Learning Resources

Conference Presentations

Published
March 5, 2024

Placemaking, Programming, and Plaza: An Innovative P3 Approach to Activation

By: Dan Biederman, Biederman Redevelopment Ventures | Brian Naumick, Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate | Cathy Pinskey, George Mason University | Melissa Thierry, George Mason University

For colleges and universities to achieve their goals with extremely limited resources, they must rely on constructive partnerships. This session will focus on building those connections for placemaking on campus, which is a critical aspect of activating a successful innovation ecosystem.

Abstract: For colleges and universities to achieve their goals with extremely limited resources, they must rely on constructive partnerships. This session will focus on building those connections for placemaking on campus, which is a critical aspect of activating a successful innovation ecosystem. Activation does not simply happen because a plaza exists; rather, it requires organizational structure, programming, funding models, and partnership. This session will explore cross-disciplinary planning?internally within the institution and with external partners?as well as provide resources for creating a framework for public space activation.

Resource Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Landscape / Open Space, Placemaking, Public-Private Partnerships (P3)

Member Price:
$35 | Login

Non-Member Price:
$50

Conference Presentations

Published
March 5, 2024

Designing Campus Food Venues to Build Community and Connection

By: Guido Hartray, Marvel Architects | Audra Tuskes, Marriott | Scott Wright, Columbia University in the City of New York

In our hybrid environment, it’s more important than ever to pull people away from their devices to build community and connection on campus. Food has the power to bring students and faculty from different backgrounds together and provide a fundamental academic experience. Through campus and workplace examples, we’ll show how food venue design can set a positive tone for interaction and support meaningful connections and wellbeing. Come learn how to plan campus food venues that serve an academic purpose, refine venue goals, and inform venue design through operations to make it more impactful and sustainable.

Abstract: In our hybrid environment, it’s more important than ever to pull people away from their devices to build community and connection on campus. Food has the power to bring students and faculty from different backgrounds together and provide a fundamental academic experience. Through campus and workplace examples, we’ll show how food venue design can set a positive tone for interaction and support meaningful connections and wellbeing. Come learn how to plan campus food venues that serve an academic purpose, refine venue goals, and inform venue design through operations to make it more impactful and sustainable.

Resource Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Dining Facility, Facilities Design, Health and Wellness, Student Services

Member Price:
$35 | Login

Non-Member Price:
$50

Well-Being in Higher Education

Raising Literacy and Advancing the Conversation

By: Promila Rastogi, Stanford University School of Medicine | Julianne Nola, University of California, Davis | Demont Oliver, San Francisco State University | Lilian Asperin, WRNS Studio

Discover how to help students develop holistic and long-term healthy lifestyles by creating a culture of well-being in a collegiate environment informed by a myriad of social, economic, academic, and personal pressures. This session will cover how design can affect students physically and psychologically and how health centers can engage the campus community and encourage positive behaviors. This session was part of the “Well-being in Higher Education: Raising Literacy and Advancing the Conversation”—a series of free, virtual events with the goal to raise the literacy for well-being among higher education professionals and to advance conversation among colleagues on and across campuses.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Health and Wellness, Learning Environments, Student Experience

Member Price:
Free

Non-Member Price:
Free

Blog Post

Published
December 11, 2023

Addressing Employee Needs in Higher Education:

A Path to Transformation and Excellence

By: Loren Rullman, PhD, Workshop Architects | Pam Watts, CAE, NIRSA | Kelsey Harmon Finn, Compass Group

In recent years, higher education staff throughout North America have increasingly expressed concern about compensation, work/life balance, and sense of agency over work. 24% of all staff are actively seeking roles outside of higher education, and 70% of staff at large or public universities would consider changing jobs. A recent survey form over 400 college and university staff provides actionable steps for a brighter future.

Tags: Health and Wellness, Human Resources, Original Research

Member Price:
Free

Non-Member Price:
Free

Responsive Design

Purposeful Planning Can Be Inclusive for Neurodiverse Students and Support the Well-Being of All

By: Shannon Dowling, MArch, AIA, LEEDAP, and James A. Baumann, MA

By incorporating student choice and voice into the planning and allowing autonomy in scale and adaptability, campuses can provide the environment where all students are most comfortable participating in any given activity.

From Volume 52 Number 1 | October–December 2023

Abstract: Research has shown that neurodivergent students report a lower sense of belonging and are less likely to feel welcomed, accepted, and like they belong on campus than their neurotypical peers. Considering this, a host of barriers to participation and belonging can be in effect across a college or university. While there are a few campus offices and departments that might address different aspects of these concerns independently, the most successful results occur when these groups—along with outside contractors such as design partners—work in strategic symphony.

This article is co-presented by the Association of College & University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I) and the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) and is being published in publications for both organizations.

Institutions Mentioned: Colorado School of Mines, Denison University, Lewis & Clark College, Montana State University, Ohio State University-Main Campus, The State University of New York at Albany, University of Georgia, University of Oregon
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Health and Wellness, Informal Learning Environments, Learning Environments, Placemaking, Student Housing

Member Price:
Free

Non-Member Price:
Free

Supporting Neurodiversity in Higher Education

When Every Space Counts

By: Kathleen Kelly, MBA, AIA, LEED A+P

By integrating several unique campus voices, we can realize that unassignable space is highly valuable to the neurodivergent campus occupant.

