| Clayton State Dedicates
University Center Morrow, Ga., Nov. 11, 2004 – The culmination of seven years of planning, construction and anticipation came today when Clayton State University dedicated its signature building -- the University Center -- a building that is one-of-a-kind in higher education in the State of Georgia. From its original conception in 1997, the University System has been unique within the State of Georgia. Patterned after George Mason University’s Johnson Center (the only truly similar higher education facility in the U.S.), the University Center (UC) is a student center, a classroom building, an administration building, an office building and houses the technical and software support for the students’ and faculty’s 6000 notebook computers. The UC is also as technologically-advanced as any educational building in Georgia, as the “home” to the College of Information and Mathematical Sciences, the University System’s WebBSIT program, and more than 2,000 data drops. More importantly, the University Center provides the fast-growing Clayton State, and it students, with space. “Our enrollment has increased almost 40 percent in the past four years,” says Clayton State President Dr. Thomas K. Harden. “This building provides us with space… space for our students, space for people to work together, space to sit down and have a conversation. “A university needs more than just classrooms. This building provides us, for the first time, with the kind of facility that our students need.” M. Allan Vigil of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) and USG Senior Vice Chancellor for Academics and Fiscal Affairs Dr. Daniel S. Papp headlined the distinguished guests at the dedication for the $19 million, 131,000-square foot University Center. The building also contains 21 classroom and seminar rooms that are wired for Internet connections and range in size from a 165-seat Lecture Hall to 35-seat classrooms, the University Bookstore and Dining Services, and numerous study and eating areas… which are also wired for Internet access. “This is an academic signature building,” noted Provost and Vice for President for Academic Affairs Dr. Sharon Hoffman. “It is the most wired building in the University System, with the most access for students.” In keeping with the official opening of a building that is one-of-a-kind in higher education in the State of Georgia, Clayton State administrators also recognized the one-of-a-kind contributions of the nation’s veterans during the ceremonies. As the centerpiece of his opening remarks, Clayton State Vice President for External Relations Dr. Bryan P. Edwards noted that Nov. 11, 2004 marked the 50th anniversary of Veterans’ Day and, as a means of thanks, asked all veterans present to stand, to an ovation from the crowd of 200+. Later on in the program, Clayton State President Dr. Thomas K. Harden and Vice President of Operations Patrick J. O’Hare also acknowledged the dual significance of the day, and the contributions of veterans to the welfare of all present. Three years in construction, the University Center is a four-story steel frame structure with masonry exterior walls, and features, along with thousands of Internet connections, state-of-the-art audio-visual technology in the classrooms, in keeping with the University’s reputation for expertise in the use of technology in education, and its pioneering Information Technology Project, wherein all students and faculty must have access to a notebook computer. |
|
