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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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Conference Recordings

Published
November 2, 2022

2022 Mid-Atlantic Regional Symposium | November

Reckoning with Entangled Histories

Higher Education and Slavery

By: Fanchon (Chon) Glover, College of William and Mary | Amber Hall, College of William and Mary | Samuel Hayes, College of William and Mary | Ben Carton, George Mason University | Wendi Manuel Scott, George Mason University | Cathy Pinskey, George Mason University | Dereck J. Rovaris, Sr., St. Mary's College of Maryland | Maurice Schlesinger, St. Mary's College of Maryland | Louis Nelson, University of Virginia | Alice Raucher, University of Virginia | Stephanie Wolfgang, Perkins&Will

In this symposium, four institutions will share their approaches to these complicated questions and how they’re continuing the conversation around the legacy of slavery on their campuses.

Abstract: American higher education institutions have a long, complex history with slavery that shouldn’t be ignored. Reckoning with these historical ties—from slave-owning namesakes to the enslaved laborers who constructed campus buildings—generates difficult questions for colleges and universities:

How do we honor those who were enslaved?
How do we recognize our role in the history of slavery as a means of learning from the past to guide our future?

In this symposium, four institutions will share their approaches to these complicated questions and how they’re continuing the conversation around the legacy of slavery on their campuses.

Institutions Mentioned: College of William and Mary, George Mason University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, University of Virginia-Main Campus
Planning Types: Campus Planning, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Planning
Tags: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Historic Preservation, Landscape / Open Space, Placemaking, Racial Equity, SCUP 2022 Mid-Atlantic Symposium | November, Student Engagement

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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 18, 2021

2021 North Atlantic Regional Conference | March 2021

Setting Building Energy Standards

Learning from City, State, and Utility Incentive Programs

By: Michael Grant, Stantec | Ruth Bennett, Tufts University | Kim Cullinane, Eversource (utility) | John Dalzell, Boston Planning & Development Agency | Jacob Knowles, BR+A Consulting Engineers

Individual cities, states, and utility incentive programs are going beyond carbon neutral standards to embrace energy consumption limits—this session will present these new strategies as models and options for campus building energy standards.

Abstract: It isn't enough that institutions require all-electric campus buildings that rely on renewable energy—they must also be low load and low energy consumption. Individual cities, states, and utility incentive programs are going beyond carbon neutral standards to embrace energy consumption limits. This session will present these new strategies as models and options for campus building energy standards that address a variety of university sustainability goals. Come learn how your institution can avoid re-inventing the wheel when defining truly impactful campus guidelines by using these methodologies to limit energy consumption and peak demand.

Institutions Mentioned: Tufts University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Carbon Neutral, Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Energy Infrastructure, Facilities Planning, SCUP 2021 North Atlantic Regional Conference, Sustainability (Environmental)

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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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Developing Successful Campus Collaborations and Trust During COVID

By: Host: Debi McDonald, Co-Chair, BSA/SCUP College + University Roundtable | Moderator: Jack Maguire, Founder and Chair, Maguire Associates | Presenters: Gretchen Von Grossmann, Director of Capital Programs, Tufts University; Sarah Madden, Project and Change Manager, University Administration, Harvard University; Kelly McQueeney, Director Project Support Services, Harvard University Environmental Health and Safety

In this webinar, Gretchen Von Grossmann of Tufts University and Sarah Madden and Kelly McQueeney of Harvard University shared how they have brought their campus communities together to tackle COVID challenges and what protocols and perspectives are becoming “game changers” in the process.

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

Abstract: In the current COVID environment, each day brings our academic institutions more information and insight regarding what their physical campuses can handle and what their returning students and faculty are comfortable with.

Join us as we learn from representatives at Tufts University and Harvard University how they have brought their campus communities together to tackle COVID challenges and what aspects may become “game changers” in the process. We will learn current perspectives and protocols and how these institutions came to these conclusions. The presenters will share how they have prepared for a range of outcomes, offering some valuable examples of effective leadership in this time of crisis.

Institutions Mentioned: Harvard University, Tufts University
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

Roadmap to a Capital Renewal Program

By: Taylan Ekici, Associate Director, Capital Renewal Planning, Tufts University | Margaret Moylan, Planner Project Manager, Tufts University

We will share how Tufts University manages its capital renewal program using a ranking strategy that considers building condition, utilization, modernization needs, and academic priority.

Abstract: Most universities don't have enough funds to address all capital renewal needs. Understanding the condition of physical infrastructure and benchmarking against the institutional mission optimizes limited funds allocated for deferred maintenance. We will share how Tufts University manages its capital renewal program using a ranking strategy that considers building condition, utilization, modernization needs, and academic priority. We will cover how to collect and process data to establish a 10-year capital renewal plan, considering initiatives like sustainability and carbon neutrality.

Institutions Mentioned: Tufts University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Deferred Maintenance, Facilities Planning, SCUP 2020 North Atlantic Regional Conference

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