CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION

The November election this year will have a referendum for a higher education bond issue to increase the physical capacity of our colleges and universities, say educators. This major, voter-approved facilities bond issue would enable the institutions to not only make room for the growing numbers of

The New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities, the New Jersey Council of County Colleges and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in New Jersey support the general obligation bond issue. The public has supported financing capital projects with bond issues and voted in favor of the last eight education bond issues. The last general obligation bond - the "Jobs, Education & Competitiveness Bond Act" - was passed in 1988.

Dr. Jeanne M. Oswald, deputy executive director of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, says, "The state has authorized the issuance of over $1.5 billion in debt financed capital bonds ?or higher education over the past 20 years."

She says that the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, headed by Chairman Laurence M. Downes, released in November its "A Blueprint for Excellence" report on the state's long-range plan for higher education. This Stage I of a two-part plan sets forth six goals, one of which is to increase capacity. It states that between 2004 and 2010, New Jersey's colleges and universities seek to provide opportunities for between 406,000 to 411,000 students, an increase of 45,000 to 50,000 students.

(Stage 2, which is ongoing, will offer recommendations regarding research universities and economic development.)

The Commission looked at a recent capital planning survey completed by 42 of New Jersey's public and independent. colleges and universities. The campuses included over 15,000 acres, 2,000 buildings and 54 million total gross square feet of building space. The institutions reported spending $310 million for maintenance of those buildings. In fiscal 2001, the outstanding debt on which the institutions were required to make payments was about $1.6 billion. That does not count debt issued or paid for by state or county governments.

The state's public higher education institutions include three research universities, nine state colleges and universities and 19 community colleges, which served some 266,921 full- and part-time students. The 14 public-mission independent colleges and universities served an additional 57,586 students, with over 75 percent of their undergraduates from New Jersey.

The percentages of students at the

four higher education sectors are: community colleges, 38 percent; state colleges and comprehensive universities, 24 percent; independent institutions, 20 percent; and public research universities, 18 percent.

Downes said in his report, "The broad-based commitment to a highquality higher education system is critical to the state's economic competitiveness and wellbeing."

The report recommends increased investment for fiscal year 2005 and urges minimizing further reliance on student tuition and fees. The Blueprint calls for increased state investment in the public and private colleges and universities over the next several years to address the convergence of demographic trends, an expanding knowledge-based economy and growing workforce demand. it calls for more institutional operating aid and more student financial assistance programs.

The state's independent colleges and universities plan to increase their enrollment by more than 22 percent, which would mean admitting more than 17,000 students by 2010 than they do today. To accommodate those students, new construction and renovation of old facilities will cost $6.7 billion. Capital projects at the state's independent institutions total more than $1 billion.

The independent colleges report that they now have more than 20,000 high school students seeking fewer than 10,000 full-time student places.

As for community colleges, the original statute creating them called for the state to support 43 to 50 percent of operating costs. The state has been focused on trying to get county, student and state levels each to one-third. Tuition and fees accounted for 43.1 percent of community college budgets in fiscal 2002. While the percentage of

state funding has improved from 24.7 percent in fiscal 1994 to 28.6 percent in fiscal 2002, it has yet to reach onethird. The Blueprint says, "The goal of increasing the state share of funding for community colleges to approximately one-third by fiscal 2010 should be linked to a compact to address state priorities (such as increased capacity).

"Community college enrollments are growing at a rapid pace, with over 146,000 students enrolled in credit courses last fall," says Dr. Lawrence A. Nespoli, president of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges. "That's 20,000 more students since 2001. We also have over 100,000 students enrolled in non-credit programs and 50,000 students enrolled in workforce customized training programs.

"Because of this large growth, it is important for community colleges to keep up with the high demand for our services," Nespoli continues. "The state and counties have provided strong funding to date through the Chapter 12 community college building and renovation bond program. But, we may need further expansion of that program to keep up with our unprecedented enrollment growth."

