Xavier increases ‘09 freshman class by 34%

After reading this Enquirer article announcing that Xavier University is rushing to build new residence hall by 2011 and a $17 million classroom by 2012 to accommodate growing enrollment, a fairly new Norwood resident sent us the following email: “I wondered if you had heard about any new developments concerning the Xavier Square project. After reading the Enquirer story, I wondered if the housing future for Xavier students combined with increased enrollment numbers would encourage the school to look at pushing the Xavier Square project ahead.”

We thought we’d pose the emailed question to our readers since we don’t know anything other than what the accompanying article said about Xavier pulling back on the project and announcing Monday that they will revisit it. This quote by Xavier official Beth Amyot begged a few questions: "We will do something there. We've stepped back and we're re-evaluating all of that land.” What is “something” and just how far back has Xavier stepped?

Is anyone else as surprised as we are to see size of the freshman increase (from 860 to 1150 students)? One of us recollects hearing a Xavier official say during one of the public meetings last year, either at the Community Center or Norwood High School, that the university did not plan to increase enrollment beyond about 6-7%. Does recruiting a 34% larger freshman hint at some larger enrollment figure over time? We’re very interested in what are readers think or may know about these new developments.