Creating the Campus

During a 10-year span from 1956 to 1965, Fairleigh Dickinson University opened three campuses, but establishing a campus is not for the faint of heart. And the story of the Vancouver campus goes back to the year 2000, when an FDU team went, not to Canada, but to Australia.

“An international campus for international students was appealing because it could further our global mission and build upon our global traditions,” recalled President J. Michael Adams.

A Board of Trustees Strategic Task Force was created and the University evaluated a network of branch campuses for international students created by Australia’s Central Queensland University in partnership with a private firm. But, Adams said, “We decided that we wanted to focus on establishing our own new Fairleigh Dickinson campus.”

After intensive studies, the University chose Vancouver as its desired site. “We selected Vancouver for several reasons,” Adams said. “Its location was very appealing. It is both close to the United States and on the Pacific Ocean and thus well positioned to attract international students, particularly those from Asia. It is also a very beautiful, cosmopolitan city with many diverse cultures represented. We saw there was a demand for the programs we wanted to provide and, while regulations change rapidly, we believe that the Visa requirements in Canada are less intensive for international students than those in the United States.”

On December 15, 2004, the FDU Board of Trustees authorized the administration to begin securing the necessary approvals to offer degree programs in Vancouver. Two specific committees were then established: the first to develop the academic programs and the second to handle administrative matters including securing a location and building the infrastructure and support services.

FDU also had to undertake an extensive application process and meet a set of stringent guidelines recently developed by the province. Interim University Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Joseph Kiernan was among those who visited Vancouver to present FDU’s proposal to the British Columbia Quality Assessment Board. The application materials were so thorough that Kiernan said the meetings did not take very long. “I knew then we would get permission and that the campus would be a reality. After that, it was a matter of time and resources.”

In 2006, Fairleigh Dickinson became the first American university to gain approval from the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education to operate as a university and to offer degree programs there. The programs selected were BS degrees in business management and information technology.

Christopher Capuano, FDU’s vice provost for international affairs and the director of the School of Psychology on the Metropolitan Campus, said those programs were chosen because “our analysis indicated that Asian students, our primary market in Vancouver, are very interested in those two fields.”

With permission in hand, the University moved aggressively to locate a site. Among other criteria, the University was looking for a facility that was spacious, affordable and conveniently located. The search was not easy. “We thought we had a site,” said Sheldon Drucker, FDU’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, “but we couldn’t finalize the deal. It worked in our favor in the long run, however, because we found a better facility in a great location.”

Next …

Going Global | The Place to Be | The People
The Heart of the Matter | Leaving their Mark
Creating the Campus

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For a print copy of FDU Magazine, featuring this and other stories, contact Rebecca Maxon, editor,
201-692-7024 or maxon@fdu.edu.