Learning Resources

Abstract: After decades of significant investment in campus development, US universities are now confronted with enormous challenges, including declining enrollment, evolving academic technology, online learning, and rising facilities maintenance costs. The authors of this research examined how 11 public R1 universities in the Northeast and Midwest are addressing these challenges through a review of campus plans and interviews with senior planners and administrators. This study argues that a new campus planning paradigm is gradually emerging in response to these risks, which highlights innovative strategies for place-based institutions to rapidly reexamine their prevailing capital planning priorities with a focus on adaptability and right-sizing campus facilities.

Abstract: Over the past year, the hospitality teams at Yale University and the University of Connecticut (UConn) have had to rethink their dining operations, shifting to a transactional approach to continue supporting student wellbeing. The two universities faced very different challenges: UConn, as one of the country's largest self-operated food service programs, focused on maintaining diverse options; Yale, as a transformational organization, committed to table gatherings and healthy, locally-sourced food. This session will explore how these programs have adapted to the current crisis and what their experiences teach us about the future of campus food service.