Athens, Ga. – Student leaders and officials of the University of Georgia will break ground for the Tate Student Center expansion and renovation project during a ceremony on Thursday, April 19 at 2 p.m. A reception in the Tate Student Center Reception Hall will follow the groundbreaking ceremony. All faculty, staff and students are invited to attend.
“With a growing student body and a range of new programs and services in the Department of Campus Life, the existing Tate Student Center is no longer sufficient to meet student needs,” said Willie Banks, director of Campus Life and the Tate Student Center. In March 2005, UGA students agreed with that assessment by voting to approve a $25-per-semester fee to fund the expansion and renovation project.
The first phase of the project includes a 500-space parking deck on top of which the Tate Center expansion will be constructed. The expansion phase will include a multipurpose space, meeting rooms, expanded food court and retail space, expanded print and copy services and additional student lounge space. Renovations to the existing building will include the redesign of Georgia Hall into office space for the Office of Greek Life, the Center for Leadership and Service and the Center for Student Organizations. Other renovations will include the repurposing of the third-floor game room and art gallery into new studios for WUOG 90.5 FM, offices for the UGACard operation and dance rehearsal space.
“We are excited to begin the next phase of constructing the Tate Student Center expansion and anxiously await the enhanced programs and services the facility will provide to campus life at the University of Georgia,” said Rodney Bennett, vice president for student affairs and dean of students.
The planning committee for the Tate Student Center project, in consultation with an advisory board comprised of faculty, staff and students, has worked since the spring of 2005 to gather information on the successes and failures of other student centers around the Southeast. Focus groups and surveys of the student body were conducted in order to gain information on student needs and desires.
The Tate Student Center is a facility of the Department of Campus Life, within UGA’s Division of Student Affairs.
For more information on the expansion and renovation, see http://www.uga.edu/campuslife.