Dear Chapman Family:

President Daniele Struppa, the Board of Trustees and Senior Staff are very pleased to announce that the University is in the process of finalizing the purchase of the Katella Grand apartment building in Anaheim’s Platinum Triangle as our newest student residential facility.

This brand-new complex, which contains apartments in various one, two and three-bedroom configurations, will house up to 900 undergraduate students. There will be no triples in this facility.

Some of the amenities include a state-of-art fitness center, a rock climbing wall, study rooms and a large outdoor pool area. Each apartment is equipped with a full kitchen and laundry facilities. Chapman will take ownership later this month and it will be open for student occupancy in the Fall term of 2018.

Chapman will finance the project by issuing taxable and tax-exempt municipal revenue bonds in mid-November totaling $150 million. Issuing bonds requires a public credit rating. Moody’s Investor Services recently evaluated Chapman’s financial strength and determined that our credit rating will remain A2 with a stable outlook following the new bond issue.

Maintaining our rating after adding this much debt truly demonstrates the financial strength and stability of Chapman University. Moody’s reported that even with this new bond issuance, Chapman remains a low financial risk for bond investors. For more information about Moody’s ratings, please follow this link:

https://www.moodys.com/sites/products/ProductAttachments/AP075378_1_1408_KI.pdf

Here is a partial list of the reasons Moody’s gave for their rating:

  • Over time Chapman has engaged in the systematic addition of excellent, growth-oriented, high quality academic programs with a proven record of academic success
  • Chapman has shown significant enrollment success relative to its competitors, recruiting excellent students for a diverse offering of both undergraduate and graduate degree programs
  • Management demonstrates financial best practices, including careful budget monitoring and healthy operating performance
  • Chapman employs sound planning for strategic, operational and capital initiatives
  • Chapman has developed and maintains an attractive campus because of a sustained investment in its physical plant, resulting in minimal deferred maintenance
  • Chapman has made significant progress in its efforts to increase the market value of its endowment, and has committed half of it to funding student financial aid
  • Chapman benefits from a strong senior leadership team and stable board composition, with a forward-looking focus on growing and adapting its enterprise and continually improving the Chapman experience for all of its students

There will be more information coming regarding the amenities and services that will be available for students next Fall at Katella Grand. This newest residence hall signals substantial progress on one of our highest institutional priorities – addressing demand for additional, excellent student housing.

Sincerely,

Harold Hewitt, Jr.
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Chapman University