GIVE Center prepares for move

The GIVE Center is set to move to a new facility and give its current space, in Ennis Hall, to the Department of Art.

It has been located in Ennis Hall for eight years and will be relocating to Maxwell Student Union next to the Women’s Resource Center and Diversity Office in late November or early December. The new location of The GIVE Center will be open by the beginning of Spring semester.

“The move will be great and will put us closer to center campus,” said Kendall Stiles, director of The GIVE Center.

Originally, The Center planned on staying in Ennis Hall for two years, but Ennis Hall proved to be a great environment for it to grow. This positive environment led it to remain in Ennis Hall for eight years, but the time has come for a new facility.

“I think the move will be a positive change and make it easier to help volunteers, because it will be nicer and bigger,” said sophomore psychology major Loren Ranson.

“We want to be a resource for students who want to volunteer and give them the opportunity to volunteer with or lead projects in the community,” said Stiles about the main focus of this organization. This move will help continue and better the focus of The GIVE Center. It will be celebrating its 15-year anniversary this January. With a staff of 18, the center is the only center of its kind in Georgia, according to Stiles.

After the center moves out of Ennis Hall, the Department of Art plans on moving in. The Department of Art will be vacating Mayfair Hall and Macintosh Hall and calling Ennis Hall their new home.

Mayfair Hall currently houses classes for painting, drawing, 2-D design, 3-D design, fiber arts, art and technology, art history lecture space and faculty offices, while Macintosh Hall consists of the photo studio and dark rooms. All of these classes, as well as the galleries in Blackbridge Hall, will be relocating to Ennis Hall.

Before the Department of Art moves into Ennis Hall, many renovations must occur.  These renovations are based on state funding and, if approved, the renovations can begin and Ennis Hall could be holding art classes as soon as 2013 or 2014.

“I am grateful to Dr. Leland, who was instrumental to getting us as far as we’ve gotten with this move,” said art department chair Bill Fisher.

The move to Ennis Hall will be a good opportunity for the Department of Art to have studios designed specifically for media and lecture spaces. The renovations to Ennis Hall will provide better facilities for faculty and students, thus leading to a better overall educational experience for students.

“I really applaud current and past faculty in the Department of Art for the high caliber of their teaching and scholarship given the current facilities challenges we face.  This move to Ennis Hall will allow for their great talent and energies to be focused in new and positive ways,” Fisher said.

Mayfair Hall and Macintosh Hall were both old boarding houses built in the early 1900s for visitors to the Governor’s Mansion and were not properly designed for academic spaces. Once the Department of Art leaves Mayfair Hall and Macintosh Hall, these buildings will be left to Georgia College to decide their future. What will be done with these buildings is still up for discussion.

Posted by Katie LeVan on Sep 15 2011. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.