A year after the $40 million Lamar Dodd School of Art was dedicated, some construction goals still haven’t been reached.

Jewelry and metals, sculpture, ceramics and interior design, which make up one-third of the school, are still located in satellite areas on Thomas and Cedar streets.

“I am working constantly to bring those other programs over [to East Campus],” said art director Georgia Strange.

“It’s like not having your arm or something very integral to your body… It’s just a constant pressure.”

Strange said in the meantime she is improving existing facilities for those four departments.

Director of sculpture Larry Millard said sculpture and interior design departments opted out of moving to the new building years ago, and were promised they would get new facilities down the road. However, the failing economy has made it uncertain when that day will come.

“It was a sacrifice we made for the good of the college,” Millard said.

He said the former art building on North Campus, now called Visual Arts, was not built for expanding departments. The new school, in contrast, has left space for growth.

“It’s very important they have the space to expand and help positive initiatives,” he said. “Unfortunately there is that separation, which is not good to be very frank.”

The jewelry and metals department and the ceramics department were cut from the building when it had to be downsized due to rising construction costs.

“It’s a challenge to keep that communication, that back and forth,” Strange said. “We can ride buses, but it’s time consuming. It is a challenge for students to move around quickly.”

Despite overall positive attitudes, some students and faculty said the new building is lacking.

“I feel like there’s some separation now that all the art departments are on their own wing,” Rebecca Brown, a junior art student from Savannah, said. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t see as many people as I used to.”

She said she liked the easy walk from the old building to downtown, where she could buy art supplies or grab lunch.

Sara Watkins, a fifth year art student from Marietta, said she and her colleagues miss the nostalgia of their younger years in the old building.

“[Before the move] we could go get art supplies, food and go to the library especially,” Watkins said. “From East Campus it is hard to get anywhere. It’s packed with the buses.”

Watkins and Associate Professor Janice Simon both said until a fine arts library is built in East Campus, the building will feel incomplete.

“I don’t like being over here away from the library,” Simon said. “For art historians that is their tool, just like brushes are the main tool of a painter.”

Despite their complaints, all three said they appreciate the high-quality structure of the new school.

“I like seeing all the galleries,” Simon said.

Strange said the galleries keep the school unified by displaying work from all departments regardless of location.

She said the main problems she has seen with the building have to do with ventilation, heating and air conditioning.

“It’s a new building and those are the kinds of things you always need to attend to,” she said.

She also said there is a problem of balancing student accessibility with area security.

For example, some equipment was stolen last year during a school break, she said.

Both Millard and Strange were adamant the problems do not diminish the quality of the art program.

“I appreciate that this university has supported the arts,” Strange said. “It’s rare for a public institution to build a new building in this climate for the visual arts. It makes the University one of the best, certainly in terms of valuing art.”