Working Group, November 4, 2011
Campus Master Plan Working Group Minutes
11/4/11, Highsmith University Union Room 223, 9:00-10:00 am
In attendance:
Rob Nelson, consultant and Working Group chair; Christine Riley, Chief of Staff; Don Gordon, Director of Design & Construction; Dr. Dee Eggers, faculty; Renee Bindewald, student; Kim Newsome, AVC Student Affairs; Melissa Acker, Landscape Director; Ben Judge, student; and Elizabeth Becker, staff.
Mr. Nelson welcomed the Working Group members to the meeting at 9:00 am. He reviewed the September 30 Board of Trustee meeting outcome related to the Campus Master Plan. Board Members heard the case study that was developed and discussed by the Working Group. Seeing how well the guiding principles worked in action, the Trustees approved them as written.
The Working Group discussed the next steps in the campus planning process:
The group decided there was a need to revisit and provide a progress report to several of the constituent groups sometime in Spring 2012. An RFP would need to be developed in the next couple of months, not for a full campus master plan, but for select individual pieces of the plan. The Working Group, with guidance from the Steering Committee, will take recommendations to the Board in their December meeting.
- Way finding would be an affordable project with a big and immediate impact on campus. Enhanced wayfinding on campus would help us define sense of place.
- Another project that could be done internally would be strategically prioritizing the Repair and Renovation budget.
- Sustainability is an important principle for the university. The Working Group with help from others on campus could develop a sustainability plan. The Guiding Principles could serve as the launching pad for the plan.
- Establishing governance and decision-making about master plan issues, both before and after a full master plan is complete, is another project that could be readily managed internally, and will be helpful for our campus.
The group discussed further what would be included in a sustainability plan. It would need to include energy standards, best practices in materials, LEED standards, water conservation, etc. These best practices would become part of our building and/or renovation RFP language. Don Gordon mentioned some excellent guidelines from University of Buffalo. The group decided to review those at a future meeting, as they may serve as a good starting point for our own sustainability plan.
Renee Bindewald mentioned the work of Scott Arico, SGA Sustainability Liaison, in gathering information on the sustainability area on campus. Rob Nelson asked that Scott present to the group in the future on what the University is currently doing.
The group decided that the Wayfinding and Sustainability issues could be worked on concurrently if the groups were split into subgroups. Rob Nelson shared that at the next meeting, Jay Smith, the Director of Landscape Architecture and Planning for O’Brien Atkins Associates, would visit with the Working Group to talk about Wayfinding. Also invited were the members of the Visitors Experience Group on campus.
Rob Nelson adjourned the meeting at 2:05 pm.