Sal Rinella Asks, 'Why Build the Way We Always Have?'

SCUP president Sal Rinella, of STRATUS-Heery, is the current guest blogger for The Chronicle of Higher Education's "Buildings & Grounds" blog. In a highly relevant piece, he writes:

I’ve spent over 35 years working in higher education, and there was a time when I would have seen this construction as an exciting development. But now, in a new century with all of its new developments, I have a different reaction — “Why?”

Why is it smart to invest so much in bricks and mortar when online and blended education are growing so rapidly? Why should a new campus be in a fixed location when there is increasing emphasis on community engagement? Why do we continue to build campuses on a model that creates a massive carbon footprint for construction and long-term maintenance when higher education seeks to play a leadership role in sustainability? Why can’t we take a page from the for-profit sector and create new campuses that leverage our natural advantages — price, quality, and reputation?

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It’s time that planners move into the new century when starting a new educational center, doing a campus master plan, or designing a new building. Let me offer two planning principles that should become guidelines: Stop considering classroom instruction as the rule and distance education as the exception. When doing a campus master plan or planning a new facility, give equal consideration to locations in the community and locations on campus.