Today@Sam: College To Break Ground On New Home

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences will celebrate the groundbreaking of its new home, Academic Building V, on June 8.

The ceremony, which is scheduled to include addresses by a representative from the Texas State University System Board of Regents, CHSS dean John de Castro and university president Jim Gaertner, will be held at 9 a.m. at the construction site east of Lee Drain Building and south of the Smith-Hutson Annex.

A reception will follow the ceremony at the site, and the entire event is open to the public.

The tentatively-named Academic Building V will house several departments and offices currently in need of additional space due to the recent expansion of the university, according to CHSS associate dean Terry M. Thibodeaux.

Relocating to ABV will be the departments of political science, psychology, and sociology and the college dean’s suite, as well as Accounts Payable, the Business Office, Human Resources, Payroll and Purchasing. The Student Advising and Mentoring Center, currently in need of additional space to meet the increasing demand for their services, will also relocate into larger quarters, Thibodeaux said.

A new teaching enhancement center will be housed on the concourse floor, providing various services and programs for faculty and staff of the entire university.

The building, designed by WHR Architects, Inc., and to be constructed by SpawGlass Construction Corp., has a budget of $30 million and will be approximately 150,000 square feet, making it one of the largest buildings on campus, Thibodeaux said.

The Name Remains the Same

House Bill 1418 passed Tuesday, May 22, 2007 in the Texas Senate. The bill, co-authored by state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst and sponsored in the Senate by Steve Ogden, now awaits the signature of Governor Rick Perry who has 10 days to sign the bill before it becomes law.

Academic Building 5: Needing the Fifth

Be the first on your block to see artist renditions of Academic Building Five (photos courtesy SHSU Physical Plant)

More Game of the Name

An update on the game of the name: SHSU Student Government Association President Christopher Whitaker addresses the Bearkat nation about House Bill 1418 (originally aired on KSHU Channel 7 on April 26, 2007).