Consolidating our Physical Footprint
Dear Colleagues,
I hope you enjoyed a restful holiday weekend. I want to update you on the progress the University has made in recent months consolidating our physical footprint to create a more efficient and interconnected campus.
First, I’m happy to report that the University has completed the sale of the Champlin House, which we fully vacated three years ago. Champlin House was the last piece of extraneous property that we owned out in the community. In addition to the proceeds from their sale, releasing these underutilized properties offers real material benefits over time, allowing us to make better use of the financial and human resources necessary to maintain them while benefitting the community by returning these properties to the local tax base.
In addition, the University has ended its lease agreement at the Clark City Center earlier than anticipated. This came as a result of a downtown water main break that occurred in March, causing significant damage to office space in the neighboring Adirondack Bank Building and necessitating their relocation of some operations to the space we vacated. Now that we have returned our business programs to the main campus, the conclusion of this lease will yield significant cost savings over time while offering our students greater convenience (and no need for those daily shuttle bus rides).
Finally, regarding our former ABSN sites in Florida, we have entered into a sublease agreement with another academic institution that will cover two-thirds of our lease in St. Petersburg this year and the full lease beginning next year. Our lease at the Miramar site ends in January, and last year, we fully consolidated our ABSN site in Syracuse into our main campus, with very positive results.
As you know, particularly with respect to the Florida sites, our off-campus learning facilities were established to take advantage of emerging strategic opportunities for enrollment growth in new markets. The dramatic shifts in enrollment patterns we’ve seen in recent years have prompted us to refocus our strategy on the University’s core strengths, consolidating our footprint so that we can invest more resources in what we do best.
Beyond helping us better manage our operational costs, concentrating operations primarily on a single campus provides several significant benefits. For one, it creates a more vibrant, centralized campus experience, enhancing the sense of community for all of students, faculty, and staff. Moreover, it offers us the opportunity to enhance existing interdisciplinary connections and foster new ones.
Utica University has always been a place where everyone knows everyone; bringing these operations home is a great way for us to embrace this legacy and carry it forward.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Nesbitt
President