Spring Break
Univ. finds temporary use for former art facility
CAITLIN BYRNES
Issue date: 10/8/08 Section: News
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The "swinging classroom" has been set aside for classes otherwise placed in buildings scheduled for renovation.
But it's only one of the ways the University is putting the building to use.
Other vacant space will be used primarily as office areas for the School of Public and International Affairs' Busbee Chair assistant researchers, associate provosts from North College and those already hired for the new Medical School.
However, "nothing is ever permanent," said James Dorsey, a vice president for the Office of Finance and Administration.
Dorsey said the plan is to get temporary residents into the building by Christmas, but it may flow into next semester.
Some vestiges of the old school remain.
Ceramics classes remain in the bottom floor of the Visual Arts building. Though it is hard to be so far away from the rest of the art department, the move has given ceramics significantly more space in which to work, said Tiffany Whitfield, a graduate student in art who teaches ceramics.
The ceramics unit is all that is in the building now except for dusty air, the faint sound of workers' classic rock music and mismatched lockers reading "Follow your dream," "Be the change you wish to see" and "Baby my place or yours?"
Other non-office space will be used by the Museum of Art during its expansion.
At the new Lamar Dodd's home on East Campus, Georgia Strange, department head, is enjoying the new facility.
"There are real galleries," Strange said. "Lights, doors, everything. The old building was just hallways. These are for real showing."
The non-classroom space, which features office suites and student Wi-Fi hangouts, is equally amazing, Strange said.
The quality of the facility has excited students, making for a "dynamic" atmosphere, she said.
"I see them at tables. They are at workstations, they are having impromptu meetings."
"We are figuring out how to use the buses, and that's been different," Strange said.
The department is also working with issues with access and lighting, but faculty and staff are happy with the move overall.
"I'm dreaming that we are physically consolidated," Strange said. "It will put together people from different units."
There are no set plans to physically unify all of the Lamar Dodd School of Art, which has multiple locations, but Dorsey said it should happen within the next 10 years.
The transition would be very costly, as are all moves in departments that are equipment-heavy, he said.
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