Straquadine: Addition needed to keep pace with enrollment growth

Students enrolling this fall at Utah State University’s Tooele Regional Campus were greeted by a new $2.9 million, 18,000-square-foot addition built on to the existing building that more than doubled the total size of the campus and tripled the number of on-campus classrooms.

The new addition was completed just before the start of the fall semester, three weeks ago, and officially dedicated as part of an open house yesterday. The expansion added 15 new classrooms, a biology lab, a computer lab, and 10 new faculty offices to the campus, which was built in 1995.

The expansion was partially funded by a $1.2 million cash donation from Tooele County, according to Gary Straquadine, dean and executive director of the USU Tooele Regional Campus.

“The new facilities are needed as we strive to keep pace with the growth in enrollment here in Tooele,” Straquadine said.

Fall enrollment this year is currently 884 students — up 12 percent from fall 2008, which itself was up 21 percent from fall 2007. This is the sixth year of double-digit growth for USU Tooele.

“Enrollment is up because people are seeing the regional campus as real value, a place to gain a real college education, not just a glorified high school,” Straquadine said. “We also have been very aggressive with our marketing using our Web site, advertising, and visiting area high schools.”

Much of the enrollment growth is being driven by a trend of more recent high school graduates enrolling in USU Tooele, according to Straquadine.

This year, the USU Tooele Regional Campus has added two new programs: a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and a graduate degree in organizational leadership.

Of the 15 new classrooms, nine have the ability to originate and receive instructional broadcasts in real time. The remaining six classroom are set up for receiving only.

“Broadcasting instruction is the future of higher education,” Straquadine said. “It allows us to reach more students for lower cost as well as reach students that would never be able to come to a major campus location like Logan.”

Joseph Smith, an architect with the Salt Lake-based firm Method Studio, designed the expansion.

“We exceeded the city’s requirement for high-efficiency buildings by using energy-efficient systems in heating and air conditioning, as well as lighting,” Smith said. “Recycled materials were also used throughout the building in components such as the carpets, and indoor air quality was improved by using paints, finishes, and adhesives with low-volatile organic compounds.”

Angled walls were used in the classrooms to improve acoustics, and hallways were designed with areas for students to gather, according to Smith.

With the new addition completed, Straquadine now turns his attention to USU Tooele’s long-term plan for 50 acres acquired from Tooele City. The Tooele City Council gave final approval at their Sept. 2 meeting to an agreement to donate 30 acres to USU Tooele while selling the university an additional 20 acres at market value. The land will be used to build a library, student center, student residential area, classroom buildings, and recreational facilities.

“With our growth, we will need these facilities sooner than originally planned,” said Straquadine.

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com