What the Future Holds for Our Campus

Recently the university newspaper DUB published an article containing an important update regarding the future of our international campus. Dean Prof. dr. Susan te Pas has provided the following information on behalf of the UCU Management Team to update our community on where we stand.

Where did we stand previously?

As many of you may remember, five years ago the university announced plans to sell the site of the International Campus. We previously expected to move to a site near the Androclus building of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht Science Park, where a new college would be built. This move was not expected to take place before 2034, as it was contingent on the completion of a new Veterinary Medicine building and the dismantling of the Androclus building. We have updated you on the status of the relocation several times, last time in Spring semester.

What has changed now?

Some obstacles are making the sale of our current site highly uncertain. During a committee meeting of the University Council last month, Vice-President Margot van der Starre stated: "We were going to sell it, but it appears that it cannot be sold. We are now also investigating whether we can stay there."

Several factors complicate the sale of the site, including:

• The univesity’s lease agreements with the housing association Lekstede Wonen, which would need to be addressed before a sale could proceed.
• The proximity of Fort Vossegat, which was granted protected status in 2021. UNESCO has designated the New Dutch Waterline, including a portion of the UCU grounds, as a World Heritage Site, further limiting development options.
• The recent designation of the Dining Hall as a young monument, which places additional restrictions on the site’s development.

On top of that, the construction costs of building a brand new college campus elsewhere have risen dramatically. While these obstacles make selling the site more challenging, it is not entirely off the table. The university continues to explore all possibilities, including relocating to Science Park in 2034. What has changed is that the University Board, together with UCU and two faculties that are also housed on the international campus, is exploring the feasibility of staying on the international campus by making more efficient use of the space. This means for instance investigating whether moving some of the activities that are now housed in buildings in the inner city or in temporary housing to the international campus would be possible. 

What does that mean for UCU?

If the university board does decide to keep the current international campus, it will mean that UCU will stay at the current site. It also means that UCU will have less space than we currently occupy, especially office space. How that would be realised exactly is still to be discussed. However, it is important to note that in a new building, we would have less office space, as UCU offices are currently more spacious than the average UU offices. Therefore, if we remain on this campus, we should consider how to use our space more efficiently while preserving the unique character of our beautiful college.

What are the next steps?

A steering group and a user group, with a representation of UCU staff and students, have been formed, to help the UU Real Estate & Facilities department develop plans for keeping the international campus and making more efficient use of it. With the input from these groups, we hope a decision by the university board about the future of this campus will be made by the end of 2024.

Prepared and published by Kimberly Donaldson, UCU Alumni Relations and Development Officer (ucu.alumni@uu.nl).