The University of Memphis is drawing near the end of what has been a three-year-long process to procure a satellite campus at the former Memphis Navy hospital.
The Tennessee Board of Regents voted last week to allow The U of M to apply for the federal government property which was abandoned in 1997. The decision comes on the heels of a state budget crunch that actually has some higher education officials talking about cutting back satellite campuses all together.
It took The U of M this long to submit the application because the property had to move through the defense system before it was released to the U.S. Department of Education. They also had to wait for TBR approval which took a year and a half. TBR was reluctant to make the approval until they were sure it could financially sustain itself.
Vice-provost for student affairs Dan Lattimore said The U of M can justify the $12 million renovation effort because state funds will not be used.
“It’s privately funded,” said Paula Short, TBR vice-chancellor of academic affairs. “So we agreed to put the property on hold for three years. If it’s not sufficiently funded after three years, it won’t be (The U of M’s) any longer.”
The university is also working closely with U.S. Rep. John Tanner to acquire federal assistance.
Lattimore said converting the hospital to a satellite campus was Tanner’s idea to begin with.
Tanner approached Lattimore in the fall of 1998.
“We weren’t sure what we could do with (the hospital building) then,” Tanner said.
The use of the building now presents numerous opportunities for the city.
“When they get rid of a building, they are always looking to make an opportunity for the community,” Lattimore said.
For local politicians, it’s a shot in the arm for their district and for the government it means a chance to restore the community with what it took away by reducing the base in 1997. To The U of M, it’s a permanent home for the approximately 400 students who enroll in Naval base classes each semester.
However, the Navy has full say so of the facility, which can be an inconvenience for The U of M. For example, when Sept. 11 occurred, classes had to be moved off the base.
Still, the effort will benefit students, Lattimore said. Each semester an average of 4,000 students enroll in off campus classes.
Lattimore said he expects to hear back from the department of education by the end of April. He said they have every reason to think the property will be turned over to The U of M because no one else has applied to use it.
