The face of UCFV will change dramatically over the next few years when final arrangements to create an Education Park in Chilliwack are completed. Planning for this transformation took another huge stride forward with an announcement by Premier Gordon Campbell on July 15 at the former CFB Chilliwack.  Premier Campbell announced that he was agreeing in principle to a planning process to relocate the UCFV Chilliwack campus by “turning this former base into an exceptional centre of learning in this community.”

 “When UCFV was started 30 years ago,” said Campbell, “the population in the Valley was 130,000. Today, it has doubled. So it’s time to think about another change. Forty-one percent of your population is under 30 years of age. It is critical to provide them with the tools they need to have a sense of accomplishment in their lives.”

“This announcement could not have come at a better time,” says UCFV President Bassford. “UCFV has been struggling to find the space we need to keep up with the growing demand for education and training programs, services for students, and research for our region. If the final arrangements for acquisition of the property can be completed soon, UCFV’s new home at the Education Park will make it possible for us to grow rapidly in a superb setting, to create an exciting new educational environment, and to meet the post-secondary needs of this city for the next 20 years and beyond.”

 The Premier also announced an additional 1,700 full-time equivalent (FTE) spaces for UCFV over the next six years. This will add approximately 1,000 more spaces at the new Chilliwack campus with the remaining 700 seats going to other UCFVcampus locations.

 This means that by 2010 the Chilliwack campus will double in size. Including additional students who study part-time will bring the number of individual students studying at UCFV by 2010 to more than 10,000.

 Although it will take several months to complete detailed plans for the new Education Park on the former CFB Chilliwack lands, it is expected that over the next few years the programs and services offered at the current Chilliwack campus could be relocated to the Education Park. Some courses could start at the new location as early as September 2005.

 UCFV has a prior commitment of $11 million from the Ministry of Advanced Education towards the construction of new facilities on the Chilliwack campus. This will be used to build the first of several new UCFV facilities at the Education Park site, while some existing facilities on the site can be upgraded for immediate use. In a few years, it is expected that the new campus will have a number of key programs and services for students, including activity space and student residences.

 As well, UCFV is currently reviewing all of its trades and technology training, applied, and academic programs to determine which should be moved to the new campus in Chilliwack where they will have more room to grow.

 “There’s a lot of work to be done before we know exactly what the new campus will look like,” says President Bassford. “But we do know that in time it will become one of the most exciting university campuses in the country.”

 “The people of Chilliwack, including local political representatives at all levels, as well as business and other organizational leaders, and the general public, have been working towards a major university campus in their city for a long time. Their time has come and I’m confident they will continue to support the development of an outstanding new university campus. We owe everyone involved in this process a great debt of thanks,” says President Bassford.

 The new Education Park in Chilliwack will include other educational partners including the RCMP training base which is already in operation, the Justice Institute, and the possibility of a Chinese university on the site.   

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