Learning Resources

Abstract: The location of the new Whitney Museum of American Art, adjacent to the Hudson River in New York City, is particularly sensitive to rising water levels and storm surges. The building, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop in collaboration with Cooper Robertson, anticipates the effects of climate change and protects the museum’s staff and collection. This article examines the building’s design and the technical challenges of redesigning and implementing integrated and temporarily deployable flood mitigation strategies and technologies that demonstrate a successful precedent for any institution planning to build on the world’s changing waterfronts.

Abstract: The current study investigated the diversity efforts of 67 new presidents of colleges, universities, and community colleges identified from positions advertised in the Chronicle of Higher Education over a one-year period. Specifically, research sought to assess presidents’ perceptions of diversity and their plans for diversity at their initial time of hire. Findings offered insight into new college presidents’ attention to diversity. If diversity is going to truly take shape at an institution, its leader, often the president, must do what his/her title implies and take the lead.

Abstract: In 2011, after an international competition, the City of New York selected Cornell University to develop a new applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island. Cornell immediately began to turn its vision for Cornell Tech into reality, creating a graduate-only 21st-century urban university dedicated to technology commercialization and entrepreneurship tailored to the economic strengths and needs of New York City. To meet these ambitious objectives, Cornell would have to break the mold and pursue an approach never before seen in American higher education, including a campus organized solely around multidisciplinary hubs, a unique design that promotes collaborative connectivity, and a focus on third-party development partners to provide many of the campus’s key components.

Abstract: University “crisis management” can be more effective with prior planning and preparation. Campus leaders need to be sensitive to both the public relations and legal dimensions of the knotty issues they are likely to face. The two authors—an attorney and a public relations executive—identify seven steps that universities should take to be well prepared for that inevitable day when a crisis descends onto their campus without warning.

Abstract: Within the higher education community, there is increasing awareness of the need to plan for more frequent occurrences of natural hazards and the effects of climate change. Many institutions are recognizing the operational and financial risks posed by these threats. Case studies at the University of Christchurch, Canterbury, and The Ohio State University demonstrate the value of a campus plan for guiding decisions around resilience. Incorporating resilience planning into the campus planning process provides an opportunity to engage key stakeholders to address a campus’s vulnerabilities, align resilience-related investments with the broad campus vision, and ensure the long-term viability of the institution.

Abstract: The Glendale Community College integrated strategic planning model represents a significant paradigm shift at the institution. Rather than focus exclusively on the production of a strategic plan, the college now seeks to vertically integrate planning at the departmental, divisional, and college levels and horizontally integrate planning with resource allocation and assessment across the organization. This disruptive innovation allows the college to remain true to its mission and ensures the allocation of resources to strategic priorities linked to student success.

Abstract: Colleges across the United States have become greener, and efforts are underway to enhance their sustainability practices and reduce their carbon footprint. This article is not about the greening of our campuses. It is about planning and preparing for the effects of climate change. It concerns the need to adapt our campuses for the future. This article makes the case that life on our campuses will have to change. We will have no choice. We need to prepare for this change, adapt to it, and reengineer ourselves to be more resilient in the face of it. Moreover, it is our position that it would be fiduciarily and morally derelict not to do so. This article argues that one way to persuade boards of trustees and others within institutions of higher learning that the time to prepare is now is to present the science within the context of the coming effects on our own campuses. This article uses our own campus as a template and makes several suggestions for how to start both the conversation and the planning.

Abstract: State institutions of higher education in Connecticut are experiencing a dramatic and unprecedented period of change: the consolidation of four universities and 13 community colleges into Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) and the creation of a new administrative structure. This article charts the early stages of this process, presenting events as they unfolded during Governor Dannel Malloy’s first term beginning in January 2011, through his November 2014 reelection, until his state budget was passed in June 2015.

Advocates of systemness in higher education are challenged to balance the promise of centralized leadership and localized prerogative in designing and implementing policy. Systemness offers the promise of synergy and innovation within and across the system guided by common purpose and vision.

This article discusses five specific implementation processes and challenges: a systemwide credit transfer articulation program; Southern Connecticut State University’s early Transform CSCU 2020 initiatives; an ongoing effort throughout CSCU to develop a systemwide identity; the potential impact of budget constraints on systemness; and difficulties selecting and developing administrators and leaders.

Abstract: Efforts to create a more sustainable campus need to address issues of transportation. While greater bike use provides environmental, economic, and social benefits, it still represents a small fraction of campus transportation. One way to increase the number of bike riders is through a bike-share system. This article reports on the potential demand for a bike-share system at Kent State University, a fairly large public university (28,000 students) in northeast Ohio. Like at many universities, Kent State students are not likely to use bikes for commuting purposes. Yet our survey indicates that while there is demand, there are also several impediments. An existing second-generation bike-share system has been very popular but has not quite addressed the issue of commuting. A new next-generation bike-share system—with station-to-station renting—may be just the program to promote the more practical use of bikes and help shift the dominant mode of transportation away from automobiles.