UWG News Archive

Adamson Hall Dedication and Campus Center Groundbreaking

March 24, 2005

CARROLLTON, GA - The community is invited to the campus of the University of West Georgia on Thursday, March 31, to join in a celebration of two historic events.

The groundbreaking for the new Campus Center will take place at 4 p.m. followed by the dedication of Adamson Hall at 5:15 p.m. The groundbreaking will take place on the pedestrian plaza between the Technology-enhanced Learning Center and the Campus Community Center. The Adamson dedication ceremony is scheduled for the back terrace of the building located on Front Campus Drive.

The Campus Center, a three-phase project to be constructed over a 10-year period, will provide UWG students with a first class recreational facility. Student fees will fund the first two phases, with phase one scheduled for completion in 2006 and phase two projected for completion in 2008-09. Phase three will replace the University Community Center and will be funded by a combination of state and private dollars.

The Adamson Hall Dedication celebrates the reconstruction of one of the original buildings on campus. In 1999, the General Assembly and then Gov. Roy Barnes allocated $5 million to renovate the historically significant structure. However, extensive study by contractors and forensic engineers concluded the building could not be restored and in 2001, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved its demolition and reconstruction. The new Adamson Hall replicates the front facade of the building originally erected in 1917 as a women’s dormitory.

Three areas of the building will be named in honor of individuals with significant ties to Adamson’s history and current existence. The lobby will be named the Sara Davenport Cadenhead Lobby to recognize the philanthropic efforts of Paul Cadenhead in supporting this project to honor his wife, who was a resident of the original Adamson Hall.

The two wings of the first floor will be known as the Thomas B. Murphy Wing and the Edgar L. Rhodes Wing. While he was Speaker of the House, Murphy provided leadership in securing state funding for the project while Rhodes championed the project amongst the members of his fellow Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Adamson Hall currently houses the Department of Continuing Education and some offices and instructional space for the Richards College of Business. Following the dedication ceremony, light refreshments and tours of the building will be offered.

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