New students are flocking to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in numbers not seen in a quarter-century, an enrollment trend universally cheered by UNL leaders.

Among the stresses, though, brought on by more bodies: fewer and fewer places to put them.

UNL already has announced plans for a new residence hall that will open in 2010 and alleviate a severe housing squeeze, a project to be paid for by student fees and revenue bonds repaid by room and board fees.

And now UNL is dreaming of another project to manage its space crunch: A state-of-the-art undergraduate academic building with classroom space for hundreds of students that Chancellor Harvey Perlman says would streamline and improve teaching.

The building is among a handful of high-priority construction projects for which NU will seek state funding in the upcoming legislative session, the NU Board of Regents learned this month.

Whether lawmakers will actually grant the funds — data presented to regents show the project is estimated to cost $40.5 million — is a big if, Perlman acknowledged Friday.

“The Legislature hasn’t been in a position to fund physical facilities for a number of years, so my expectations are not high,” he said. “But yes, if asked, this would be a priority for us.”

Need for more desks is urgent, Perlman said. Last fall’s freshman class was UNL’s largest since 1982, and enrollment looks to rise again this year.

And about two years ago, a consultant found UNL was in serious need of more classroom space, particularly large lecture halls often are used for freshman- and sophomore-level classes.

According to the consultant, UNL would benefit from a facility with the following classrooms: one 400-person hall, two 300-person halls and four 100-person halls, said Bill Nunez, director of Institutional Research and Planning.

UNL now has only one hall that seats more than 250 students, and only a handful more seat more than 200.

That often forces faculty to teach the same class two or three times in a row, Perlman said.

A 300- to 400-person hall would allow the faculty member to teach the class just once, freeing up time for a wider variety of course offerings or more one-on-one time with students, he said.

“We could do a more efficient job of teaching undergraduates — without reducing the quality of instruction — by having larger rooms,” he said. “That would allow us to do more teaching and better teaching.”

In addition to large lecture halls, the new academic facility could feature modern teaching technology, computer labs, a student advising center and even a small coffee shop or places for students to gather or meet with faculty, Nunez said.

Its location — and even whether it would be one building or two — remains undecided. Space north of the Kauffman Academic Residential Center or north of Love Library offer possibilities for growth, Perlman said.

Nebraska Innovation Park, the university research campus planned at State Fair Park, would not be an appropriate home for core undergraduate facilities, he said. That space will be used for high-level research and development.

So UNL will keep hoping for funds to come through so it can relieve its current classroom crowding.

“Yesterday would be my timeline,” Perlman said. “But that’s not realistic.”

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.