THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 21, 1994 TAG: 9409210413
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
The City Council on Tuesday set aside 25 acres in the South Brambleton area for Norfolk State University to build a center to study urban problems, a new building for its business school and a hotel to employ students majoring in hotel/restaurant management.
With the council's approval, NSU cleared the first hurdle for the biggest expansion in its history. Norfolk State had been negotiating for years with city officials for a parcel to start the project.
The vote marks Norfolk State's second big coup in as many days. On Monday, NSU won a $10 million federal grant to revamp its materials-science lab into a leading research center.
But unlike the materials lab, Norfolk State's plan for the urban institute, hotel and business school is far from a sure thing. Now, President Harrison B. Wilson said, the university needs about $30 million to build the structures and hire more researchers and staff members.
State officials have reacted cautiously to the proposal. State Education Secretary Beverly Sgro was noncommittal, saying she had discussed it only briefly with Wilson. ``The idea of it is very interesting,'' she said, ``but there is not enough information for me to try to comment on it.''
Gordon K. Davies, director of the State Council of Higher Education, which would have to approve the project, said: ``It is clearly something the council would want to look at and assess in terms of a number of initiatives around the state.
``As far as funding in Virginia goes, it's too early to tell with any precision. All indications are, in 1995 revenues are going to be severely limited. It's going to be a tough road, but there have been other tough roads.''
Yet Wilson, confident after securing the biggest grant in NSU's history, said he hoped to win a combination of federal and state funds and private donations to complete the project. For example, he said, a hotel chain could help build the hotel, and corporations could chip in for the business school.
The triangle of land is south of the university, across Brambleton Avenue. Construction, he said, probably would not begin until 1998.
The centerpiece of the project would be the urban institute, which Wilson has characterized as a practical think tank that would tackle inner-city problems ranging from drug abuse to juvenile crime.
``The country is demanding more protection, safer communities,'' he said, referring to Gov. George F. Allen's plan to abolish parole. ``Therefore, they're going to build more prisons. But what I do hear some members of the General Assembly saying is: What are we going to do up front to prevent this?
``What we're saying is: You're going to save money in the long run, taxpayers, if you give us the opportunity to find solutions to these problems.''
As part of the center, Wilson hopes to start a laboratory school to discover ways to motivate at-risk youngsters.
``That type of center could be a great help to the minority neighborhood,'' said Horace Downing, president of the Beacon Light Civic League in the nearby Berkley community. ``ODU has had urban studies, and they've done a whole lot of research for different neighborhoods, including ours.''
NSU's business school, now housed in Brown Hall, needs bigger classrooms and more space for computers and other technology, said Granville Sawyer Jr., head of the management department.
In the new business building, Sawyer said, the school would teach students about manufacturing, as well as management theory.
``There are people on the shop floor who know how to build cars or make oil,'' he said. ``We have students who know how to manage people but not how to build cars. We need to bring both together.''
The hotel would give students in NSU's hotel, restaurant and institutional management program hands-on experience, director Hubert T. Alexander said. And NSU might reap some of the profits. Colleges that have run hotels include Cornell University in New York and the University of Houston, Alexander said.
The building housing the hotel would also have classrooms and meeting rooms, allowing the university to expand the 120-student program. ``If we had some space, we'd have 500 students now,'' Alexander said.
The plans also include a 150-space garage.
Wilson said he didn't know when Norfolk State would buy the land or how much it would cost. The council's action to reserve it for the university, he said, was crucial before NSU could start a fund-raising campaign.
``We need to be able to say we have the land,'' Wilson said. ``Now we can begin to plan the (funding) strategies.'' ILLUSTRATION: The focus of NSU's expansion would be the urban institute.
Other features would be a new building for the business school
and a hotel.
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KEYWORDS: NORFOLK CITY COUNCIL NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY EXPANSION by CNB