Grand Terrace Pre-Function Space

Thank you to our sponsor!

Advancing Medical Education & Research: Innovation, Impact, Economic Opportunity

Presented by: Bernard J. Costello, Senior Vice President for Health Affairs, Wayne State University | Jerry Darby, Vice President Planning Development & Design, Henry Ford Health | Norm Hubbard, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, Michigan State University

Moderated by: Teresa Miller, Principal, Plante Moran Realpoint

This moderated panel will explore the rapidly evolving landscape of medical education and biomedical research in the region, highlighting the transformative impact of new academic and clinical partnerships, research facilities, and educational programs across the state. Panelists will discuss current challenges and collaborative strategies shaping the future of academic medicine, while also examining how investments in medical infrastructure serve as powerful economic engines—generating jobs, attracting talent, spurring innovation districts, and elevating community well-being. Join us to hear from institutional leaders and healthcare partners who are driving this momentum and building lasting economic and educational legacies for their regions.

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify emerging trends and innovations in medical education and biomedical research that are reshaping institutional priorities and partnerships in Michigan and beyond.
2. Evaluate strategic approaches used by academic institutions and healthcare systems to overcome barriers and foster interdisciplinary collaboration in education and research.
3. Analyze the broader economic impacts of new medical education and research facilities on local communities, including job creation, workforce development, and regional investment.
4. Apply integrated planning strategies that align academic, clinical, and economic development goals to support sustainable growth in health-related education and infrastructure.

Thank you to our sponsor!

New Strategies for Maximizing Investment in Intercollegiate Athletics Facilities

Presented by: Andrew Elmer, Director, Sports and Rec, Architecture, HDR, Inc. | Ursula Gurney, Senior Woman Administrator, Deputy AD, University of Missouri-Kansas City | Corey Jenkins, Deputy AD, University of South Dakota | Joe Swingle, Chief infrastructure Officer at Mizzou Athletics, University of Missouri-Systems Office

College and university athletics play a key role in student life and recruitment as well as alumni and community engagement. While value grows with broadcasting deals, however, facilities budgets shrink. Campus athletic facilities require improvements to provide inclusive, safe, and valuable experiences regardless of rising construction costs and diverted funds. Athlete name, image, and likeness (NIL) alongside revenue-sharing impacts inspire architectural opportunities to improve operations, create new revenue streams, and enhance patron experience. You’ll discover the complex influences driving change in the marketplace and gain an appreciation for the challenges and strategies for maximizing investments in existing infrastructure through renovations.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Define the driving forces of unprecedented change in the college sports industry.
2. Describe how changes in the college sports industry impact your campus, particularly the correlation between broadcast revenue distribution and investment in student-athlete programming, facilities, and venues.
3. Demonstrate how strategic renovations and found space can maximize return on investment (ROI) and describe specific strategies you can employ.
4. Formulate a plan to advocate on behalf of your institution to maximize investment in athletic facilities.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3935)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Partnerships as Engines of Economic & Social Growth: Lessons from Wichita State

Presented by: Emily Patterson, Executive Director of Facilities Planning, Wichita State University | Michael Schur, Global Wellness Practice Leader, Gensler | Steve Wilson, Senior Associate, Gensler | Tonya Witherspoon, Founder & CEO, MindScapes

Higher education’s future hinges on its role as a driver of economic growth and social vitality. This session will show planners how to leverage partnerships that fuel workforce pipelines, optimize assets, and expand community impact. Wichita State University’s (WSU) story and broader campus models demonstrate how integrated planning drives workforce development and social transformation. Equip your institution to become a catalyst for innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth through actionable partnership strategies that strengthen planning on your campus while developing a regional workforce that supports the whole community.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Apply strategies for forging partnerships that accelerate workforce pipelines, foster entrepreneurship, and advance institutional missions for economic and social impact.
2. Make strategic changes to your integrated campus planning practices to optimize assets, expand innovation ecosystems, and strengthen regional and community ties.
3. Catalyze student success by embedding real-world applied learning opportunities, industry collaboration, and career-focused outcomes into campus strategies.
4. Discuss how to overcome partnership challenges by aligning diverse priorities, navigating funding hurdles, and building resilient, long-term collaborations.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3861)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

The Edge Effect: A Model for Vibrancy in Student Life Facilities

Presented by: Brit Erenler, Senior Associate Landscape Architect, Damon Farber Landscape Architects | Dana Murdoch, Design Project Manager, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | Ernesto Ruiz Garcia, Principal, Alliiance | Peter van den Kieboom, Principal, Workshop Architects, Inc.

