By Dennis O’Neil
A master design plan for the Health Sciences Campus was approved by the University of Louisville Board of Trustees at a Feb. 21 meeting.
U of L President Dr. James R. Ramsey unveiled a plan that mapped out the next 20 years of progress on the HSC and put forth enhanced accommodations for patients, students and researchers among others.
Much of the plan represents a series of very long-term goals, but comes in an effort to troubleshoot some of the problems that Health Sciences has been facing over the years.
For students, there are hopes to construct a central quadrangle where students can meet and hang out. The plan also entails other features that are geared towards students, such as improving student parking, constructing better classrooms and adding student lounge areas. There is also the possibility for a new instructional building.
First year medical school student Amanda Chism said that she doesn’t think the current situation on the HSC is that bad, but that there were several encouraging things about the plan.
“The food situation isn’t great. We only have a McDonald’s and a few hospital cafeterias, so more cheap food would be good,” Chism said. “I also like that they plan to give us a grass area for hanging out instead of concrete, as long as there are enough benches to sit and eat lunch.”
First year med school student Jim Bell had a similar reaction to the plan, citing the possibility for better parking accommodations as one of its encouraging aspects.
“Right now, it is considered dangerous for anyone to walk to their cars late at night,” Bell said. “The parking situation is okay, but it would be made a lot better if there were a parking garage closer to the med school. It would also be nice to see some more green on campus. Right now, it is mostly concrete.”
U of L Vice President of Health Affairs Larry Cook said that if a new instructional building is built, then there would be greater possibility for more student benefits, such as increased options of food services.
“The master plan recognizes that places for informal student gatherings and food service are in short supply,” said Cook. “We want to prioritize the creation of these types of spaces wherever possible.”
To improve the experience for patients, the plan calls for more distinguished campus boundaries to make the campus easier to navigate. There are also hopes of improving patient parking as well as more accessible entrances for patient drop off and pick up. Creating driving routes on campus that will only be used for patient transportation were also noted.
Effort towards beautifying the HSC was also cited in the plan. Many of the areas that are now covered with concrete will be enhanced by trees and grass. There is also a hope for the creation of a pedestrian mall along Flexner Way that is to include outdoor seating and green space parking.
Cook said that there would be several construction alterations to the campus. There are plans of constructing up to four new research facilities for the campus. Two large projects, the construction of a new faculty office building and a new biomedical research building, are already underway.
“We want to get those buildings up and running as fast as we can,” Cook said. “Next on the list would be beginning planning for an administrative office building and the renovation of several other buildings, such as the Dental School clinics and the Dental Research Building.”
In a recent interview, Ramsey said that he would like to see the enrollment in the School of Medicine increase by 25 percent each year, but that it could not because there was not enough space.
Both Ramsey and Cook stressed the need of the plan to stay flexible in the face of the ever-changing environment around the campus. Cook said that the 1993 HSC Master Plan put forward some of the same goals, but that the environment had changed so much that the current need for expansion is much greater.
“In the 1993 plan, the level of success and further need for expansion were certainly not contemplated on the level that the current plan projects,” said Cook.
There is no guarantee that many of the things set forward in the plan will come to fruition. Several of the construction projects must be included in the six-year-capital plan that will be sent to Frankfort this spring for consideration by the General Assembly in 2008.
State funding is by no means a given though. Last year, Gov. Ernie Fletcher vetoed several U of L projects from the state budget, including construction of a 1,500 car garage on the Health Sciences Campus.
Despite possible setbacks, Ramsey remained resolute about the plan’s merits.
“This plan will change to fit the needs of the university and the community,” said Ramsey. “But it offers a blueprint for how we can best serve the community and the commonwealth.”
