Official Signing of the "Campus Agreement"

At the invitation of host managing director Kjell Rune Staddeland, Rector Ernst Håkon Jahr took the podium and presented the status of the university accreditation, with an historic twist.

Something worthwhile is worth waiting for…

- Building a university is no task for the impatient, began Jahr.

- It takes time. Here in Southern Norway, work toward a university began in the sixties with the university committee. Fifty years have passed and we are now at the threshold of establishing a university. The rector pointed out that Agder University College has long been considered a university for many practical purposes.

- With 70 professors, we deliver like a university. Today, we are working on the formalities. The Parliament has a set of criteria to be evaluated by NOKUT, which gives its accreditation before the application to become a university goes on to the Ministry of Education.

A campus to envy...

- When it comes to the campus in Grimstad, it will be so good that employees of AUC in Kristiansand will be envious, believes Jahr.

Director Bjørn Vedal in Ugland Eiendom used the occasion to review the campus plans so far and could also reveal that AUC and Ugland have agreed to give the project four more months to be able to turn every single stone to get maximal benefit in terms of functionality out of the buildings.

- We are going to build 16.500 square metres, renovate 9.000 and build 5000 in parking. We will go over the details for another four months. The final details in the sketches will be decided upon around April 1. After that, the developers and architects will start on detailed plans for the project. In spring 2008, we will break ground and building will start, and the project should be completed December 1, 2009.

JBU leads the way

Managing director Kjell Rune Staddeland lead the signing on home ground in the research building, and as well as challenging Grimstad municipality and the private sector to accommodate the university college in Grimstad, he made the following declaration:

- Ugland wants to be an active developer and will continue to present ideas to the campus. Today, we are launching an idea which is guaranteed to make the students happy. The existing tower which stretches toward the sky from the telecommunications school today, will light up the sky in 2009 in a different way - as the students' own "Skybar".

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