Regents Review Potential University Sites

The University of California Board of Regents met behind closed doors Friday to discuss 136 possible sites throughout the state for three new campuses the university says it needs to accommodate more students.

The regents refused, however, to identify which properties are under consideration.

UC President David P. Gardner and the regents said they feared the price of some of the lands would rise if the discussions were open. Gardner said, however, many of the sites are being offered to the university as gifts.

Initially, UC officials had planned to release a list of 50 properties Friday of between 160 and 1,400 acres that are close enough to transportation and population centers to make viable university settings. Officials had hoped to narrow the choices down by the end of next year in order to build the first of the new schools by 1998.

But officials said the number of available sites surprised them. So instead, Gardner and his staff decided to divide the state into three regions--north, central and south--and focus initially on which area should be the first to get a new UC campus. That regional decision is expected by early next year, and two or three of the most promising sites within the area will be selected by later in the year, with environmental impact studies to follow.

At a press conference after the regents’ meeting, Gardner stressed that each of the three regions needs a new campus by 2005. However, his claim is likely to face close scrutiny in the Legislature because of the enormous construction costs--estimated to be at least $900 million for three schools.

According to a map distributed Friday, the central region designated by the UC planners contains none of the existing nine UC campuses.

But Gardner warned boosters of a campus in the Central Valley not to assume a site there will be chosen first. Much will depend on ongoing studies about an area’s college attendance rates and the eligibility of its students for UC admissions, he said.

Scores of communities throughout the state have lobbied the regents to locate a campus in their areas because of the economic benefits one can bring.

UC officials anticipate student enrollment will grow by 62,000 to 205,000 in the next 15 years. But some other education experts have said such growth could be handled by expanding existing campuses.

In other business, the regents unanimously voted Friday to hike next year’s education and registration fees by 4.7% for California residents and 2.5% for out-of-state students. Excluding housing, food and books, a UC education will cost residents $1,703 and non-Californians $7,619 if the Legislature and governor agree with the proposal.