Campuses are unable to reach the optimal potential of programmatic and spatial hybridization through conventional funding and planning methods. This session will delve into the ecological concept of the edge effect to explore the programming and design of the University of Minnesota (UMN) – St. Paul Campus Center project. Applying the lens of the edge effect to facilities planning can reduce capital investments while improving student experience, wellbeing, and innovation. We’ll unpack synergies between overlapping programmatic, physical, and social boundaries to help you integrate programs in new ways, creating the productive potential for ecotones—a positive result of the edge effect.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Recognize underused space on your campus where you can blend programs, increasing the constant flow of students across spaces and maximizing usage throughout the day for a better sense of wellbeing.
2. Think beyond siloed student experiences that fragment academics, wellness, and social life to conceive of hybrid environments that naturally connect these realms for improved belonging, wellbeing, and support services in one ecosystem.
3. Explain how to maximize your capital investments through flexible hybrid buildings that serve multiple missions, share resources, and stretch capital dollars further.
4. Address challenges of student retention and sense of belonging by prioritizing the convergence of academic, social, wellness, and support environments where students can form relationships, access help easily, and find their community.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3886)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Blueprint for Our Future: The University of Michigan Campus Plan 2050

Presented by: Susan Gott, University Planner, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Campus Plan (CP) 2050 is the University of Michigan’s (U-M) most transformative and comprehensive physical planning effort to date. U-M’s Vision 2034 is the plan’s aspirational guide, driving programming and providing infrastructure to achieve long-term institutional priorities for a physical environment that delivers excellence at every scale. We’ll explore the creation of this unified framework for the five campuses to leverage the best use of our land. CP 2050 illustrates the value of program-driven planning to optimize comprehensive and strategic facility decisions that align with university priorities and mission in pursuit of academic, research, and clinical innovation and opportunities.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Prioritize programmatic and facility needs to create learning environments that accommodate active and engaged learning, support diverse technological modalities, and foster collaboration and discovery.
2. Identify a variety of exterior spaces for reconfiguration to expand access to nature and contemplation, showcase public art, and provide opportunities for leisure and recreation to promote a culture of health and wellbeing.
3. Increase opportunities for campus and community engagement and discourse through the development of spaces that support academic, research, innovation, and partnership activities at a variety of interior and exterior scales.
4. Integrate sustainability, resiliency, and climate action strategies to minimize environmental impacts of campus operations with a unified approach of renewable energy, natural resources, and strategic renovation and reinvestment.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3882)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Community-driven Campus Planning Fuels Education, Design, and Revitalization

Presented by: Jack Bullo, Principal, HED (Harley Ellis Devereaux) | Peter Provenzano, Jr., Chancellor, Oakland Community College | Chris Vogelheim, Higher Education Sector Leader, HED (Harley Ellis Devereaux)

Integrated planning can align education with workforce needs, spark economic growth through design, and build partnerships that amplify higher education’s role in driving lasting community transformation. In this session, you’ll discover how Oakland Community College (OCC) used integrated planning to launch a bold, community-focused Culinary Arts Building, revitalizing downtown Royal Oak, engaging the public, and preparing students for success in the regional hospitality industry. Come learn practical strategies for campus planning, city-college collaboration, and stakeholder engagement to align spaces with workforce needs and drive impactful, community-focused transformation at your institution.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Discuss strategic partnerships with city leaders with the aim of aligning campus initiatives with local economic and workforce priorities.
2. Evaluate integrated planning models that embed place-making, equity, and community impact into project development.
3. Explain how to guide cross-functional teams through program relocations or transformations through structured planning and a shared vision.
4. Champion design approaches that drive educational outcomes while activating public spaces and community engagement.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3883)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Rejuvenating Campus Buildings: Preserving Historic Legacy through Adaptive Reuse

Presented by: Mary Campbell, Associate Vice Chancellor for Real Estate, Washington University in St Louis | Morgan Daenzer, Senior Lab Planner, HOK. | Daniel Niewoehner, Principal, HOK.

