MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — New renovations are coming to Georgia College and State University's campus. A new science building will be ready for students next spring, and communications students will get to enjoy a new building this fall.
Master's biology student Allison Pourquoi does 21st century, scientific research in Herty Hall, which was built in the 1950s.
"It's not very integrated as much as I would like it to be. You have to kind of travel from one end of the building all the way to the other to get to the autoclave and the equipment room," Pourquoi said.
Georgia College's university architect agrees.
"It's not a very nice building in the sense of space," University Architect Michael Rickenbaker said.
He oversees a joint project for a $22 million, three story, Integrated Science Complex with state-of-the-art laboratories and study group spaces.
"The new building will give us a lot better accommodation. It's intentional that it's science on display, so you actually have a lot of glass so you can actually look into the laboratories to see the work that's going on," Rickenbaker said.
The second project included renovations on Terrell Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus. Eric Tenbus, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, says it's finally finished after almost two years.
"We know there were 27 to 28 coats of paint that were removed from these beautiful stairwells, that are now open for us to see," Tenbus said.
Communications students have new media rooms with upgraded editing software, radio, and TV studios. It's modern technology inside the buildings that preserve the campus' historic beauty.
"We've been very intentional in the design to find something that looks like it belongs to the Georgia College campus," Rickenbaker said.
Tenbus says it's all about giving their students a place to grow.
"The history of this campus is important to us, but we're not just treading in the past. We're also moving forward with these innovative programs," Tenbus said.
Communications students will begin using the renovated Terrell Hall this August. The new Integrated Science Complex here should be finished by spring 2021.
Rickenbaker says once the Integrated Science Complex is completed, they plan to renovate Herty Hall.
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