The UC Office of the President has extended the campus’ March fundraising deadline by a month because administrators failed to raise enough money to pay for the $7.2 million University House project, according to Vice Chancellor of External Affairs James M. Langley.
The project proposes to demolish the existing University House, which serves as the home of the UCSD chancellor, and build a new residence on the La Jolla Farms property.
Langley said he requested the extension because several other privately funded and ongoing university projects have made finding additional donors for reconstruction especially difficult.
“We are having the best year in history of fundraising at UCSD thus far,” Langley said. “We have pushed a lot of projects on top of many important initiatives, but we don’t want to confuse the donor base.”
However, Langley said he thinks a one-month extension will allow for more donors to come forward.
“I would not have asked for the extension if I did not think we could be successful,” Langley said. “Initially, we were given a very short period of time, but we did the best we could. Sometimes the donors take time to respond after you contact them because they don’t feel the project has the same urgency that we do.”
UCOP will provide a portion of the necessary funds to rebuild the University House, according to UCOP Communications Director Brad Hayward.
“There is talk [of $1 million], but there is nothing final,” Hayward said. “However, we have been very clear that the vast majority needs to be done with private funds from the campus fundraising.”
If campus administrators are unable to meet the new deadline, they will be forced to consider selling the property and rebuilding elsewhere, according to Langley.
He said that he would not reveal the exact numbers of the fundraising effort because the contributions will have to be returned to the donors if not enough money is raised. However, he has objected to exploring other housing options.
“At this point, it is hard to tell whether or not we will be able to raise the funds, but I have been on record objecting to selling the property,” Langley said. “It would be a permanent solution to a temporary problem. The property is a unique asset of the university; it is a remarkable piece of real estate. It has been used to recruit faculty and entertain several officials.”
However, the University House project has drawn criticism from campus workers’ labor groups.
Fred Lonidier, a visual arts professor and president of the union that represents the university’s lecturers and librarians, said that funding the project should not be the top priority of the university.
“If you are going to raise private money, why not use it to build classes?” Lonidier said. “We are in a period of budget crisis. There is a crunch for classroom space here. They are packing in students and the buildings that house the classes are not keeping up. I had to cut my class from two hours to one hour twice a week just to compete for space.”
However, the funds provided by UCOP for the University House will not come from private money that pays for the academic needs of the university, according to Hayward.
“We have non-state money that is available to cover costs outside academics,” Hayward said. “No one is saying that this is the most important need of the university, but housing for the chancellor is an important consideration; these facilities play a number of important roles for the university.”
An officer of the Coalition of University Employees, Denise Mitchell-Carignan, said that the timing of the project is questionable, considering the university’s financial challenges. C.U.E. is currently in wage negotiations with UC administrators.
“They haven’t even been giving merit increases for the faculty,” Carignan said. “Next year’s fees are going up, but they can pay for a swanky new house in La Jolla for the chancellor. How could [UC President Robert C. Dynes] do this in good conscience?”
The university is obligated under its contract to provide housing for the chancellor, according to Hayward.
UCOP commissioned the renovation of University House after a report revealed that the building had serious seismic concerns. Because the facility is inhabitable, UCOP signed a two-year lease to pay $6,500 per month for a rented residence to house Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.