Every campus struggles with its historic and iconic buildings. Historic campus buildings are typically structurally-robust, landmark buildings that communities prefer to celebrate rather than tear down. Finding ways to adaptively reuse these buildings—often with sturdy structures, historic status, and prime locations—is a win-win for campus engagement. Through several case studies, we’ll share our tools and insights into how adaptive reuse gives new life to campus icons. Understanding the challenges and opportunities for adaptive reuse will help you to target optimal uses and interventions for the next life of your historic building.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Apply evaluation tools to make the best use of existing structures and align their reuse with appropriate functions or applications.
2. Proactively target underused buildings for to give them new life, and identify opportunities where you can take advantage of existing capabilities, location, and interventions.
3. Apply a unique tool kit to evaluate functions, modalities, and infrastructure as well as identify potential occupants to best fit into the existing campus stock.
4. Evaluate case studies to highlight potential successes and challenges in any campus reuse and renovation project.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3881)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

The Balcony

Grand Terrace Pre-Function Space

Thank you to our sponsor!

Achieving Diverse Institutional Goals Through Integrated Facility Planning

Presented by: Eric Boatman, Associate Director, Institutional Space Planning &Management, Michigan State University (main campus) | Peter Herman, Principal, Ellenzweig | Barbara Kranz, Assistant Provost, Institutional Space Planning and Management, Michigan State University (main campus) | Michael Lauber, Principal, Ellenzweig

Every capital project should set ambitious and diverse goals across various aspects of the institutional mission and therefore embrace a planning approach that can help achieve those broad goals. This session will provide a methodology for attaining diverse academic, sustainability, and campus planning objectives through integrated facility planning that involves extensive outreach to campus stakeholders. By applying this methodology to your capital projects, you will be able to create a customized planning approach for your campus facilities that maximizes diverse project outcomes.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Engage in integrated facility planning processes with the aim of evaluating a wide variety of institutional goals simultaneously in new capital projects.
2. Explore new pedagogies with faculty in concert with planning new facilities and support new learning modalities with flexible learning spaces that support student success.
3. Pursue resiliency and sustainability goals by combining the restoration of abandoned facilities with new sustainable building technologies.
4. Celebrate your institution’s mission and goals through applying an integrated methodology to new public-facing capital projects on campus.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3859)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

From Vintage to Vibrant: Evaluating Concordia’s Experiential Science Revolution

Presented by: Ellen Aho, Professor of Biology, Emeritus, Concordia College at Moorhead | Kip Ellis, Principal, Science + Technology Practice Leader, Goody Clancy | Susan Larson, Provost and Dean of the College, Professor of Psychology, Concordia College at Moorhead

After seven years in operation, Concordia College evaluated whether its renovated science buildings are meeting institutional goals of fostering a strong sense of community, encouraging discovery, multidisciplinary education, and community engagement. Transformative reinvestment in the college’s aging facilities focused on building better communal connections between the natural sciences and the broader region. Changing regional demographics and anticipated enrollment decline encouraged more flexible, value-driven approaches to create an optimal experiential science education experience for students. Join us to explore how and why resilience in planning and design can make a positive difference in both institutional and community impact.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Explore strategies to maximize pedagogical support for student and faculty with spaces that nurture research through an experiential process, including shared equipment and space that includes ‘elbow room’ for a range of activities.
2. Encourage openness to programmatic reductions while simultaneously bolstering creation of communal and social experience spaces that foster mentorship and collaborative learning in renovated legacy buildings.
3. Discuss the substantial re-investment potential of mid-century buildings despite perceived limitations and drawbacks, such as limited floor-to-floor heights, lack of windows or daylight.
4. Promote new approaches to programmatic and facility resiliency by encouraging organizational strategies and space-type clustering to maximize funding impact, compel collaboration, and encourage interdisciplinary learning.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3845)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Henry Ford College’s Successful Energy Transition to a Net-zero Energy Campus

Presented by: Reuben Brukley, Director of Facilities, Henry Ford College | Peter Garforth, Principal, Garforth International LLC | Ajit Naik, VP / Director of Building Performance Analytics, Baumann Consulting, Inc. | Michael Nealon, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Henry Ford College

