Rosalynn Carter Health & Human Sciences Complex Complete, Statue Unveiled

May 2, 2013, will go down as a very special day in the annals of Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) history. GSW President Kendall Blanchard said as much during a ceremony honoring former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

The University dedicated the second of two buildings within the Rosalynn Carter Health and Human Sciences Complex. Rosalynn Carter, President Jimmy Carter, their family and too many special guests to count were on hand for the event that was capped with the unveiling of a beautifully sculpted statue of Mrs. Carter sitting on a bench holding a copy of her book, “The First Lady from Plains.”

The bronze statue was sculpted by acclaimed artists Don Haugen and Teena Stern, a husband and wife team out of Marietta. The base of the sculpture is made from keystone blue granite mined in Elberton, Georgia.

Mrs. Carter is a GSW graduate from the class of 1946, and President Carter attended Georgia Southwestern before transferring to Georgia Tech and then on to the US Naval Academy.

The new building within the complex or “Carter II,” as it will be called on campus, stands at roughly 35,000 square feet and is home to the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) and the Georgia Southwestern Psychology and Sociology Department. The red-brick building boasts a full-glass entrance with modern design elements in the interior.

The Rosalynn Carter Health and Human Sciences Complex is adjacent to GSW’s Education Center and the Wheatley Administration Building. Phase I of the project houses state-ofthe-art classrooms and clinical space for the School of Nursing, the University Health Center and a wonderful display portraying Mrs. Carter’s lifetime commitment to caregiving and advocating for mental health awareness.

Allstate Construction lead the Rosalynn Carter Health and Human Sciences Complex project and architectural firm Andras, Allen and Starr designed it. Allstate Construction President Bill Weldon is also a Georgia Southwestern alumnus.

For additional information about this project or for info regarding Georgia Southwestern, please call (229) 931-2037.