The first phase of Cheatham Hall was built in 1972, to provide new classroom, laboratory, and office space for Forestry and Wildlife Resources, then a division of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Constructed at a cost of $1,670,000, the building offered 56,010 square feet of spacious classrooms and offices, all of which boasted paneled walls of different species donated by forest industry companies. The building was dedicated on May 5, 1972.
The second phase was completed in 2003. The three-story addition, a new wing, attached to the south end of the building, adds 9,237 square feet of space. The addition added an entranceway to the building, with a lobby and gathering area. The first floor houses the undergraduate programs office, while the second floor has much of the wood science and forest products department plus two forestry department offices. Three classrooms occupy the third floor of the new space.
The addition was dedicated on March 19, 2003. The addition was designed by the architectural firm of Boynton Rothschild Rowland Architects PC with feasibility studies done by Cheryl D. Moore, an architect in Richmond, Va. Total project cost was $2.2 million.
Julian North Cheatham funded construction of the first phase of the building in 1972. Mrs. Alyce Cheatham and her family of Portland, Oregon, continued support of the College of Natural Resources that her late husband started, funding the addition to Cheatham Hall.
Born near Lynchburg in Campbell County, Virginia, in 1911, Julian was a member of the Corps of Cadets while a student at Virginia Tech. After graduating from Virginia Tech in 1933, he began working for the Georgia Hardwood Lumber Company that his brother Owen had started. Julian rose to the ranks of executive vice president and director before retiring in 1975 from his family company that grew into one of America's largest corporations, the Georgia-Pacific Corporation.
Before Julian died, he was actively working on establishing the now thriving World Forestry Institute. He envisioned that the Institute would not only provide information on managing the valuable commercial resource of trees but would also help preserve the forests of the world.
Of all his accomplishments, Julian took greatest pride in receiving the William H. Ruffner Medal in 1983. The medal is the highest honor that Virginia Tech can bestow, and it was awarded to Julian for his support in the construction of Virginia Tech's Forest Products Research Center and Cheatham Hall. Over the years, he and his wife Alyce have provided support for a professorship bearing his name, in addition to numerous scholarships for students.
Address: West Campus Drive | Map Grid: L-7
Originally Built: 1971 | Abbreviation: JCH