UAFS officials outline expansion moves

Relatively rapid expansion and the accompanying opportunities and problems were the focus of the June 14 meeting of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Board of Visitors.

Since becoming a four-year university on Jan. 1, 2002, student enrollment at UAFS has grown. The 2011 spring enrollment at the UAFS was 7,058, a 3.3% increase over last spring’s record enrollment. The spring full-time equivalency (FTE) number reached 5,464, a 6.1% increase from last spring’s record FTE enrollment. Also, the spring 2010 enrollment was a 7% increase over 2009.

With the growth in students comes an associated need for expansion of facilities to house and serve the students as well as locate a growing faculty roster.

LIBRARY EXPANSION
The most recent and high profile part of that expansion is the planned $14.5 million 40,000-square-foot addition to the existing 30,000-square-foot Boreham Library. Construction is expected to begin in July and should take about 18 months to complete.

The library’s expansion includes several areas designed to provide research support for economic development and entrepreneurial needs of the Fort Smith area as part of a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce. (Link here for more detail on the library expansion.)

Dr. Marta Loyd, UAFS vice chancellor for university advancement, spoke to the Board of Visitors about the need for the expanded library and efforts by the UAFS Foundation to help raise money for the expansion.

Loyd noted that 4,000 students were at the university — then Westark Community College — when the library was built in the late 1980s. Now, it’s likely that in the near future more than 8,000 students will require library services. Also, when the library was completed, the school was a 100% commuter campus and not the bustling center it is now with more than 700 students living on campus.

“It just has not kept pace with the rest of the campus,” Loyd said.

LIBRARY FUNDRAISING
To help pay to keep pace, the UAFS Foundation is launching a “naming opportunities” drive to secure at least $5 million from the “Giving Opportunity Now” campaign for the library expansion. Loyd said the effort has generated $700,000, and the four private gifts will be detailed during a private luncheon associated with a June 28 public groundbreaking.

The “Giving Opportunity Now” campaign is scheduled to end in December. Loyd said they are “just over $41 million” toward the $50 million goal.

For a cool $7 million, an individual, business or organization may capture the naming rights for the entire addition. A $500,000 gift gets the naming rights for the first-floor rotunda and information commons. For $250,000, the naming rights are available for the second-floor art gallery or Business and Entrepreneurship Research Center. Naming rights range from the $7 million to $100 for a few books.

FACULTY ADDITIONS
Dr. Ray Wallace, provost and senior vice chancellor, said he and other officials are in the process of hiring about 22 new faculty members. Of those, 12 are new positions to help support increasing enrollment, and 10 are replacement positions. If all new positions are hired, the UAFS faculty will increase from 230 to 242.

Wallace said UAFS is able to recruit top faculty from Rice, Vanderbilt, SMU and other notable universities because Arkansas’ higher education budget is more stable than most other states. UAFS expansion of facilities and programs and the attractiveness of the Fort Smith region often help make it “an easy sell” when recruiting faculty.

“If we can get a person to Fort Smith, we don’t lose them,” Wallace said.

CAMPUS EXPANSION, PLANNING
Dr. Kyle Parker, vice chancellor for planning and technology, said student enrollment has created a legitimate campus parking problem. He said 652 new parking spaces should open by Aug. 22, but will likely not be enough to support enrollment increases for 2012-2013.

“We’re going to be in a pinch a year from now,” Parker told the Board of Visitors. “But it’s a good problem to have.”

Parker also said work continues on energy-efficiency programs — smart technology systems, LED lighting, etc. — that have reduced the university’s electric bill from $1.6 million to $1.1 million in just a few years. The work soon will include revamping the HVAC system in seven campus buildings that is expected to reduce costs by 33% and provide a payback in 10.3 years on equipment that has at least a 20-year lifespan.

“It’s not about being ‘green.’ It’s really about being smart with your dollars,” Parker said.

UAFS Chancellor Dr. Paul Beran said the pace of growth means university officials have “major planning” to do. He said UAFS now needs a 10-15 year strategy for campus expansion, and he wanted to develop a strategic plan in the “same thoughtful way that (the late and former UAFS Chancellor) Joel Stubblefield did it” when he completed a 25-year plan in 13 years.