The average student who attends classes at the Edwards Campus is 32 years old. More than 50 percent are married and 90 percent work full time.

The student body at the Edwards Campus, near 126th Street and Quivira Road in Overland Park, represents a trend in higher education, said Bob Clark, vice chancellor at the campus.

“It’s important because the trend in higher education is that the average age of the students is getting older,” he said. “Lifelong learning goes beyond your undergraduate degree.”

When Tom Moreland, Kansas City, Mo., graduated from KU in December 2001, he knew he would return to school for a master’s degree to work in administration at a hospice care center.

“I was looking at other schools, but as soon as I learned about the Edwards Campus, I knew that it would be the best place for me,” Moreland said. “I can stay in Kansas City and still go to KU and be a Jayhawk.”

The Edwards Campus opened in the spring of 1993. It was then known as the Regents Center. When Clark joined the administration in July 1997, he decided the phrase “Regents Center” would have to go.

“I wanted the word campus to be used in everything that we did to show the commitment we had to the greater Kansas City community,” he said.

Nearly a decade after the campus opened, Clark said the mission remained the same to provide the academic programs, research and other services of KU for working professionals.

“We’re making contributions in a way that’s unique,” he said. “The Lawrence campus is making contributions in a way that’s traditional.”

Clark has seen major developments since he came to the Edwards Campus five years ago. The Edwards Campus offered 10 programs in 1997; it now offers 20. The campus also offers undergraduate studies.

The campus has formed partnership with area community colleges, including Kansas City, Kan., Community College, Johnson County Community College and Metropolitan Community College.

“We hope to make a seamless transition from an associate’s degree at a community college to completing an undergraduate degree at the Edwards Campus,” Clark said.

Another big improvement is the campus-like atmosphere.

“When I came here, it was really just a building where students and faculty intersect,” he said.

Now the campus has a bookstore and faculty suites for teachers to meet with students.

Enrollment has increased 23 percent in five years, he said. Growth, though, has slowed in recent years, Clark said, because the campus building ran out of room.

A $5 million donation in September 2001, from the Hall Family Foundation to help develop the Edwards Campus will give the campus some growing room.

Gould-Evans-Goodman Construction will begin work on a $17.8 million project this fall. The construction should take 16 to 18 months, Clark said. And when complete, Clark said, the new three-floor building could almost double the space. There are more buildings in the works in a long-range master plan. The campus sits on 36.1 acres.

The new building will provide more classroom space, an administrative suite, a large auditorium, three computer labs, an executive conference room and room for 30 new faculty. The campus has 10 faculty currently.

Though growing as a campus is important, creating a learning environment that embodies the word “campus” is also crucial.

“The scope of what we do here covers the scope of what the community needs,” he said. “A campus has the responsibility to offer a community some support and development of all the areas of society and that’s what the word campus should reflect.”