Duquesne University may branch out with capital location

Duquesne University has been strictly a bluff dweller, shunning the opening of branch campuses in other cities, a trend favored by many of its counterparts.

But that's changing. Duquesne is negotiating to buy a building near Harrisburg to open a branch campus in the state capital.

'Whether we do that or not hasn't been decided yet,' said John E. Murray Jr., university president. 'But we are considering expansion there.'

Duquesne serves nearly 10,000 students in Pittsburgh and about 135 at the Dixon University Center, a facility owned by the State System of Higher Education in Harrisburg. Dixon houses programs offered by six state-owned universities and four private schools.

The state-owned universities are Clarion, Indiana, Kutztown, Millersville, Shippensburg and West Chester. Duquesne spends $35,000 a year to be part of a consortium of private schools at Dixon. The other schools are Elizabethtown College, St. Francis College of Loretto and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Duquesne serves about 125 students in its Saturday College and 10 students in a master's in environmental science program at Dixon, said Kenn Marshall, spokesman for the State System of Higher Education.

Murray said Duquesne is studying the economic feasibility of starting its own branch. He estimates the university could attract several hundred students.

'We do see a great desire from students to take more offerings, which at this time we're precluded from doing,' Murray said. He referred to a State System rule that prohibits private schools at Dixon from offering a program that is already offered by a state university there.

Duquesne officials declined to specify the cost of a branch or its potential offerings. But Marshall said Duquesne would like to offer a master's in business administration, a degree Kutztown offers at Dixon.

He said Dixon is at capacity with 700 public and private students.

In addition, three state universities want to offer additional programs at Dixon. Indiana would like to offer a doctorate in administration and leadership studies; Cheyney, a master's in teaching; and Millersville, a master's in school counseling.

'I don't think we'll have any trouble filling the classrooms they won't be using,' Marshall said.

It's not unusual for state flagship schools like the University of Pittsburgh or Penn State University to operate a system of branches. Many state-owned and private schools hold classes Downtown or rent space in centers ringing the Pittsburgh suburbs.

Carnegie Mellon University is negotiating with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to build a branch campus at the agency's Ames Research Center in the Silicon Valley.

Duquesne spokeswoman Ann Rago said electrical engineers are checking the wiring of a building near Harrisburg, and the university is studying its square footage.

'The final agreements haven't been signed yet,' she said. 'Until they are and the board agrees to it, we can't give any more details on that situation.'

Murray said Duquesne will make a decision on a branch in the next two months.

Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7828.