UNG's Cumming Campus held a beam signing Sept. 21 for its 27,300-square-foot campus expansion. The facility is set to open for the fall 2024 semester.
Article By: Clark Leonard
The University of North Georgia (UNG) held a beam signing Sept. 21 at its Cumming Campus, with the final piece of the steel frame installed as construction continues on a 27,300-square-foot campus expansion set to open in time for the fall 2024 semester.
UNG has added bachelor's degrees in Cumming in anticipation of the new space that provides a capacity for future enrollment of 2,200 students, particularly in health care and technology-centric programs in demand along the growing Ga. 400 corridor. UNG currently has about 1,000 students at the Cumming Campus.
"This addition will provide critically needed space to continue serving talented students in the Cumming and Forsyth County areas," Dr. Steven Smith, vice president of regional campuses, said.
The $15.5 million expansion will enhance the current 36,000-square-foot Cumming Campus building after the project received funds in the Fiscal Year 2022, Fiscal Year 2023 and Fiscal Year 2024 state budgets. The 75% increase in floor space provided by the expanded facility will allow for the addition of 11 new instructional areas.
"Today we celebrate a significant milestone in the construction of the Cumming Academic Building addition. We are placing the last structural beam on the building with signatures from students, faculty, staff, administrators, the construction team, and community leaders," Dr. Ken Crowe, Cumming Campus executive director, said. "This project is on time and on budget to be completed in July 2024, paving the way for additional academic offerings on UNG's Cumming Campus, including four new bachelor's degrees."
This addition will provide critically needed space to continue serving talented students in the Cumming and Forsyth County areas.
Dr. Steven Smith
UNG vice president of regional campuses
Joining UNG leaders to celebrate the milestone were state Sen. Greg Dolezal and the UNG Cumming Campus community advisory board, as well as project partners Reeves + Young, Porter Steel, Conway & Owen, Jericho Design Group, Comprehensive Program Services, and Georgia State Financing & Investment Commission.
Dolezal referenced a Greek proverb that states, "A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they may never sit."
"The work that will happen in this space will outlive us all," Dolezal said.
Dolezal also pointed out the key role state Sen. Steve Gooch, Senate majority leader and a two-time UNG alumnus, and Mary Helen McGruder, an alumna, Cumming Campus community advisory board member, and UNG Foundation trustee, played in securing funding for the project.
Starting in fall 2023, students can begin bachelor's degrees in computer science, elementary and special education, international affairs with a European concentration, and management with a concentration in general management solely on the Cumming Campus. Though upper-level courses for the majors will launch in fall 2024 when the expansion opens, students may complete their general education requirements ahead of that time.
UNG's Cumming Campus opened in 2012.