Henry Ford College’s (HFC) Integrated Energy Master Plan (IEMP), approved in 2019, initiated major energy infrastructure investments. In under four years, the college halved its carbon footprint and is on track to fully decarbonize within the next decade. This session will demonstrate how HFC’s strategic and integrated energy planning achieved significant energy and carbon reductions, delivered solid economic and reliability benefits, and drastically reduced deferred maintenance. Come learn practical strategies for facilitating a breakthrough energy transition on your campus to help you reduce operational costs, enhance sustainability for a healthy environment, and stay updated on innovative practices in higher education.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify upcoming facility and infrastructure investment requirements that serve as opportunities for transformative energy and carbon emissions transition for a more sustainable, healthy campus.
2. Brainstorm realistic goals for a breakthrough campuswide energy and carbon emissions transition that you can embed in a viable business case.
3. Advocate to key stakeholders for an analytical energy and decarbonization master planning approach with practical, cost-effective strategies for reducing energy consumption, carbon emissions, environmental impact, and operational costs.
4. Consider appropriate contractual relationships for successful funding, implementation, quality control, and performance verification of an investment-grade energy and decarbonization plan.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3838)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Creating Technical Education Centers to Propel the Next-generation Workforce

Presented by: Dominick Demonica, Principal / Director of Higher Education, | Brian Healy, Senior Vice President, Pepper Construction Company | Dan Larsen, Executive Director of Campus Safety and Operations, Waubonsee Community College

The need for skilled trades technicians is increasing across the country. This session will explore how Waubonsee Community College (WCC) is responding to these needs through the design and construction of a dynamic Technical Education Center (TEC). The TEC will attract students and enhance professional development opportunities through a future-forward design that meets the rigorous training and educational needs of today’s trades technicians, the makers and doers who drive regional economies. Join us for a multi-partner perspective regarding the development of a leading-edge center that increases enrollment capacity and centralized resources for an enhanced curriculum and more regional industry partnerships.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Assess the potential need for expansion or upgrading of technical education programs by exploring trends and regional competition as well as in-depth collaboration with faculty, staff, students, and community members.
2. Determine if you can meet your program’s established needs with available funding, facilities, and resources or if your program requires new funding and construction; weigh the potential pros and cons of each option.
3. Describe a collaborative partnership between the owner, architect, and general contractor early in the process to maximize the space, instructional opportunities, and the budget.
4. Discuss how to develop and implement a recruitment plan to publicize the benefits and attract students to the program prior to the facility’s completion.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3855)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Strengthening Communities: Using Collective Impact to Address Social Challenges

Presented by: Monica Chavez, VP Community Engagement & Strategic Planning, Grinnell College | Jill Harris, Coordinator of Community Development, Grinnell College

The future of college and community success are intertwined, which makes it crucial to address social challenges together in order to create resilient, vibrant communities for all. In this interactive session, you’ll discover how Grinnell College leveraged Collective Impact (CI) to strengthen non-profit capacity, align resources, and foster trust-based collaboration to address complex social challenges through a local network. Join us to gain a framework and actionable strategies for providing collaborative infrastructure to drive meaningful social impact solutions within your institution and community.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Adapt a collective impact model to fit your community’s emerging needs.
2. Discuss how to facilitate community meetings that bring together non-profits, schools, governmental agencies, businesses, and volunteers to identify community needs and build community and capacity.
3. Make a list of best practices from 10 years of experience with the nationally-recognized Grinnell Education Partnership.
4. Use resources and templates to build planning tools and other materials that will help you apply a CI approach to social challenges.

UChicago Campus South Walk: Unified Transformation for Sustainable Growth

Presented by: Katie Martin, Associate Director for Campus Environment, The University of Chicago | Rob Reuland, Principal, Site Design Group

Collaborative design plays a powerful role in shaping vibrant campus environments. This session will highlight how unified campus landscapes transform spaces to foster sustainability, community engagement, and strategic growth. Discover how the University of Chicago (Chicago) transformed its campus, uniting five projects with sustainable design and seamless collaboration to create vibrant spaces that enhance the campus community, environmental health and resilience, and growth. Join us for actionable insights into unifying multiple disparate projects, building collaborative teams, integrating sustainability into campus designs, and aligning projects with broader institutional growth goals.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Prioritize the alignment of campus design projects with broader economic, social, and institutional goals.
2. Strengthen partnerships with collaborative teams that include planners, architects, and stakeholders for seamless project execution.
3. Explain how the integration of multiple projects with a cohesive design creates a unified landscape that supports a sense of wellbeing and healthy resiliency.
4. Envision landscape designs that prioritize healthy sustainable practices, such as green infrastructure, native plantings, and eco-friendly solutions to enhance environmental resilience and reduce ecological impact.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3887)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

