October 18, 2006

The University of Northern British Columbia has selected two companiesfrom the Northwest region to undertake renovations at its new Terracecampus building. The facility, located at 4837 Keith Avenue, isexpected to open in early 2007 and house classrooms, labs, and offices.

UNI Construction of Terrace is the recipient of a $245,105 contract torenovate the interior of the building to make it suitable forUniversity use. A new roof will be provided by 101 Industries ofKitimat for a price of $119,989.

“This new facility will nearly triple our physical space in Terrace andprovide us with a higher profile location in the community,” says UNBCPresident Don Cozzetto. “Over the years, we have seen an increase inour local programming and this has translated into greater numbers ofstudents. This fall alone, we have seen a 16% increase in studentnumbers in Terrace compared to last year. We have simply outgrown ourexisting facility that we lease on Park Avenue.”

The 1,315 square metre (14,000 square feet) building will be renovatedin stages. The first stage will cover nearly half of the building andinclude 7 classrooms and seminar rooms (including a videoconferenceclassroom, a 27-seat computer lab, and a Nursing classroom), a 50-seatpublic lecture room, 9 administrative and faculty offices, and astudent lounge and study area. Wireless capacity also will be installedin the first phase.

UNBC currently offers a wide range of courses in Terrace, includingEducation, Nursing, Environmental Studies, Social Work, English,Geography, History and First Nations Studies. The Nursing program beganlast year in conjunction with Northwest Community College, wherestudents take their first two years before transferring to UNBC tocomplete their degrees. A second phase of renovations will beundertaken prior to the launch of the Bachelor of Education programwhich will start in September 2007.

Contact:
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC - 250.960.5622