HIGH POINT, N.C., Aug. 15, 2011 – High Point University starts a new academic year that’s full of exciting changes and continued growth, including yet another record-setting freshman class, two new residence halls, several new academic offerings and the ground-breakings for the School of Education and Townhome Community.
Since 2005, the university has invested $670 million in academic programs, faculty, scholarships, construction and student life. The campus has grown from 92 acres to 300 acres – a 226 percent increase.
The tremendous growth has touched every corner of campus, and the university now has more than 1,000 employees, up 143 percent over 2005. That includes 139 new faculty that have been hired since 2005, and 40 new faculty that have been hired for this academic year.
2011 Growth and Development Details:
? Traditional undergraduate program has grown from 1,450 in 2005 to 3,800 in 2011 – a 162 percent increase. Nearly 3,400 of the traditional undergraduate program students live on campus.
? Freshman enrollment has increased from 370 in 2005 to 1,300 in 2011, a 247 percent increase and the largest freshman class in HPU’s history. This year’s freshmen come from 42 states and across the globe.
? HPU has completed the construction of 29 new buildings in addition to renovating 27 other structures on campus as part of the transformational plan.
? HPU has invested $80 million in state-of-the-art technology over the past three years, including a number of specialty labs for music, art, investing and graphic design.
In addition to the exceptional figures, HPU will ring in the new school year with the final piece of the North College Station property – North College Court. The residence will house 90 fine arts students in a “living and learning community” that will provide major specific resources such as performance and art design space. The facility will also feature a new dining option, “The Bistro.”
Students will also see the opening of the Greek Village, a $19 million community that features 12, two-story Georgian-style homes. Each home is 6,300 square feet with a large chapter lounge, kitchen, laundry room, study area and outdoor patio. The Greek Village also features an 11,500 square-foot meeting house for student meetings and events. The new living area houses 180 students, with 15 in each building.
Two new minor programs will begin this fall in Women’s and Genders Studies and Environmental Studies. New study abroad opportunities are also available, including study abroad to the Prague Institute in the Czech Republic. The faculty-in-residence program, which will begin in the spring semester, will allow students to study in Prague for a full semester with an HPU faculty member. In total, students may study at 24 universities in 17 countries.
Students will also enjoy an additional sport to the lineup of NCAA Division I Sports – Men’s Lacrosse, which now gives HPU a total of 16 varsity sports. Women’s Lacrosse debuted in spring 2011, and the team won the National Lacrosse Conference Championship in their inaugural season.
Coming later this fall will be the ground-breaking for the School of Education. The $9 million, 29,000 square foot building will open in August 2012 and will house the psychology department and education school in technically advanced classrooms, computer labs and offices. It will also have its own resource center, library and study lounge.
The School of Education will be constructed to meet LEED (Land Environment Economics and Development) Certification. This certification is a rating system for “green” buildings developed by the Green Building Environmental Council of the United States (USGBC) and provides certain environmental standards for construction.
Also, construction began in August for a $20 million townhome community housing nearly 300 students in 11 townhome buildings that are 2