DFW Alumni Event

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I'm waiting to hear what he said about the exciting plans in store for the ARC?

blah blah blah blah banners blah blah hallway blah blah

something like that.  in a charlie brown's parents-voice

[vufan75]

I'm waiting to hear what he said about the exciting plans in store for the ARC?

I would be surprised if any major remodeling of the ARC happens in the next 5 years, maybe 10 years. I know it is in "the master plan", but an ARC renovation will only happen after the track is completed, and after the new multipurpose fieldhouse is funded, designed, and built. I just hope it gets done sooner rather than later, but am skeptical as to when. Now it sounds like another new dorm and a new or expanded science building have moved ahead of the ARC in the pecking order of what gets built first. We need to find a philanthropic donor with a passion and interest in athletics to donate specifically to an ARC renovation to move it on a faster track. And do I ever hope I am wrong!!     

[vu72]

I'm waiting to hear what he said about the exciting plans in store for the ARC?

I would be surprised if any major remodeling of the ARC happens in the next 5 years, maybe 10 years. I know it is in "the master plan", but an ARC renovation will only happen after the track is completed, and after the new multipurpose fieldhouse is funded, designed, and built. I just hope it gets done sooner rather than later, but am skeptical as to when. Now it sounds like another new dorm and a new or expanded science building have moved ahead of the ARC in the pecking order of what gets built first. We need to find a philanthropic donor with a passion and interest in athletics to donate specifically to an ARC renovation to move it on a faster track. And do I ever hope I am wrong!!     

You've hit the nail on the head! It is a matter of first things first and here's how it works:  The plan is to grow the student body to 6000.  That will include more graduate students, students living in Chicago and some graduate programs on-line.  Still, the undergrad population will probably grow by another 500 or so.  This means one more dorm, maybe two. Then it is a matter of keeping the kids coming and that means renovation/replacement of existing, non-air conditioned, dumpy old dorms.  Now, to attract the kinds of bright kids we want we aren't focused on PE majors (no offense intended to those on the board who were/are PE majors!) but rather professional school majors and science/math majors.  President Heckler did say that the College of Nursing is adding a new major (can't recall exactly what it is) but he seemed to think it will bring a whole new group of folks to Valpo for this major.

So the reality is that these students (and their parents) aren't focused on the ARC, but they are focused on labs/dorms/research facilities.  The ARC/Athletic facilities will always need major donors and nothing is stopping the renovation other then not having those donors identified.  In the Universities defense, it should be noted that a couple of new folks have been added to the Athletics staff, whose mission is only focused on finding those donors.

Finally, I'll tell you that I did ask President Heckler if a major fund drive was underway and if that drive would include a component focused on athletics.  He told me that the "quiet phase" is underway--that phase where the bigs are identified and committed before the public phase is announced.  The next part of the answer is somewhat disappointing as he said that this drive is focused on endowment growth exclusively, but, he added that growth in athletic endowment could be part of that drive, but didn't say that it would be a focus point. I suspect that we all will hear about this major drive in the coming months.

[valpotx]

The new degree you are speaking about was a Master of Physician Assistance?  Whatever he titled it, it was related to medical PAs, which would be a good draw for the university. 

[wh]

The new degree you are speaking about was a Master of Physician Assistance?  Whatever he titled it, it was related to medical PAs, which would be a good draw for the university. 

According to my wife (Nursing Director, MS Hlth. Care Mgmt.), a Physician Assistant is much like a Nurse Practitioner, only different  :

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/07/AR2011010704936.html

[78crusader]

I recently asked someone from VU (not an athletics department employee) if this year's entering freshman class would be able to use a new fieldhouse facility before they graduated.  The response was "probably not."  My gut feeling is that it is going to be 6-8 years before this facility is on line.  Unless, of course, someone steps forward and makes the largest donation in VU history to make this happen sooner (cost of this project will likely be 35-40 million at least).  The likelihood that a donor like this will step forward is not great since VU is (rightly) focusing on the endowment with the next fundraising campaign, and the big hitters are being approached for endowment money, not construction money. (Our endowment is 177 million, and it should be at least 400 million, if not more.)

I think for the last 35 years VU has operated on the philosophy of "where are we losing the most kids" when deciding what to build.  It started with Demotte Hall, former home of the business school.  It is hard to conceive of a less charming building than Demotte -- I know, I had several classes there.  It was simply terrible.  We were losing kids and academic credibility with this building, so a new one was built.  Next up was the ARC.  Again, VU waited as long as it could before adding to Hilltop gym.  Several VU people told me at the time (1974-78) that VU was losing many potential students because, well, our indoor athletic facilities were non-existent except for the big gym and the gym upstairs.  (When I was a senior I was shooting baskets one day and a parent and his son were there checking out the place.  The dad asked me where the rest of the athletic facilities were.  I told him this was it.  The dad didn't believe me at first, you could tell.  You could see in their eyes that their VU campus visit was OVER.)

