CSI in the News - CSI Today

According to Morales, more students are traveling to the school from other boroughs. He envisions creating
a 4,000-square foot welcome center with a transit hub, so that buses can pull in, drop off students, and loop
around to the exit. Bicycle paths will line the entire campus and students will be able to rent bikes on site. A
607-bed dorm -- a plan that has been tabled for many months pending financing -- will provide on-campus
housing.
But just when those projects will get done is still up in the air.
Morales said it depends heavily on how and when the school can secure funding from a variety of sources:
Private donors and city, state and federal funds.
"My job as president is to work closely with elected officials, CUNY and alumni, to keep this on the front
burner and get them to take interest in the evolution of this campus," he said.
Topping the priority list is a research lab that has been awkwardly named the Interdisciplinary High-
Performance Computational Center. The 175,000-square foot building will feature a computer center,
classrooms, offices, lecture rooms and labs. It's where some of the college's most advanced research will
take place, with engineering and psychology students studying side by side and looking at real-time
simulations. They'll seek to answer questions like: How can traffic be alleviated? What makes a city tick?
How can we determine the weather?
"We want people to get excited, to feel good about the institution that they attend," Morales said. "It's really
going to be a transformational educational experience."
Officials have secured about half the $11.5 million in funding for the research center and are hoping the
facility will be built in the next five years.
ON THE HORIZON
The next plan is a $40 million-retrofit of building 2M, which is vacant, to include more classrooms and a
childcare center for faculty and staff. Tthe existing center only accommodates students.
Other plans include:
Alleviating traffic in the area by moving the guard station and constructing a new entry from Willowbrook
Road. The existing entrances are on Forest Hill Road and Victory Boulevard.
Expanding the library to add more seats and double their collection of books by using compact shelving.-
Widening the sports and recreation building.
Building a privately run parking garage with 400 to 900 spaces.
Creating a greenhouse to support life science research.
Designing an imaging center for biology and chemistry research.
Expanding the administration building, the student center and the center for the arts.
Adding landscaping, trees and a playground for the childcare center.
Upgrading the water system and other 80-year-old infrastructure.
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