Release date: Aug. 21, 2002
Contact: Nancy Seideman, Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-727-0640 or nseidem@emory.edu

Emory Celebrates Opening of "Living and Learning" Residential Campus

WHO: Emory University students

WHAT: Opening of new Clairmont Campus

WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 25 – Move-in day for student residents

WHERE: Undergraduate Residential Complex, 2405 Dooley Dr. The main entrance to the campus is located on Clairmont Road between N. Druid Hills Road and N. Decatur Road, adjacent to the VA Medical Center.

PARKING: Clairmont Campus Parking Deck, 1945 Starvine Way

Emory University’s new Clairmont Campus – an innovative, "living-and-learning" residential development – opens the door to a new era of on-campus housing Sunday, Aug. 25 as undergraduate students begin moving in for fall semester.

Situated on 42 acres along Clairmont Road in Decatur, the Clairmont Campus provides students with an academic village-type setting that integrates learning, recreation and student activities with the privacy and autonomy of an off-campus apartment. The campus is built to house 1,100 junior and senior undergraduates and 550 graduate students. The new apartment-style living arrangements replace outdated student housing which was torn down last year.

"The Clairmont Campus is unique to Emory and truly state-of-the-art in terms of residence hall design. It allows students to live more independently, yet remain academically and socially connected to the university," says John Ford, senior vice president for campus life.

The centerpiece of the mini-campus is the Student Activities and Academic Center (SAAC), which officially opens in January. The facility will feature classrooms, a computer research lab, an Olympic-sized pool, basketball and volleyball courts, and an outdoor activity field. A café and other food options also will be available. Free parking and five-minute rides to the main Emory campus via alternative-fueled shuttles also are provided to residents.

The campus also provides space for 17 faculty-in-residence apartments, the first time Emory has offered such a living and teaching opportunity for selected faculty members. The program, part of a growing national trend, allows faculty members to interact with students and enhance the educational benefits of the university outside the classroom, Ford says.

The first faculty-in-residence participant is Emory anthropology professor Bradd Shore, who also is director of Emory’s Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life. Shore will run a Center for International Living at the campus that will provide comprehensive programming for residents.

The complex has one-, two-, three- and four-bedrooms units, and students have their own bedrooms. The apartments include washers and dryers, dishwashers, full kitchens and one full bathroom for every two residents. Other amenities include telephone, cable and high-speed Internet connections in each bedroom. Additionally, Office of Campus Life staff members at the Clairmont Campus provide services, activities and programs geared specifically for students.

With the opening of the complex, the number of seniors staying on campus increased 65 percent to 807, or two out of every three seniors. Overall, 68 percent of Emory’s undergraduate students live on campus, up from 62 percent last year.

The Clairmont Campus is open exclusively to juniors, seniors and graduate students. Rental rates include free parking and shuttle service, all utilities, cable, Internet connections and local telephone service.

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