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published on April 13, 2016 - 1:46 AM
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California Health Sciences University (CHSU) announced this week the site for its permanent campus will be in the Clovis Research and Technology Park. 


CHSU has been holding classes for its College of Pharmacy students at an interim campus on 120 N. Clovis Ave. since August 2014. The new Clovis site is planned near Temperance Avenue and Highway 168, north of Clovis Community Medical Center, and would have enough room for decades of expansion. 

“We are proud to announce that the new campus for California Health Sciences University will be located right here in Clovis, one of the most attractive cities in California,” said Florence T. Dunn, university president. “With the support we’ve received from the City of Clovis and the community—from medical professionals to educational and business leaders—our beautiful new campus will provide a state-of-the-art learning environment that attracts top caliber local and national students.”

The new 70,000-square-foot College of Pharmacy building would be the first constructed and the permanent campus could accommodate up to 10 health sciences related colleges at full build-out. The new campus will also include a library, on-campus academic and student housing, student center, auditorium, quad and an administrative building. 

“Clovis is very excited to have California Health Sciences University’s permanent campus located in the Research and Technology Park. The CHSU campus will only complement our beautiful Clovis Community Medical Center, it is very fitting to the cutting-edge technology that has been developed throughout the last 18 years,” said Nathan Magsig, mayor of Clovis. 

Construction on the new campus is expected to begin in 2017, and the university said it hopes to have the first building completed by fall 2019. Development of the new campus will occur in multiple phases, as each new health science related college is established. The entire development and construction process is likely to take put to 20 years. 

“The positive economic impact from the establishment of California Health Sciences University will benefit the City of Clovis, Fresno and the County of Fresno for decades to come,” Magsig said. “The creation of high paying jobs, as well as the local higher education opportunities for students that CHSU will provide our region is something for which we can all be very proud.”

Officials from the university had previously looked at sites in Fresno, Clovis and Madera, with a top prospect being a 179-acre site near Millerton and Winchell Cove Roads. The official application process for the site was submitted in June 2013 and work on conducting a complete Environmental Impact Report and assessment was required as part of the entitlement process, however the timeline did not meet the university’s needs. 

“Time is of the essence to ensure our students have the necessary campus resources to be successful and to avoid delays in the growth of the university and start of future colleges. Our partners at the City of Clovis have been instrumental in helping to expedite the planning,” Dunn said. 

Meanwhile, the interim campus is currently undergoing an expansion that includes two new buildings with a parking area to be constructed on the east side of Clovis Avenue, across from the current location. The first new building in the expansion is expected to be complete in July and add 17,000-square-feet of classroom, office and study space to the campus. 

The second building will be 9,400-square-feet and include exam rooms for a clinic, small pharmacy and offices. CHSU said it will continue utilizing the interim campus to help assess facility requirements as each future program comes online. 


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