St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine has purchased Indies Suites for conversion into additional dormitories for students, university campus manager Sebastian Guilbard said last Thursday.
The sale, which went through on 27 January, was for US$1.3 million.
St. Matthew’s also purchased an adjoining property consisting of nearly two acres of land for US$1.5 million.
The former hotel property will be called the Residence Suites by the university and will house approximately 87 students in its 41 two-bedroom and two three-bedroom apartments.
The university now has two dormitory facilities. In August 2003, St. Matthew’s purchased the 115-room Sleep Inn hotel and converted into its Residence Hall.
Still, with 550 medical students expected for the fall term this year, St. Matthew’s can only offer accommodations to less than half its students.
‘We’re not trying to house everyone,’ Mr. Guilbard said. ‘The transition of new students is the main concern. Having a place for new students once they’ve landed so they are ready to study right away is crucial.
‘Medical school is very demanding and we don’t want new students to worry about things like finding a place to stay and getting their electricity hooked up.’
Rather than just a simple hotel room, the Residence Suites will offer the students apartments with bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms and kitchens.
St. Matthew’s has grown tremendously since moving here from Belize in 2002, with an almost 400 per cent increase in students in three years.
President Dr. Michael Harris said the university will welcome 107 new students in the fall, along with 20 students for the first class of the new St. Matthew’s University School of Veterinary Medicine.
‘We’re very happy with the progress of the university and with the recovery after Hurricane Ivan,’ he said. ‘We’re very thankful for all the support we’ve received from the Caymanian people and from the government.’
St. Matthew’s sustained severe damage to its campus and Residence Hall during Ivan, and students had to be relocated in Maine while repairs were made.
This month, 430 students returned for the May semester, although another 115 students had to remain in Maine because there was not enough accommodation available here in Cayman for them.
Mr. Guilbard said repairs to the property would begin this week, which gives the University only three months to complete construction before students arrive on 26 August for the fall semester.
The University will still need considerably more housing besides the new dormitory.
‘I can’t emphasize enough how much we need more of Cayman’s condos and apartments to be up and ready by the end of August,’ Mr. Guilbard said.
Dr. Harris said the additional land purchased gives St. Matthew’s the option of building a purpose-built campus there, something which is required in the future for accreditation purposes.
‘The two acres there would give us enough room to build a 40,000-square-foot academic facility should we decide to put it there,’ he said.
The Veterinary School of Medicine will conduct the first year of its classes a the Regatta Office Park, but will then move to a campus to be built on land near the Department of Agriculture in Lower Valley, Dr. Harris said.
St. Matthew’s has other reasons to be excited about the future as well.
The connection to Harvard Medical International and Harvard Medical
School through Board of Trustees member Dr. Elizabeth Armstrong has had a ‘very positive influence on our university,’ Dr. Harris said.
‘We’re considering the possibility of a collaborative research project with Harvard on hyperbolic medicine,’ he said.
Such a research project would be beneficial for the university’s reputation, for the faculty and for the students, Dr. Harris said.
‘Besides being part of our accreditation requirements, research projects give our faculty a chance to engage in a challenge that keeps their knowledge up to date and allows them to further their academic pursuits,’ he said.
‘It also exposes our students to the procedures of research and will perhaps encourage some of them to become research physicians to help find cures for the diseases that plague mankind,’ he added. ‘One of the roles of medical doctors is to try to alleviate human suffering.’
Dr. Harris said the University was still pursuing accreditation in the state of California, which was close to happening before Hurricane Ivan.
‘The hurricane caused us a set back with California, but we hope to have them on board in the near future,’ he said.
Related Videos
