Faculty Focus Group, April 19, 2011
Minutes from Faculty Focus Group, Part I on Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Faculty:
- Herman Holt, Chemistry
- Virginia Derryberry, Art
- Alan Hantz, Mass Communications
- Keith Ray, Health & Wellness
Working Group listeners:
- Eric Boyce, Director of Public Safety
- Don Gordon, Design & Construction
- Christine Riley, Chief of Staff
1. Balance the needs of infrastructure with curb appeal. Both are important.
2. Yellow brick vs. a new look: color is only one variable. These two are not diametrically opposed. Architecture is also a branding issue, and we should think of it that way. We have no signature building, and we need one. One building after another has gone up on this campus and each is less interesting than the last. Is the Sherrill Center intended to be a signature building?
3. All the arts are in the worst facilities [drama, music, art, humanities, etc.]. We are not visually reflecting of the Liberal Arts, nor are we supporting the foundations of our curriculum and mission.
4. Providing a performing arts center would improve our community relations as well as our capacity to deliver our curriculum. Consider WCU’s performing arts center, with museums, galleries, etc. When we replace Carmichael Hall and the Humanities Lecture Hall, can we add a performing arts center with that project?
5. Connect Downtown Asheville, the River Arts District and the campus. Music, theater, arts, and other bridges with the community. This could open possibilities of revenue and cost sharing.
6. We need more classrooms, and more flexibility in configuring them.
7. Lipinsky Hall needs to go – or be dramatically improved.
8. Owen Hall – was never plumbed for hot water, has insufficient ventilation, and space is not flexible to reconfigure for different types of teaching and learning.
9. Keep the Quad – it is visually and socially the center of campus.
10. Preserve the view of Mount Pisgah.
11. Academic buildings should surround the quad.
12. Getting rid of Phillips Hall could improve the view to Mt. Pisgah, and could create space for another academic building around the quad. It is currently so sub-standard as to be a negative marketing issue for us.
13. Make the Library a hub of campus. Connect the two quads with a ‘back door’ to the library, and put classrooms in the library.
14. We need interesting public spaces, with outdoor art.
15. We know that we need to improve our ADA accessibility, but can we go above and beyond that? Accessibility should be integrated with the design of the building and pathways, like Zeis Hall.
16. What can we do to show diversity? Be thoughtful in demonstrating our receptivity to diversity so that it can be seen by those driving onto campus. There needs to be an immediate message and feel of welcome, including public art.
17. Our landscaping is beautiful, possibly the best of any campus.
18. We need to complete the idea from the last master plan for a pedestrian walkway in front of Highsmith Union.
19. We need a designated welcome center for visitors and prospective students.
20. We should buy up and develop Edgewood Avenue.
21. Undergraduate Research – as a hallmark of our curriculum -- needs to be a destination. It is hard to find and not very substantial. It should be in the Library.
22. As a leader in sustainability, we should be seeking our advanced transportation options – plug-in cars, etc. You can only lead from the front.
23. Suggest that we plant fruit trees to connect to the Food Clusters, Undergraduate Research, etc.