Broadening the foundation

For the entire University community, this year is a milestone.

Detours and green fences — the unmistakable emblems of construction —will increase their stronghold on North Campus.

At the same time, classrooms, students apartments and administrative buildings will be transported to South Campus in a massive construction blitz unlike any in University history.

Even South Building, the bedrock of UNC’s administration, is feeling the effects of construction.

“There were a couple days where my desk was literally shaking — vibrating — because of the jackhammers,” Chancellor James Moeser said last week.

The University, guided by the Master Plan for campus growth and powered by the Carolina First fundraising campaign, is exploding this year in a flurry of capital improvement projects.

By the time the last brick is laid, the equivalent

of the Wake Forest University campus will have been added to UNC.

Few question that the end result of construction will dominate the legacy that succeeds Moeser.

When the chancellor arrived on campus in 2000, most of what is now dotting the campus skyline was still a blueprint.

This year, as the strains on the campus reach a peak, the results of construction are coming into focus, as is the message that will eventually define Moeser’s tenure.

The campus already is benefiting from projects that are being completed.

The Ramshead Center provides South Campus with its first central quad area along with a massive recreation center and dining hall.

The first phase of the Science Complex is nearing completion, and within a year a new chemistry building and physics and astronomy building will be online.

“There really is a tremendous end result that people really benefit from,” Moeser said. “That’s why I think by and large students and faculty and staff were pretty patient with the inconvenience.

“Because everybody sees … the results are exciting.”

But the University’s progression is not a singular vision. Moeser emphasizes that the ongoing development will improve a number of aspects of the campus, rather than blazing down a path to a single end.

The University’s multi-dimensional progression is reflected in the major projects creating buzz around campus.

Memorial Hall is reopening this month after a three-year, $18 million renovation. Restoring the 1,440 seat performance hall is the first step in establishing UNC’s arts program as an industry leader.

By the end of the decade, the proposed Arts Common will inspire a renaissance on campus, Moeser said.

“One thing that has been missing (from this region) is a high quality and strong venue of performing arts, especially at Chapel Hill,” he said.

Further south, the framework of the Global Education Center is just breaking ground.

The completed building will be a hub for international studies along with study abroad offices.

The center plays into the University’s plans to be globally competitive in research and higher education.

“Global universities are going to be the lever of change and economic development for the parts of the world where they exist,” Moeser said.

“Therein is the challenge for places like Chapel Hill: to continue to surge, to play on this kind of global stage, and to be really competitive.”

Moeser visited the National University of Singapore this summer to export his vision of an international university. Professor Peter Coclanis is spending the semester in Singapore to aid in the globalization of the campus.

And the chancellor doesn’t want to overextend his sight.

Moeser emphasizes work going on within the schools of Law and Education as examples of the university using its resources to help the people of North Carolina.

“I think therein is the other half of our mission, not only to be global but to be engaged locally. We can’t solve every problem, but we can provide leadership and get engaged with the people in this state.”

Gradually, the current trend of construction on campus will wane. But the University’s gaze toward the future will remain unwavering.

The Master Plan will be just more than halfway completed in 2008, administrators say, when the development of Carolina North could begin.

Within the same guise as on-campus construction, Carolina North, UNC’s proposed satellite campus, is intended to assert the role of the University as a leader in facilities innovation.

With the multi-use capabilities planned for Carolina North, UNC will be able to court private corporation funding and acquire lucrative research grants.

“We haven’t had it before,” said Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development, of corporate relationships. “And part of the reason is we haven’t had the capability of space for them.”

For the most part, those who are involved with the University are on board with the state of change on campus, said Matt Kupec, vice chancellor for University advancement.

Alumni have donated hundreds of millions to the Carolina First campaign, which is providing the economic engine for many of the capital improvements.

In seeking sponsors, Kupec says he tries to draw a direct correlation between the massive amounts of construction and the improvements it will provide to students.

“People generally like giving to people,” he said. “People like to give back. It really is about improving the education experience.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.