College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building
1901 Avenue I
Map | News | ID#: 0314

Timeline

Apr. 2006 AB5 approved by Board of Regents
Jun. 8, 2007 Groundbreaking ceremony for AB5
Aug. 2007 Project renamed CHSS
Jan. 2009 Opened
Mar. 20, 2009 Ribbon cutting and open house
Oct. 2009 Received "Award of Excellence" honor from Texas Construction magazine
Nov. 12, 2010 Dedication of John Holcombe Room
Feb. 25, 2011 CHSS Wall of Honor dedication ceremony
Nov. 9, 2012 Outdoor Classroom dedication ceremony

Namesake

None

Architect

WHR Architects

Contractor(s)

SpawGlass Construction Corporation

Links


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

The campus landscape close to 60 years before the rise of AB5. Dormitories - such as the Departmental Dorms (upper right) and houses of three east (left) - and other houses dot the area along Avenue I.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

A similar view, this time looking northeast, and we see a house north of Spivey House.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

Twenty years later and that house is gone, as is most of the neighborhood between Avenues I and J. SHSU expanded south and made the area between the original Business Building and small houses a large parking area.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

A view of Randel House from the newly constructed Smith-Hutson Business Administration Building addition in 2006.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

Nothing much to see here - except Avenue I between the Drain Building and the faculty parking lot. Notice the bricked-in electrical equipment area already exists at this point.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

A view of the Smith-Hutson Business Administration Building addition from near the front door of Randel House.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

Remember that house we mentioned earlier? It's been gone for years by now but there's some interesting brickwork on the south side of the parking lot...


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

...and some other stray segments of cement that were photographed in March 2007. North of Randel and Spivey houses are two steps and a sidewalk that we assume could have lead to a house long ago demolished.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

By July 2007 the parking lot (and stay sidewalk) were gone to make way for the building’s foundation.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

By the next summer the framework of the building onthe rise.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

The completed College of Humanities and Social Sciences building dwarfs two of the nearby small houses.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

The CHSS Building dedication plaque.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

The southeastern corner (and rear entrance, too) of the new CHSS building.


College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building

Newly installed signage at the southwest corner along Avenue I.


The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) Building houses classrooms and offices in the south-central part of campus, south of the Smith-Hutson Building and east of the Drain Building along Avenue I.

The $30 Million, 150,000 square-foot building is the flagship structure of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, containing the Dean's Suite as well as the departments of political science, psychology and philosophy, and sociology, and the Student Advising and Mentoring (SAM) Center. The fourth floor is given over to business offices such as purchasing, human resources, and payroll.

Constructed on land most recently used as parking, the new building was approved in 2006 as Academic Building Five (AB5) and renamed the CHSS Building shortly after groundbreaking ceremonies a year later.

On March 20, 2009, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held to officially open the building. On hand for the ceremony were SHSU President Jim Gaertner, Texas State University System Chancellor Charles Matthews, CHSS Dean John de Castro, and U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady. During the celebration, Matthews read a poem about Old Main and Brady presented de Castro with a flag that was flown over the Texas Capitol in honor of the grand opening.

In October 2009 the CHSS Building received the "Award of Excellence" in Texas Construction magazine's "Best of 2009" competition.

In November 2012 an outdoor classroom was dedicated outside the building's eastern entrance.

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