A new residence hall scheduled to open in August 2006 will house the University Honors Program.
Griffis Hall, which will be located just northeast of Ruby Hall, will provide over 300 beds for honors students as well as office space, meeting rooms and computer labs for honors faculty and students.
The 115,000-square-foot, four-story building will be co-educational with a women’s wing, a men’s wing and a common area in the center. Each bedroom will be double occupancy with a private bathroom.
“More than that, it will elevate our honors program significantly because it provides state of the art facilities for all honors students under one roof,” vice president for student affairs Bill Kibler said.
Griffis Hall will provide facilities for all honors students whether they live in the residence hall or commute because of the computer labs and meeting rooms that are included in the plans for the building, he said.
Construction on Griffis Hall, which began in August, calls for the demolition of Smith Hall to prepare for the foundation and allow room for the new hall. Dirt work is expected to continue for another month at the site, director of housing and residence life Ann Bailey said.
“We have probably 200,000 yards worth of dirt that has to be moved away before we can begin to think about a foundation,” she said.
Smith Hall, which was vacated in May 2005, will be demolished to stabilize the foundations of the new residence halls, she said.
The construction company that built Ruby Hall, Inman Construction, is bulding Griffis Hall.
After Griffis Hall is completed, two more residence halls will be built nearby. Griffis Hall, Ruby Hall and the two other halls, which are currently unnamed, will be collectively known as the Northeast Village, associate director of student housing Fred Mock said.
“Although they are not identical, they are all of similar architectural style and colors. It will be compatible with Ruby Hall just not identical,” he said.
Construction on the other halls will begin after Griffis Hall is complete. Each will house 250 students, bringing the total number of beds in the Northeast Village to just over 1,200.
Griffis Hall is named after S. Bryce Griffis, a well-known proponent of higher education. He was appointed to the State College Board in 1980 by Gov. William Winter and served until 1992. In 2000, he was appointed by Gov. Ronnie Musgrove to finish out a four-year, unexpired term on the board. His 16-year term is the second longest in board history.