Master Plan sets tone for major expansion

THE ISSUE: Boston College unveils 10-Year Strategic Plan WHAT WE THINK: Plan sets the stage for campus upgrade

Just as people who graduated in the 1940s know Lower Campus as the Reservoir, and 1980s grads know Walsh Hall as "New Dorm," students today will always remember Brighton Campus as "the Seminary across the street." And in another 10 years, Brighton Campus - and the rest of the campus - will have seen a radical change in facilities and uses by students that will give it an entirely new feel.

With the unveiling of Boston College's 10-Year Strategic Plan, academic development and campus expansion will go hand in hand, as the University looks to vault into the very upper echelon of liberal arts institutions. It is the hope of University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. that by taking these strides the University will also continue to adhere to its Jesuit Catholic heritage, becoming the premier Catholic university in the nation.

Mere decades ago, BC was a commuter school with a largely regional draw. Under the stewardship of Leahy and former president Rev. Donald Monan, S.J., the University has grown to be a major national research institution and stands poised to enter the top tier of American colleges.

In order for a top research institution to remain as such, important advances are needed as times change, technologies improve, and new resources become available. Research centers and dedicated space must be created to supplement and facilitate these progressions. BC's Institute of Integrated Science will accomplish this, bringing together biology, physics, and chemistry into one building to encourage important interdisciplinary collaboration. Other plans to this end include the new performing arts center and the School of Theology, to name a few.

The large construction projects and renovations proposed by the initiative include the expansion of BC onto Brighton Campus lands, the addition of undergraduate housing, and the building of a student center, academic buildings, and athletic facilities. These will provide the structural support needed to make new academic endeavors possible. The University should be applauded for its ambitious plans for an integrated, accessible campus that will match its impressive academic goals.

BC's plans rank as some of the most ambitious growth initiatives in higher education. Other universities have made substantial investments in their facilities and programs, but few can rival the BC Master Plan. The Daily Princetonian recently reported that Princeton University plans to spend over $750 million over 10 years for campus improvements, most notably in the psychology and neuroscience departments, as well as facilities for chemistry and financial engineering centers. While impressive, it seems BC's own science initiatives will keep the University up to par as other schools nationwide also make advances. At the same time, it will also provide the added advantage of interdepartmental cooperation - something Leahy has pinpointed as a strategic direction to take.

In terms of other campuses' physical expansions, The University of Pennsylvania has acquired over 24 acres from the U.S. Postal Service and plans to use this land in order to connect the campus with downtown Philadelphia, Penn. Harvard and Columbia have also looked to expand into nearby neighborhoods in their respective cities.

These are logical next steps for a growing university to take. To expand the scope of the University, more resources and facilities must be made available. That said, these modernizations are often not accomplished without some opposition from neighboring residents - something many universities, like BC and Columbia, have found out.

The BC plan tries to make the most of the available space for the BC community, while taking into account the surrounding neighborhood. While it plans to use the new property on Brighton Campus to the fullest extent, BC aims to maintain the buffer space between the residence halls and the housing developments, taking advantage of the gradient incline over the property as well as preserving the naturally forested areas.

Perhaps the most striking part of the plan is its sheer breadth. The $1.6 billion cost of implementing the initiative is hard to fathom, almost equaling BC's endowment of about $1.7 billion. For the Ivy League universities also looking at campus improvements, estimated costs seem more manageable when compared to their university endowments. Princeton, for example, expects costs to amount to a mere 5 percent of its $15.8 billion endowment. BC, however, appears to be well-prepared to make it happen with a bevy of fundraising and financial schemes in place to pay for all the improvements.

This project is one of the most significant events in the history of the University. It will substantially increase both the physical and research footprint of BC, while significantly improving the quality of student life and academic instruction. We applaud the planning committee on a job well done and look forward to watching the institution mature.