Athabasca University
Academic and Research Centre
Welcome to the Academic and Research Centre Project website. This site will provide members of the Athabasca University community and the larger Athabasca community with up-to-date information throughout the course of the building project. As the design process evolves, any changes in the building plan will be reflected in the documents on this website.
The Academic and Research Centre will greatly strengthen Athabasca University's leadership role in addressing global distance education challenges and opportunities.
The existing Athabasca building, opened in 1984, was designed to accommodate a staff serving the academic and support needs of a 10,000 member student body. In 2008, however, over 37,000 students are enrolled at AU. In the past five years alone, the university’s staff complement has grown by more than seven per cent annually, and finding adequate office space, meeting space, research space, etc. has grown increasingly difficult.
Because of AU’s exponential growth, many staff members have been challenged to work in environments that no longer serve their professional needs, and some departments are being accommodated in rental space separate from the campus. Such compromises have adversely affected operating efficiencies and, had they persisted, would inevitably have affected the quality of academic programs and student services.
The Government of Alberta provided a $30 million capital grant to fund construction of the Academic and Research Centre. This is an all-in budget including consulting, construction, inflation, project management and any other associated costs. The government, through Advanced Education and Technology, will also provide facility operating costs through a lights-on operating grant.
The anticipated occupation date for the Academic and Research Centre is December 2010.
ARC's history provides additional background information on the project.
Web Services, Advancement - Last Updated January 28, 2010
