Lack of Space Halts UCSD Extension’s Downtown Program

UC San Diego Extension has temporarily suspended its downtown educational offerings because it cannot find space for them.

The UCSD downtown center, established with great fanfare in the fall of 1987, has been offering non-degree enrichment courses in classrooms leased from the California Western School of Law, whose building is on the northern edge of downtown.

But UCSD’s associate vice chancellor for extension said this week that Cal Western increasingly needs space for its own instruction, leaving UCSD short of classroom space for a viable program.

“Cal Western has been extraordinarily generous in sharing space during the evening, but now we need to find an alternative location, and so far we haven’t been able to,” Mary Walshok said.

Help Sought in Finding Space

Walshok met Monday with representatives of San Diegans Inc., a private downtown planning group, to ask for help in finding both temporary space and a long-term solution for a permanent downtown presence for the extension.

“I’m hoping for at least a modest program this fall and winter somewhere, but we don’t have momentum yet toward any lease,” Walshok said. “Unfortunately, the program has been decreasing, not expanding,” since it began in 1987 with more than 30 evening courses and special lectures that attracted 500 students.

“You really can’t run a program with only one or two courses, but not having a program at all is disappointing because we lose both our presence and momentum,” Walshok said. The downtown program has been oriented toward professional and business employees seeking advanced information in their fields.

Steve Williams, who chairs the San Diegans group’s task force on UCSD, said Wednesday: “UCSD’s presence is a significant contribution to the downtown environment.” Williams, whose firm manages the Great American building, added that “there are going to be a lot of creative people working on making a match.”

Educational Space Limited

Walshok said that educational space downtown is limited because the extension requires space for six or seven classrooms as well as a central office and lounge. In addition, downtown leasing charges are typically geared to profit-making organizations.

“The cost of office space is quite high, since most developers and building managers are used to law firms or retail space,” Walshok said. In the Cal Western relationship, UCSD has also been able to share maintenance and security functions that would have to be paid separately in a private commercial arrangement, Walshok said.

UCSD Chancellor Richard Atkinson has long wanted a permanent downtown site for the campus similar to an educational center that John Hopkins University has in Baltimore, where it leases a large amount of space from a downtown developer in a joint venture. The university pays part of the cost of running the center, but the developer financed construction of the building and receives monetary and other benefits from commercial activity attracted by the university presence.

“I think we have to find a partnership with someone downtown who believes that we would be exciting to have,” Walshok said.

Williams said the long-term vision involves a building that would display UCSD’s name, a location on lower floors with easy access through a separate entrance, and special financial arrangements.

“That really isn’t feasible yet given the financial constraints on the university,” he said.

Problems of Using High-Rise

But even in the short term, it would be difficult to put UCSD in a high-rise, he said. Elevators would be insufficient to handle large loads of students arriving all at once and leasing costs could be prohibitive.

“In essence, we are going to be looking for a special situation, both short- and long-term,” Williams said.

Walshok suggested that the extension center could fit into any proposals for a new city library downtown, which city officials say is sorely needed, but for which they have not produced any funds.

Williams said there could also be a tie-in with a small business center specializing in helping downtown firms.