All invited to residence halls ribbon cutting today

Augusta University President Dr. Brooks Keel and other distinguished guests will cut the ribbon on Oak and Elm Halls, the university’s two new residence halls, on Wednesday, Aug. 24.

All faculty, staff and students are invited to the ceremony, which will be held in the lobby of Oak Hall from 1-2 p.m.

Known as Jaguar Park collectively, Oak and Elm Halls combined offer more than 700 beds to undergraduate and graduate/professional students. The state-of-the-art facilities, located in the heart of the university’s Health Sciences Campus, replaced Residence IV and Residence V, which had a combined total of only about 100 beds.

“Our graduate and professional students are now just steps from their classes, labs, and clinical experiences. New freshmen are now located on campus and in walking distance to the wellness center, the Health Sciences student activity center, Atrium Dining Hall, and the student health center. We know students are at their best and have a brighter future when they’re engaged in their university. By making Oak Hall or Elm Hall their home, students have found the ideal place and space to live, connect, and nurture lifelong friendships,” said Dr. Keel.

Oak Hall, the undergraduate residence, is composed primarily of two-bedroom suites with a student in each room and two-bedroom suites with two students per room. Each suite is fully furnished and has its own bathroom.

Elm Hall, the primarily graduate residence, has fully furnished studio, one-bedroom, one-bath and two-bedroom, two-bath apartments, each with their own kitchen and breakfast bar.

In addition to living spaces, Oak and Elm Halls also offer a variety of chat, gather and connect spaces for studying and social interaction. These spaces, found on each floor of the residences, offer traditional table-and-chair seating, soft seating for lounging and expansive views of the Health Sciences Campus through large windows.

Since parking is limited around Jaguar Park, people coming from the Summerville Campus are encouraged to ride the Jaguar Express shuttle. The Teal Route shuttle, which boards in front of University Hall, drops off in front of Oak Hall. Service is provided every 10-12 minutes.