New buildings will address future teaching and research needs

by Patty Pitts

The applause from UVic faculty, students and staff was long and loud on March 21 when Advanced Education Minister Ida Chong announced $60.4 million in provincial funding for two new buildings on campus.

A $50-million, 10,920-square- metre science building will consolidate all members of the school of earth and ocean sciences (SEOS) in one structure for the first time and will house chemistry researchers requiring special air-handling facilities.

A $30-million, 8,600-square- metre social sciences/mathematics building will house the departments of geography, environmental studies, political science, and mathematics and statistics. Both buildings will help address a serious shortfall in teaching and research space on campus.

The two buildings will cost nearly $81 million, with UVic providing over $20 million for the two projects. In thanking the provincial government, UVic President Dr. David Turpin pointed out that the new buildings will have a far-reaching impact.

“The students and researchers moving into these new buildings will benefit directly and the teaching and research space they free up will give other departments much needed room to expand,” said Turpin. “These two new buildings will be an important part of UVic’s ability to add nearly 2,000 new students by 2010.”

“By constructing new buildings along with increasing funding for seats, we’re ensuring that students have more access to post-secondary education,” added Chong. “Cost sharing with UVic is an effective way of ensuring the funds are in place to start building right away and it will boost the university’s capacity for instruction and significant research.”

Currently, SEOS faculty and students are scattered across campus in seven different locations ranging from the Ian Stewart Complex to Second World War army huts, making collaboration and knowledge-sharing difficult. Being together in one building will provide better opportunities for collaboration among the geophysics research group, the climate research group, and the geochemists, earth scientists and biological oceanographers. SEOS researchers are world leaders in oceans and climate change research.

Speaking on behalf of the science students, chemistry PhD candidate Bryan Koivisto told an appreciative audience: “I think I can speak for all of us when I say how welcome such new space will be. . . . the faculty of science has lacked the room to grow and increase its research and education through the recruitment of high-quality faculty members and aspiring graduate students. We simply have not had the room to expand and promote growth.”

Lisa Levesque, an interdisciplinary master’s student in environmental studies and geography, echoed Koivisto’s praises. She spoke of the difficulty in accessing the resources of the geomatics lab, located in a separate building from her cramped quarters in environmental studies. “A new facility, where both faculty and technological resources are more physically accessible to students, will be a positive step in this regard.”

The planned science building will include 350-seat and 140-seat, tiered lecture theatres. The researchers’ departure from Elliott will provide more room for other chemistry and physics programs. Without the new building, extensive and costly ventilation renovations would soon be needed in Elliott to accommodate the synthetic chemistry program.

UVic’s new social sciences and mathematics building will include a 250-seat, a 140-seat and two 110-seat tiered lecture theatres. The university’s education services group will also move into the building. Space vacated in the Clearihue Building by the mathematics and statistics department will give the faculty of humanities room to expand.

The new science building will be constructed adjacent to the Elliott Building. A site for the social sciences and mathematics building has not yet been approved. UVic is planning to complete the social sciences/mathematics building by January 2008 and finish construction on the science building six months later.

The two new buildings are part of an extensive $120.5-million building program at UVic to help the university meet the needs of growing student enrolment and research programs recognized as among the best in the world.