THE University is in a tight spot financially because the Commonwealth has decided to make us beg for pennies. As usual, though, private benefactors are coming through with funding for us. John Kluge's gift of 10 farms, one designated specifically for educational use, provides an opportunity to continue innovating during difficult times. There certainly will be a long list of proposals from different departments. But the University needs to select proposals based on the most practical usage of the property: a self-contained entity for conferences or long-term research.
John Kluge, a businessman and philanthropist who has a history of giving to the University, made a gift of his 7,378-acre estate in Albermarle County to the University last May. Most of the estate can be used as the University pleases, except for the core of the estate, the 749-acre Morven Farms, which must be used for educational purposes.
|
The University has just sold five of the farms to Dave Matthews and is trying to sell another to start an endowment for development of Morven Farms to support the educational programs chosen. At this time, few of the buildings are ready for public use, so it will be several years before the Kluge estates become a useful part of the University community. Because of the size of the undertaking, however, the University is beginning to think about its possible uses now.
The University of Virginia Foundation, to whom the gift was given, has identified four possible areas for educational use: environmental and landscape studies, performing and creative arts, international activities and public service and outreach. These areas were selected in an effort to follow the recommendations of the Virginia 2020 report.
Beyond these guidelines, the University still is open to suggestions for uses of the facility. This decision will not be made entirely on an administrative level: University Vice President Gene Block will begin soliciting proposals on the Provost Web site next month. Anyone involved with the University - students, faculty, or staff - will be able to submit a proposal once forms become available.
The Provost's office certainly will receive proposals from all sorts of groups at the University. Many of them will have the potential to add an important dimension to University life. Not all of them, however, will be the most practical use for this particular property.
Morven Farms only can fulfill Kluge's stated aim of serving educational purposes if it is accessible to the students that are supposed to use it. However, Morven Farms hardly is down the block from central Grounds. The farm is about a 20 minute drive from the University. Students who do not own cars cannot access it on regular school days, and it probably is not practical for students with cars to use it on a daily basis.
Pointing this out is not to denigrate the usefulness of Kluge's gift, but rather to focus on its best use. The University needs to use the site for a program that does not have to be a central part of University life. For example, building a center for theater shows or other arts performances probably is not practical, because students are not likely to travel out there. It might, however, be a good place to hold summer performing arts workshops and use one of the buildings for overnight accommodations.
In other words, the farm would have the most use as a self-contained entity for conferences, workshops or long term research. The option of a self-contained research site probably would hold the most promise. The Architecture School could use this site for landscape architecture or architectural history without violating the site's rural character, and this would provide an opportunity for architecture students to get all-too-scarce summer opportunities.
Another possibility would be for environmental science research. If the farms' buildings were renovated to be able to provide conference center-style housing for researchers, it could be turned into a self-contained research site for undergraduates and graduates alike.
With public funding for the Commonwealth becoming tighter and tighter, almost every department will have an idea for Morven Farms. However, the University needs to select uses with an eye to what is the most practical usage for the site, and confine other uses to the main University property.
(Elizabeth Managan's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at emanagan@cavalierdaily.com.)
Read More
ONIBUDO AND SAWAYA: Police, not students, were agents of chaos
By Naima Sawaya and Nathan Onibudo | 2 days agoSaturday, the state, not students nor protesters, brought violence to this campus.
IYER: Sports stadiums should sport more benefit to Virginia residents
By Arjun Iyer | 4 days agoPast stadiums in other states show that Virginia has the potential to succeed at such a construction project, provided that proper measures are undertaken.
KURTZWEIL: True financial aid must be transparent
By Paul Kurtzweil | April 29, 2024The implications and revelations of the lawsuit should inspire greater transparency at the University in order to ensure that financial aid is properly and equitably distributed.
