USD Magazine Fall 2021

DEAR TOREROS conduct an assessment of our campus facilities. While we knew the exterior beauty of our campus was second to none, we also knew we had accumulated deferred mainte- nance across campus that required our attention. collaborative study rooms, a faculty reading room, jour- nals reading room, expanded archives and added air condi- tioning to the Mother Rosalie Hill Reading Room. The 36,000-square-foot Learning Commons has added 13 new state-of-the-art classrooms, USD MAGAZINE

Construction related to the Renaissance Plan began in May 2019 beginning with the Learning Commons. The completion of this phase of the project meant that faculty members were able to teach remote classes from the Learning Commons in both Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. Many students utilized the study spaces during the same two semesters. During Summer 2021, first-year students moved into updated residence halls in Camino and Founders and faculty returned to refreshed and updated offices. This exciting chapter in the life of the University of San Diego has been a collabora- tive effort: designers, build- ers, experts and the entire campus community joined together to make this ambi- tious effort a reality. While these changes repre- sent a new chapter in USD’s history, we are holding true to our values as a contempo- rary Catholic university that empowers innovative, confi- dent, original thinkers who make positive contributions in places near and far. Please consider visiting campus soon — perhaps by attending Homecoming and Family Week, which takes place October 12-17 — to see in person these exciting enhancements to our beauti- ful campus. We can’t wait to see you!

What we discovered was that it was time for a fresh approach to the maintenance of our buildings and a need for a rethinking of our facili- ties — a new and exciting time for growth, change and enlightenment. Thus, the Renaissance Plan was born. During the months of the pandemic when many were working and learning remotely, our facilities operations team continued to actively work now has led to the renovation of some of the most cherished spaces on campus as well as the construction of new buildings in order to amplify learning and enhance the overall student experience. The Renaissance Plan goal is multifaceted and will im- prove the top three space needs on campus: new class- rooms, flexible study space and faculty offices. When the plan is completed, we will have cut university deferred maintenance in half and added more than 120,000 square feet of new academic space to our campus. These goals will be met in time for the 2022-23 academic year. To date, we have complete- ly renovated Copley Library with more than 1,000 seats, three classrooms, 29 new with contractors on the Renaissance Plan, which

nine collaborative study rooms, new and expanded space for the Writing Center and Honors Program and a town square that can host events, as well as an outdoor study space. The restoration of Camino, Founders and Sacred Heart Halls added air conditioning to all academic spaces, up- graded ADA and other health and safety measures, added new seats and infrastructure to Shiley Theatre, air condi- tioning to Founders Chapel and upgraded housing to meet the expectations of today’s students. The construction of the Knauss Center for Business Education and the renovation and enhancement of Olin Hall are the final projects in this phase of the Renaissance Plan. space with new classrooms, a financial lab, a nexus theater, student services and centers — all in the same location. The buildings will respect the 16th century Spanish architecture on the exterior — which led to USD being named the most beautiful campus in the nation by The Princeton Review — and demonstrates our commitment to students on the interior. This initiative will nearly triple the business school

“Beauty will attract them; goodness will lead them; but the truth will hold them.” This inspiring quote from Mother Rosalie Hill, RSCJ, describes her vision for higher education and rein- forced what she ultimately thought the purpose of any college should be: the search for truth. But in order to attract students to the univer- sity she also believed our campus needed to be physi- cally attractive and provide a living and learning environ- ment that was a reflection of our Catholic intellectual tradition. For many years, USD has followed this philosophy when we developed plans for new buildings and facilities on campus. Thanks to this approach, the university has developed a national reputa- tion for both the quality of the education we provide our students and the beauty of our campus. In 2016, as part of our stra- tegic planning process, we invited an outside firm to

Peace, James T. Harris III, DEd President

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