SDSU Initiates 2007 Campus Master Plan Revision

Comprehensive plan will ensure growth occurs in a smart, planned manner over the next 20 years

Contact:
Gina Speciale
San Diego State University
(619) 594-4563 office
speciale@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO (Friday, Feb.2, 2007)-- As part of its mission to provide higher education to all qualified students, San Diego State University announced today the release of a Notice of Preparation (NOP), initiating the public environmental review process for the 2007 Campus Master Plan revision.

The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees unanimously approved the 2005 San Diego State Campus Master Plan, but the recent California Supreme Court decision - City of Marina v. CSU Monterey Bay - required the CSU Board of Trustees to decertify the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the plan and set aside its approval. The court decision requires that CSU seek funding for its fair-share of the costs of off-site transportation improvements made necessary by university development, and it applies to the entire California State University system, including San Diego State University.

“The City of Marina decision resulted in the need for SDSU to prepare a revised Campus Master Plan and produce a new EIR that will identify significant environmental impacts, feasible mitigation measures, and SDSU’s fair share obligations toward implementing these measures,” said Sally Roush, SDSU Vice President of Business Affairs.  “As we move forward with this process, we will be conducting a comprehensive outreach program to further explain our plans and seek input from residents and organizations in the San Diego region interested in SDSU’s future,” she added. 

The NOP marks the beginning of a 30-day period in which SDSU is seeking comments from the public to help determine the issues the EIR will analyze.  This comment period, or scoping process, helps determine the coverage, focus and content of an EIR.

The 2007 Campus Master Plan revision is a comprehensive plan that will allow SDSU to provide increased academic space, student housing and services, and faculty housing to meet growing student demand. It is expected to increase SDSU’s enrollment capacity from 25,000 full-time equivalent students to 35,000.

SDSU has received a record 57,600 applications for 9,000 available spots for the Fall 2007 term – a 9% increase over the previous year.  “Providing access to quality higher education in the face of growing demand remains one of San Diego’s biggest challenges,” said Julie Meier Wright, President & CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation. “The Campus Master Plan revision will ensure that SDSU can continue to produce the qualified workforce that our region needs to remain competitive.”

“For more than 100 years, SDSU has been a key contributor to San Diego’s economy as the largest provider of college graduates to the region’s workforce.  Currently, one in seven San Diegans with a college degree attended San Diego State, and more than 110,000 SDSU graduates live in the San Diego region,” said Roush.  As the largest university in San Diego and the third largest in California, SDSU generates an annual economic impact that exceeds $3.5 billion and sustains nearly 25,000 jobs in the region.

For more information on SDSU’s 2007 Campus Master Plan revision and the anticipated timeline of the review process visit SDSU’s website at www.sdsu.edu/masterplan.

San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelors degrees in 81 areas, masters degrees in 73 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSUs more than 34,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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