Under Chapter 12 Funding, counties issue bonds for new construction, acquisition, expansion or capital renewal and replacement and the state shares the debt service with the counties. As the bonds are retired, authorization to allocate funds is renewed. The total principal amount of bonds cannot exceed $330 million (state/county combined). The New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority also issues Chapter 12 bonds.

New Jersey's colleges and universities have been increasing their capacity to serve the burgeoning school population. Here are some snapshots of what construction is underway or completed recently at the higher education institutions responding to our inquiries.

STATE COLLEGES

The College of New Jersey, (TCNJ), Ewing, recently opened a new building housing the chemistry, physics and mathematics departments, completing the twobuilding Science Complex, which also includes the Biology Building. It is currently constructing a 600-bed on-campus apartment complex for upper-class students. The facility, of three 3-story buildings each housing 200 students, is due to open in the fall.

A new $25-million library is also under construction. This 145,000 square-foot facility will house 24-hour study space and a cafe, as well as a 25-year projected growth of collections. Set to open in 2005, it will have small group work space, a large meeting room and office space.

Kean University, Union and Hillside, dedicated the new Kean Hall in 2002, kicking off a building program involving two projects now underway. The Student Services Building has been

demolished to clear the way for the new 124,000 square-foot Academic Building 11, which will be opening six months ahead of schedule in September. Eduardo N. del Valle, associate vice president for facilities and campus planning, says it will be the largest and most technologically advanced building on campus. The 4story structure will have a 125-seat lecture hall, 44 classrooms, 20 seminar rooms, 13 labs and 77 faculty and staff offices.

"It is designed as the academic centerpiece of the campus," says del Valle. "It will be the first higher-education building in the state to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council."

Montclair State University (MSU), Upper Montclair, is constructing an $80million academic building, the largest in its history. The 270,000 square-foot building will house the College of Education and Human Services, including the ADP Center for Teacher Preparation and Learning Technologies. It will have 60 classrooms, lecture halls, specialized labs and a technology hub and multi-media conference center.

"This extraordinary building will provide an instrument for teaching second to none," says Dr. Susan A. Cole, university president.

In September, MSU formally opened the new "Village at Little Falls," which includes four new residence halls and a multi-purpose center called the Abbott and Costello Center (to honor the New Jersey-born comedians).

The 280,000 square-foot residential complex has 850 beds in 212 apartments.

A new 1,100-space parking structure has also been built on campus. Construction has started on a New Jersey Transit station providing direct rail service to midtown Manhattan, with an adjacent 1,500-acre parking deck. A new 500-seat Alexander Kasser Theater will support the university's

programs in performing arts. In addition, a new 275,000 square-foot academic building will house the College of Education and Human Services.

It is the most extensive capital program in the university's history, with $214 million in new capital construction planned, as well as $35 million in improvements to existing buildings.

New Jersey City University (NJCU), Jersey City, has a number of construction projects underway on its urban campus and has plans for revitalization of the surrounding community.

NJCU has joined with the city, the Jersey City Board of Education and New Jersey Transit, on redevelopment of a 700-acre section of the city. The plan envisions new housing, retail properties and six new public schools, expanded transportation and a university village.

Last June, the university expanded its West Campus, a 15-acre site off Route 440, with the purchase of seven acres. Dr. Carlos Hernandez, president, says, "For some time, we have been planning to create a university village on the west campus."

The university just completed the $16-million Visual Arts Building, a two-story complex of 56,000 square feet of space.

Another bold capital initiative is a $25-million, 6-story Arts and Science Building set to open early in 2005. The 77,000 square-foot structure will feature 14 classrooms, 10 computer labs, faculty offices for nine departments and the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences.

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark, is in the final stages of completing a four-year construction project to rebuild the Student Center as well as erect new building spaces for classrooms and academic offices. The $85million, two-building complex is more than two-thirds completed.

