A much different campus in store for returning graduates

RANDY METCALF/Arizona Daily Wildcat

The gates of the new Integrated Learning Center, a $20 million facility built to ease the move into college for freshmen, came down Oct. 26. The ILC will be open for classes in January.

For the thousands of alumni returning to campus for Homecoming weekend, the UA will look much different than they remember.

Construction, though not nearly complete, produced some results over the past year. Phase 1 of the Student Union Memorial Center was completed over the summer, and the gates around the underground Integrated Learning Center came down just two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, budget cuts, which will slice $13.8 million or more from the University of Arizona's 2002 budget, caused a ripple of anxiety about the future of the university.

And less than two months ago, students and other Tucsonans painted the "A" atop A Mountain red, white and blue in a patriotic gesture following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Nevertheless, Homecoming marches on, and today thousands of alumni will flood the campus - a much different campus than they remember from even a year ago.

Digging through the layers of time

Today, alumni who graduated in the 1920s and '30s will gather for a special luncheon.

These graduates, some of who are now more than 100 years old, attended a university with 21 buildings, 100 faculty and only 1,500 students.

But Jay Rochlin, director of communication for the Alumni Association, said most of those alumni don't find the new UA intimidating.

He said construction projects, which have been plentiful over the past few years, are not something graduates returning for Homecoming have protested.

"It's not a positive or negative reaction," he said. "It's more of a wonder. They shake their head and they can't believe the size of the campus in comparison to when they were here."

One of the most significant changes alumni will see on campus is the recently completed underground ILC.

The $20 million project, which was built underneath the UA Mall, represents the culmination of a decade of planning and construction, and Lynne Tronsdal, vice president of undergraduate administration, said alumni have responded well to the facility.

"It makes them want to be freshmen again," she said. "And I find they also look at it through the eyes of being a parent."

The ILC was built to be a support system for first-and second-year students, and Tronsdal said that mission strikes a chord for alumni who didn't have that kind of academic experience when they attended the university.

"There was a time when universities relied on academic Darwinism," she said. "It was a survival of the fittest. There wasn't that support system."

Another major change is the partially completed Student Union Memorial Center.

Rochlin said several alumni he has encountered remember the construction and dedication of the old student union in 1951.

Jennifer Robins, a program director for the Alumni Association and 1993 graduate, said reactions to construction by younger alumni are mixed.

"Some people were sad to see the old union go down," she said. "But they're excited for the change."

Cutting away at the future

RANDY METCALF/Arizona Daily Wildcat

The Student Union Memorial Center, an estimated $60 million facility, is currently open only through Phase 1. Phase 2 of the union will be finished in December 2002.

Despite the continuation of expensive construction projects, the UA is facing state-mandated budget cuts that risk causing long-term damage to the university.

Carolyn Kemmeries, alumni chairwoman and 1957 graduate, said alumni have been vocal in the budget cut negotiations and plan to continue that role throughout the process.

"We're staying in contact with legislators," she said. "It's no easy task. Budget cuts are just divisive and often times destructive."

Karen Kamp, a 1980 graduate, said she had the opportunity to meet UA President Peter Likins recently, and said she felt confident that he can lead the UA through the budget cuts without causing long-term damage

Kemmeries said most alumni she runs across are also confident in Likins' leadership.

"Dr. Likins is an inspired and inspiring leader," she said.

Jennifer Cartwright, Homecoming program director, said the budget cuts will have little effect on alumni because plans were already in place before the cuts were announced.

Kemmeries said she sees the campus as stronger than ever even though the UA is facing a budget cut of at least 4 percent.

"I think the spirit of the place has remained special," she said. "Some of the intimacy may have been lost, and that is nice to have. But what you gain is national recognition, and I find it delightful that we're at that point."

Kemmeries said she didn't have the opportunities and resources UA students have now, and the size and magnitude of the current university reflects those benefits.

The gates are down and hopes are high

UA Vice President Tronsdal is not naive to the reality that some alumni may not see the ILC as an improvement.

"I'm sure there are people who don't see any reason why we built this," she said.

Nevertheless, after three years of gated seclusion while the ILC was under construction, the UA Mall is once again open and ready to be crowded with alumni.

"Overall, our feeling to the construction projects has been positive," Kamp said. "The place was torn up so badly. Now it looks wonderful."

Of course, UA construction has not yet come to an end. The student union will not be completed for another year.

And after that, officials have a long list of changes they are planning.

"It just keeps growing and getting better," Cartwright said.