Another New Beginning...

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

        What an exciting time to be a part of the Motlow Smyrna Campus! Construction on the new building is about to begin, and we will finally see the space we need coming to fruition. The building will be large at around 80,000 square feet and three stories high. To put this in perspective, the Art Walker Jr. Building is around 17,000 square feet, and the Mary Lou Apple Building is around 35,000 square feet. That means the new facility will have more space and classrooms than the current two buildings combined! In addition to 25 new classrooms and seven new labs, the building will contain an 8,000-square-foot library, a huge one-stop area for admissions, business and student success, as well as ample amounts of office space. Our faculty and staff who are currently sharing will finally have their own offices waiting for them when the project is finished. We have such an exceptional team that has the best professional attitudes about sharing. I can’t express how grateful I am to work with such an amazing group of people.

Smyrna Campus Academic Dean Elizabeth Fitch

        Things are going to start happening quickly now. Starting this week, erosion control will begin on the property. With this, you will see some fencing go up next week around the project area, and we will no longer be able to park in the parking lot that is located on the building site. On April 2, 2018, we will see the first construction equipment arrive. The construction team will begin clearing the wood line to put in 650 additional parking spaces, and the building itself will begin to go up. This project is going to move at a remarkable pace, as we are on schedule to occupy the new facility by July 2019.

        I began working at the Motlow Smyrna Campus in 2006, the first semester that the Art Walker Jr. Building opened. At that time, it was shiny and new, and all the faculty and staff, albeit a tiny group, were extremely proud of the new facility. It represented a new beginning, a new campus, and a new frontier for Motlow College. Everyone rolled up his or her sleeves, worked across divisions and departmental boundaries, and did whatever it took to make sure our students had the best experience possible. We opened that building with an enrollment of 800 students. It didn’t take long for the classrooms to be filled, office space to be shared, and extra space to be desperately needed. Fast forward to today, and we are looking at an enrollment of over 3,000 students, a much larger group of faculty and staff, and a familiar need for more offices and classroom space. Having been part of this campus’s growth, and this college’s journey for the past 12 years, I can say that one thing has stayed the same… our spirit. It’s a spirit of doing whatever is needed to serve our students, demonstrating flexibility and perseverance, sharing space when needed, pitching in to help a colleague with the planning or execution of a campus event, and remaining fearlessly dedicated to each other and our purpose. I am, and have always been, thankful to be a part of this team, a part of this campus’s growth, and a part of this college.

Elizabeth A. Fitch

Smyrna Campus Academic Dean