Learning Resources

Abstract: Academic life is closely tied to space and conversations about space reveal much about our priorities and personalities. Having a plan can help facilitate these conversations around a shared vision. We’ll discuss how Purdue University’s culture of continuous planning leverages data, facility information, and design to engage new stakeholders, implement a campus-wide vision, and fast-track decision making. The world of planning is changing, so come learn how creating the right scope to achieve the desired outcomes and inform decision making is critical for establishing a planning continuum on your campus.

Abstract: This session will share a portfolio-based approach to space management as an institutional, governance-based framework for aligning space—its allocation and use—to meet priorities and program needs. You will learn how we aligned space governance with our institution's organizational hierarchy through defined portfolios, allowing central planning units to use a streamlined process and adaptive planning tools to arrive at an unbiased, data-driven perspective.

Abstract: With crowded research facilities, limited resources, and a strong need for innovative interdisciplinary teaching space, many institutions feel stuck. Purdue University College of Science's went from stymied to STEM lab in just four years through data-focused master planning and an accelerated design process. We will share lessons learned from Purdue University's college master plan and STEM building that you can use to clarify thinking, focus need, build a case for a new project, and set the stage for future growth.

Abstract: It has often been said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. While that can often be true, it does not have to be that way. Culture and strategy can be close companions and highly complementary when positioned as mutually reinforcing parts of the planning process. When strategy is developed with an appreciation for cultural strengths, it has a better chance to move beyond words on a screen or on paper. At the same time, organizational strategy can strengthen and reinforce an improved organizational culture.

Georgia Tech is using a technique called appreciative inquiry to build a positive, productive culture through the strategy development and implementation process. This approach reinforces the positive elements of the current culture while clearly defining the cultural attributes needed for success in the future.
This discussion will explore ways to draw out the best in organizational culture to create an effective strategy while also using strategy to steer culture in a positive direction.

Abstract: Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) started an engineering program when they purchased Daniel Webster College and inherited a strong aeronautics program, students, and faculty looking for a new educational home. SNHU, well-known for online education programs, continues to develop its traditional campus through its new College of Engineering, Technology and Aeronautics, which they planned to accommodate multiple modalities reflecting 2019 and beyond as well as exemplify academic rigor. We will demonstrate how SNHU benchmarked engineering schools, helping SNHU envision their idea for a new school and identify state-of-the-art learning environments.

Abstract: Have we heard from enough people? Sometimes leaders ask this question to seek consensus or in the hope of making a tough call easy with more data. But this is the wrong question to ask. A better question is, “Have we talked to the right people?” In this article, we discuss how institutions can research their “lead users” whose extreme behaviors today will be the norm tomorrow. Using a case study rethinking Georgia Tech’s library services, spaces, and staffing, we explain who lead users are, how to identify them, how to research them to uncover insights, and how they can champion innovation on your campus.

Abstract: In 1998, a Carnegie Foundation Commission Report criticized America’s 123 research universities for failing our educational system by ignoring undergraduate education. Notably absent from the Commission's list of recommendations was mentoring research university faculty as a strategy to improve their teaching. This article discusses strategic collaboration, a mentoring model that can contribute significantly to achieving this objective. Such a network can also create an environment conducive to interdisciplinary research that, because of its increased value and rewards at such universities, can provide an added incentive for faculty participation.

Abstract: An innovative approach to the capital planning process will determine the future physical character of an institution and the capability of facilities to support its programs.

Abstract: Examines traditional assumptions underlying space management and proposes an alternative approach to projecting space use. Specifically, the author recommends making projections based on space per faculty rather than space per student, and then comparing these projections with the space allocation at peer institutions. Problems with traditional methods of space allocation are discussed, as is the process of implementing this approach and identifying comparable institutions.