An Adaptable Housing Master Plan Supports Student Belonging and Wellbeing

Presented by: Jneanne Hacker, Executive Director for Housing and Residence Life, Ohio University-Main Campus | Christian Lynn, PLA, ASLA, Associate Principal, Urbanism Planning Practice Lead, AECOM. | J. Christopher Owens, Director for Housing Capital and Facilities Planning, Ohio University-Main Campus | Jessica Pagan-Aello, Architect, Principal Higher Education Market Leader, Hanbury

In an era of instability, this session offers an implemented example of a housing master plan that created real cultural change by building safety, trust, and belonging into the student experience through design, partnership, and goal-oriented leadership. Ohio University’s (OHIO) planning process, which is grounded in a shared goal of student well being, fosters student success even amid unclear future funding scenarios. OHIO is now building its housing plan as demand for on-campus community grows. We’ll share tools to help you connect long-term vision with daily decisions through a replicable model for building buy-in at all levels, shaping culture, and designing for belonging.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Evaluate your campus housing plans to reveal where gaps in belonging, wellbeing, adaptability, and student life outcomes may be limiting impact.
2. Evaluate an endurance framework for connecting planning principles with daily decisions and habits that shape institutional culture over time.
3. Apply a ‘Value Beyond the Building’ lens to unlock social, academic, wellbeing, and emotional potential in underused outdoor and transitional spaces due to floodplain constraints.
4. Reframe capital investments as opportunities to foster collaboration, strengthen identity, build trust, connect the community, and support student belonging and wellbeing.

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3901)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Building Tomorrow’s Classrooms: Strategy, Design, and Collaboration

Presented by: Monika Dressler, Director, Academic Technology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Fadi Musleh, Assistant Vice Provost for Academic and Budgetary Affairs, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

After a decade of planning, the University of Michigan’s (U-M) Central Campus Classroom Building (CCCB) emerged as a model for active and team-based learning. The CCCB exemplifies how strategic infrastructure investments facilitate innovative pedagogical strategies across diverse disciplines, offering valuable insights for institutions aiming to implement flexible and inclusive learning environments. This session will explore its multi-disciplinary innovative design and its role in supporting collaborative learning. Come learn about strategies for leveraging flexible learning spaces, integrating advanced teaching technologies, and managing interdisciplinary collaborations, enabling you to enhance learning outcomes on your campus.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Draw inspiration from CCCB’s diverse room types and innovative design principles to integrate active learning strategies into flexible, technology-enhanced learning environments.
2. Explain how to develop comprehensive stakeholder engagement plans to ensure inclusive input in the planning of new educational spaces.
3. Apply interdisciplinary scheduling and operational strategies to optimize space use and maximize adaptability.
4. Use CCCB as a prototype to inform future infrastructure projects on your campus, ensuring alignment with your strategic educational goals and inclusive design principles.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3913)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Come Together: Blending History, Campus, and Community to Boost Enrollment

Presented by: Benjamin Bye, Associate Principal, CO Architects. | Sandra Cassady, Ph.D., President, Rockhurst University | Kristina Henry, RN, DNP, NE-BC, CNE, Associate Dean of Nursing, Rockhurst University | Elizabeth Ponder, Architect, Helix Architecture + Design, Inc.

Adaptive reuse is the most sustainable, cost-effective path for campus growth. Cost analysis proves renovation can double usable space for the same cost as new construction, showcasing integrated planning and creative resource use. To grow enrollment and meet nursing demand, Rockhurst University absorbed a top program and transformed the 100-year-old Sedgwick Hall into a cutting-edge nursing school. Since the upgrade, nursing competency scores have risen significantly and enrollment is on the rise. Through Rockhurst’s successful case study, you’ll discover how to combat the enrollment cliff while also boosting alumni engagement by stretching your budget and revitalizing your academic programs.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Analyze your institution’s academic programs to identify gaps and create opportunities for success.
2. Evaluate existing campus assets and conduct cost-benefit analyses to determine whether renovation, addition, or new construction will best achieve your goals.
3. Navigate the challenges of inserting a high-tech program into a historic building and leverage historic features as cost-effective, high-impact design elements.
4. Create academic spaces that the entire campus can use while allowing flexibility in design to adapt to future needs.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3923)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Thank you to our sponsor!

