Thomas Jefferson School of Law began classes in their new downtown San Diego building on Jan. 18. The $90 million building sits on top of centuries-old history, as workers found the remains of a mammoth, estimated at 300,000-years-old, during construction.
After the discovery, the San Diego Natural History museum excavated the fossils, but the school decided to keep a few pieces, incorporating some ancient shells into the terrazzo floors.
The new facility brings more than just an interesting story to students. With 305,000 square foot the building offers three times more space than the old campus, which was previously separated into three buildings. Students will be brought further together by a new cloud computing network, where data and programs are more easily shared by users.
“This is a building that supports the kind of academic program we’ve tried to foster at school — one that encompasses interaction between students and faculty, and between fellow students,” Dean Rudy Hasl said.
The space includes 12 classrooms, two learning centers, two recording studios and a 40,000 square foot library. Hasl hopes that these latest changes will allow the school to expand from its current total of 990 students.
