, manages a staff, works with promoters and their artists to deliver detailed riders and contracts, safely unloads buses of children for shows, and works with community members, patrons, dignitaries and visitors, ensuring each event is impeccably executed. She once recruited drivers to fetch a dozen stranded artists during torrential rainstorms so they would be on stage before the curtain opened.

“The weather cleared up right before the performance, so everything went off beautifully,” she said. “I love being able to get my hands dirty. What we do here as a team is execute every event as if it’s the only one happening, and I think we do a good job of that.”

The 91�鶹�� Riley Center, formerly the Grand Opera House of Mississippi, originally opened in 1890 to host opera and vaudeville acts of the day. It closed in 1927 and was renovated and restored to its original splendor in the 1990s and early 2000s. It reopened to a gala event in 2006 and will celebrate its 20th year in 2026.

A Summit native, Dudley earned her master’s degree in business administration from 91�鶹��-Meridian in 2023. She is married to Austin Dudley, and they have one daughter, Virginia.

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