Baldwin Hall expansion underway

Shovels hit the ground last week as an expansion project began on one of our venerable North Campus buildings, Baldwin Hall:

Built in 1938, Baldwin Hall has served as a Navy pre-flight school during World War II and home to several UGA academic programs. The building currently houses the School of Public and International Affairs as well as the departments of sociology and anthropology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

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The roughly $8 million project, with funding approved by the Georgia General Assembly, includes construction of a 10,800-square-foot Baldwin Hall Annex and renovations to the existing building. Work on the addition is slated to begin in June and run through May 2016. Renovations are expected to be complete in September 2016.

When the blog was a wee undergraduate majoring in political science ('sciencepo' was at that time a part of the Franklin College), much time was spent in the halls and classrooms of Baldwin - also the old Jackson Street cemetery next door, but that's another story. But these renovations are very welcome and a wise investment in existing campus infrastructure. The new annex will provide technology-enabled active learning classrooms; space for graduate teaching assistants to hold office hours; and common areas for faculty, staff, students and alumni to convene for academic discussions, presentations and events. The existing building will be renovated to provide academic departments with modern instructional facilities, greater accessibility for individuals with disabilities and a more efficient mechanical system.

Image: Franklin College photo of the front of Baldwin Hall.