KU doubles size of Edwards Campus with new Regnier Hall

A new classroom facility that is expected to double both the size of enrollment and the number of programs at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus will be dedicated Aug. 13.

The dedication, which is by invitation only, is one of several events to take place the week of Aug. 9 to celebrate completion of the $15.6 million, 82,000-square-foot Victor and Helen Regnier Hall (pronounced reh-NEER). Located at 127th Street and Quivira Road in Overland Park, the building is part of a proposed $70 million expansion of the campus.

Funding for the hall was provided through private gifts to the Kansas University Endowment Association and revenue bonds. The Hall Family Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., gave $5 million for the building, and the Victor and Helen Regnier Charitable Foundation of Leawood pledged an additional $3 million. Support for the building also has been provided by the Roy A. Edwards family: Joan Darby Edwards; Barbara Edwards; R.A. and Terry Beach Edwards; and Doug and Susan Edwards Miller. The Edwards Campus is named for Joan Edwards and her late husband, Roy Edwards.

Regnier Hall features 21 classrooms, a 240-seat auditorium and offices for 45 faculty members. The other classroom building on the Edwards Campus, the Regents Center, was constructed in 1992 and is 55,000 square feet with offices for 15 of the 200 faculty members who teach in Overland Park.

The additional space will allow more students to enroll in courses offered through the campus' 21 graduate programs and three undergraduate degree programs. Robert M. Clark, vice chancellor of the Edwards Campus, said he expects the campus to increase enrollment to 4,000 students. The Edwards Campus currently enrolls about 2,100 students per semester. He said plans also call for doubling the campus' 25 degree programs by adding new undergraduate and graduate programs in such areas as business, public administration, social welfare, developmental psychology and information technology.

"Thanks to the help of private donors, we have achieved a milestone in the history of the Edwards Campus with the completion of Victor and Helen Regnier Hall," Clark said. "We look forward to serving greater numbers of students who seek the level of education that KU can provide here in the Kansas City area."

Under the theme of "A KU Campus Grows," other grand opening events include a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce and a family night of entertainment and activities on Aug. 9; a Hall Center for the Humanities lecture on Aug. 10; an evening with Bill Self, KU men's basketball coach, on Aug. 11; and a performance by the Kansas Brass Quintet on Aug. 13. Guided tours of the hall will be conducted at 6 and 6:30 nightly Aug. 9 through 13. For more information, visit their website or contact Elaine Warren, director of public relations at the Edwards Campus, at (913) 897-8411.

"We chose the theme 'A KU Campus Grows' for the dedication week because it describes the purpose of hosting our celebrations," Clark said. "We want to invite the community to see firsthand how KU is growing to serve greater Kansas City in a more comprehensive way."

Completion of Regnier Hall was a goal of KU First: Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising campaign in KU history. KU Endowment is conducting KU First on behalf of KU through 2004 to raise in excess of $600 million for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, capital projects and program support. KU Endowment serves as the independent, nonprofit fund-raising and fund-management organization for KU.