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Edwards Campus celebrates 10 years in KC
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Victor and Helen Regnier Hall
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As it begins a $70 million dollar expansion and
prepares for continued growth in undergraduate and graduate
programming, the KU Edwards Campus is taking time in 2003
to celebrate its first decade of service to working professionals
and employers in greater Kansas City.
An array of activities, programs and ceremonies will mark
the anniversary throughout the year. Each month, the campus
plans to host at least one event built around the theme "Celebrating
10 Years in Greater Kansas City."
The Edwards Campus has grown from 10 degree programs in 1993
to 22 degree programs today, serving upper-division undergraduate
and graduate students in such areas as biology, English, education,
business, engineering and social work. A second classroom
building, Victor and Helen Regnier Hall, is under construction.
The 82,000-square-foot building will feature 21 classrooms,
a 240-seat auditorium and offices for 45 faculty and staff.
The original building on the Edwards Campus, constructed in
1992, stands at 55,000 square feet with offices for 15 of
the 200-plus faculty members who teach there each semester.
After Regnier Hall is completed in 2004, enrollment at the
campus is expected to double to 4,000 students. Plans call
for doubling the number of degree programs by adding new undergraduate,
graduate and certificate programs in such areas as business,
public and social welfare administration, gerontology and
pharmaceutical chemistry. The campus expansion also will bring
selected components of KU's world-class research expertise
closer to the economic development initiatives in the Kansas
City area.
The Edwards Campus already has had a significant economic
impact on the community. A recent County Economic Research
Institute Inc. analysis shows the campus has contributed nearly
$208 million to the Johnson County economy. CERI measured
the direct and induced effects of the campus in relation to
construction, annual campus operations, tourism and increased
local household earnings of graduates.
Significant dates in Edwards Campus history include:
1987: KU Chancellor Gene Budig presents to the Legislative
Educational Planning Committee the need for a new facility
to offer KU's educational opportunities in greater Kansas
City.
1990: Clay Blair, c'65, EdD'69, donates land at 126th
Street and Quivira Road to KU Endowment. Blair requests the
land be named in honor of Roy, b'42, and Joan Darby Edwards,
'42, longtime KU supporters and mentors to Blair.
Groundbreaking for the Regents Center building on the new
campus occurs Oct. 23.
1991: Kansas Board of Regents approves the Edwards
Campus name, Oct. 18.
1992: The Regents Center building on the new campus
opens Dec. 2, and tours are offered the week of Dec. 7.
1993: Campus officially opens Jan. 12 for spring
classes.
1997: KU hires academic dean for the Edwards Campus,
Robert M. Clark.
1999: Kansas Board of Regents approves a $70 million
dollar expansion to quadruple the size of the campus.
2000: Undergraduate courses are offered in the summer
to traditional undergraduates for the first time.
The first certificate program-systems analysis and design,
created by an advisory board of IT professionals-is offered
on the Edwards Campus.
2001: The Hall Family Foundation of Kansas City donates
$5 million for the Edwards Campus expansion project.
The campus begins to offer undergraduate degree completion
programs in biology and English.
2002: The campus produces 14,116 credit hours in
spring 2002, the most credit hours generated in a semester
to date.
The Victor and Helen Regnier Charitable Foundation donates
$3 million for the construction of a second building on the
Edwards Campus.
Groundbreaking ceremony for second classroom building, Regnier
Hall, occurs on Oct. 14.
2003: County Economic Research Institute Inc. reports
the Edwards Campus has contributed nearly $208 million to
the Johnson County economy since 1993.
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