Georgia Southern University held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its newly remodeled Foy Building Friday, honoring the completion of the building and its expansion.

The renovated building now houses the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) advisement center, dean’s suite and conference room, and the Music Department. The $7 million renovation and extension added 3,599 square feet.

Sue Moore, Interim Dean for CLASS, opened the ceremony by recognizing the building’s improvements.

“When the building closed two years ago, it was a typical 1960s building,” Moore said. “It is now a state-of-the-art facility.”

The Carol A. Carter Recital Hall now lends itself to several types of musical performances.

The Foy Building, formerly referred to as the Foy Fine Arts Building, contains the Carol A. Carter Recital Hall, which was transformed into a 287-seat hall, adding a new lobby and entrance, new elevator, seats, state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment, new green room, and acoustic panels. Other additions include a music library, choral and opera rehearsal rooms, and a recording studio.

“I can’t tell you of the faces of the students, how excited they looked when they got to see the new building,” said Dr. Richard Mercier, Chair of the Department of Music.

The renovation of the Foy Building is the last in a series of projects conceived in the late 1990s, which also brought about the Center for Art and Theater, Dr. Bruce Grube, President of Georgia Southern University, said.

Students practice in the Foy Building Annex.

“This is an exciting time for music at Georgia Southern from the new conducting emphasis in the Maters Degree program to state-of-the-art dedicated spaces for recording and music technology,” said Mercier.

The Foy Building underwent renovation two years ago and reopened this semester. During this period music majors attended classes in Hendricks Hall.

After the ribbon cutting community members in attendance were invited to a public reception and to take student-led tours of the building.

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