HPU continues to grow with new programs and buildings

By Arbogast, Brandon, August 20, 2016

By Devon Wilkinson// Staff Writer

Ten years ago, High Point University’s campus would have been almost unrecognizable to most. Out-of-date interiors that failed to meet the needs of its students and exteriors that served as a pretty large eyesore scattered campus. After one decade, investing hundreds of millions of dollars and throwing in countless determined people’s dedication and effort, HPU is the now the university we have all come to know.

HPU has quadrupled in size; the number of freshman applications has almost a 400 percent increase and the amount of academic schools have more than doubled. It is safe to say that HPU has made quite a dramatic change over the years.

In 2015, the ground was broken on a new project that will help make HPU become the only university with a School of Pharmacy in the Piedmont Triad area.

“The Congdon School of Health Sciences and Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy building is an exciting project that will create a collaborative learning and research spaces that will foster interdisciplinary relationships as seen in medical facilities,” Steve Potter, vice president of facilities and auxiliary operations, said.

This building will succeed in size over every other building on campus. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology and consist of lab and teaching spaces that will contribute to the overall betterment of the student body. The Congdon School of Health Sciences will attract close to 700 graduate students in the hopes of getting their Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies, their Master in Athletic Training or their Doctorate in Physical Therapy. The Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy welcomed its first class on Aug. 18. Those students will work toward a doctorate of pharmacy degree.

The Congdon School of Health Sciences and Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy is currently the newest addition to campus, but not for long. Construction has begun on a new residential dorm located at the corner of Script and Founders streets. It will hold over 300 students and is expected to be open August 2017.

Looking back on how far HPU has come in the past 10 years foreshadows where it will be 10 years from now and the ways it will continue growing and expanding. Looking even further into the future, a new undergraduate science building and an arena and conference center are being designed and will undergo construction in the near future. The grand opening for undergraduate sciences is expected to take place in the spring of 2019.