University Marketing & Communications: Mike Rigert, 801-863-6807
Written by: Mike Rigert, 801-863-6807
UVU UNVEILS PLANS FOR NEW, LEGISLATURE-APPROVED CLASSROOM BUILDING
Utah Valley University officials today released details regarding the $54 million Utah State
Legislature-approved classroom building that will give students on the institution’s space-strapped campus
some much-needed breathing room. The classroom building was approved by the House and Senate last
week at the close of the Legislature’s 2013 session and awaits the signature of Gov. Gary Herbert.
For the past two years, the facility’s approval and construction has been a top priority of UVU
President Matthew S. Holland.
“The Utah Legislature’s approval of funding for the new classroom building is a crucial win for UVU
students, and we’re grateful for lawmakers’ support. I thank all those who have worked so diligently to make
it a reality,” said President Holland. “This new facility will help ensure that students and faculty members
have the physical learning tools and atmosphere that is vital to student success.”
With legislators having approved design and planning funding for the UVU classroom building
a year ago, the proposed facility was one of the state’s principal shovel-ready building projects heading
into the 2013 session of the Utah Legislature. The building has been designed by architect firms CRSA
Architecture and Method Studio.
Pending the governor’s signature, the UVU classroom building will provide more than 240,000
additional square feet, including 34 classrooms ranging in size from 40 to 330 seats and a 1,000-seat
auditorium. In all, the institution will gain more than 3,000 per hour classroom seats. Study rooms and
faculty offices are also in the plans.
The classroom building will provide much-needed academic learning space for one of the state’s
largest universities. UVU currently has the fewest square feet per student of all institutions in the Utah
System of Higher Education. A recent independent study commissioned by the Utah Board of Regents
found that UVU currently has a USHE-low 56 assignable square feet per FTE (full-time student equivalent).
The study also indicated that UVU would need a minimum of 757,000 additional assigned square feet by
2020 to accommodate growth, at which time the student body is projected to crest the 43,000 threshold.
UVU officials hope to break ground on the classroom building later this summer.