NJIT has a series of new steel and concrete projects to underscore its expansion into the future. "There are new spaces dedicated to NJIT's educational and research mission," says Dr. Robert A. Altenkirch, president. "The recently opened East Building will house our growing biomedical engineering department and Albert Dorman Honors College. Historic Eberhardt Hall will be refurbished to accommodate alumni gatherings, offices for Alumni Relations and for Development, the university's fundraising arm, and to provide a home for the Alumni Association of NJIT."

Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, has started construction on

The Overlook, a suite-style residence hall for 300 students. Slated to house sophomores in two-bedroom, four-person suites, the residence hall will include a faculty apartment and storage space where international students may leave their belongings over the summer.

The $25-million, 116,000 squarefoot Bill Bradley Sports & Recreation Center, named for the former U.S. Senator, is set to be completed this spring. A second phase, renovation of the 33,000 square-foot existing athletic center, will be finished in the fall. The new 83,000 square-foot Bradley Center has an 18,000 square-foot, NCAA-regulation main arena, seat back chairs for 1,600 and additional space for 400 more people.

Rowan University, Glassboro, broke ground in December 2000 for its new $45million science building, marking the first phase of a $500-million, 10-year expansion plan. That plan calls for construction of new buildings, renovation of others and purchase of property to expand the campus and increase programs. Rowan has some 600 acres of land in the nearby area of Routes 322 and 55 that are under option to purchase. Long-term plans for some of this property include construction of new athletic facilities and creation of the new South Jersey Technology Park.

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, is currently in the midst of its most ambitious exterior renovation project since the first phase of the Pomona campus opened in 1971. The entire length of the academic complex from A-Wing through N-Wing will be receiving some sort of repairs and or renovations. Two-thirds of the nearly $10 million project is funded through the Higher Education Capital improvement Fund. The other third comes out of capital reserve funds in the College budget.

Additional office space for faculty members are being added, along with a language lab in the Library, an additional science lab and renovations to the existing lab. The project also includes a marquee for the Performing

Arts Center, and routine maintenance such as painting, caulking, and installation of new aluminum panels on the buildings, replacing windows, repaving roads and landscaping the grounds around the buildings.

The college moved its highly successful Southern Regional Institute (SRI) and the Educational Technology Training Center off campus to a rented 6,000 squarefoot facility on Route 50 in Mays Landing in February.

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, last October dedicated a new $45-million, 120,000 square-foot UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Research Building and UMDNJ-School of Public Health Building in Piscataway. It is part of the UMDNJ's statewide 5-year, $535million capital campaign to support research, education and clinical care.

The building houses 27 scientific labs for the medical school's scientists in some 90,000 square feet. It also has 30,000 square feet of space for classrooms, labs and offices of the School of Public Health - the first school in the nation to be accredited as a collaborative school of public health. The facility also has an imaging suite and a nuclear magnetic resonance facility.

The capital construction plan for the campus also includes two major projects in New Brunswick - a new 150,000 square-foot building to house the Child Health Institute of New Jersey and a 150,000 square-foot expansion of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey. When completed, the plan will have resulted in 556,500 square feet of new or renovated space at a cost of $200 million or more.

WON= Paterson University, Wayne, has developed a new comprehensive facilities master plan to guide short- and long-term plans for the campus.

"During the next five to 10 years, the new projects and enhancements described in the master plan will develop and maintain the facilities needed to provide faculty and students with an optimal academic environment on a campus that now includes multiple sites," says Arnold Speert, university president. "The master plan should meet our current and future needs as a comprehensive regional university."

The plan is designed to enable the university to continue its steady growth to serve 12,000 students and support 3,300 students living on campus.

Construction on the first project -renovation of the John Victor Machuga Student Center, the renovation of Wayne Hall, and the building of a new ballroom in the space between the two structures - began in July 2003. The renovations, expansions, and construction will significantly expand the institution's ability to meet the wide-ranging needs of the campus community.

