The Board of Governors at its meeting Tuesday approved a proposal to renovate Vanier Hall’s Winclare A room into additional space for the Centre for English Language Development.

The project will encompass the construction of four new classrooms, a reception area, washrooms, offices and meeting rooms, at a cost of about $1.4 million. Director Jennie Atkins expects to have those funds generated from the centre’s operations.

“This is the same model used to fund our current facility” at 1880 Wyandotte Street West, she says. “This is a great opportunity for us to contribute to the development of the campus.”

Atkins says the location, adjacent to the International Student Centre, is a perfect fit.

“We will be able to support the president’s mandate to increase admission of international students,” she says. “This will also allow us to expand our program offerings as well.”

University administration will now proceed to tender for contractors to make the changes, which will allow the centre to increase its enrolment to 500 students per semester, from its current capacity of about 300.