Program Agenda

North Central regional representative Darlene Ebel will welcome attendees and provide regional updates and a conference overview.

The educational specification, design and construction process here at COD has created more than great facilities for students and staff. Ultimately it is this collaborative process that has been a driver in facilitating discussions on program and space sharing and getting user recognition and approval of an opportunity to collaborate versus simply placing demands on programs that space sharing criteria be met. In planning phases for projects, programs are often challenged to see beyond immediate needs and programs are completely unaware of other course offerings or programs beyond their own four walls. Additionally they are often unaware of the true utilization rates of their current spaces. The process COD has developed for working with key staff throughout these construction projects has been the catalyst for creating solutions to these challenges.

People at the University of Notre Dame are working together in unique and different ways, all facilitated by design and new working environments. Whether spaces are intended for staff, faculty and/or students the University Architect's Office has realized the need to maximize every opportunity to design both new and existing space to be flexible, adaptive, and collaborative. Doug Marsh will share examples and lessons learned for how they are approaching the design of learning, research, and administrative space in new ways on their campus.

For the first time in over 40 years, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has opened a new housing facility for its students. As you can imagine, it’s not your mom and dad’s dormitory anymore. The state of the art Timothy J. Nugent Hall and Ikenberry Dining and Student Programs facility provides market place dining and one-stop services for advanced technology, library commons, living-learning communities and student organizations. With leading edge accommodations, students with severe disabilities are equally served, continuing the University’s long-standing commitment to ensure equal access and opportunity at the University of Illinois.  

Jim Underwood will provide an update on the status of higher education capital funding from FY 2010 – FY 2012 and share his insights and vision for IL CDB moving forward.

After serving as a university dean twice, vice president for academic affairs twice, (once also as a vice president for academic as well as student affairs), a university president, an executive in the higher education not-for-profit and in the for-profit sectors, then, as a state’s assistant higher education executive officer, Dr. George W. Reid is now Illinois’ Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. At several instances in his career, he has had to try to resolve the baffling issue: How do you get started on your new term as a higher education leader? On this question, George W. Reid has some interesting recommendations regarding the planning process and the implementation of strategic plans as, perhaps, best practice toward discovering the answer to, how to begin.  

Two institutional representatives and two developers will discuss creative partnerships in the finance and construction of academic facilities. The primary focus will be on how partnerships can be structured in the current political and financial environment. Each panelist will briefly present recent work and lessons learned, followed by questions from the audience.