Learning Resources

Abstract: Addressing current student expectations on campuses with mid-century buildings and a tight budget requires collaboration between the client and design team as well as creative placemaking solutions. As part of repositioning for the 21st century, Drexel University renovated the Korman Center, a 1950s library, and the academic quad to serve as a 24/7 student hub and interdisciplinary academic study center that encourages student collaboration. You will learn how to develop practical, sustainable, and design-forward solutions for updating mid-century buildings and spaces that will attract and retain a diverse student population.

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.

Abstract: Originally intended in the late 19th century as a suburban campus for New York University, the Bronx Community College of The City University of New York campus is unique in that it has had three libraries designed and built in the 19th, 20th, and the 21st centuries by leading architects: Gould Memorial Library, a neo-classical gem designed by Stanford White; Meister Hall, a mid-century modern library designed by Marcel Breuer; and North Hall, a thoroughly 21st century library designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects.

Libraries as repositories of knowledge have evolved over the centuries. Bronx Community College represents a case study of how libraries can (or cannot) adapt to changing times, needs, and function. Join us as we discuss the merits of each library and how their design exemplifies their evolving mission of making information more accessible over time.