The need to remedy an existing shortage of research and academic space and modernize aging instructional and research space -- while preparing to meet the needs of an increasing state population in the future -- undergirds a 10-year facilities master plan for the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Chancellor Richard L. Byyny presented the CU-Boulder Campus Master Plan to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) today in Aurora.
"The growth of the student population at CU-Boulder has increased only 3.8 percent in the last 10 years while the state has grown 28.6 percent, " Byyny said. "We have a responsibility to prepare for our current students聮 needs and the increasing demand for higher education that Colorado聮s population will inevitably produce."
Byyny said the largest-ever freshman class has created the perception of huge growth on the Boulder campus, but the student body is actually only 379 students larger than last year.
CU-Boulder聮s master planning process began three years ago. The plan outlines facilities needs until the year 2008. Elected officials, City of Boulder officials, the Boulder community, regional mayors, internal constituencies, and many others were involved in the planning.
A significant portion of the master plan is focused on maintaining and upgrading aging campus buildings that house academic programs, research projects, and student life. More than 78 percent of the buildings on the campus are more than 25 years old, and the addition of new space has not kept pace with the needs of academic programs.
To remedy the situation, the plan emphasizes remodeling existing facilities and adding space to meet existing needs. Some additional facilities are also planned to accommodate enrollment and employment increases anticipated over the 10- year planning period. Thirty-eight percent of the projects in the plan are already approved and some are underway.
"State population increases aside, if we remain as competitive in securing research funding in the future as we have in the past, we will need substantially more square feet of infrastructure to support the research," Byyny said. He said CU-Boulder faculty members are the second most successful in the nation in competition for federal dollars, and make a major contribution to local and state economic prosperity through their research efforts.
Among the major new facilities included in the master plan are increased on-campus housing facilities for students, a new Discovery Learning Center for engineers, and an ATLAS building to facilitate information technology sophistication among all students regardless of their majors.
Byyny said during the 10-year period of the master plan, the university plans to place athletic fields on the CU-Boulder South campus to meet student athletic program and recreational needs.
Only 25 percent of the funding for the plan聮s capital projects would be requested from state tax dollars. The balance would be funded through service revenues, cash and gifts.
Byyny also said mediation between the City of Boulder and the university on the development of Grandview Terrace, an area that historic preservationists wish to preserve, is still in progress.
For information on the Campus Master Plan, visit the Web site at: .