Learning Resources

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.

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.

Abstract: As universities grow, the way they foster community needs to adjust. Yale University has responded to campus physical expansion and population growth in ways that can be a model for others. Yale has unified its community with strategic development along its two-mile-long urban campus, strengthening diversity and inclusion while the historically dispersed communities of the residential colleges continue to flourish. We will share methods for managing physical development while adapting and evolving the campus culture.

Abstract: A combination of new construction and renovation can optimize space while remedying previous planning problems. Yale University's new Yale Science Building and its associated renovation projects illustrate how a new facility can integrate under-utilized space, meeting program needs and connecting existing science buildings. We'll share the planning methodologies and design processes used in a project this complex, along with technical challenges unique to building and renovating science facilities.