UP Plans New Academic Center
The University of Portland is planning a 63k SF academic center to house classrooms, offices, an auditorium, a career center, and the Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Moral Formation and Applied Ethics. The facility will help the school catch up with demand among students; the student population at the university has grown 30% over the past decade, but classroom space has remained the same.
Many of the classrooms in the building will be designed for interactive learning, with spaces equipped with movable furniture and updated technology. Other “cluster” classrooms will for small groups of students to work cooperatively and collaboratively on projects and assignments, something like they might do later in newer-style office space.
The Dundon-Berchtold project — named for a member of the school's board of regents and her husband, who contributed $15M for the development — is part of ongoing capital construction and other building at the university. Since 2009, the University of Portland has built or renovated 11 buildings on its 150-acre campus.
