For more information, contact James Jolly, director of marketing and communications, at 843.383.8018

Hartsville, S.C. — Coker College officially broke ground for its new library and information technology center on Wednesday, April 20. Construction of the 40,000-square foot academic building is scheduled to be completed by December 2006.

“Today we break ground for a facility that will usher our academic community into a new century of service and make such an important statement about the commitment we have to create an educational experience of uncommon quality,” said Dr. Jim Dawson, president of the college. “Those who cross the threshold will experience the grand combination of technology and tranquility.”

Named for two of South Carolina’s leading citizens in business and philanthropy, the Charles W. and Joan S. Coker Library-Information Technology Center will be a state-of-the-art facility that will offer students and faculty unparalleled access to learning and teaching resources by merging the traditional library with the educational potential of the Internet and new technology. The building will sit next to the Admnistration Building and face College Avenue.

“This is an exciting time to be a student at Coker College,” said Student Government Association president Jennifer Crocker, a senior communications major from Union. “We are in the midst of a grand transformation on our campus, the most noticeable of which will be this magnificent new facility. This will be a great place to write a research paper as well as get a cup of coffee with friends.”

The total cost for the library-information technology center project is $10 million for construction and landscaping, including the college’s new campus entrance, equipment, furniture, and $1 million to increase the library collection. The center is a cornerstone of Coker College’s $22.6 million Gateway to the New Century Campaign.

The two-floor building will house an expanded library collection of over 120,000 books, periodicals, and audio-visual materials. It will also feature high-speed wireless and networked Internet access, computer workstations and a separate computer lab. Additionally, it will be home to a writing center, a curriculum room, an art collections room, an archive, a faculty research room, conference and reading rooms, group meeting areas, and a café. One of the most prominent interior features of the new center will be the panoramic window that provides a backdrop for comfortable lounges on the first and second floors.

The Charles W. and Joan S. Coker Library-Information Technology Center was designed by Daniel Cook and Associates of Ogden, Utah, and will be built by Chancel Construction Group of Myrtle Beach.

The groundbreaking also included remarks from Charles W. Coker, Sr., the retiring chairman of the board of Sonoco Products Company, Harris DeLoach, CEO of Sonoco Products Company and co-chairman of Coker College’s Gateway to the New Century Campaign Steering Committee, and Charles Sullivan, senior vice president of Global Consumer Products for Sonoco Products Company and vice-chairman of the Coker College Board of Trustees. Representing Coker College faculty was Dr. David Eubanks, director of planning, assessment and information services.

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Arpil 20, 2005