The rain and gray skies outside didn’t dampen the Bees’ sunny fourth birthday celebration March 25.Fun, uptempo music helped set the mood in the Hub, as students and staff satisfied their sweet tooths with ice cream and cupcakes topped with sunshine-yellow icing.But it wasn’t all about partying and enjoying tasty treats that Thursday afternoon. Many students and staff members took the time to reflect on the growth and changes they’ve witnessed on the campus.Since its 2005 inception, SCAD-Atlanta has seen its numbers grow from 77 students to about 1,500 students, said P.J. Johnson, vice president for SCAD-Atlanta. The facility has expanded, more courses and student clubs are now offered, and the sense of community is much stronger, Johnson said.
Art Malloy, the dean of student services, said he has enjoyed seeing the steady increase in student activities since his arrival on the campus at the end of 2006.
During the birthday celebration, Malloy led a growth-themed trivia game, giving students the opportunity to win prizes. Among the questions: “What are SCAD’s two newest locations?”
Hint: “Hong and Kong is just one,” Malloy quipped.
Answering correctly “Atlanta and Hong Kong,” first-year interior design student Nolen Taylor snagged the prize for that question.
Taylor said she notices more students each quarter and enjoys SCAD’s diversity. “All the different cultures, I love that,” Taylor said, who also noted meeting someone from the Middle East. “You don’t get that a lot.”
Joshua Holcombe, a second-year fashion transfer student, said he came to SCAD because it’s more specialized in his field than his previous two universities, and SCAD’s growth has enhanced his experience.
When he arrived at SCAD there were only a handful of professors in the fashion department, he said. “Now there are significantly more.”
For Sabrina Kwon, “there have been so many changes I don’t know where to start.”
“The facility has been revamped. It’s amazing.” said Kwon, an interior design graduate student who has been at SCAD since 2006. She took some time off to have a baby and expects to finish up this quarter.“There’s so much life and activity … a lot of energy,” she said. “Even despite the growth, there’s still that family quality that SCAD-Atlanta has.”But with growth, comes some growing pains.
“It’s getting a lot harder to find a parking space,” Kwon said.
Angela Dickey, a second-year professional writing graduate student, said it also is getting harder to find available computers in the labs.
“I have to get a little crafty,” she said of her efforts to find a workstation.
It seems, though, that those small inconveniences haven’t clouded students’ overall view of SCAD and its growth.
“Given that it’s a smaller institution, you can feel the camaraderie,” said Dickey, adding that she’d even consider returning to SCAD to teach after graduation. “The colors on the walls already make it welcoming here, but the college is becoming even more welcoming.
“This is just the beginning for SCAD,” she said.
SCAD-Atlanta echoes Dickey’s sentiment with its continued plans for growth.
In fall 2009, the campus will add three new sports, cross country, tennis and golf, and several new degree programs.
SCAD-Atlanta’s fourth birthday coincides with SCAD’s 30th anniversary.