Office of the Chancellor
Remarks to the Board of Trustees
September 10, 2009
When this Board last met on August 17, 2009, you approved an ambitious Strategic Housing Plan designed to recapture the residential character of UNCG and accommodate anticipated enrollment growth through 2020. The plan recommends a significant expansion of our housing program, requiring both additional construction on the core campus and development of a new neighborhood west or south of the core campus.
Today UNCG will request authorization for implementation of Phase I of this plan.
Phase I of the Strategic Housing Plan consists of three projects: addressing the condition of the Quad residence halls, construction of a new residence hall elsewhere on the core campus, and exploration of options near campus for a new housing and recreational neighborhood.
I'd like to focus my remarks on the future of the Quad—an issue that has captured the passions of many. Last spring we held a number of meetings and forums with students, alumni, and other members of the campus community to elicit views from our constituents regarding the future of the Quad. These meetings were capped by a public forum hosted by this Board in April.
I have listened closely to the diverse views of many groups, to the expressed memories of our alumni who lived on the Quad, to the passion of those on campus and in this community who are committed to sustainability, to our faculty and staff who support the expansion of living-learning communities, and to the needs of current and future students for higher quality space and amenities. We have taken all of these views into account in considering UNCG's recommendation to this Board.
During the summer, UNCG engaged a consultant to integrate the Strategic Housing Plan into our Campus Master Plan. As a result of this effort, additional sites were identified on the core campus to support the proposed housing expansion. It also became clear that UNCG cannot accomplish our ambitious goals for housing on the core campus alone, and that we would need to develop a new neighborhood close to the existing campus.
I bring to you today a recommendation to renovate the Quad residence halls in suite-style rooms with adjoining baths. The project will include air conditioning, addressable fire alarms and fire sprinklers, and ADA accommodations. Additional space to support learning communities also will be part of this project.
I make this recommendation for several reasons. First, in the context of the significant expansion of our housing program recommended in the Strategic Housing Plan, the number of additional beds that could be achieved by reconstruction of the Quad with larger buildings would not make a significant difference in our housing capacity.
Second, the review of the Campus Master Plan identified sufficient sites to support the proposed housing expansion, providing for achievement of the housing goals without having to demolish the quad and replace the existing residence halls with larger buildings.
Third, the proposed renovation of the Quad will meet two important goals of the Strategic Housing Plan: increase the number of suite-style beds on the core of campus, and create space to support learning communities on the core of campus.
Finally, I am mindful of the 2007 Campus Master Plan update, which identifies the Quad as an historic and space shaping resource on campus that should be protected and restored. To quote that document: "the university should strive to preserve these important buildings…and enhance them with future landscaping and structural improvements."
UNCG has demonstrated our commitment to historically-sensitive renovation—illustrated by Aycock Auditorium, the Alumni House, Forney, and other projects—and I pledge we will approach renovation of the Quad residence halls in the same spirit.
Phase I also requires construction of a new residence hall on the core campus. This hall will include resident beds in a suite/apartment style layout and also will include learning and program spaces.
Finally, Phase I requires us to explore options for the development of a new housing and recreational neighborhood west or south of the campus to address the dramatic enrollment growth we expect in the next decade.
During my installation address in May I spoke of the importance of honoring the past, seizing the moment, and building for the future. I am convinced these Phase I Strategic Housing Plan recommendations: to renovate the Quad, to build a new residence hall on the core campus, and to develop a new housing and recreational neighborhood near campus, is a significant first step toward addressing our housing and residence hall-based educational needs of UNCG students for the forseeable future. We will do so in a way that indeed honors the past, takes advantage of the moment to expand the footprint of this campus, and ensures we will build for future generations of UNCG students.