University of Virginia Library

Stuart Pape

Problems Of An
Expanding University

There is perhaps no more
difficult and complex problem
facing the University today than
that which centers over the
projected increase in size. Current
proposals indicate that within a
little over ten years, twice the
present number of students will be
attending school here in
Charlottesville.

With problems such as housing,
traffic, class size and general
availability of facilities at near crisis
stages now, it is reasonable to ask
why the University must expand.
The answer lies in the fact that as a
State school designed to serve
essentially the needs of the people
of Virginia, the State Legislature
has deemed it necessary that we
accommodate more people and hence
bring a greater return for the
money.

Merit

Obviously there is merit in this
insistence on growth, but the
University must do all it can to
avoid a precipitous expansion for
which it is neither prepared to
handle nor obligated to accept.
Growth and expansion must be
accepted in general terms as a
necessity if we are to continue to
receive funds from the state.
Already there are cries from
Richmond because the University
does not make as effective use of its
available floor space as our chief
competitor for funds, VPI does.

However, there are many
reasons, which if adequately
expressed to the Legislature, can
slow down the rate at which we
expand, allowing the University to
plan for sufficient housing,
hopefully in the residential college
mold, more efficient use of space,
particularly classrooms, and
development of facilities to handle
increased numbers of students.

Advantages

There are certainly advantages
to be gained by virtue of expansion.
There are many new and sometimes
not so new fields which should be
available here and are not. If they
are to be offered in the future, it
will be necessary to expand the
number of students studying at the
University. The alternative is to
decrease the number in other
existing programs, but whatever the
desirability of that course, the
political realities render it
impossible. Expansion will also
make possible the development of
non-academic activities that
currently cannot be offered because
there are insufficient numbers of
students to support the programs.

The justifiable fear of those who
oppose expansion and those who
argue for a slow, gradual, fully
planned growth is that the
character of the University, its
closeness and cohesiveness will
disappear within a few short years
if the size doubles. It is felt that the
University will become another and
only state university offering many
programs but almost in a
computerized, mechanical fashion.
Shades of the Big Ten.

If that happens, Virginia will
lose its drawing power for many
students, both in-state and out of
state. As an aside, if the growth is
halted, out of state students stand
to lose big, since it would certainly
be a corollary of halted growth that
the in-state ration be increased. The
caliber of the student attending
Virginia will fall, as we would then
not be competing with the Ivy
League schools and the other good
private universities, but with the
large state schools.

Master Plan

Unfortunately in the past, the
University has not exhibited the
coordinated planning essential to
produce intelligent, reasoned
growth. There is a Master plan
which is in many ways a good
general outline of the future.
However there are still
Administrative committees
operating on their own wavelengths
irrespective of the projections of
the Master Plan.

The quantity of planners
currently employed by the Planning
Office could double or triple and
there would still be plenty of work
for all concerned. In addition,
greater use of students talents could
be made to assist in the
development of this plan. Every
committee currently functioning
should be made aware of the details
of the Master Plan and required to
pattern its deliberations along those
guidelines.

Satisfy Both

The only way that growth can
be done rationally is if the school
can produce a plan which satisfies
the objectives of the legislature
while at the same time maintaining
the most desirable characteristics
which exist currently. The
magnitude of the problem cannot
be overstated, but the potential for
finding a good solution should not
be overlooked.