The campus is planning new classroom space as it faces increased student enrollment and options for instructional venues are already filling up.

On Tuesday (after Dateline’s deadline), a planning advisory group held its first meeting to explore a new classroom building and classroom master plan. UC Davis is looking at building enough classroom space to handle an additional 4,000 students by 2015.

“This project is a key part of our capital development program to meet academic needs,” said John Meyer, vice chancellor for resource management and planning.

The new classroom building is made possible by a significant gift from a friend of the College of Engineering and another potential gift. The campus hopes to leverage these funds to develop the $6 million building.

Meyer said a preferred site for the new general assignment classroom building is near the Silo area, though several locations are under consideration. Classroom space is currently being used to the “maximum extent feasible,” he added. He is co-chairing the committee along with Patricia Turner, vice provost for undergraduate studies. The committee’s next meeting is April 7.

“Our follow-up action will be to determine the scope of a new classroom facility including the number and type of rooms. Currently, we anticipate two mid-sized lecture rooms and several smaller rooms,” Meyer said.

The campus is responding with a sense of urgency to student growth. “Increased enrollment requires that we develop a new facility quickly,” Turner said.

It’s not the only classroom building in the works. Meyer noted that a 500-seat lecture hall and 34 class laboratories are currently under construction next to the Life Sciences Addition building.  A classroom masterplan is needed to develop standards for both the “quantity and quality” of our classroom space, he said. 

“This will help us better plan and finance needed facilities,” Meyer said.

Aiding faculty-student interaction

In developing a classroom masterplan, the committee will study the campus’s current usage of classroom space and recommend actions to ensure that space is most efficiently used. 

Meyer noted that some people may question why the campus is embarking on a new classroom facility project prior to completion of a master plan. “Through review of classroom utilization data, we have determined that there is current and increasing need for new classroom space.  I believe our first priority must be to address this need,” he said.

Meyer said that the masterplan will be completed in time to inform the final planning for the new classroom building. “However, we must deliver this new building as soon as possible to ensure we meet increasing demands for teaching space.”

He said this approach will enhance the quality of faculty-student interactions and accelerate the capital program, where possible, to accommodate growth.

The committee, known as the Planning Committee for Classroom Facility and Development of Classroom Masterplan, will provide advice on the scope and configuration of this building in a level of detail to produce a Project Planning Guide Abstract for a non-state-funded project.  This document will serve as the basis for a Detailed Project Plan (DPP) and a Project Planning Guide (PPG), which will then result in architect selection and the construction of a facility.

Other commitee members include Cheryle Brown Lohsé, associate vice chancellor for development; John Bruno, vice provost for information and educational technology; Jack Farrell, registrar; Matthew Farrens, professor and chair of the Academic Senate Committee on Undergraduate Instruction and Program Review; Jerry Johnson, senior facility analyst; Rick Keller, assistant vice chancellor for capital resource management; Maria Miglas, assistant registrar; Billy Sanders, assistant dean in the College of Engineering; Winston Ko, chair of the physics department; and Fred Wood, associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Letters and Science.

During the planning process, committee members will consult with Bob Segar, assistant vice chancellor for campus planning. Janet Krovoza, assistant dean for development in the College of Engin-eering, and Maureen Miller, assistant dean for development in the College of Letters and Science, will provide additional input on development issues.