The master plan calls for four new residence halls -- one 184-bed and one 188bed facility - to open in the fall of 2005, with two similar buildings scheduled to open in the fall of 2007. In conjunction, the campus perimeter road will be rerouted to bypass the student housing area.

INDEPENDENT COLLEGES

Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, recently renovated its former library, Talbott Hall, and it now serves as a technology center. The college is currently putting a new room on Seibert Hall, which is the oldest building on campus (1810), which houses its faculty offices.

Talbott Hall, a 14,000 square-foot structure, was officially reopened on

September 24, in time for the fall semester. It houses the Bloomfield College Institute for Technology & Professional Studies, as well as the office of Information Technology.

Caldwell College, Caldwell, is planning construction of a new, 250-foot-long access road, thanks to a $500,000 Department of Transportation grant. It is in the final stage of a three-part process, which has already added several hundred more parking spaces to the campus and a new center.

In late 2002, the college celebrated the second stage of improvements with the opening of the $8.2-million, 60,000 square-foot George R. Newman Student Activities and Recreation Center, to meet the needs of a growing student population.

Hackettstown-based Centenary College last year formally opened The Robert E. and Virginia N. Littell Technology Center, named for the senator and his wife for their work for the college and the Northwest sector of the state. The Center is a 7,800 squarefoot, single-story structure of six offices, a team room, lobby, help desk, four classrooms and a cyber cafe.

In October, the college dedicated a new apartment-styled residence, BennettSmith Hall, in honor of its 10th president, Dr. Stephanie BennettSmith. it is the first residence hall built since 1967 and the first-ever to contain private bedrooms in the institution's 136-year history. The facility houses 124 upper-class students.

The College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE), Morristown, is planning a major renovation to its cafeteria, Rose Dining Room in Saint Joseph Hall, this summer.

Major changes to the servery to increase its availability and desirability include: offering after hour dining services for adult students; removal of all existing partitions and cabinets; a new entrance with turnstiles and the introduction of new food service delivery areas.

CSE's current food service vendor, Chartwells, has agreed to fund the approximate $560,000 renovation of the servery over its 10-year contract, interest free. Ray Favaro, director of dining services, who has been with the College for 17 years, says, "My boss looked at me, like I was a little kid in a toy store. Everyone is going to be really impressed. It's going to be dynamic."

The newly refurbished Pat Singiser Fitness Center is now three times its original size, accommodating nearly 50 people and is open to all CSE staff and students.

Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) last year opened a new residence hall, Northpointe, on its Metropolitan Campus in Teaneck. The $18-million facility is a 300-bed, 85,000 squarefoot, 4-story structure. The chevronshaped building is adjacent to the new Fitness Center.

Following a $4-million renovation and expansion of a former gymnasium, the newly opened 19,500 square-foot Fitness Center features a large central court room, weight room with space for cardiovascular exercise equipment and an aerobics/dance studio.

FDU also had put in place a new $500,000 softball field with dugouts and outdoor lighting.

On FDU's Florham Campus, Madison, a new residence facility, Rutherford Hall, opened in September. The L-shaped building has room for 300 beds with two students per room and bathroom facilities for each room. The $18-million, 85,000 square-foot structure has a red brick exterior which complements the existing Georgianstyle buildings.

Another significant addition on the Florham Campus is the recently renovated Student Center, a major hub for students. The Center was expanded by 14,000 square feet.

Georgian Court College, Lakewood, is pursuing a 10-year Campus Facilities Master Plan. Barbara A. Gliwa, vice president for finance and administration, says the plan is "a roadmap for the college for the next seven to 10 years. It allows us to focus our resources - it gives us direction and clarity of mission."

A new entranceway is planned, as is a new central gathering place in the

center of the campus, flanked by two new academic buildings. Named "The Piazza del Casino," it will be the focal point of the new campus center and new buildings. The first building set for construction is one of the two academic buildings on the Piazza.

