Learning Resources

Abstract: Higher education planners recognize the crucial role that active learning spaces play in improving student outcomes, but identifying the specific characteristics that make these environments most beneficial for student success is still an evolving process. Representatives from two institutions—one private, the other public—will share their experiences and highlight the planning tools they use to assess active learning spaces aimed at powering student gains. Come join us for an engaging and interactive session that will provide you with critical, campus-tested planning tools that you can use in your own classroom assessment to improve your campus learning environment. This webinar was brought to you by the SCUP Mid-Atlantic region.

Abstract: Universities are essential partners in addressing the critical challenges facing urban communities. In this session, we'll discuss how urban institutions are serving essential roles in their cities by addressing inequities in education, economic opportunities, and health. Come find inspiration from three groundbreaking institutional leaders who are facilitating meaningful strategic change through campus and city collaboration and a commitment to serving the broader community.

Abstract: In difficult times, planning and the successful implementation of that planning require the buy-in and support of a whole range of stakeholders–but particularly the faculty, since they carry out the institution’s teaching and research missions.

Faculty can make or break successful planning.

An institution must be very circumspect in their choice of representative faculty for planning groups, how they are engaged in the planning process, and how they interact with other campus constituencies for maximum buy-in. This endeavor is particularly difficult when the new planning process follows previous attempts that have failed because of faculty resistance or lack of meaningful involvement. This session details successful planning initiatives at two regional universities, one in the Midwest and one in the southern Northeast, where earlier planning efforts failed because of “the faculty factor.”

Join us to explore the successes and failures involved in these two planning initiatives that required broad-based faculty support in order to reverse issues with programmatic quality, student success, and institutional accreditation.

Abstract: Connection hubs re-vision the traditional campus commons so it encourages community, personal interaction, and wellness. These flexible and transformable spaces allow students, faculty, and staff to gather, collaborate, and emotionally bond with the environment. We will look at examples of connection hubs and discuss how they are designed, their benefits, and how their impact is measured.

Abstract: Stanford University's historic Main Quadrangle reflects a unique design and mission as envisioned by the founders and communicated through its architecture. But does this model still contribute to student engagement and learning? We will discuss the pedagogical, civic discourse, and community function of the Stanford Quadrangle and Memorial Church, highlighting perspectives of students, faculty, staff and alumni. This presentation will address how a strong campus identity can create community engagement, facilitate discourse, and influence pedagogy through architecture that recalls the past, is relevant to the present, and can adapt to the future.

Abstract: Harvard University’s Smith Campus Center has repurposed an entire city block, providing innovative new spaces for collaboration and a welcoming “front door” to the university. The campus center has been transformative for Harvard, revitalizing a prominent site at the campus's crossroads and providing the wider community of 44,000 people with new central gathering and events spaces. Come learn how we successfully navigated stakeholder outreach and generated a design solution within the existing building.

Abstract: The eight chapters in this book reflect Richard Dober’s categories of the elements of campus image and design. Within each chapter, each page displays two campus scenes, chosen for thought-provoking comparison—and a brief comment from Dober regarding each.

Richard Dober (1928–2014) was a planning and design advisor to more than 450 colleges, universities, and cultural institutions worldwide, as well as to foundations and government agencies, the World Bank, and UNESCO. He wrote nine books and numerous articles on planning and design and was a founder of the Society for College and University Planning. He led consulting firms since the early 1960s, including most recently, Dober Lidsky Mathey, a firm specializing in campus planning and facility planning services.

Abstract: This book thoroughly reviews the fundamentals of campus planning. It is divided into three sections: “Prospectus,” “The Campus and Its Parts” (such as instructional facilities, housing, and parking and circulation), and “Campus Plans,” (such as expanding the campus, building a new campus, and renovating). It is rich in concepts and specific solutions, with hundreds of photographs and drawings. It should be on the bookshelf of any campus planner. This classic was first printed in 1963 and is the work of Richard P. Dober, a charter member of SCUP, who influenced campuses worldwide as a planner and consultant to more than 350 educational institutions.

Richard Dober (1928–2014) was a planning and design advisor to more than 450 colleges, universities, and cultural institutions worldwide, as well as to foundations and government agencies, the World Bank, and UNESCO. He wrote nine books and numerous articles on planning and design and was a founder of the Society for College and University Planning. He led consulting firms since the early 1960s, including most recently, Dober Lidsky Mathey, a firm specializing in campus planning and facility planning services.