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Plan for and Design Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Campus Spaces

By: Shannon Dowling, MArch, AIA, LEEDAP

Many marginalized student populations don’t see themselves as higher education material. Creating places on campus that reaffirm to them that they belong is vital.

From Volume 51 Number 1 | October–December 2022

Abstract: When carefully considered and thoughtfully planned, physical campus space has the power to reinforce an institution’s values around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Institutions Mentioned: Virginia Commonwealth University, North Carolina State University at Raleigh, Ryerson University, Chapman University, Bennett College
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Active Learning Environments, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Health and Wellness, Informal Learning Environments, Landscape / Open Space, Learning Environments, Original Research, Placemaking, Student Experience, Underserved Students

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Planning Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Campus Environments

By: Shannon Dowling

Student-centered insights on the design of formal learning environments and informal study and lounge spaces can help campuses increase the sense of belonging and improve learning outcomes for underrepresented students. The author is a SCUP Fellow for the 2020–2021 program. Read her full research project final report which infuses student-centered research into a playbook that can guide universities and design teams through key DEI strategies for planning, designing, and assessing physical campus space.

Institutions Mentioned: Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Union University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Accessibility, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Health and Wellness, Informal Learning Environments, Learning Environments, Original Research, Space Assessment, Student Experience, Underserved Students

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The Planning and Design of Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive Campus Environments

By: Shannon Dowling, MArch, AIA, LEEDAP

This is a SCUP Fellow Research Project Final Report for the 2020–2021 program. Space is not neutral; we perceive physical environments differently based on our backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. This new, research-based playbook can guide universities and design teams through key strategies and possible metrics relative to DEI to use when planning, designing, and assessing physical campus space.

Abstract: Space is not neutral; we perceive physical environments differently based on our backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. Every student brings a unique perspective to campus, and therefore every campus will have individual needs.

This research project collected a body of evidence around student preferences for welcoming and inclusive physical campus environments, sourced from engagements with more than two dozen institutions and more than 200 students. The author used these findings to develop a playbook to guide institutions and design teams through key strategies and possible metrics relative to DEI to use when planning, designing, and assessing physical campus space. The playbook serves as a conversation starter—a way to get planners, designers, and institutional stakeholders to the table and move the needle toward a more supportive physical environment that embodies the strategic values of DEI.

Institutions Mentioned: Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Union University, University of Richmond
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Facilities Planning, Health and Wellness, Informal Learning Environments, Landscape / Open Space, Learning Environments, Original Research, Placemaking, Space Assessment, Student Experience, Student Housing, Underserved Students

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Conference Recordings

Published
March 10, 2021

2021 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference | March 2021

Keynote | VCU | Social Unrest in the Midst of a Pandemic . . . Now What?

By: Jeffrey Eastman, Virginia Commonwealth University | Jessica Hurley Smith, Virginia Commonwealth University | Keith Van Inwegen, Virginia Commonwealth University

Join us to discuss how VCU changed its planning strategies and built campus environment to simultaneously address a public health crisis and calls for social reform.

Abstract: When the pandemic forced students, faculty, and staff off campus in March 2020, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) had just begun initial investments to implement the first phases of its recently completed master plan. What impacts would the pandemic have on the master plan, space planning, and the delivery of VCU's core mission? While VCU adapted and planned for a return to campus, Richmond became a center of social unrest with protests throughout VCU's campuses. Join us to discuss how VCU changed its planning strategies and built campus environment to simultaneously address a public health crisis and calls for social reform.

Institutions Mentioned: Virginia Commonwealth University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Campus Master Planning, COVID-19, Modifying the Plan, SCUP 2021 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference

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The Connected Campus

Building Long-Term Value and Agility by Connecting Offerings, Organizations and Operations

By: Elliot Felix, MArch

Campus environments play a vital role in student success. By making changes to their combination of spaces, institutions can respond to the shifts transforming higher education. Elliot Felix shares how colleges and universities can prepare for a more blended world by bringing together the digital and physical, enabling greater diversity and inclusion, and implementing flexible structures, staffing, space, and services. Sponsored Content: Knoll and brightspot strategy.

Abstract: Historic separations that defined higher education are dissolving: research is more interdisciplinary, online and on-campus learning are converging, wet and dry labs are blending, teaching and research overlap, and academia forges relationships with corporate partners. Institutions, by improving how they connect what they offer, how they are organized, and how they operate, can build value and agility to better assist their people on campus. Real-world examples in this white paper from Knoll and brightspot strategy discuss how campus spaces support student success, including how to fully use the campus; creating spaces that sustain diverse and flexible ways of working; thinking phygitally; and creating environments where today’s purpose-driven and entrepreneurial students (Gen Z) will thrive as they prepare to enter the workforce.

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Strategic Planning Responses to the Pandemic

By: Host: Debi McDonald, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP Co-Chair, BSA/SCUP College + University Roundtable | Moderator: Pete Zuraw, Vice President, Market Strategy and Development, Gordian | Presenters: Jean Robinson, Associate Vice Chancellor, Facilities Management, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Dave Proulx, Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration, Rhode Island School of Design

In this webinar, Jean Robinson from University of Massachusetts-Lowell and Dave Proulx from Rhode Island School of Design share how their campuses have been planning for this fall, and reflect on the impacts today’s urgent decision making could bring to the future campus.

