The 94,498-gross-square-foot Philander P. Claxton Building consists of the 1957 Claxton Education Building and a small addition incorporated as part of the renovation of the 1957 building completed in 2000. Architect for the original building was Barber and McMurry, and the 1957 building cost was $934,000. According to then-University Architect Malcolm Rice, three caves had to be filled with cement before the foundation for the building could be begun.
The original building and a 1983 major addition, the Jane and David Bailey Education Complex, were built to house the College of Education (now part of the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences).
The more-than-$11-million renovation and expansion completed in 2000 allowed the Department of Computer Science to relocate from inadequate facilities in Ayres Hall to the new wing and a portion of the 1957 building. Architects for that renovation were Ambrose Weeks McDonald and Ross Fowler.
The building is named for Dr. Philander P. Claxton.