GRINNELL – Grinnell College officials will break ground on campus in early October for the construction of a new athletic center that could cost as much as $60 million. It is one of several major renovations school officials have outlined in a long-term master plan they hope will not only update the college’s physical appearance, but also help recruit top students.

Grinnell’s spending, which is expected to top $100 million in the near future, comes as many of Iowa’s 33 private schools also invest in their future. The Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, a group whose membership includes 29 private schools with more than 47,000 students, said more than $320 million worth of projects are under way or pending at Iowa’s private colleges and universities.

Central College is constructing a $23 million science center; Simpson College is planning a new student center that will cost up to $15 million; Drake University is spending $30 million to renovate its dormitories and other facilities; and Des Moines University is planning a $22 million building that will house a library, student center, dining area, bookstore, classrooms, fitness center and 400-seat auditorium.

Outside the metro area, Cornell College is completing a $16 million fine arts center and kicking off a $25 million capital campaign for two new residence halls. Wartburg College will spend $20 million to renovate its science center and $16 million to expand its student center.

“We’re in a very good financial position right now,” said Jonathan M. Brand, Grinnell’s vice-president for institutional and budget planning, citing the school’s $1.1 billion endowment, which the Council for Aid to Education ranked as the nation’s 42nd-largest last year. “But we want to be careful. Expenditure control is part of our strategic planning.”

These and other projects, one education official said, are an indication of the financial health of Iowa’s private schools and their willingness to improve their standards for higher education.

They come at a time when enrollment at Iowa’s private schools is increasing. Last year, the IAICU reported that 47,161 full- and part-time students were enrolled at Iowa’s private colleges and universities. Those numbers were up from 2001 and many are optimistic that this year’s figures, though not available yet, will match or exceed 2002’s enrollment.

Kathleen Gannon, director of marketing and public relations at the IAICU, said there are a number of reasons enrollment is up at private colleges. They include higher graduation rates; greater personal attention; increased participation in activities; a poor economy that drives workers back to the classroom; and an increasing awareness that tuition at private schools is competitive with public universities. Gannon said Iowa’s private schools provided $190 million in grants in 2002.

“People automatically throw up their arms and say they can’t afford it,” said Gannon. “But that isn’t the case.”

Total enrollment at Grinnell College for 2002 was 1,432, including full-time students on campus and those on academic leave. Officials estimate there are approximately 1,400 students on campus this fall. The yearly comprehensive fee to attend Grinnell, which includes $23,898 in tuition, is $31,060. That fee includes room and board, and school officials say 90 percent of Grinnell’s students receive financial assistance.

Administrators say tuition fees account for only one-third of the college’s funding, as Grinnell consistently ranks among the top 10 among all colleges and universities nationwide in endowment resources per student and the top 20 in alumni gifts per student. Nearly $6 million in gifts have been received in the last nine months.

Russell Osgood, president of Grinnell, attributes the school’s financial well-being to the board of trustees making wise investments. He said officials are also contemplating launching a capital campaign next year.

“We’ve generated resources through wise investments,” he said. “We’ve also received some big gifts. It’s been a tremendous blessing.”

Low interest rates also spur development, Osgood added. “There’s a real economic opportunity to build now,” he said. “We had the opportunity to get contractors when we wanted them.”

Phase one of the athletic center, with a cost of $20 million, will include a basketball and volleyball gymnasium with 1,250 seats, a fitness and weight center, an auxiliary gym and a locker area. The estimated completion date for the first phase is Jan. 15, 2005. The facility will serve as the home site for the school’s NCAA Division III sports teams, which compete in the Midwest Conference, and will be open to all students, as well as Grinnell High School athletes and members of the public, free of charge. Brand estimates that 5,000 visitors use the school’s current facility, Darby Gymnasium, each year.

“Our current facility isn’t meeting the needs of our students, faculty and community,” Brand said. “We wanted a facility that would encourage everyone to use it.”

In addition to the sports complex, Grinnell College has seen a number of projects evolve on campus since it initiated its campus plan five years ago. In 1998, before the school’s master plan was set, Bucksbaum Center for the Arts opened. The $22 million building, designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, houses Faulconer Gallery with 7,420 square feet of exhibition space; features a state-of-the-art climate control system; incorporates flexible and functional exhibition space for diverse types of art; and employs five lighting zones.

Since then, four dorms that house 257 students have been built at a cost of $26.5 million. Constructed of Iowa limestone, the buildings will be connected with a roofed loggia, and framed by an existing grove of trees and a new garden area. Each air-conditioned residence hall will contain 22 to 25 beds, a lounge and study area on each floor, and ground-floor public spaces designed to encourage interaction among students.

“It’s been very exciting,” Brand said. “These are needed improvements.”

A year from now, he said, construction of a new campus center will begin. It is expected to open by the fall of 2006. By the winter of 2008, the school will unveil its new $42 million science center. Parts of that project are being phased-in, Brand said. The college is also moving its admissions, registrar and financial aid offices to an off-campus building in downtown Grinnell

“After those projects, I hope we take a breather and see what we have,” he said. “But I think the next thing we’ll need is a library because we’re at capacity there. That could be a few years down the road.”

Last week, Grinnell was recognized by the 2004 Kaplan/Newsweek special education issue as the top choice in its listings of “The Class of 2004 12 Hot Schools.” Osgood said a number of factors, including campus improvements, helps Grinnell College earn such honors.

“Our goal is to be an excellent liberal arts college that attracts students who are really interested in a liberal arts program,” Osgood said. “We don’t just prepare you for a career; we prepare you for a fulfilling life as a human being.”