Life U. proposal would relieve debt
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Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
MARIETTA - For some university presidents, the prospect of selling the school's
campus to another institution might be one of the lowest points of their tenure.
But for Life University President Dr. Ben DeSpain, the proposal to transfer
ownership of Life's 89-acre campus to the fund-raising foundation at neighboring
Southern Polytechnic State University would relieve the chiropractic college of
its $30.7 million in bond debt and continue the process of rebuilding the
school.
If approved by the Georgia Board of Regents next June, the plan would also
release Life from the expensive upkeep costs for its elaborate campus.
Those savings are important at
a school funded entirely through tuition money and where student enrollment has
dropped to about a third of what it was just two years ago.
Life has about 1,200 students today, down from about 3,600 in 2001, a drop
attributed to the temporary loss of accreditation the school's chiropractic
program - once the largest in the world - experienced last year.
"From our viewpoint, it solves our problems with being buried in debt with a
relatively small number of students," DeSpain said Wednesday of the proposed
land transfer.
Representatives from SPSU met Tuesday with the Georgia Board of Regents to
discuss the proposal to acquire the Life campus.
If approved, the SPSU Foundation - a fund-raising organization independent from
the university - would take ownership of the campus by agreeing to acquire the
debt now owed by Life.
In return, Life would be allowed to lease about 50 percent of the buildings on
campus to continue its operations.
The arrangement could win favor with accrediting agencies that have sanctioned
Life in the recent past, in part for its large amount of debt and for not
spending enough of the school's budget on academic programs.
"(Accreditation) is tied to
the greater issue of how an institution utilizes its resources," DeSpain said.
"It does not make or break the accreditation issue, but it is directly
connected."
The university's accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and
School continues to be on probation, where it will likely remain until December
2004.
The Council on Chiropractic Education revoked the school's accreditation
entirely in June 2002, but a federal court overturned that decision last summer.
Life's lease on about a half-dozen classrooms and office buildings would last
for 10 years, beginning July 1, 2004.
After five years, Life would have the option to purchase the buildings it uses,
with final ownership transferred to Life after eight years.
The SPSU Foundation expects to pay off the debt by 2026, at which time the
foundation plans to donate the former Life campus to the Georgia Board of
Regents.
DeSpain said Life officials first approached SPSU about the proposal more than a
year ago, during the tenure of interim university President Dr. Michael Schmidt.
"I think it was just a natural thing," SPSU President Dr. Lisa Rossbacher said.
"We were talking about the various issues on our two campuses, and it just
looked like a common way to solve those problems."
For SPSU, the proposal allows the university much-needed space to expand its
academic and athletic programs. A particular need has been in the architecture
program where enrollment has increased 65 percent during the past two years.
A new building for the program, opened in April 2002, has already filled beyond
capacity.
"We are bumping up against the limits of our space for architecture studios, and
that does become an accreditation issue," Dr. Rossbacher said.
Areas of the Life campus to be used by SPSU include the gymnasium and other
athletic facilities, the student activity center, a current clinic and
administration building on Barclay Circle, the "frontier village" and public
greenspace.
Dr. Rossbacher said SPSU aims to begin using its new facilities by the beginning
of the 2004-2005 school year.
Newly acquired athletic facilities on the Life campus would also provide more
space for SPSU's men's and women's basketball teams, and could allow others
sports, like the current club soccer team, to expand to the intercollegiate
level.
The existing SPSU gymnasium, located across from the current architecture
building, could be remodeled to provide the needed studio space for the
architecture program.
During the next few months, the SPSU Foundation will work to develop a business
plan for the Board of Regents to outline how much it will cost to operate and
maintain the newly acquired facilities.
They also will have to explain where the money will come from.
"I think we've made a good case for what the benefits are going to be," Dr.
Rossbacher said. "Now it's just putting the dollars and cents together."
Representatives from the foundation and the Board of Regents will likely meet in
February or March to present the plan.
dburch@mdjonline.com