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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—A completely renovated building on the
Birmingham-Southern campus now devoted entirely to the college's
humanities academic programs will be dedicated during ceremonies
Thursday, Oct. 2.
The Humanities Center will be dedicated
during a public ceremony beginning at Noon outside the main entrance
to the building, which
is located on the
college's academic quadrangle. Informal tours will follow.
A $4.3 million renovation project begun
in June 2002 converted the college's
Phillips Science Building into a center to accommodate the academic needs
of the Division of Humanities. The four-story building now houses
the academic
programs of the Classics, English, History, Modern Foreign Languages, Philosophy,
and Religion.
The Humanities Center houses 12 classrooms; three seminar rooms;
34 faculty offices; writing, speech, and media centers; and foreign
languages and
computer labs, among other areas.
“The humanities are at the heart of a distinctive liberal arts education
such as that offered at Birmingham-Southern, so it was imperative that we bring
together the entire humanities faculty and programs into a single teaching, learning,
and research center that incorporates a modern learning environment and state-of-the-art
technology,” said Birmingham-Southern President Dr. Neal R. Berte.
The renovation became possible when the 100,000 square-foot Elton
B. Stephens Science Center opened on campus in June 2002.
The Phillips Science Building, which had
housed the college's
science program since its original construction in 1951, was named
in memory of Birmingham
businessman and longtime college supporter M. Paul Phillips, whose
contribution made the facility possible. A portion of the main
entrance common area of the
Humanities Center will continue to recognize Mr. Phillips.
The general contractor for the renovation project was Brice Building
Company of Birmingham, and the architect was Garrison Barrett
Group of Birmingham.
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