The furor began in the spring, when university staff floated the idea that the campus might be best served by replacing the historic residence halls that make up the Quad.

In a series of spirited public hearings, alumni and preservationists made the case for keeping the seven Classical Revival buildings. Their pleas were heard.

Following the recommendation of Chancellor Linda P. Brady, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously in early September to renovate rather than demolish and replace the Quad. A campus touchstone for almost 90 years, the residence halls will be home for generations of students to come.

Jana Wagenseller, president of the UNCG Alumni Association, attended the trustees' September meeting. “A lot of people have special memories of that place,” she said. “With this decision, the Quad will continue to be the heart of the campus.”

The debate over the Quad will have effects far beyond those seven buildings. It put a spotlight on the need for more campus housing. Enrollment has climbed sharply during the past decade, but the stock of housing increased by only 400 beds. In response to that need, the university has developed its first strategic housing plan.

At the same September meeting in which the trustees decided the fate of the Quad, they approved two other parts of that strategic plan. They endorsed plans to build a new residence hall on Spring Garden Street adjacent to Tower Village and to explore options near campus for new housing and recreational facilities. The new residence hall is expected to have around 400 beds and to cost about &30 million.

Construction of that hall is expected to begin in the spring and should be completed by July 2011. Renovation of the Quad buildings is slated to begin in May 2011. The projects are timed so that additional on-campus housing will be available in the new residence hall for fall 2011, when the Quad will be closed for renovation.

The renovation should again make the Quad buildings among the most desirable on campus. Despite their place in the hearts of alumni, the residence halls have not been highly sought after by students in recent years, housing staff say. Many students supported replacing the Quad with new buildings.

Designed by renowned Greensboro architect Harry Barton, who also designed Aycock Auditorium and other campus landmarks, the Quad buildings — Bailey, Coit, Cotten, Gray, Hinshaw, Jamison and Shaw — were built between 1919 and 1923.