Soka University Officials Dedicate 2nd Campus

ALISO VIEJO — Placing a cornerstone for a new library, Soka University officials on Monday dedicated what will be the private university’s second campus in Southern California. The first is in the Santa Monica Mountains near Calabasas.

The Mediterranean-style library, with terraces overlooking lotus ponds, will serve as an entrance to the Aliso Viejo campus on a hilltop bordered by Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park.

The schools are funded by Soka-Gakkai, a lay Buddhist sect that has millions of members in more than 100 nations, including 20,000 in Southern California.

The $200-million Aliso Viejo campus expects to enroll its first 100 students in September 2001. Soka officials expect 1,200 undergraduates and 300 graduate students within 10 to 15 years at the four-year liberal arts campus.

Administrators say that the school hopes to draw students from different faiths and races.

“No one needs another university like every other university,” Dean of Faculty Eric Hauber said after the morning dedication. “We want to go beyond that to graduate people who are well-educated and have a sense of character. We want to educate people who leave with a sense of mission.”