AUC’s $35M campus expansion seen as needed economic push

CUPECOY--The expansion of the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) Medical School campus, a US $35-million project, kicked off with the symbolic "turning of the soil" by government officials and AUC and DeVry representatives on Saturday.

The project was hailed as a needed economic push for the country. The buildings are slated for completion in July 2013.

Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams told the gathering on the front patio of the school that it was good to see the plans DeVry had announced when it bought the school "just a short nine months ago" already coming to fruition.

She said government would continue to look into e-zone legislation to help the school and other similar institutions. Already, AUC's tuition is exempted from Turnover Tax (ToT.)

She recalled AUC's move to St. Maarten in 1997 due to the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano in Montserrat had been considered temporary until the then-principals realised St. Maarten was "the perfect place ... with its airlift and cosmopolitan culture."

"DeVry is good for AUC and would be a good partner for St. Maarten ... [with] even more avenues to explore [to] make St. Maarten an education hub and a centre for knowledge," the prime minister said.

She remarked to the many AUC students at the event, which followed the annual commencement exercises, that AUC students had and continued to be "ambassadors" for the country.

Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin likened the expansion of the campus to that of a "700-room hotel adding another 300 rooms." The addition will help "to expand the economy" as AUC continues to be "not just another school" in the community. He noted that his Ministry of Infrastructure VROMI had worked closely with DeVry/AUC to get the project off the ground.

President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell had said earlier, at the commencement ceremony, that the ground-breaking ceremony "speaks volumes of the institution's confidence in St. Maarten, its peoples and its economy." She commended the principals on their work here "as they continue to make invaluable contributions to community life through their volunteer work even as they make significant contributions to St. Maarten's economy."

DeVry President Andrew Jeon said the expansion of the campus was DeVry's "largest single project." He said the new buildings would become "the heart and soul of the campus" where physicians would train to deal with the challenges of medicine in the 21st century.

AUC Chief Academic Officer Bruce Kaplan said DeVry and AUC appreciated the support of the prior government and hoped for the same support of the current one.

AUC Student Government Association President Renu Gaupam said the project "represents more than just buildings. ... It signals deeper roots in St. Maarten."

AUC Dean of Medical Sciences Ronald Testa said AUC would continue to remain committed to high standards and strive to give scholarships to University of St. Martin. He said students of the two institutions had a kinship who, as adults, had opted in pursuit of a higher education.

All AUC staff and their families also have special access to DeVry's host of education programmes.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/28229-aucs-35m-campus-expansion-seen-as-needed-economic-push-.html

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