Garvin Hall

Garvin Hall is one of two century-old, meticulously restored elementary schools that now house the SCAD School of Foundation Studies, the only dedicated school of its kind in the U.S. Formerly known as Anderson Hall, Garvin Hall was rededicated in 2023 for SCAD School of Foundation Studies dean Maureen Garvin as a tribute to her 35-plus years nurturing the creativity and career dreams of SCAD students. Garvin first joined SCAD and the School of Foundation Studies as a professor in 1988 and later served as the department's chair for 12 years before she was named dean of the SCAD School of Fine Arts in 2003. Garvin returned to the School of Foundation Studies as dean in 2008.

Designed by Gottfried L. Norrman as a blend of Classical and Colonial Revival styles, Anderson Street Elementary School opened in 1896. Following the school's closure in the 1970s as a result of falling enrollment, the building was one of four former schoolhouses SCAD purchased from the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education and refurbished in 1988, the same year Garvin first joined the university. The ornate red brick building sits atop a stone and granite foundation, with its exterior highlighted by arched windows, ornamental stone details, and a standing seam metal roof crowned by a classical octagonal cupola. Inside, wide hallways and high-ceilinged classrooms provide spacious, light-filled settings for students to immerse themselves in the visual and conceptual knowledge necessary for success at SCAD and beyond.