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Newly renovated Sanford Hall is ready to welcome App State students

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The first phase of renovations is complete on Appalachian State University’s Sanford Hall, in which almost every undergraduate Mountaineer has a class during their college career. The final phase of the more than $18 million project will be complete prior to fall semester, when classes will be held in the building once again. Photo by Marie Freeman

“In July 2019, we embarked on this renovation to update critical safety and mechanical systems, install air conditioning, enhance energy efficiency and reimagine classroom, office and event spaces. With its elegant glass elevator tower, this building is now a beautiful anchor to the east end of Sanford Mall.”

App State Chancellor Sheri Everts

By Jan Todd
Posted March 30, 2021 at 2:59 p.m.

BOONE, N.C. — Doors opened on the newly renovated Sanford Hall on Appalachian State University’s campus March 25. A small gathering of university leadership, members of App State’s Board of Trustees and others from the Appalachian Community celebrated the occasion with a reopening ceremony and toured the building.

“In July 2019, we embarked on this renovation to update critical safety and mechanical systems, install air conditioning, enhance energy efficiency and reimagine classroom, office and event spaces. With its elegant glass elevator tower, this building is now a beautiful anchor to the east end of Sanford Mall.”

App State Chancellor Sheri Everts

Almost every undergraduate Mountaineer has a class during their college career in this iconic building, constructed in the 1960s. The renovated building houses the Department of English and provides classroom and office space.

In her remarks, App State Chancellor Sheri Everts expressed appreciation for those who came together to complete the project on budget, despite the many obstacles presented by the global pandemic.

“In July 2019, we embarked on this renovation to update critical safety and mechanical systems, install air conditioning, enhance energy efficiency and reimagine classroom, office and meeting spaces,” Everts said. “With its elegant glass elevator tower, this building is now a beautiful anchor to the east end of Sanford Mall.”

College of Arts and Sciences Dean Neva Specht said, “Every step of the way, the chancellor has supported the ideas we had to make this building better for our faculty, our students and our campus. The Department of English faculty worked tirelessly to discuss how the building should be designed for the most positive impact on the student experience and their input was acknowledged in the changes and updates.”

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Appalachian State University Chancellor Everts addresses university leadership, members of App State’s Board of Trustees and other Appalachian Community members in a seminar room on the first floor of App State’s newly renovated Sanford Hall during the building’s reopening ceremony March 25. Photo by Marie Freeman

The first four floors of the 71,000-square-foot building are now complete, and the fifth floor, which houses offices and meeting room space, will be opened this summer.

App State’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, formerly located in Sanford Hall, will remain in Lillie Shull Dougherty Hall, where it moved at the onset of the construction.

The first phase of renovations included the following:

  • Addition of air conditioning and a fire suppression system.
  • Replacement of approximately 450 panes of glass for energy efficiency savings.
  • Redesign of office spaces and classrooms.
  • Creation of a new lecture hall, a large reception area and three specially designed film screening rooms.
  • Complete replacement of the building’s electrical and mechanical systems, IT infrastructure and fire alarm system.
  • Installation of a double elevator system, replacing the former single elevator.
  • Addition of stone veneer and masonry work on the exterior, as well as landscaping and hardscaping.
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Appalachian State University leadership, members of App State’s Board of Trustees (BOT) and other members of the Appalachian Community attended the reopening ceremony of App State’s Sanford Hall March 25. Pictured at left in foreground is BOT Chair Scott Lampe, and at right in foreground is Student Government Association (SGA) President and BOT student representative Michael Davis. Photo by Marie Freeman

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The renovated Sanford Hall on Appalachian State University’s campus features a dual elevator tower, which, from inside — as shown — overlooks Sanford Mall and provides views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. Photo by Marie Freeman

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Appalachian State University’s Sanford Hall accommodates an average of 4,600 students per day — 23,000 students per week. The 71,000-square-foot redesigned building contains 25 classrooms, including the one pictured. Photo by Marie Freeman

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Appalachian State University’s newly renovated Sanford Hall features collaborative workspace for students and classroom configurations to allow for lecture- or interactive-style classes. Photo by Marie Freeman

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Dr. Tammy Wahpeconiah, professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of English, reads the department’s Indigenous Land Acknowledgment during the reopening ceremony for App State’s Sanford Hall, held March 25. The acknowledgement recognizes and honors those Indigenous peoples on whose ancestral land the App State campus is located today. Photo by Marie Freeman

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Dr. Neva J. Specht, dean of Appalachian State University’s College of Arts and Sciences, speaks at the March 25 reopening of App State’s Sanford Hall, which houses the college’s Department of English. Specht thanked App State Chancellor Sheri Everts, the university’s Board of Trustees members and others who worked to make the Sanford Hall renovation a reality. Photo by Marie Freeman

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“Sanford Hall has always been a workhorse of a building,” said Jeff Pierce, director of planning, design and construction at App State. “It had good bones but needed to be modernized. Students and faculty are going to be so much better served by this freshening. It’s a very pleasant, functional learning environment.”

Sanford Hall is named in honor of the late Terry Sanford, who served as governor of North Carolina from 1961–65 and as a U.S. senator from 1987–93, and his wife, Margaret Rose Sanford, who is also deceased. Cost of construction for the original building: $1.5 million.

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Appalachian’s Future

The more than $18 million Sanford Hall renovation is one of several major construction projects underway on App State’s campus. Visit the Appalachian’s Future website to learn more about projects underway or being planned over the next three to five years that will enhance the Appalachian Experience.

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A map of the Indian tribes of North America, about 1600 A.D. along the Atlantic and about 1800 A.D. westwardly. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division image

Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

Closing the Sanford Hall opening ceremony, Dr. Tammy Wahpeconiah, a professor in App State’s Department of English and a member of the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska, read the department’s Indigenous Land Acknowledgment, which recognizes and honors those Indigenous peoples on whose ancestral land the App State campus is located today.

As the acknowledgment explains, Native peoples lived, hunted and traded in the Western North Carolina region long before the colonization of North America. The statement serves as a reminder to, as it states, “reflect on our interconnected pasts while we contemplate our path forward.”

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

“In July 2019, we embarked on this renovation to update critical safety and mechanical systems, install air conditioning, enhance energy efficiency and reimagine classroom, office and event spaces. With its elegant glass elevator tower, this building is now a beautiful anchor to the east end of Sanford Mall.”

App State Chancellor Sheri Everts

Appalachian’s Future

The more than $18 million Sanford Hall renovation is one of several major construction projects underway on App State’s campus. Visit the Appalachian’s Future website to learn more about projects underway or being planned over the next three to five years that will enhance the Appalachian Experience.

View larger image

A map of the Indian tribes of North America, about 1600 A.D. along the Atlantic and about 1800 A.D. westwardly. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division image

Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

Closing the Sanford Hall opening ceremony, Dr. Tammy Wahpeconiah, a professor in App State’s Department of English and a member of the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska, read the department’s Indigenous Land Acknowledgment, which recognizes and honors those Indigenous peoples on whose ancestral land the App State campus is located today.

As the acknowledgment explains, Native peoples lived, hunted and traded in the Western North Carolina region long before the colonization of North America. The statement serves as a reminder to, as it states, “reflect on our interconnected pasts while we contemplate our path forward.”

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

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Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
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