This is part of the series “Less Talk, More Action: Tactical Topics to Return to Campus.”

Abstract: With the entire academic community scrambling to establish what higher education looks like this fall, planning has been even harder than usual. And yet the pandemic opens opportunities to consider an entirely new set of choices previously unavailable to those guiding their institutions forward. Each and every urgent decision being made on campus today has the potential to define an entirely new future campus. The drivers for those decisions may or may not be creating a desirable new future.d

Institutions Mentioned: University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Rhode Island School of Design
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: COVID-19, Facilities Planning

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Conference Recordings

Published
March 16, 2020

2020 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference | March 2020

Make No Little Plans

Multi-Scale Transformative Planning Implementation

By: Cooper Melton, Associate Principal, Ayers Saint Gross | Terence McCann, Director of Planning, Energy & Sustainability, Towson University | Eric Zahn, Senior Associate, Ayers Saint Gross

Master plans are more than a campus-wide tool, and with thoughtful planning and execution, institutions can craft a vision tailored to student needs related to housing, dining, and the co-curricular student experience.

Abstract: An institution's success is intrinsically linked to that of its students. High-quality living/learning spaces play a critical role in supporting student achievement, building campus community, and bolstering recruitment and retention. Master plans are more than a campus-wide tool, and with thoughtful planning and execution, institutions can craft a vision tailored to student needs related to housing, dining, and the co-curricular student experience. Using concrete examples, this session will illustrate how student experience-driven planning and creative implementation strategies can bolster student success while using institutional resources more effectively.

Institutions Mentioned: Virginia Commonwealth University, Goucher College
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Campus Master Planning, Dining Facility, SCUP 2020 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, Student Center / Union, Student Housing, Urban Campus

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Conference Presentations

Published
March 8, 2020

2020 North Atlantic Regional Conference | March 2020

Institutional Strategies in Project Delivery

Brown University Strategic Sourcing Program

By: Ron Simoneau, Vice President, Shawmut Design and Construction | Joubin Hassanein, Director of IPD & Lean Practice, Shawmut Design and Construction | Michael Guglielmo, Vice President for Facilities Management, Brown University

Brown University's Strategic Sourcing program, a strategic partnership that streamlines planning, design, and construction for the university, delivers higher quality project outcomes with long-term financial savings.

Abstract: Brown University's Strategic Sourcing program, a strategic partnership that streamlines planning, design, and construction for the university, delivers higher quality project outcomes with long-term financial savings. We'll discuss this highly collaborative partnership model that brings together Brown stakeholders with designers, engineers, and subcontractors to develop optimal project solutions. We'll also cover the spectrum of project delivery models used for recent projects.

Institutions Mentioned: Brown University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Planning, Project Management / Delivery, SCUP 2020 North Atlantic Regional Conference

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Conference Presentations

Published
July 14, 2019

2019 Annual Conference | July 2019

On-campus Student Housing

Compare Approaches for Construction and Delivery

By: Adam Baacke, Laurence Siegel

Come learn from campus facilities planning and student affairs officials, who will address the pros and cons of different delivery methods (P3, purchase/renovation, and conventional construction) from the perspective of up-front costs, operating and maintenance factors, student experience, and functionality.

Abstract: On-campus living has been linked to student success and is a key factor in admissions decisions. As campuses look to expand and improve their housing inventories in a challenging fiscal environment, there are more options than ever available. One institution will share its recent experiences with several of these options. The University of Massachusetts (UMass) Lowell has more than doubled its on-campus housing inventory in the past five years using a combination of P3, real estate acquisitions, and conventional construction. This session will compare the relative benefits and particular challenges in utilizing these types of housing delivery methods. Come learn from campus facilities planning and student affairs officials, who will address the pros and cons of different delivery methods (P3, purchase/renovation, and conventional construction) from the perspective of up-front costs, operating and maintenance factors, student experience, and functionality.

Institutions Mentioned: University of Massachusetts-Lowell
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Planning, Public-Private Partnerships (P3), Real Estate, SCUP 2019 Annual Conference, Student Housing

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Planning for Higher Education Journal

Published
April 1, 2018

Data Collection as a Means for Integrated Higher Education Change

The Case of the Anchor Dashboard Learning Cohort

By: Elizabeth Hudson

Six institutions measured the community impact of their anchor mission efforts along several social and economic dimensions using the Anchor Dashboard data tool.

From Volume 46 Number 3 | April–June 2018

Abstract: Within the last several years, higher education institutions have embraced the language of an “anchor mission” to define their place-based commitments. This case analysis details the role of data in promoting systematic local change in six institutions participating in the Anchor Dashboard Learning Cohort. These institutions committed to measuring community impact through the Anchor Dashboard, a tool to understand and enhance local commitments along several social and economic dimensions. This article details the promises and pitfalls of developing an institution-wide, place-based mission led from different institutional levels—from the president’s office to faculty-led centers—using this data tool.

Institutions Mentioned: Buffalo State SUNY, Cleveland State University, Drexel University, Rutgers University-Newark, University of Missouri-St Louis, Virginia Commonwealth University
Tags: Economic Development, Higher Ed in Society, Measuring the Plan, Mission / Vision / Identity, Urban Campus

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