Medical and continuing studies buildings get green light

by Patty Pitts

Two new buildings will soon be added to the UVic landscape.
Soil testing is underway and site preparation begins this summer for the new Island Medical Program (IMP) building on campus. Last month UVic’s board of governors approved the program of requirements for the new facility to be built west of the Cunningham Building.

The $12-million medical building, built with provincial government funding, will contain 4,040 square metres over four storeys. It will feature two 75-seat lecture theatres, eight seminar rooms, six research labs and three teaching labs, including one for anatomy. The facility will address the needs of medical students primarily during the first two years of their four-year UBC degree program.

The first class of 24 students will also be learning and applying their knowledge in the community within weeks of arriving at UVic in January 2005. Their clinical training intensifies during the final two years of their program and will be supported by clinical facilities at Vancouver Island Health Authority sites including the Royal Jubilee and Victoria General hospitals.

“Since medical students are more likely to stay in the communities where they study, it’s our hope that the students who take classes in this building will be the future physicians for Vancouver Island communities,” says Dr. Valerie Kuehne, associate vice president academic. “They’ll have the benefit of the existing expertise at UVic in the centre on aging, the schools of health information science and nursing and in other health-related research areas.”

UVic’s board also approved the design for a new continuing studies facility. The 3,934 square-metre, three-storey building will contain 16 classrooms, two computer-assisted language labs and office space that consolidates staff and facilities now scattered throughout the campus.

“The addition of these two buildings to the UVic campus gives the university a tremendous boost in its capacity to offer programs that directly engage and benefit members of the community,” says UVic President Dr. David Turpin.
“A key aspect of UVic’s strategic plan is community involvement. The medical students studying in the new medical building will put their knowledge to use here and in communities throughout Vancouver Island. The new continuing studies building will provide more opportunities for courses and programs that meet the unique education needs of the local community.”

Located at the intersection of Ring and Gabriola roads, the new building will be self-financed by the division of continuing studies. Construction is scheduled to begin in November 2002 and the building will be open for students by January 2004.

“Our continuing studies programs already serve more than 15,000 people in Greater Victoria each year. A major factor limiting program growth is the lack of classroom space at the university,” says Wayne Brunsdon, manager of administrative services in continuing studies. “This new building will give us the space we need and put many of our staff — including our English Language Centre — under one roof.”