A proposed new university focused on tourism, business and First Nations is going before a committee of Whistler’s municipal council today.
If approved, Whistler U would offer a master’s degree in business administration program, as well as tourism, culinary arts, leadership, sustainability and First Nations studies.
“Because we’re a tourism town, we’d focus on supporting the economy here,” Whistler U project leader Doug Player told Business in Vancouver.
Capital costs to build the new school would be $250 million to $300 million, Player said. The capital would come from private Canadian investors.
The investors already own a 77-acre site – the Alpha Lands, opposite the Spring Creek development at the entrance to Whistler Village. Once built out, the new university would accommodate up to 1,500 students.
Player added the new school could also be used for a secondary school to meet the rapid growth of high-school enrolment in Whistler.
“If we could get approval through this process by this fall, we’d begin building as soon as the snow left in the spring,” Player said.