A Tale of Two Transformations for Student Success and Community Connections

Presented by: Kristine Dorn, Partner | Education Design Director, Hollis + Miller Architects | Jeffrey Mandyck, Principal, Cuningham Group Architecture, Inc. | Jeff Ullmann, Chief Facilities Officer, Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City | Lynn Urban, Dr., University of Central Missouri

Institutions have numerous outdated and underused facilities that must serve future-forward pedagogical needs, meet equitable accessibility standards, achieve environmental goals, and reduce operations and maintenance backlog. Successful reimagining of these aging campus facilities requires alignment with institutional strategic plans and goals. Using two case studies from a community college and a public university, we’ll show how a diverse array of stakeholder engagement and facility assessment tools can help determine alignment and define meaningful outcomes. Join us to gain valuable processes and tools for transforming existing buildings into state-of-the-art facilities that enhance academic programs, student services, community partnerships, and environmental goals.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Assess an existing facility’s potential to advance an institution’s vision as well as strategic and academic plans through engagement methods, technical tools, and financial analysis.
2. Outline appropriate building and space programs that create equitable access for students and increase student success.
3. Identify and define programs and design approaches that create community-campus connections and enhance academic-industry partnerships.
4. Determine the limitations of existing buildings associated with multiple construction types and eras as well as academic program needs.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3900)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Fast, Affordable, Sustainable: How Mass Timber Housing Elevates Student Living

Presented by: Douglas Campbell, Principal, Higher Education Market Leader, Hanbury | Barry Olson, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Western Michigan University | Krista Vanhoutteghem, Principal, Grand Rapids Office Leader, Hanbury

Campus planners are facing rising pressure to deliver housing quickly, affordably, and sustainably. This session will offer a real-world playbook for doing all three without compromising quality of facilities or student life. Western Michigan University (WMU) used mass timber, prefabrication, and strategic planning to deliver 1,000 beds of student housing in only two years, aligning cost, sustainability, and student experience. You’ll take home actionable strategies to fast-track your housing projects, reduce embodied carbon, justify mass timber to stakeholders, and align capital investment with institutional priorities.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Champion low-carbon construction strategies like mass timber in your campus projects.
2. Discuss how to streamline project timelines with design-build and off-site prefabrication.
3. Balance cost and design by strategically allocating certain materials.
4. Make a compelling case for alternative housing that maintains project schedule.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3846)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

How Purdue University’s New Campus Powers Growth and Innovation in Indianapolis

Presented by: Amber Chellis-Omedo, Senior Director of CP&A | University Architect, Purdue University | Jessica Leonard, Principal, Ayers Saint Gross | Jay Wasson, Vice President, Physical Facilities & Public Safety, Purdue University

As a top-tier research university, anchor institution, and partner to Indianapolis business and civic leaders, Purdue University is fueling the regional economic engine through workforce development, discovery, and tech transfer. In this session, we’ll share how planning Purdue’s new urban campus required robust stakeholder collaboration with a focus on integrated planning and future flexibility. Transformative campus design can build vibrant communities, facilitate collaboration-based economic growth through accessible education, and accelerate innovation. With lessons and best practices from Purdue’s new campus, learn how your institution can develop an integrated 50-year vision while conducting simultaneous enrollment, program, infrastructure, building, and community planning.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Gain tools to help you better leverage your institutional mission, physical campus, and partnerships to serve your community, city, and state.
2. Foster a positive planning culture by using engagement and communication strategies that promote community buy-in.
3. Apply metrics and guidelines that inform near-term decision making while providing flexibility for the future.
4. Discuss how to conduct an integrated planning process that yields both fast-track decisions and a coordinated long-term vision.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3931)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Alternative Capital Strategies for Aging Campus Facilities

Presented by: Amanda Aspenson, Principal, Alliiance | Kara Kolomitz, Chief Operating Officer, College of Saint Benedict | Kelsey Oosterhoff, Capital Renewal Planning Manager, Michigan State University (main campus) | Cathy Weiss, Director of Facility Planning & Architecture, University of Wisconsin System Administration

