U-Senate meeting updates 2031 plan

Over the last several months, NYU's satellite campus in Abu Dhabi has been front and center for President John Sexton and NYU administrators. With classes at Abu Dhabi set to begin this fall, university heads are refocusing their attention on NYU's overarching expansion goals.

Last Thursday, Sexton and other administrators attended the monthly University Senate meeting to discuss a number of projects, including NYU Plans 2031 — the university's plan to add six million square feet to the New York campus by its bicentennial. At the meeting, administrators and senators discussed various issues including the possibility of opening new study abroad sites and developing the Washington Square campus as well as the potential problems involved with undertaking such projects.

Study abroad

At Thursday's meeting, Sexton announced he would be interested in opening new study abroad sites in Australia, Latin America and Africa. He said that in discussions, administrators indicated Brazil, Chile and Mexico as front runners for Latin America, with South Africa at the top of the list for an African site. Sexton also indicated some interest in reviving the plans to create a study abroad site in India.

WSN reported in February 2008 that provost David McLaughlin and vice provost for globalization and multicultural affairs Ulrich Baer said NYU would investigate creating a site in India. Baer said the university was interested in creating a program in India with the Stern School of Business much like the one that is currently in London.

In a separate conversation, Baer said before plans could be finalized, a number of things must first be taken into consideration, including security concerns in South America and overall student and faculty interest.

At the meeting, Sexton ruled out the possibility of opening additional sites in Europe and also noted that the "study away" site in Washington D.C. is scheduled to open in the fall of 2012. The D.C. program is expected to enroll up to 150 students a semester.

NYU Washington Square Campus

Sexton announced that he intends to vigorously pursue expanding and upgrading facilities at NYU's Washington Square campus. Plans for development include 3.5 million square feet for academic buildings, 1.5 million for student housing, 500,000 for faculty housing and 500,000 for student services. Additionally, NYU's modified plans for the Center for Academic and Spiritual Life have been approved by the city and officials expect it to be completed by the summer of 2012.

In an interview with WSN, Greenwich Village Historical Preservation Society executive director and notorious critic of NYU expansion Andrew Berman said that compared to other NYU projects, the Spiritual Center is less problematic but some practices used when seeking approval for the site were questionable.

"They claim the exemptions they are seeking are absolutely necessary to meet programmatic needs. We disagree completely," Berman said. "While we may not mind what they are asking for, we are worried about the argument they are using. If they win, they can then apply it to getting those three million square feet."

Governors Island

With other issues taking precedence in recent months, plans to expand to Governors Island have slowed. At the meeting, however, Sexton said that administrators are still considering the island as a potential site for expansion.

Lynne Brown, senior vice president for university relations and public affairs, defended the idea of expanding to more remote locations on Thursday.

"This is not growth for the sake of growth," she said. "Not all of the university's needs can be accommodated in and around Greenwich Village."

Issues surrounding ownership and logistics have kept the project from serious development.

Brown also said that if the university actually wants to expand to Governors Island, it must do so with full force.

"We would be willing and would commit to using Governors Island," Brown said. "[But] you can't do Governors Island in small increments. It will seem like you're exiling people. You need a critical mass to start."

Jaywon Choe is city/state editor.