1797 > 1863 > 1897 > 1900 > 1940 > 1980 > present day

Creating a Sustainable University Community - 1997 and Beyond

Following Provost Wilkins' proclamations, outcries from the campus, alumni, and trustees finally prompted the university to engage architects to undertake a comprehensive planning process that would insure capacity for future growth while preserving the natural and man-made amenities of the campus. The current plan seeks to devise a far-reaching attitude toward the development of natural landscape on the campus - an extensive landscape restoration program has resulted in the return of a significant proportion of the paved areas of the campus to landscaped spaces. Concurrent with this effort has been the construction of parking garages to alleviate the need for surface parking. The strategy in dealing with the automobile has been to provide numerous parking opportunities at the perimeter of the campus while creating a pedestrian environment at the core of the campus. New projects located on the campus have been designed to reinforce the network of linked open-spaces and quadrangles. Several of the new building projects have attempted to repair the damage done by insensitive post-war development. The new Classroom Building and the Advanced Technology Institute were conceived as buildings which would help to clarify the sophisticated matrix of quadrangles, courtyards, and landscapes on campus. The architects have attempted to once again link the physical plan of the campus to the strategic plan of the university. No longer will it be possible for the university to visualize great intellectual ideals while settling for mediocre results in its physical plant and planning process. To this end, guidelines for development and a design review process are now an integral part of the mechanism for campus growth. Members of the campus community share an equal burden with the administration and trustees in planning for the future of the institution. No longer will the plan be determined by an almost feudal battle between deans, administrators, and donors. President Elizabeth Bishop-Hennessy '57, speaking at the unveiling of the campus master plan said: "Unlike my predecessors, I will not presume that our mission is complete. I will not suggest that the campus of today will be the same as tomorrow. We can expect change. But we must change with great care. We should preserve traditions and seek innovations which can co-exist in a world of increasing complexity. The campus should be a model for growth and development. In terms of our physical environment, we should not settle for merely adequate accommodation of our needs, rather we should seek to lead in demonstrating that an environment of quality, beauty, and sustainability is an essential aspect of a world-class institution of higher learning."

1997 Facts:

Enrollment: 8321 (ugrad) /1200 (grad)
Faculty and Staff: 3721
Tuition, Room and Board: $21,550/year
Facilities: 14,598,340 GSF
Parking Spaces: 2,090 (surface) / 4,539 (structured)