East Carolina University…Tomorrow starts here.

2005 General Assembly Priority 4

 

Issue:  A shared academic building for the colleges of business and education.

 

Note: ECU is the fastest growing institution in the University of North Carolina system.  Because of significant growth, ECU finds itself facing serious constraints for appropriate academic space.  A new academic building will be a critical bridge to our future as we provide quality instruction in an appropriate learning environment. 

 

Desired Outcomes:

Joint usage of an academic by these two colleges provides an opportunity for significant cost sharing, and an  enhancement of existing distance education, outreach, leadership and economic development activities of both colleges.  The budget request is for a 225,000 gross square foot building at a cost of $64,125,000.  The building would be constructed on University property west of and contiguous to the main campus.  The new building will free up space for use on the core campus to accommodate growth in other academic programs. 

 

Collaboration between these two colleges is appealing because both groups educate students for professional careers and have considerable leadership, economic development, and community outreach responsibilities and activities.  Further, both colleges have significant distance education programs.  Collaboration can also save considerable state and private funds.  Working together the two colleges can share technical and developmental staff, high-cost technological equipment, and classroom space.

 

An emphasis for the common areas will be on the leadership and economic development activities of the two colleges.  These activities include continuing professional development programs for graduates and the general public.  There are considerable operational synergies that can be obtained from such a structural arrangement.

 

Anticipated facilities for the common areas include:

  • Classrooms for both for-credit and continuing education instruction.
  • Large auditorium (up to 500 seats) plus several 150-200 seat auditoriums to be used for classes and outreach activities.
  • Center for Assistive Technologies.
  • A Center for Leadership and Professional Development incorporating the activities of the existing BB&T Leadership Center.
  • Shared student gathering areas and study rooms.
  • Rooms for delivery of continuing education programs.
  • Economic Education facilities.
  • Studio for distance education course preparation and presentation.
  • Production areas for distance education courses and materials.
  • Common rooms for video conferencing.
  • Shared technologically enhanced classrooms.
  • Food service primarily for the outreach activities.

 

Background:

East Carolina University has made a capital budget request for the 2005-2007 biennium for an academic building.  The building would be jointly occupied by the College of Business and the College of Education. 

We envision that much of the central common area will be used by both colleges for (a) instruction for distance education and face-to-face graduate and undergraduate classes, (b) instruction for leadership and professional development classes both for-credit and post-college, and (c) instruction and outreach for continuing professional education.  We believe that very little of the common area will be for the exclusive use of one college or the other but will, instead, be used collaboratively by both colleges for graduate and undergraduate courses and outreach activities.