Evolving cultural forces shape campuses generation by generation. In a recent conversation Dan Kenney, co-author of Mission and Place and I discussed these forces.
Founding campus visions may have defined an initial ideal core, but these institutions are not static. Demographic surges of post WWII, baby boomers, and their echoes have changed the functional scale of institutions. Suburbanization and the need for ubiquitous parking have pushed campus boundaries. Big science, big sport and their massive buildings have morphed the character and experience of campuses.
Dan has worked in this swirl of forces on more than sixty campuses. He believes in the continuing value of campuses and sees new opportunities in increasing environmental resilience and recognizing technological adaptation.
This conversation and those with other thought leaders can be found at the campusmatter.net YouTube channel.
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Yet another terrific conversation with someone who has a good historic perspective on how we got here, why we did things, what mistakes we made, and what we can do to make the future better. I particularly liked the attention paid to integration of the campus into the larger community. We can’t be sustainable if we don’t look at the resources around us. The community is a resource for the campus in many ways, physically, culturally, socially, and environmentally. Too many institutions want to be islands within the community. The damage it does to our students, the community, and the environment is reflected in some of the news of today. As professionals, we must educate our clients about the decisions they face. This is accomplished by finding the problems and identifying possible solutions. It is entirely possible we will be directed to a bad solution but the effort must be made.