The expansion of Kansas University's Overland Park campus should be a top priority for the state higher education system.
During its meeting last week, the Kansas Board of Regents approved a plan that paints an exciting future for the Kansas University Edwards Campus in Overland Park.
The "long-range master plan" for the campus covers 10 years and envisions a campus that is five times the size of the current site. It includes the current KU regents center, a proposed second building and three future expansion sites. The plans are a tangible step toward KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway's goal to have KU recognized as the dominant research university in the greater Kansas City area.
The opportunities are immense because of the booming Johnson County economy. The highly educated workforce creates a demand for advanced degrees. Only graduate degrees are offered on the Edwards campus and the average student is 31 years old, married and employed full-time.
The Edwards campus, located on 36 acres at 127th and Quivira Road, already serves about 5,300 students each year. In the last seven years, the number of graduate programs offered there has grown from seven to 17, Education courses draw the highest enrollment followed by social work, business and engineering, all areas in which KU has an outstanding reputation.
All of this activity currently operates out of one 55,000-square-foot building, but the Legislature has authorized raising $13.2 million in private funds for a second building. Before a new building is approved, officials saw the need to look down the road at what they want the Edwards campus to look like in 10 years.
The architects' drawings present an attractive, efficient picture of the Edwards campus. The only thing missing are the thousands of additional students the campus hopefully will attract. KU has expertise and reputation to fill a huge higher education need in the Kansas City area. Expansion of the Edwards Campus is an important part of the state's higher education mission and KU's goal of being the region's most respected and prestigious research university.
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