Dive Brief:
- The University of California at Berkeley will 'indefinitely suspend' plans to build a satellite campus designed to attract a stronger presence of international students, and to offer programs with emphasis on global issues.
- The announcement comes as Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks prepares to resign, and the institution faces a $150 million budget deficit.
- Officials say funding for the campus is likely to come from private donors and corporate partnerships, but the suspension parallels the system's efforts to build institutional endowments to keep pace with elite universities and other public college systems nationwide.
Dive Insight:
With growing controversy around the University of California's leadership, and its efforts to keep pace with large public campuses nationwide, the timing may be right to withhold a project which may create millions in budget costs while vital parts of the institution's infrastructure are in flux.
But Berkeley appears to be on the right track with its global vision. Chinese students are increasing their interest in international learning, and several institutions in the Big Ten are increasing their financial and research output by leading the nation in international student recruitment. While many schools like New York University are seeking to increase their footprint in other nations, the concept of building campus-based hubs for similar outcomes could be, in the long-term, a cost efficient way of increasing the same impact in revenue and outreach.