FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SDSU to Break Ground September 10 for
$33 Million College of Arts and Letters Building

State-of-the-Art Building Will Be Largest On Campus

CONTACT: Aaron Hoskins, ahoskins@mail.sdsu.edu
SDSU Marketing & Communications
(619) 594-1119

SAN DIEGO, Friday, September 10, 2004 – San Diego State University will hold an official groundbreaking ceremony today for the $33 million College of Arts and Letters Building. The 109,000-square-foot building will be the largest on the SDSU campus.

When completed in 2006, the six-story building will become home to the College of Arts and Letters – the largest of the seven colleges at SDSU, encompassing 20 academic departments and 15 centers/institutes. The College of Arts and Letters accounts for nearly 30 percent of all credit hours for SDSU’s 33,000 students by providing the core liberal arts courses required for all bachelor’s degrees.

The building will be located on the northwest corner of the SDSU campus and will be visible to motorists on Interstate 8. The building will house the dean’s offices and many of College of Arts and Letters’ academic departments, including Anthropology, English, Philosophy, and the San Diego State University Press, the oldest publishers in the California State University system. The building will also feature high-tech classrooms and laboratories along with five auditoriums ranging from 60 to 500 seats. Construction will also include a stand-alone parking structure with 200 spaces for faculty.

“We are very excited that the College of Arts and Letters will have this state-of-the-art building to call home,” said Paul Wong, dean of the College of Arts and Letters. “From modern classrooms to an array of auditoriums to even its own parking structure, the new building will accommodate the present and future needs of the College of Arts and Letters and will serve as a center for learning and discovery for the entire campus community.”

The College of Arts and Letters is home to a number of distinctive departments, including the undergraduate International Business program, which was ranked No. 7 in the nation this year by U.S. News & World Report; The Center for Latin American Studies, one of only 21 in the nation to be designated a National Resource Center for Latin American Studies; and the nation’s first Women’s Studies Department, founded in 1970.

The building’s construction team consists of: San Diego’s Delawie, Wilkes, Rodrigues, Barker, the preliminary design team; Douglas Barnhart, general contractor; and HMC Architects, the design architect.

The construction will be funded entirely by the State of California. However, SDSU has initiated an effort to raise private support to advance the College of Arts and Letters academic programs through a naming campaign.

Campaign donors will be recognized for a wide range of contributions, from the naming of a faculty office, to the naming rights of the entire College of Arts and Letters building.

“A successful donor campaign will ensure the funding is available to further the college’s goal of academic excellence which is vital to attracting the best and the brightest students and faculty from throughout the country,” Wong said.

Wong laid out four main initiatives for the College of Arts and Letters donor campaign:

* Support for Student Academic Excellence – Establishes scholarships and awards, provides support for internships and study abroad programs, and supports high achieving students from diverse backgrounds to help the College of Arts and Letters further its goal of academic excellence.

* Support for Faculty Excellence in Teaching, Research – Through support for faculty award and leadership programs, and the establishment of a Distinguished Lecturer Series and a College of Arts and Letters Distinguished Professor Program, the college will be able to recruit and retain outstanding faculty.

* Programmatic Support to Enhance and Sustain Academic Excellence – To strengthen and support the nationally recognized instructional and research programs, such as International Business, that continue to bestow significant recognition on the College of Arts and Letters.

* Enhance the Contributions of the Faculty and Students of the College of Arts and Letters in Multiple Sectors of the San Diego Community – Through the support for current and new internship programs, collaborative research and educational programs that address the vital issues for the San Diego community, the College of Arts and Letters will be able to increase the interaction between students and the community.

San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 72 areas and doctorates in 14 areas. SDSU’s nearly 33,000 students participate in academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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