Looking Ahead - A Series (Part 2 of 4) | Bigger campuses, better city?

Penn isn't the only school in the area with dreams of a bigger campus.

As the University gears up to begin its long-awaited expansion onto the postal lands, two other major Philadelphia universities are also in the midst of multi-million dollar capital campaigns designed to fund ambitious campus expansion.

St. Joseph's University, located in Northwest Philadelphia, and Temple University, in North Philadelphia, both have plans to raise millions of dollars in funds over the coming years.

And, like Penn, the schools aim to translate this money into new construction and renovations of existing facilities on their campuses.

But these universities' efforts won't just be benefiting their students.

Rather, given the potential for a huge influx of cash into the region and the ongoing expansions, experts are saying that the cumulative effects of the three schools' efforts could hugely transform the city's economic and educational base.

St. Joseph's began a four-year, $150 million capital campaign Oct. 5 designed in part to fund the purchase of the Marion campus of Episcopal Academy across the street. The purchase, and planned developments nearby, will effectively increase the university's size by over 50 percent.

On the same day, Temple kicked off its effort to raise $350 million for financial aid, medical construction and the renovation of an on-campus community center.

Most recently, Penn has joined the ranks, announcing on Oct. 20 the public phase of its $3.5 billion campaign, which will help fund one of the largest expansion efforts in the University's history.

The billions of dollars set to be raised by these universities will only reinforce their roles as "anchor" institutions, allowing for increased spending on local development efforts, Penn's City and Regional Planning Department chairwoman Eugenie Birch said.

"In a city, you have industries which bring in money from outside by selling products and services and then circulating those dollars locally by spending," she said. "A university is just like an industry. These campaigns enhance an institution's ability to spend money, and that's really important economically for the city."

The most immediate effect on surrounding communities could likely be increased access to educational resources.

Capital campaigns "allow universities to increase the quality and availability of education," she said. "That's the best economic policy there is."

That goal is the main focus of Temple's campaign, said spokesperson Ray Betzner.

"We have 7,000 students a year that start their higher-education careers through community colleges in Philadelphia," he said. "We don't want them to have to bear as much of a financial burden, because Philadelphia needs a well-educated workforce."

To that end, the university is encouraging potential donors to endow scholarships to provide support to students that come from Philadelphia high schools.

But while increasing access to higher education shapes the city's workforce, capital campaigns also tend to fund expansion projects, which can have a far more transformative - and controversial - impact on the surrounding community.

Temple plans to renovate the Baptist Temple, which has served as a community center for Northeast Philadelphia for over 100 years, into a cultural center.

The university hopes that the Baptist Temple, after renovation, will anchor the city's Avenue of the Arts on the northern side.

Such renovations are "a wonder of the 21st century," Birch said. "Universities can help turn useless assets and obsolete structures into useful ones."

Meanwhile, Penn's own 24-acre eastward expansion project will turn postal-land parking lots and annexes into commercial and recreational space, which officials hope will revitalize life in the 30th Street area.

PennConnects will "improve patient care in Philadelphia and the region, increase job opportunities and at the same time make the campus more beautiful," Penn President Amy Gutmann said.

Eight miles to the north, St. Joseph's University is using capital campaign funds to purchase a 38-acre campus.

Duffy Ross, executive director of St. Joseph's Development and Alumni Communications office, says the expansion will increase the availability of athletic fields and academic resources.

The campaign and the resulting expansion will impact the community "dramatically," said Peter Rescorl, president of the Wynnefield Residents Association, which represents the community bordering St. Joseph's.

"There were some problems with the design, but the footprint of the dorms was reduced to get them further away from neighbors," he said. "Most of us view the development as a positive thing. The university made it clear that they wanted to reign in their students."

But expansion efforts, when not carried through properly, can incite tremendous backlash from the community, Birch said.

"Penn has of course experienced some backlash," she said. "Right now, Columbia is going through a classic conflict."

There, university officials aim to develop parts of West Harlem for academic uses as part of a $5.8 billion expansion effort.

And community groups opposed to Columbia's plan, including the Coalition to Preserve Community, say residents sometimes view fundraising efforts with suspicion.

"What we object to is if you're having a campaign with funds that are earmarked to support an eviction plan of a working class neighborhood," said Tom DeMott, a member of the organization.

To avoid similar problems, universities in Philadelphia will have to be diligent in communicating with elected leaders, Birch says.

"Frankly, it takes a lot of discussion."

And if universities and municipal governments can overcome development clashes, communities stand to benefit from the partnerships that result, Birch said.

"Donations can assure the stability of community outreach and neighborhood programs," she said.

That seems to be the case at the University of Utah's School of Social Work, which recently held a $5.74 million campaign that targeted improving educational and housing options for lower-income residents in Salt Lake City.

Campaigns bump "up annual giving levels because the university increases awareness and contacts more people," said Lisa Himonas, a manager of the campaign at Utah. "We have formed greater relationships with all sorts of agencies. It's a feather in the state's cap."

Back at Penn, the recent renaming of the Center of Community Partnerships after Barbara and Edward Netter, who gave over $10 million to the project, has also increased resources available for educational outreach programs.

And more important than the effects on the city's economic and educational base is a possible transformation of the University's relationship with its community, says Harris Sokoloff, faculty director of the Penn Project on Civic Engagement.

"It will create resources so that Universities can engage in ways that are co-productive rather than paternalistic," he says. "That's a thin line that institutions need to walk."

About this series: This four-part series examines the outcomes and effects of the future campus expansion.

Yesterday's article examined the effect of a larger campus on walking commute.

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