Newell Williams, president of Brite Divinity School, said the Harrison Building construction is on schedule.

“Faculty and staff are scheduled to move in early January,” he said.

The Brite  graduate school offers degree programs for students preparing to serve as ministers in churches or as religion faculty in colleges and universities, Williams said. The Harrison Building will house classrooms for courses offered in the graduate program as well as a conference center on the ground floor.

“It  will be a great place for wedding receptions, scholarly symposia and other special programs,” he said.

Currently, the Brite program has use of only four classrooms, but the Harrison Building will provide 11 classrooms.

“We will also have four breakout rooms that we have not had before,” Williams said.
Cody J. Sanders, a graduate student who is working towards his doctorate in Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Counseling at Brite, said the construction of the Harrison building will benefit students because it will give them needed classroom space.

The Harrison Building will not only provide more classroom space. A room designed as a preaching laboratory will have state-of-the art recording equipment, Williams said.

“This will help students see how they appear in the critical role of proclaiming the gospel,” he said.  

Katie Lewis, a sophomore religion and social work double major, said she is excited about the Harrison Building being finished. 

“It is gorgeous, and it will be fun to have meetings in it,” she said.

She said she is planning on going to seminary after college and believes the new building will bring in more students.

“The building will open up a lot more opportunities and will be more open for people to go in,” Lewis said.

Sanders said  he is looking forward to being able to have a class in the building before his class work is over.

“I think it’s a demonstration of Brite’s commitment to theological education,” Sanders said.
The Harrison  Building will be open for spring 2012 classes.