U of T’s two suburban campuses are cashing in on the double cohort thanks to a hefty infusion of funding from the provincial government’s SuperBuild program.
The second round of SuperBuild funding netted U of T $55.5 million, which will be used for expansion projects at UTM and UTSC.
“Students are going to go crazy,” beemed SAC Scarborough representative Parminder Singh, calling the expansion “an amazing idea. I’m very ecstatic.”
Renovations are already underway at UTSC, where the formerly one-building campus now has several others on the go. “Now that we have more than one building, it brings down the space factor,” said Singh, referring to the growing population of students at the Scarborough campus. The new money will help provide new classrooms, faculty offices and more study space, which is currently at a premium.
Space has been such a problem at UTSC that a “portable lecture hall” was set up. Resembling the blow-up domes often used for golfers who want to practice in the winter, the hall housed more than 300 students, but was seen as a cash grab to house more students, says Singh. “You want to put in money to make more money, but you won’t provide more study space for us.”
Space was also a concern at UTM, but the SuperBuild funding should help alleviate that. The money will help pay for a new library as well as a student learning centre or academic learning centre. UTM’s old library will be razed, making way for 44,000 sq. ft. of space to be used for labs, faculty offices and a student services plaza. “This space is essential for UTM,” said Professor Ian Orchard, principal and vice-president of UTM. “This is a very exciting announcement.”
SAC UTM rep Mohammed Hashim was more pragmatic in response to the news. “It means we can actually expand and provide services for the UTM community.” Hashim called the current space situation at UTM “inadequate,” but welcomed the SuperBuild money. “It’s a start. That’s good.”
The funding also provided an indication that the suburban campuses are not to be ignored by the more high-profile St. George campus. “The east and west are making a statement,” said Singh, while Professor Orchard added that “It is worthwile to note that two of the three major projects for SuperBuild were UTM and Scarborough.” The third project, involving the St. George campus, was not picked up by SuperBuild, and will instead be paid for through central university funds.
U of T has rung up a total of $124.5 million in SuperBuild funding so far as part of the largest investment in post-secondary education since the 1960s. The SuperBuild project is worth $2.6 billion altogether.
