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Schools

GGC Celebrates New Laboratory Facility

The new lab was needed for expanding fall enrollment at Georgia Gwinnett College.

When fall semester classes begin at on Aug. 17, students will have a brand new place to learn. Tuesday, the college held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new laboratory facility that sits in the heart of the campus.

The building represents another milestone for the five-year-old college. It not only boosts the number of facilities to one million square feet, the building was constructed out of necessity for the college's ballooning enrollment.. About 8,000 are expected on campus when classes begin in two weeks.

When Dr. Thomas Mundie first started his job as dean for the School of Science and Technology,  he sounded the alarm that GGC would run out of laboratory space when enrollment reached 6,000 students. The exisiting labs only supported about 5,700. Every student is required to take laboratory science as part of the curriculum. Without more lab space, enrollment would have had to be capped.

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The building process resembled something out of Extreme Makeover. Garrard Construction Group of Duluth had the task of turning a parking lot into a state-of-the-art building in just a little over five months. Leaders broke ground on the facility on February 18th. Now, all that's left to do are a few finishing touches and furniture. Crews worked long hours, some giving up vacation time to get the building finished. "We are thrilled that we are here, said Ron Garrard, president of Garrard Construction. "We are thrilled that we've had this opportunity to be a part of something so significant."

The building holds seven new laboratories. Each accommodates about two dozen students. One will be dedicated to computational sciences, one to multi-disciplinary research, one to physics, one to natural sciences and three to biology and chemistry courses. They will be equipped with advanced "toys", including three-dimensional imaging capabilities.

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State Sen. Don Balfour of Snellville, who has a son who attends GGC, applauded the school's growth. "We have a retention rate at an access institution that parallels the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech.", said Balfour. "We can build great buildings... but the students don't stay because the brick and mortar looks good."

The $7-million, 24,000-sqare-foot structure was funded by the University System of Georgia. The price tag is the subject of some criticism. An investigation by the Atlanta Journal Constitution noted USG has allocated more than $200 million dollars to GGC since it opened, while state funding for other fast-growing area colleges has dropped. GGC's President Dr. Daniel J. Kaufman addressed the criticism during Tuesday's ceremony. "Despite what you may have read... we are convinced that all of these programs are essential so that we can provide the education and the opportunities that our current and future students deserve," said Kaufman. Other faculty chimed in. "I think it's important for the public to know that the need for this facility is without question," said Mundie. "First of all, our continued growth depends on this facility."

USG Chancellor Hank Huckaby participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony as part of his first official visit to the campus as chancellor. Huckaby admitted that when the idea for the college came up years ago, he had doubts it was the right approach. He changed his mind after seeing the campus in December. "I was blown away by what was going on here," Huckaby said. "This is truly a jewel among jewels in the university system because what's being done here is unique. it's still very much an experiment... but I think it's one that's going to be successful."

The new laboratory facility is the first piece of the puzzle for the college's planned Allied Health and Sciences building. That project has not been funded yet.

The college is also requesting approval for a new chemistry major, which will generate a need for even more laboratory courses and more space.

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