Mommouth University, West Long Branch, broke ground last year for a $14million expansion and renovation of the Murry and Leonie Guggenheim Memorial Library. It is being done in four phases, with the first two being the construction of the 19,575 square-foot addition and the renovation of the exterior of the Guggenheim Mansion, which should be done in the next six months. The third and fourth stages will involve a complete renovation of the 1968 addition and renovation of the mansion interior. The project has received $2 million from the State of New Jersey and $250,000 in federal funding. It also received a $500,000 gift from the Monmouth University Library Association.

Rider University, Lawrenceville, is entering an institution-wide strategic planning process under its new president, Dr. Mordechai Rozanski. Rider's strategic planning process will also result in an institution-wide facilities master plan that will address renovation, construction, and landscaping needs on both the Lawrenceville and Princeton campuses.

Among those needs, identified as part of Rider's previous strategic planning efforts, are renovation and expansion of residence halls and construction of a student recreation center. It is anticipated that this renovation and construction work will begin in the near future.

The proposed new students recreation center in Lawrenceville will boast three basketball courts, a glass-enclosed fitness center, an aerobics room, and a secondfloor jogging track. It will be constructed as Phase 1 of a

three-phase project, designing and planning for which are underway,

A new pedestrian bridge is scheduled to open this spring at Saint Peter's College, Jersey City, which will permit students to cross over Kennedy Boulevard in safety. The bridge is a joint project between the college and Hudson County. It connects the college's east and west campuses.

The college has an 18-acre campus in Jersey City and a second campus for adult learning in Englewood Cliffs. it has an enrollment of about 3,700 fulltime and part-time students.

Seton Hall University, South Orange, has a recently created the Frank and Marilyn Scott Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and the Center for Security Analysis Trading at its Stillman School of Business. It boasts a sophisticated trading floor, which helps prepare students for careers in two of the most important areas of economic growth small business and trading and finance.

The Entrepreneurial Studies sector was developed to promote awareness of selfemployment as a career option. The Security Analysis and Trading complex, known as the Trading Floor, will use interactive financial market technology for an exceptional educational experience.

Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, has created The School of Continuing Professional Education, a new unit offering a range of educational and training programs in engineering, management and science for professionals in business and industry, government and elsewhere. WebCampus, its online learning unit, will come under the new school's umbrella, as will Stevens' Corporate Campus, where some of the country's top corporations provide graduate education for their employees at sites in the New Jersey/New York region and elsewhere.

COUNTY COLLEGES

Atlantic Cape Community College (ACCC), Mays Landing, serves both Atlantic and Cape May counties and has some 6,200 students enrolled. The two

county institution has been offering classes in Cape May County since 1973. Now, a full-service branch campus is being built on a 29-acre site in Middle Township in Cape May County. Hessert Construction, Cherry Hill, was awarded the $12.3-million project and has until April 2, 2005 to complete the new campus. The total cost is $15.1 million.

The design calls for a 64,000 square-foot building with two connected wings, one for classrooms and a bookstore, the other for an information commons, tutoring and testing centers, faculty and administrative offices and a cafeteria. A two-story connector links the three-story wings with an open bridge on the third floor.

Burlington County College, Pemberton, has over 7,500 students at its campus and two other sites, Mount Laurel and Willingboro Town Center. Rich Pokrass, director of college relations, says that the college opened two new buildings on its Mt. Laurel campus in the fall of 2002 - Laurel Hall, which replaced nearby leased classrooms; and the Science Building, which houses biology and chemistry labs, classrooms, a lecture hall, a computer lab and an expanded college store.

Within the next year, the college hopes to break ground on the Mt. Laurel campus for a second incubator building, which will focus on the life sciences.

During 2003, the college obtained the former Evesham Township Municipal Building and moved forward with initial planning to create an educational center. Finally, the college has begun major renovations to its original building on the Pemberton campus.

