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Passage of Prop 1D Gives Green Light to Construction
and Upgrading of Facilities
New $75 Million Structural and Materials
Engineering Building Among Projects Funded
By
Ioana Patringenaru | November 13, 2006
UCSD will receive $94.5 million from a statewide
school bond that voters approved on
Nov. 7. The money
will allow the university to refurbish old facilities
and build new ones, including laboratories for students
and researchers, as well as artist studios and offices.
In all, 56.6 percent of California voters cast ballots
in favor of Proposition 1D, which set aside $10.4
billion for public schools, community colleges and
universities, for construction and renovation, repairs
of aging buildings and upgrades for labs and other
scientific facilities.
"We're thrilled that California voters passed
Proposition 1D," said Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.
"It will allow us to move forward with important
building projects and improve existing facilities.”
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Mayer Hall |
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UC’s 10 campuses would receive $690 million
over the next two years for facilities. Another $200
million would be go to expanding UC medical education
and telemedicine programs. The bulk of UCSD’s
share, about $75.1 million, will go to the construction
of a new Structural and Materials Engineering Building.
Prop. 1D funds also will pay for extensive renovations
of Mayer Hall, equipment for the new Music Center
and other improvements. They also will help cover
planning costs for the second phase of the Rady School
of Management.
“This is wonderful news for the campus,”
says Ahmed Elgamal, chair of the department of structural
engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering.
“The new building will allow us to enhance the
hands-on laboratories for our structural engineering
students.”
Structural engineering also will share the facility
with faculty in the materials engineering department
and visual arts. Elgamal said he hopes that will help
create new synergies in the areas of scientific visualization
and advanced materials. The 110,000-square-foot Structural
and Materials Engineering Building will be located
just across the Warren Recreation Fields and Canyonview
Pool. It’s is expected be ready by summer 2010.
It will house about 45 engineering faculty serving
an estimated 1,000 students. About 50,000 square feet
will go to structural engineering labs and offices,
about 40,000 square feet to materials engineering
labs and offices and about 20,000 square feet to visual
arts labs, offices and artists studios. Faculty based
in the new building will work on a wide variety of
research projects, including high-performance composite
materials, sensors to ensure the safety of buildings
and bridges and new materials for medical applications
such as dental implants and bone replacement. The
building also will meet demanding state standards
for environmentally-friendly construction.
Meanwhile, about $13.1 million in Prop. 1D funds
will go to renovating Mayer Hall. "The passage
of this bond measure will provide the critical funds
to renovate the primary home of the department of
physics," said Mark Thiemens, dean of the Division
of Physical Sciences. "These include expansion
and modern research and instructional facilities for
physics and the construction of new undergraduate
physics teaching laboratories." Some of the money
will go to fire and safety upgrades, including a sprinkler
system for the whole building. The project will allow
the university to modernize Mayer Hall’s outdated
labs. It also will allow the physics department’s
instructional lab program to move from Warren College
to Mayer Hall. Work is set to begin during the 2007-08
academic year.
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A New Music Center at UC San Diego. |
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Also, about $2.2 million will go to equipment for
the Music Center, including audio systems and pianos.
The 47,000-square-foot facility would be located southeast
of the Price Center at the intersection of Rupertus
Way and Russell Lane with a planned opening in fall
2009. It would include a 400-seat concert hall and
would become the new home of the music department.
"We are all very excited about moving forward
on our brilliant new music building,” said Arts
and Humanities Dean Michael Bernstein. “Statewide
voter approval of Prop 1D provides for essential equipment
for this advanced technology facility."
Prop. 1D also sets aside:
- $1 million to cover planning costs for the second
phase of the Rady School of Management facility.
The 50,000-square-foot first phase of the school’s
construction is set to open in spring 2007 just
north of Eleanor Roosevelt College. The 50,000-square-foot
second phase is scheduled to be completed by summer
2011. It includes classrooms, team study rooms,
multi-purpose conference rooms, a student support
media room, changing and locker areas, student support
offices, academic faculty offices, research areas
and a 295-seat auditorium.
- $3.2 million to improve the campus’ chilled
water and electrical distribution systems.
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