Recreation not one of ‘3 Rs’

For its 2010 period of the Six-Year Capital Improvement Plan, the University of Minnesota plans to spend $70 million renovating Northrop Auditorium and nearly $60 million to expand the University Recreation Center. These projects do not match the University’s self-imposed criteria for capital-improvement projects, such as “centrality to the University’s mission.” The specific goals by which a capital-improvement plan is judged include “student success,” research, state service, asset protection and “recogniz[ing] current … financial realities.” This proposed construction meets almost none of these criteria.
The plan prudently claims “prioritizing projects that decrease … space,” yet the Rec Center expansion calls for an increase of 140,000 square feet. While the Northrop renovation will include a classroom and facilities for the University Honors Program, renovating a venue primarily used for entertainment should not be a priority for the University in this economy — especially at the expense of $70 million. Students are losing patience with the University. Budget shortfalls have led to tuition hikes, and students will also likely be on the hook for covering the University’s future deficits.
As important, the state is losing patience. Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minn., says the University’s “intransigence” with the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line will cause state legislators to be less receptive to University requests in the future. If administration can’t practice responsible spending, it puts both credibility and future funding at risk. We want our administration to improve capital wisely. To propose $130 million in expansions to recreation and entertainment infrastructure while raising tuition and cutting course offerings is no way to advance academic “excellence” in our new fiscal reality.