The Regents’ Finance and Capital Strategies Committee voted to approve an amendment to the La Jolla Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) to reflect significant campus growth and to allow development that campus leaders described as needed to meet enrollment and housing plans.
Chancellor Khosla introduced the amendment, noting the scale of campus growth over his tenure. "In the 12 years I've been there, we've gone from 10,000,000 square feet to 11,000,000 square feet. And this amendment expects us going up to 36,000,000 square feet after we kick off this project called Pepper Canyon East for 6,000 beds," he said.
Khosla and his team said student headcount has also risen faster than expected: the campus projected 43,000–44,000 students this year but said enrollment is nearly 47,000. The LRDP amendment was presented as a response to increased real‑estate needs, student population growth and hospital demand.
Khosla introduced Neeraj Jangaraya, described in the meeting as the new vice chancellor for operations management and capital planning, and Robert Klassen, who led the LRDP work, and asked the committee for support to proceed with campus plans.
Regents moved and approved the LRDP amendment during the committee meeting. The vote was recorded and the item (F3) was approved; the presentation did not include a final construction schedule for Pepper Canyon East but indicated the amendment is a prerequisite for future project approvals.
The committee did not provide additional details on funding sources for the projected expansion during the presentation; campus leaders said the amendment itself is intended to enable the campus to proceed with planning and to respond to enrollment and hospital demand.