From Volume 51 Number 4 | July–September 2023

Abstract: While universities have long been bastions of intellectual diversity, they are now embracing a broader understanding of diversity that extends beyond race, gender, and socioeconomic background. Neurodiversity, a concept celebrating the natural variations in human neurological functioning, is gaining prominence as an essential aspect of fostering a truly inclusive educational environment.

Institutions Mentioned: University of Cincinnati-Main Campus, University of Southern Denmark, Syracuse University, University of California-Berkeley, University of Washington-Seattle Campus, University of Toronto-Downtown Toronto (St. George), Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Accessibility, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Health and Wellness, Informal Learning Environments, Space Assessment

Member Price:
Free | Login

Member-only Resource

Join now to have access

Blog Post

Published
September 5, 2023

What If the Building We Work in Could Make Us Healthier?

By: Lisa Jasinski, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio

During the recent 2023 Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) 2023 Annual Conference in Cleveland, Niraj Dangoria, Stanford University’s associate dean of facilities planning, and management, and Paul Woolford and Julia Cooper of HOK, reported how they used integrated planning to construct the Center for Academic Medicine for the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Institutions Mentioned: Stanford University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Health and Wellness, Medical / Allied Health Facility

Member Price:
Free

Non-Member Price:
Free

Regionalism, Ecology, and Field-Based Learning

Partnerships Broaden Study Opportunities

By: Josh Harrold, BArch, BFA, AIA

In the rural and remote heart of the Ozark Mountains, Missouri State University and its Ozarks Education Center leverage the unique characteristics of the region to create a setting that supports hands-on active learning.

From Volume 51 Number 4 | July–September 2023

Abstract: Missouri State University’s Ozarks Education Center, in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, provides a case study for outdoor, field-based, and architectural regionalism education. It offers unparalleled student opportunities for tailored regional learning experiences and research options, while fostering partnerships with external organizations outside of the main campus environment. In this article, we share how being true to the region’s historical architecture and ecology, especially in undervalued and isolated locations, and incorporating site-specific approaches in a remote setting support off-the-grid learning in the post-COVID academic landscape.

Institutions Mentioned: Missouri State University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Active Learning Environments, External Collaboration / Partnerships, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Landscape / Open Space, Learning Environments, Placemaking, Rural Campus, Science / Engineering Facility

Member Price:
Free | Login

Member-only Resource

Join now to have access

Optimizing for Growth

Long-Term Planning Is Essential During an Institutional Merger, Acquisition, and/or Geographic Expansion

By: Clayton Mitchell, MS, PE, CEM, and Chuck Rudalavage, BArch, AIA, LEED AP

Thomas Jefferson University focused on culture, communications, and collaboration during a transformational period of combining institutions.

From Volume 51 Number 3 | April–June 2023

Abstract: Accurately planning long-term strategy can be a shaky task for quickly-growing organizations, especially those that desire to maintain a strong impression on their stakeholders and surrounding communities. History shows that mergers and acquisitions can negatively impact an organization’s culture, communication initiatives, and internal and external experiences. Thomas Jefferson University, a longstanding private medical research university in Philadelphia, educating scholars since 1824, in recent years merged with Philadelphia University and further expanded its footprint through the aligned Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. The authors of this article describe how to collaboratively optimize growth during a transformational period.

Institutions Mentioned: Thomas Jefferson University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Change Management, Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Medical / Allied Health Facility, Organizational Change, Placemaking, Planning Processes, Renovation

Member Price:
Free | Login

Member-only Resource

Join now to have access

Tell Us What You Think

Smith College Drafted Its Master Landscape Plan Through Robust Stakeholder Engagement

By: Signe Nielsen, BS, BA, RLA, FASLA

More than 1,600 students and alumnae provided input through online mapping tools and in-person workshops. Staff and faculty were interviewed in person and via phone. And Instagram was used to reach 6,400 members of the campus community.

From Volume 51 Number 3 | April–June 2023

Abstract: Smith College commissioned MNLA to develop its 20-year Landscape Master Plan to address climate change impacts, inclusiveness, and pedagogy. The process was grounded in robust campus engagement over 18 months. More than 1,600 students and alumnae provided input through online mapping tools and in-person workshops that used cutouts and puzzles to reimagine the open spaces on campus. Staff and faculty were interviewed in person or via phone on ways to incorporate scholarship in the landscape, and 6,400 members of the campus community were reached through Instagram. An online magazine published by MNLA kept the campus community updated on findings, alternative plans, and conclusions.

Institutions Mentioned: Smith College
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Adaptable Plans, Campus Master Planning, COVID-19, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Landscape / Open Space, Placemaking, Planning Processes, Student Engagement, Sustainability (Environmental)

Member Price:
Free | Login

Member-only Resource

Join now to have access

Planning Types

Challenges