The law school was next, because the ABA stepped in and basically told VU to build a new law building or lose accreditation.  It was straight out of the Godfather and the ABA was making VU an offer it could not refuse. 

Next up were the three big projects that had to get done: the Performing Arts building, the library, and the union.  In each instance the Admissions people were reminding the President at every turn that VU was losing out on dozens of kids each year because of lousy facilities.  I know of one parent who talked his daughter out of coming to VU in the early 90s because he couldn't bear the thought of having to attend plays at Kroencke Hall, which he recalled was an inadequate facility when he was a student and performed in class plays there 30 years earlier.

So now here we are with a new dorm getting built, another one on the way, and a new science facility that is gonna get built pretty soon -- because our present facilities are not adequate and we are, once again, losing kids.  I was in Dubuque last fall and stopped at the University of Dubuque, with 1600 kids.  All brand new dorms there -- they made our dorms look like storage barns.  We may be losing kids because of a lack of a fieldhouse, but I think the administration figures we are losing more because of inadequate dorms.  The science building has to get done since VU is introducing new academic programs and Neils is not adequate for all these programs. 

I happen to agree with every building decision VU has made over the years.  I sure wish we could have a new fieldhouse in the next 3-4 years, but it is very unlikely to happen, and this hoped-for project will simply have to wait behind the projects listed above which, in my opinion anyway, present more pressing needs.

Paul

[LaPorteAveApostle]

It is hard to conceive of a less charming building than Demotte -- I know, I had several classes there.

Loved DeMotte as a kid, but I can imagine that as a building for classes it was less exciting.  YAY YASW

the thought of having to attend plays at Kroencke Hall,

I was in plays there too.  The "salute to Kroencke" when it closed was really quite the thing--JoBe Cerny came, among others.  I remember Eric Brant making fun of the pipe running through the ceiling.

But there were some wonderful shows put on there, certainly, despite the limitations. 

I think you are spot-on...Valpo does whatever it should have built ten years before.  When my mother came onboard they were talking about the coming performing arts center; 11 years later it was a reality (and even then thanks only to the Urschels).

[VULB#62]

Thanks, 78, for the thoughtful assessment.  It definitely is in the hands of wealthy donors (or a large corporate sponsor) -- no doubt. I looked at the floor plans of the current ARC -- couldn't believe how crowded and inadequate the space was for all the sports that it supports.  VU72 pointed out in another string that the ARC design did not anticipate Title IX and that could account for some of that. We are caught in a Sophie's choice situation:  We need to modernize the ARC, but to do that we need to build a field house to allow that to happen, but we don't have the money to build the field house, so........             

At some point, the university will have to decide whether to use some endowment funds plus borrowing to finance this type of growth.  I am not convinced that it will.  Despite the fact that whatever you buy now (in capital project terms) is guaranteed to be more expensive in the future, I don't think the university will bite that bullet.  But I do wonder how other schools do it while we seemingly can't.

[vu72]

Thanks, 78, for the thoughtful assessment.  It definitely is in the hands of wealthy donors (or a large corporate sponsor) -- no doubt. I looked at the floor plans of the current ARC -- couldn't believe how crowded and inadequate the space was for all the sports that it supports.  VU72 pointed out in another string that the ARC design did not anticipate Title IX and that could account for some of that. We are caught in a Sophie's choice situation:  We need to modernize the ARC, but to do that we need to build a field house to allow that to happen, but we don't have the money to build the field house, so........             

At some point, the university will have to decide whether to use some endowment funds plus borrowing to finance this type of growth.  I am not convinced that it will.  Despite the fact that whatever you buy now (in capital project terms) is guaranteed to be more expensive in the future, I don't think the university will bite that bullet.  But I do wonder how other schools do it while we seemingly can't.

Well, for one thing finding funds for new dorms for 1600 (seniors probably live off campus on top of the total number) is a lot easier then funding dorms for 4000.  The notion that we are losing students because of facilities is challenged by the fact that we had more new students on campus this fall (freshman plus transfers) then is any other year in history--and, our GPA's are up not down.  Now, we may be losing athletes who want or expect more, but most of our sports are performing at a high level in spite of being one of only two private schools in the Horizon.

Endowment (which is the focus of the next drive) is very important for a few reasons.  Obviously is ensures the University's long term viability, but it also improves rankings and thus can impact the number and quality of new students, particularly gifted ones, who have many, many choices.

[FWalum]

At some point, the university will have to decide whether to use some endowment funds plus borrowing to finance this type of growth.

I don't think that you can touch the endowment principal for that kind of expenditure.  Normally they are legally designed to keep the principal amount intact.  The income could possibly be used but in many cases is designated by the donor or fund for a specific purpose.