UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, January 18, 1994
5
Administrators propose campus improvements
By Jamie Munn
Kansan staff writer
A grassy lane in place of Jayhawk Boulevard, renovated buildings, the latest in technology and increased child and elder care facilities could all be part of KU in the near future.
These are just some of the proposals now being discussed for development by the University's governance committee.
Eventually these ideas, proposed by Executive Vice Chancellor Ed Meyen and other administrators, will be reviewed by a long-range planning committee. These plans then will be developed into a campus master plan for the next 20 years.
"We're looking to the future." Meyen said. "I am very pleased with the committee's progress and confident about it."
The long-range committee's focus will be a broad look at campus improvements, Meyen said.
"The University is going to be here for a long time." he said.
For example, Meyen said limiting Jayhawk Boulevard to pedestrians only would help deal with the increased traffic of students, staff, faculty and visitors.
"With the closing of Jayhawk Boulevard, we'd be trying to preserve the campus atmosphere as it is being expanded," he said.
He also said the committee would work on rerouting traffic and consider allowing limited access to campus buses.
University architect Allen Wiechert said one concern of the plan was keeping service access open to Strong Hall and Bailey Hall. Keeping a route open for fire protection of those buildings also would be a problem, he said.
Another proposal, environmental preservation, would include everything from the Campanile to shrubs to campus lighting. Meyen said.
"Basically, it's the aesthetics of the campus," he said.
A task force is reviewing child and elder care on campus, and Meyen said he expected a report from it soon.
Meyen said the plan also would allow for expanded student fees to pay for renovation and improvements in technology.
"As the technology is available, we want to have the infrastructure to accommodate it." he said.
Enrollment limitations are a part of the plan. Meyen said he wanted to allow for reasonable growth in enrollment, but he was concerned that University resources would not parallel student expansion.
Bob Friedu, head of the Senate Executive Council, said SenEx supported some of the plans but not those for special fees and building funding.
Friauf said there were already special fees to pay for faculty salaries, new equipment and library enhancements in the engineering and law schools.
"We really hate to see this proliferate," he said. "But being in the physics department, I know the abysmal equipment problems."
However, Friauf said he had no specific information about which departments might have to initiate the special fees.
One proposal SenEx endorsed heavily was the protection of the campus environment, and this approval will be recommended to the long-term committee in the spring.
Wiechert said the changes would depend on the availability of funds and the priority of other projects, such as remodeling and renovation.
Although state funding for capital projects is scarce, money for the improvements could come from federal funds or other sources, he said.
Even when exact solutions to these problems are found, the construction process could take some time. Wiechert said.
"They could be completed within a couple of years if the all the money is in order." he said.
The final version of the 20-year plan isn't expected until 1995.
KU's master plan
Proposals for campus improvements presented by Executive Vice Chancellor Ed Meyen include:
limiting undergraduate enrollment increases at the Lawrence campus to 10 percent during the next 10 years.
increasing use of computers for instruction and research.
n diversifying the student body in age, career objectives, ethnic origins and instructional needs
closing Jayhawk Boulevard to all but pedestrian traffic and/or converting the street to a grassy area.
n initiating special fees to compensate for increasing costs of degree program enhancements, including faculty and staff costs.
- increasing child and elder care services.
- requiring departments to identify funding sources for new building construction or renovations.
protecting the campus environment from the effects of weather and campus expansion.
Source: Executive Vice Chancellor Ed Meyen KANSAN
Improvement proposals prompt varied reactions
Reactions to campus improvements presented by Executive Vice Chancellor Ed Meyen are as varied as the different proposals.
Increased child and elder care and possibly closing Jayhawk Boulevard to traffic are among the top concerns of KU's students, staff and faculty.
By Jamie Mun
Kansan staff writer
James Sherman, head of the human development and family life department, said that current child care services were able to accommodate some of the needs of students, faculty and staff but that those demands were growing.
"Obviously there are additional needs that need to be worked out over the next couple of years," Sherman said.
KU has no services for elder care right now, Sherman said. However, with increased medical care and longer life spans, older adults will need more support.
"It's not clear where all that's going to be coming from," he said. "Family members are accepting more responsibility, and this will result in better care of parents."
Another proposed improvement, closing Jayhawk Boulevard, received mixed reviews from those who use it.
University architect Allen Wiechett said limiting access to Jayhawk Boulevard to only pedestrians, much less converting it to a grassy area, would take a lot of planning.
The first investment in the change would have to be made in traffic routing. One alternative road could be Memorial Drive, Wiechert said.
Ernst Dick, professor of Germanic languages and literature, said he was in favor of the proposed changes for Jayhawk Boulevard. He said he thought the amount of pollution and noise was incredible.
"But right now, it's not designed for that," he said.
"I wish they would close it up and stop all this traffic and pollution." Dick said. "Everybody can walk for two minutes."
Michael Shaw, professor of classics, said that he had tried to bring classes outside to do poetry readings but that distractions had made it difficult.
"You don't realize how noisy it is," he said.
However, he said closing the street would cause problems for people who were unable to walk from farther down Mount Oread. People who use the street to drop off children or family members also would be affected, he said.
"It would be a very pleasant place with pedestrian mall." Shaw said. "But these are problems that are not easily solved."
Graduate teaching assistant David Becker said he liked being able to be dropped off at Watson library by a friend, and the only things on Jayhawk Boulevard that annoyed him were the buses.
"They are so noisy, and they pump out all that exhaust," Becker said.
Max Sutton, professor of English, said he would be in favor of closing the street to outside traffic, but that the change should be gradual.
"It's nice to be let off," Sutton said. "But a mall would be a beautiful idea."
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