UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
‘ ASPIRE . ACCOMPLISH . TAKE ON THE WORLD .’
This is the rallying tagline that is taking the University of the District of Columbia ( UDC ) to new heights . Situated at the heart of the US capital , UDC is in the midst of several state-of-theart construction projects , which are not only transforming its properties , but its culture and academic life .
With a wealth of experience in the university field , Erik Thompson , Vice President of Capital Assets and Real Estate Services at UDC , is passionate about developing educational spaces . It is a combination of any institution ’ s stellar facilities and academic quality which he says helps to deliver a true university learning experience .
“ We are both historic and modern all at the same time ,” notes Thompson . “ We ’ re modern in the sense that not too long ago we were a commuter school , one of the newer ways to learn .
We also have an online education program which is a symbol of our modern educational paradigms .
“ I think what distinguishes us is that we are one of the only urban land-grant universities in the country . We offer an affordable education in comparison to our peer schools and I think we give a comparable and , in some ways , better educational experience for a much more affordable price .”
Responsible for the maintenance and operations of all real property assets , Thompson and his team operate all the real estate transactions at the university . This includes the university ’ s capital improvement plan ( CIP ), whereby every year the team identify a six-year window of funding and select several projects which they will work on . Whilst academics are seen to be at the epicentre of
88 March 2018