Learning Resources

Abstract: A collaborative approach allows building projects to open faster, reduces redesign, increases staff satisfaction, and produces a higher utilization rate than the traditional design process. This session details the collaborative Lean process involving over 100 people that allowed the Lauritzen Outpatient Center on the Nebraska Medical Campus to be completed 1.5 years early with few design changes. Come learn from our unique approach in which actual users participate in designing the facility, allowing implementation of new processes and efficiencies known only to medical center staff.

Abstract: Technical and community college education must adapt to the changing workforce to ensure success for the students, communities, and states they serve, and their physical campuses need to support this adaptation. We will explore the planning, design, and stakeholder collaboration behind Lanier Technical College's new, six-building, 95-acre campus designed to house 50 unique workforce development programs. We will also share consensus building and expectation management techniques we employed to build buy-in with diverse stakeholders.

Abstract: After a campus tragedy, the first steps for the community toward settling into the new normal often entail working through the gravity of recent events. This work includes a need for internal reflection, external processing, and collective healing. Campus communities engaged in this process often find a way to memorialize the events that have shaken them and to honor the lives of any community members lost to tragedy. This research project focuses on physical memorials that are the result of a tragic moment in institutional history.

Abstract: Societal challenges and opportunities no longer fit in departments. Future success requires business researchers, educators, and students to interconnect across the entire campus and beyond. In this session, we will explore how to plan a campus ecosystem that connects business with people, ideas, and resources to drive a new research and education model. You will learn key strategies and find opportunities—encompassing planning, programming, design process, and lessons learned from building use—to advance your institution's mission and build a framework to implement your initiatives.

Abstract: Strategic planners must engage a wide variety of important stakeholders in strategic planning. Fast-paced, high-impact, productive planning retreats can achieve this goal in a one day. We will discuss how we planned and implemented an 8-hour strategic planning retreat with over 100 participants, including faculty, staff, partners, friends, and students. We will cover how we prepared both facilitators and participants, and share specific activities to engage stakeholders in strategic discussions that contribute to innovation solutions and ideas for the strategic plan.

Abstract: As engines of local economies, urban universities often nurture innovation ecosystems beyond campus boundaries, like Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Kendall Square Initiative. We will focus on this vibrant, campus-edge, partnership-driven innovation ecosystem. We'll cover laboratory facilities that combine academic strengths and private partner needs while examining the architectural challenges of urban research buildings. You will learn about the complexities of mixing commercial research buildings, student housing, residential apartments, and active retail street-level spaces to meet the physical and cultural demands of diverse clientele.

Abstract: Interdisciplinary scientific research is the new normal in academia. Campus planning for interdisciplinary research requires special tools and analytics that align the needs of increasingly diverse research environments with existing facilities capabilities and new characterizations of research neighborhoods. To remain relevant within the world-wide scientific community, campuses must free research space planning from traditional boundaries in order to promote collaborative synergies. This session will introduce new analytical assessment tools, organizational principles, and planning strategies supporting interdisciplinary research. Come learn how to create an open-ended, actionable, and living planning document that ensures long-term relevance and viability.

Abstract: On the average campus, office space accounts for more square footage than classrooms, instructional and research labs combined. Accordingly, its design and utilization can have significant campus impact. This panel discussion addresses the challenges that institutions face when rethinking their approach to workplace design. We will provide guidance on planning, programming, and design strategies to align workplaces with educational mission, respond to fiscal pressures, and compete for talent.

Abstract: Strategic planning often involves the development of new or revised policies. Policy communication and operationalization can significantly impact morale and strategic plan buy-in and we must consider it in a well-planned and integrated manner in order to produce effective change. This presentation will focus on lessons learned in policy roll-out, and through sharing your own experiences, you will gain an increased understanding of challenges and opportunities in policy roll-out that can inform strategic planning decisions on your campus.

Abstract: Many institutions are engaged in concurrent, overlapping institutional change initiatives. Being able to plan and align improvement efforts while including all stakeholders without duplicating effort requires new tools and skills. We will share how Olympic College used the planning for a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to design improvements in our student-facing systems. You will practice different techniques and tools to visualize institutional processes and identify alignment. We will discuss the use of traditional business management tools to map institutional structures, create cross-departmental capacities, and guide cross-functional teams.