HPU’s Growth Continues with Nearly $200 Million in Construction
HIGH POINT, N.C., March 26, 2025 – High Point University’s transformational growth has continued in 2025 with the two newest academic buildings on campus set to open this summer and construction on HPU’s new $100-million library expected to start in June. The three buildings will cost a combined $195 million.
A crew of approximately 200 workers continues to work daily on new facilities for the Workman School of Dental Medicine and the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law. The two buildings, which will cost a combined $95 million, are similar in design and identical in size at three stories and 77,500 square feet. They are located next to each other and will anchor the southern end of a section of campus known as the Innovation Corridor. Construction on the law school and dental school buildings is more than 80% complete.
In June, as the final touches are being put on the dental and law school facilities, construction is scheduled to start on HPU’s new four-story, 150,000-square-foot Charman Library. The library is expected to be completed by the summer of 2027.
“High Point University has experienced transformational growth in all aspects over the past 20 years, and our campus has continued to grow to accommodate our new degree programs and the largest student enrollment in HPU’s 100-year history,” HPU President Nido Qubein said. “These new academic buildings will provide our law and dental students with an inspirational, state-of-the-art environment to practice their skills for the real world. The Charman Library will also be first rate in every way imaginable and serve all students on campus.”
The Workman School of Dental Medicine and the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law welcomed their inaugural classes this past fall, with 60 dental students and more than 70 law students. The large-scale design and technology featured in the new buildings reflects the importance of the programs. Each facility will provide cutting-edge learning spaces for students to practice the skills that they will use in the courtroom or dental office.
HPU broke ground on the two buildings in September of 2023. Shelco, LLC, is the general contractor.
The law school building will feature a 120-seat courtroom on its ground floor and a 13,000-square-foot law library with study space for students on the third floor. The large courtroom will resemble a real courtroom with a jury box, a deliberation room and a visiting judge’s chamber. It will double as a classroom, with two smaller courtrooms just down the hall.
The interior of the law school facility will have wood-paneling and brass features to mimic the décor often seen inside a courtroom and in law offices. A mosaic of the Scales of Justice will be installed in the floor of the main lobby.
“Our new building contains the ideal mix of spaces needed to operate a first-rate law school. From cutting-edge instructional and library spaces to inviting student study and organizational spaces, this new facility will help our school thrive,” said former North Carolina Chief Justice Mark Martin, founding dean and professor of law for the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law. “We will not only be able to educate our students in an inspiring environment, but we will also be able to create an exceptional community among our faculty, staff, students and law school guests.”
The dental school building will have vibrant learning spaces, including a fully functional dental office complete with a reception area. It will also have state-of-the-art simulation labs, digital design and 3D and CAD/CAM labs, and numerous innovative learning spaces and classrooms. An abstract sculpture of a toothbrush will be installed in the building’s main lobby.
“Workman Hall represents a vision of dental medicine that incubates collaboration, education, innovation and Life Skills among our community of learners, staff, faculty and visitors,” said Dr. Ali Shazib, dean for the HPU Workman School of Dental Medicine. “From our digital labs, where design and manufacturing occur, to our moveable furniture and learning, multi-purpose rooms, every step of the process was meticulously planned with the thought of remaining agile to address the evolving landscape of education, technology and health care.”