The following information is provided as part of an effort to keep the community informed about the development of the UGA Health Sciences Campus (HSC), a significant addition to the University of Georgia. The Health Sciences Campus has been established on the site of the former Navy Supply Corps School (NSCS) on Prince Avenue in Athens. The property was deeded to the University by the U.S. Department of Education in April 2011.
Classes at the Health Sciences Campus began in August 2012, and shortly thereafter an open house was held for the local community to see the culmination of the first phase of renovation. The University of Georgia Health Sciences Campus accommodates two primary occupants: the UGA College of Public Health (CPH) and the Georgia Health Sciences University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership. As of this fall, approximately 550 CPH and 120 Medical Partnership students are taking classes at the HSC. Coupled with faculty and staff, the campus is now bustling with the activity of more than 800 people.
Five major academic facilities were completed in Phase I: Russell Hall, to serve as the main classroom building for the HSC; Winnie Davis Hall, to serve as the administrative headquarters of the GHSU/UGA Medical Partnership; Miller Hall, to house the College of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics as well as CPH’s Institute for Evidence-Based Health Professions Education; George Hall, to serve as the campus auditorium; and the Wright Hall conference center to provide swingspace for CPH’s Center for Global Health.
Phase II renovations are now underway. The facilities in this phase include Rhodes Hall, a historic structure to be repurposed as the administrative headquarters of the College of Public Health; and Scott Hall, the former officers’ club, to serve as a student center and dining hall for the Health Sciences Campus. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents has authorized $9.4 million for this phase of work. In addition, University Housing is dedicating $1.9 million in auxiliary funds to renovate a former hotel as a residence hall. These facilities will open in Fall 2013.
In October, the Board of Regents authorized the projects in Phase III of renovation: Wright Hall, to serve as the principal office building for three departments within Public Health; Hudson Clinic, to serve as the home of the Institute of Gerontology; and Pound Hall, to serve as a center for computer-based research. These projects will be programmed and designed over the course of the coming year, with renovation beginning in July 2013 and concluding in Fall 2014. A fourth phase of renovation to address the remaining naval facilities is yet to be determined.
The University is taking a holistic approach to the development of the student learning community at the Health Sciences Campus, providing housing, food services, library resources and recreational support. In addition, enrollment in the University Childcare Center-located in the remodeled Navy Exchange and opened in January 2012-is expected to reach capacity by the end of December. The University Childcare Center is operated by a third-party provider, Prodigies Child Care Management.
For additional information on the UGA Health Sciences Campus, contact Kathy Pharr at 706/542-1361 or pharr@uga.edu.
For previous updates in this series, see:
http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/health-sciences-campus-update-july-2012/
http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/health-sciences-campus-update-april-2012/,
http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/uga-health-sciences-campus-update-for-january-2012/,
http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/health-sciences-campus-update_10-19-2011/,
http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/health-sciences-campus-update/ and
http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/uga-and-u.s.-department-of-education-deed-conveyance-ceremony/.