Camden County College (CCC), Camden, is nearing completion of its 8-story, $19.6-million Camden Technology Center (CTC), the first new commercial venture to be completed under the Camden Rehabilitation and Economic Recovery Act. It soon will offer the city's major training facility for technologydriven careers in health, business and computer fields, as well as 662 new downtown parking spaces.

CCC received $3.5 million under the

$175-million Camden Act. When opened in the spring, the CTC will enhance both college and communities with technologically smart learning spaces, an electronic village computer lab and fully wired conference rooms.

Hudson County Community College (HCCC), Jersey City, in 2002 acquired a former bank building at 70 Sip Avenue and has completely transformed it to accommodate its future needs. All of the 31,000 square feet of space was demolished in a $9.5-million renovation which was completed this past July and formally opened in September.

The first floor has an admissions office and the offices of the associate dean and director of admissions, as well as the registrar and bursar. It also has a counseling room, writing area, identification center and work-study spaces. The second floor houses the financial aid offices, career planning and the continuing education department. The third floor has staff offices, classroom and a computer lab with 14 modular work areas.

Middlesex County College, Edison, has two projects that will takeplace in 2004. First is a new site for Perth Amboy Center, one of two outreach centers the college operates. Set to open this spring, it will occupy 12,000 square feet of space in the new 130,000 squarefoot vocational school in Perth Amboy.

The second project is a renovation of the College Center and Performing Arts Center on the main (Edison) campus. This includes adding a 6,000 squarefoot studio theater. Work will start this spring.

The County College of Morris, located on a 218-acre campus in Randolph Township, has an enrollment of about 8,500, Construction began in December to add 22,000 square feet of space in a $16.5-million reconstruction of the Student Community Center. Construction is expected to take 18 to 24 months and, when finished, will bring all registration functions under one roof.

Passaic County Community College, Paterson, is the fastest growing community college in the state of New Jersey Enrollment at PCCC has increased by 60 percent over the last five years.

Here are some highlights of recent growth and plans for the future.

Over the past year, PCCC has opened several new facilities. The PCCC Public Safety Academy, located in Wayne, is home to fire training and Emergency Medical Technology programs. The complex has a 26,000 square-foot academic building, a 6,400 square-foot garage and 2,000 square-foot "Burn Building" which serves as the training facility for all of Passaic County.

The Paterson Community Technology Center or CTC, located on Memorial Drive in Paterson, was developed in response to the need for technology access in the community. In the fall semester, PCCC converted leased retail space to academic space.

Salem Community College completed two major construction projects in 2003. There was a $900,000 restoration of Tillis Hall, the college's original building. Its substantial facelift (which started about three years ago) included: a new roof; new windows; central air and geothermal heating; elevator; handicap-accessible restrooms; creation of three state-of-the-art information technology labs; and refurbishment of administrative offices.

Sussex County Community College, Newton, is currently building its first new building, a 27,000 squarefoot library and science lab. The architect, RJF Fletcher Thomson, has incorporated both elements in the $8.2-million building.

Union County College has just begun total renovation of the MacKay Library on the Cranford campus, which will involve the first renovation of that space since the '70s. Currently, the building is two floors and those floors will be upgraded to house modernized and higher technology library functions, the academic learning center (i.e. tutoring center) and the Tomasulo Art Gallery. A third floor will be added to the building at the same time dedicated to 12 much-needed classrooms to serve the college's burgeoning enrollment. The cost is in excess of $5 million dollars.

Another major project is the construction of a new building in Elizabeth, involving $16.5 million in Chapter 12 funding, which has been allocated for this project. It will provide: an additional 70,000 to 80,000 square feet of classroom space; a modern information commons/library; and a center for economic development activities, including a small conference center. Acquisition of the property for this purpose is underway

New Jersey's colleges are moving forward, within budget constraints, to ensure they have the capacity for a burgeoning student population.