Alternative capital strategies can make a significant difference by enabling institutions to pursue critical capital improvements that they might otherwise delay or deem unfeasible due to limited public funding or constrained budgets. Pressure to grow enrollment in an environment of funding uncertainty and aging infrastructure is propelling institutions to find alternative capital strategies beyond tuition. In this session we’ll equip you with innovative approaches to diversify financial portfolios and reduce reliance on tuition, state, and federal appropriations through public-private partnerships, grants, philanthropic investments, and revenue-generating ventures.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Recognize different methods for analyzing your institution’s capital capacity and available resources.
2. Explore the relationship between enrollment size and constraints of existing campus resources, including physical infrastructure, human resources, and funding capacity on your campus.
3. Identify resources that will help you understand the context of your own institution and successful planning frameworks.
4. Investigate tools to communicate to institutional leaders about alternative capital strategies for aging facilities.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3928)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Creating Opportunities and Spaces for Neurodiverse Students in Higher Ed

Presented by: Kirk Dillon, Architect, Dake-Wells Architecture | Bethany Henry, Associate Director- Architect, Missouri State University | Mikala King, Director of ASCEND, Missouri State University-West Plains | Mark Wheeler, University Architect and Director, Missouri State University-Springfield

Neurodiverse students lack opportunities and accommodations in higher education and the workforce. It’s important to provide spaces for academic support and the teaching of skills that capitalize on the unique strengths of neurodiversity. This session will focus on Missouri State University (MSU) West Plains’ new Neurodiversity and Autism Center and share how to invest in higher education opportunities for neurodiverse students and space design for more inclusive and accessible learning environments. Join us to learn about neurodiversity, support programs, and strategies to improve access and learning through inclusive space design.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Conduct comfortable and practical conversations about autism, neurodiversity, and inclusion and access to leverage the opportunities and skills of neurodiverse individuals.
2. Identify opportunities for programs in higher education and for partnerships with local and regional government entities, community organizations, public schools, other autism support programs, and adjacent educational programs.
3. Identify spatial elements that may be distracting, uncertain, or painful for neurodiverse students.
4. Accommodate neurodiverse learning modes and sensitivities with a variety of scales and types of learning spaces, levels of interaction, furnishing options, and clarity in wayfinding and use.

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3869)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Leveraging Classroom Utilization Studies to Maximize Existing Campus Assets

Presented by: Bill Ash, Design Director, SmithGroup | Tricia Beck, Vice President, SmithGroup Inc | Paul Knowles, Campus Planning and Space Management Director, University of Kentucky

Institutions are overwhelmed with aging assets and maintenance yet understand that up-to-date modern facilities create more positive learning environments that contribute to a sense of community and ultimately improve student retention. University of Kentucky’s (UK) White Hall optimized a tired campus asset by using data from a campuswide classroom utilization study, resulting in right-sized, modern classrooms, maximized student collaboration space, and reduced construction phasing. Come learn how you can optimize to maximize when planning a renovation of an existing campus asset through data-informed decision-making efforts.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Share the value of widening a project’s scope to include data on existing campus assets in order to use the metrics to inform your decisions.
2. Consider implementing early cost modeling to help project decision makers understand the budget and prioritize needs versus wants during the early design stage.
3. Identify projects that have the largest impact on students to improve their learning experience and support retention.
4. Develop an early communication strategy that involves front-end dialogue and recurring touch points with wide constituencies in order to build a collectively-shared vision for what transformation means for your institution.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3874)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Campus-Making as a Strategic Pathway

Presented by: Jonathan Massey, Dean, Professor of Architecture,
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

Planning, designing, building, and operating its campus is one of the most important ways an institution forms its culture and pursues its goals. As an architect, historian, and dean, Jonathan Massey has mobilized scholarly research and domain knowledge to promote academic priorities through campus planning. At the University of Michigan, Massey co-created an arts initiative, a design review committee, and new academic offerings while contributing to plans for an innovation district, a tech hub, a connector, and a sustainability campus. Join this keynote to give your input into the hypotheses Massey has formed about the role of planning and design in institutional and regional strategies.

Learning Objectives

1. Explain how campus development intersects with academic strategy.
2. Describe how to balance academic autonomy with economic development imperatives.
3. Persuade others of the power of design to help institutions meet their goals.
4. Leverage the analytical and imaginative power of students and faculty to complicate and enrich planning and procurement.

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPC25CN3887)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit