The University of Kansas continues to grow despite the state of the economy, but finding space to accommodate expansions is proving to be difficult.

Despite limited space on the Lawrence campus, nearly every school at the University is looking to expand its facilities, said Don Steeples, senior vice provost for scholarly support.

The University announced last May that the School of Pharmacy would receive a new building and an expansion of facilities at the University’s Wichita campus. Funding for the upgrades came from bond legislation passed in the state.

Through a loan from the Kansas University Endowment Association the School of Architecture acquired a new building in the East Hills Business Park off K-10 this month.

But in a suffering economy, some KU departments are finding out that money for expansion is limited.

The School of Business and the department of geology, are working to expand their boundaries with fundraising campaigns.

Luis Gonzalez, department chair of geology, said the department was fractured into separate buildings, which created problems for students and faculty. Currently, faculty and students work in Lindley, Nichols and Moore halls and the Multidisciplinary Research Building.

“It creates difficulties with interaction with students,” Gonzalez said, “We are divided.”

Marina Suarez, San Antonio, Texas, graduate student, said the division of the department was somewhat inconvenient.

“It’s hard when you work with students and faculty across the campus,” Suarez said.

A new building would make simple things like going to class more efficient, she said.

Gonzalez also said that in Lindley Hall, built in 1943, the laboratories were not up to current standards, which he said was a big reason why he refused to have a lab there. He works at the Multidisciplinary Research Building instead.

The geology department has been trying to find a way to expand its facilities for the past two decades. The multiple buildings and the need for updated laboratories led the department to implement more aggressive fundraising tactics, such as asking for donations from successful alumni and soliciting corporate sponsors.

Gonzalez said the expansion project would cost more than $20 million.

“We are talking a substantial amount of money,” he said.

The need to acquire private donations is also a high priority in the School of Business.

Frank Marshall, assistant dean for development support at the School of Business, said the school had been conducting a fundraising campaign for more than a year. The private money the school has been lobbying for has come from business alumni, companies that recruit business students and individuals and organizations.

Marshall said the economy was holding back the school’s expansion hopes, and that it wanted to raise about $53 million to finance the project.

“Everybody has been affected by this financial downturn, so we’re just being cautious,” Marshall said.

However, the School of Business is still trying to keep donors informed of the school’s expansion projects, Marshall said.

— — Edited by Betsy Cutcliff