College of Arts and Sciences Building
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Social Sciences Building
1974, Lane-Knorr-Elliott.
What was formerly known as the College of Arts and Sciences Building on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus is currently identified as the Social Sciences Building (SSB). The building breaks from the design of the original quadrangle of university and administrative facilities, located west of the SSB, and is a departure from the concrete horizontal trend that defined those buildings. The SSB is composed of two large sections covered with dark glass, separated by a slightly taller concrete section. It connects to the Consortium Library to the east and to the west side of campus through an indoor pedestrian bridge that first links the building to a parking garage and then the Natural Science Building before crossing over UAA Drive to the Engineering and Computation Building. These bridges also serve as meeting and gathering space for students and are outfitted with chairs, benches, and desks.
The SSB was among the first buildings completed to accompany the creation of the Anchorage Senior College (ASC), the forerunner to the modern University of Alaska Anchorage. The senior college was originally created to administer upper-division classes and confer bachelor’s and master’s degrees to students who lived in Southcentral Alaska. Today, the SSB is fully integrated into the university and hosts introduction as well as upper-division and graduate-level courses. The three floors of the SSB house several academic departments (Alaska Native Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, and Mathematics and Statistics), the Center of Behavioral Health Research and Services, the Psychological Services Center (PSC), the administrative offices of the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as a lecture hall, classrooms, coffee shop, and alumni services.
References
Jacobs, W.A. Becoming UAA: 1954-2014 The Origins and Development of the University of Alaska. Anchorage: University of Alaska Anchorage, 2014.
Writing Credits
Updated By:
Ian C. Hartman (2020)
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