By Eyeopener Staff
If you build it, they will come.
Listen closely. You can almost hear the words humming from the statue of Egerton Ryerson, perched ever so astutely guarding Gould Street.
If you build it, they will come.
Listen harder. Maybe it’s coming from the whispering upper corridors of Jorgenson Hall, where the university’s royalty wash their feet.
If you build it, they will come.
Still can’t hear it? How about putting your ear to the cement of the parking lot across from the Rogers Communication Centre?
Still nothing? Try the faculty lounge. There’s bound to be some murmuring going on between the room’s freshly painted walls.
No? Wel, it was worth a try. After all, if your ears aren’t ringing yet, they will soon. Trust us.
Construction. It’s the word most often associated with Rye High these days. And it’s a word that, pardon the pun, exists on many levels here.
Physically, the university is deep in the planning stages of constructing three new facilities on its downtown campus—a state-of-the-art centre for computing and engineering, a centre for graphic communications management, and a joint project with George Brown College to build a community health centre.
The expansion is part of the provincial Tories’ $742-million SuperBuild initiative. The erections come in the midst of movie theatres being built on top of Ryerson’s parking garage and the dreams of a new student centre on campus.
But construction doesn’t just mean building physical creations. Not at Ryerson. The university is also constructing new relationships, new programs, a new image.
This fall, Ryerson will launch its largest fundraising campaign ever, one administration hopes will rake in more than $100-million—and a few high-profile friends—by the time it’s done.
Building on the university’s eagerness to expand, never-before-seen master’s and PhD programs are also on their way.
The mass construction at Ryerson, both tangible and intangible, isn’t just a spur of the moment idea. It’s been in the works for years.
If you build it, they will come.
Universities are fighting to attract the best and brightest students, especially since high school OACs won’t exist in two years and double the number of students are expected to join the post-secondary education ranks in Ontario.
It’s definitely a building year for Rye. Be sure to keep up on how the construction is—or isn’t—progresses by picking up a copy of The Eyeopener every Wednesday. It’s also the best way to keep tabs on what’s going on between the campus walls that already exist.
Just try not to trip over any shovels or tumble into any wannabe doctors on your way to pick it up.
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