"The Quad at UNCG: Past, Present, and Future" exhibit

The Quad under construction in the 1920s

Learn more about the history of UNCG’s Quad in a new exhibit from SCUA. “The Quad at UNCG: Past, Present, and Future” exhibit will be featured in Jackson Library in exhibit cases beside the reference desk from October 15-November 5, 2012.

Under the leadership of its second president, Julius I. Foust, the college now known as UNCG saw one its greatest periods of growth in the 1920s. Enrollment doubled and the number of buildings on campus grew by 21 between 1920 and 1929. This construction boom began with the building of a dormitory, named for woman’s suffrage leader Anna Howard Shaw. Six others followed by 1923, forming the dormitory quadrangle: Gray, Hinshaw, Bailey, Cotton, Jamison, and Coit. Finally, in 1939, the empty north end of the Quad was filled with the construction of Winfield and Weil Halls.

All seven buildings on the UNCG Quad were designed by Harry Barton, a prominent Greensboro architect. Barton drew up plans for a number of other UNCG buildings, including Aycock Auditorium, Brown Building, the Curry School Building, Mary Foust Residence Hall, and Guilford Residence Hall.

In 2009, campus administrators held open forums to discuss the future of the Quad. The buildings were approximately $32 million behind in deferred maintenance and lacked air conditioning, fire sprinklers, and handicapped access. Some argued that it would be cheaper and easier to demolish and replace them. Others wanted to see the buildings renovated rather than destroyed. Ultimately, administrators decided to renovate and modernize the Quad.

Renovation work began on May 7, 2011, with renovations estimated to cost $52.5 million. Gifts from alumni and friends of the University were key in funding the renovation. The buildings were made ADA compliant and energy efficient air conditioning was added. The Quad residence halls officially reopened to student residents in August 2012.

The Quad today