Wall Signing at USD's School of Leadership and Education Sciences Building

SAN DIEGO, CA - Construction on the new University of San Diego School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES) facility is nearing completion. Ground was broken on the $36 million facility less than a year ago in April 2006 and is expected to be completed in time for the start of the fall ’07 semester.   

To recognize the generous donors who have made major contributions to the new facility, the university will hold a Wall Signing ceremony today at 3:30 p.m. This event will be the first opportunity donors and friends of the university will have to celebrate and tour the ongoing construction of the building while being recognized for their philanthropic support of education leadership in the San Diego County region.

The critically needed 80,000 square-foot facility will feature 15 classrooms, a 200-seat auditorium, a 60-seat executive training classroom, underground parking, an 800 square-foot instructional resource center, a 2000 square-foot reading room, and a terrace café all with ocean views of Mission Bay. The building will provide SOLES students and faculty with a state-of-the-art facility providing the latest in education technology.
     
“A SOLES education is truly a transformative experience,” said Paula Cordeiro, dean of the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at USD.  “In just 50 years since the school was founded, our magnificent faculty have created one of the most recognized leadership development and education schools in the western United States.  Upon completing a SOLES graduate or doctoral program, our students have fully developed the important skills needed to transform the future by training those who lead and teach our children.”

Since joining USD in 1998, Dean Cordeiro has increased the number of faculty from 15 to 37, and more than doubled the size of the student body to more than 1,000 students.  Hundreds of SOLES alumni are working across the county in leadership careers in education, counseling, family therapy, business, nonprofit management, military, and special education.

“Raising funds for this desperately needed facility has been very challenging,” said Mary E. Lyons, President of USD, “but we remain very excited about the project because we know how valuable our SOLES programs are and the difference our alumni make in our community.”  Added Lyons, “For many years, the SOLES faculty, students and staff have either worked in inadequate facilities or have been dispersed across campus in temporary quarters.  It is incredibly important to the school’s future that faculty have access to advanced technology and other resources they need to help our students serve the region’s children, families and community.”

Funding for the facility has been arranged by a combination of sources including bonds, grants, and funding from foundations and private donors. USD must still raise $10 million to complete their fundraising goal and hopes that money will be raised from a naming donor.

The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls approximately 7,500 students and is known for its commitment to teaching, the liberal arts, the formation of values and community service.  The establishment of the Joan b. Kroc School of Peace Studies will bring the University’s total number of schools and colleges to six.  Other academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of Business Administration, Law, Leadership and Education Sciences and Nursing and Health Science.

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About the University of San Diego

The University of San Diego sets the standard for an engaged, contemporary Catholic university where innovative Changemakers confront humanity’s urgent challenges. With more than 9,000 students from 69 countries and 50 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. The university's eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. USD's Envisioning 2024 strategic plan capitalizes on the university’s recent progress and aligns new strategic goals with current strengths to help shape a vision for the future as the university looks ahead to its 75th anniversary in the year 2024.