|
|
OVERLAND PARK -- A $3 million pledge from the family foundation of a Kansas City developer will allow an expansion of the University of Kansas Edwards Campus to begin in October, Chancellor Robert Hemenway announced today.
The pledge from the Victor and Helen Regnier Charitable Foundation to the Kansas University Endowment Association will support construction of a second classroom building on the Edwards Campus at 127th Street and Quivira Road in Overland Park. The new building is part of a proposed $70 million expansion of the campus and will be named Victor and Helen Regnier Hall, pending approval from the Kansas Board of Regents.
"The Edwards Campus is key to the continuing economic development of greater Kansas City," Hemenway said. "With the Regnier family's support, the campus will expand to meet the growing educational and research needs of the Kansas City business and professional community."
Robert Regnier, one of Victor's sons, said his late father would have been proud to support education in Johnson County, where Victor was a homebuilder and developer for five decades.
"Dad always had a lot of respect for the place of education in society and knew how important it was as an armature for future growth," Robert Regnier said. "He also took great pride in participating in the growth and development of Johnson County. He would have been pleased with a gift like this that secures a better future for the community."
In addition to the Regnier pledge, the building will be funded by a previously announced $5 million gift from the Hall Family Foundation of Kansas City. The remaining $9.8 million will be financed through revenue bonds, which will be paid through tuition revenue from the campus.
The 82,000-square-foot building will feature 21 classrooms, a 240-seat auditorium and offices for 45 faculty members. The original building on the Edwards Campus, constructed in 1992, is 55,000 square feet and has offices for 15 of the campus' 200 faculty members.
After Regnier Hall is completed in 2004, enrollment at the campus is expected to double to 4,000 students. Plans call for doubling the number of degree programs by adding new undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs in such areas as business, public and social welfare administration, gerontology and pharmaceutical chemistry.
Vice Chancellor Robert M. Clark said the Edwards Campus, where about 90 percent of the students work full time, has an impact on the development of businesses in the community.
"When students take classes at this campus, they automatically use the knowledge they learn in the classroom at work the next day," Clark said. "The impact of their knowledge may not be measurable, but it's immediate -- it will make a difference in their jobs and ultimately make difference in the economy."
About 400 students graduate from Edwards Campus programs each year, most of them with master's degrees. Clark said those who earn master's degrees add to the local economy in many ways, most directly through their higher earnings. For example, he said, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that individuals with master's degrees earn $10,000 more annually than those with bachelor's degrees.
"That translates into about $4 million each year that the Edwards Campus adds to the economy of the area," he said. "We are grateful the Regnier family has recognized the value of this campus to the community's development and have chosen to support it so generously."
For 40 years, Victor and Helen developed housing and commercial properties throughout Johnson County. Their philanthropy includes numerous gifts for Science City at Union Station, Wonderscope Children's Museum, Kansas State University, Shawnee Mission School District Research and Development Forum, Blue Valley Wilderness Science Center, DeAnna Rose Farmstead and Johnson County Community College.
Today the Regnier Foundation is directed by Victor and Helen's three children, Robert, Victor Jr. and Cathy. Helen suffers from chronic health problems and Victor Sr. died of brain cancer in 2000 at age 82.
Helen, Cathy and Robert live in Johnson County, where Robert is president of the Bank of Blue Valley in Overland Park. He is heavily involved in a range of community activities, including serving on the Blue Valley School Board. Cathy participates in the family business and is the primary family caregiver for her mother. Victor Jr. is a professor of architecture and gerontology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and is a former dean of the USC School of Architecture.
The foundation's pledge counts toward the $500 million goal of KU First: Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising campaign in KU history. KU Endowment is conducting KU First on behalf of KU through 2004 to raise funds for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, capital projects and program support. KU Endowment is an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for KU.
-30-