October, 2023
Campus Observations and Kick-Off: The project was kicked-off with a hike up to the Living Room followed by an immersive campus, facilities, and neighborhood tour. The team facilitated in person kick-off meetings with the University-wide Steering Committee, Working Group, and Executive Leadership team.
Engaging with University Subject Matter Experts and Analysis: A major focus of the initial months was on gathering and reviewing campus data. As part of this step, and with the goal of formulating a comprehensive understanding of the campus, the team met with subject matter experts across the University – including student life, academic affairs, health sciences, hospital and clinics, and campus infrastructure - to learn about relevant past and ongoing campus initiatives. This step is foundational to discovering campus opportunities and challenges.
November, 2023
Exploring Big Ideas: University planning staff and the consultant team meet every week to further the analysis and have had several workshops to discuss findings from the analysis and are in the process of generating preliminary “big ideas” to serve as a framework to guide the next decade of campus development.
Collaborating With and Informing the P3 Process: Over the last couple months, the planning team worked closely with the University’s planning, real estate and student life leadership and P3 partners to ensure the location and design of the additional 5,000 on-campus housing units over the next decade are in alignment with the UPDP’s campus-wide organizational and planning principles.
December, 2023
GIS Campus Database: The planning team has been working closely with the University GIS analyst and planning staff to develop a GIS-based data rich model for the campus. Think of it as a digital clone (and data repository) of the existing campus. Within this platform, the team has started to conduct campus analysis to reveal current state opportunities and challenges.
Campus Analysis: The month of December was focused on analysis of the campus and data collected over the last three months. This analysis and the input we will receive from the campus community will reveal campus opportunities and challenges that the plan will need to address.
Project Website Development: The planning team spent last couple months, building this public facing project website. We are thrilled to officially launch it! The website will keep the campus and community up to date on project progress, provide timely updates, and serve as a platform to collect round-the-clock feedback.
January, 2024
Project Website Launched: The UPDP team spent last couple months building a public facing website with the oversight of the U's Marketing and Communication team. The website will keep the community up to date on project progress, provide timely updates and serve as a platform to collect community feedback around-the-clock.
Preliminary Campus Needs: In collaboration with various university departments and campus leadership, the planning team will start to develop physical programmatic needs that need to be accommodated on the campus over the next decade to support strategic targets for enrollment and research growth.
GIS Campus 3D Model: The planning team is building-out the 3D digital model of the campus within geographic information systems (GIS) software so that campus development concepts and scenarios can be created and visualized within this tool. This model will be the basis of developing an interactive, GIS-based planning tool that will be delivered at the end of the project.
February, 2024
Engaging Board of Trustees: Early in the month of February, the UPDP team engaged with the Board of Trustees to give them an update on the progress of the project. This was also a good opportunity to solicit their input in the process and learn what is important to the future campus from their perspective. 
Phase Two Initiated: The month of February also marks the start of Phase Two of the UPDP project. The last five months were focused on gathering data, engaging with subject matter experts at the University, conducting analysis, and preparing the GIS campus model. The next five months of this second phase will be dedicated to expanding our outreach efforts to the broader campus and community members, generating a set of physical development and infrastructure needs for the next ten years, and various strategies to accommodate those needs on the campus.
Preparing for Campus Outreach: The UPDP team in collaboration with the University’s communication team has been preparing for a successful campus-wide outreach. Behind the scenes, this means planning out most appropriate methods to reach a broad and representative stakeholder group, venues (both in person and virtual), working with the academic calendar to pick appropriate dates, and adequately advertising for the outreach events. The first set of in-person campus open house events are going to take place on March 12th and 13th.
March, 2024
Campus Outreach: The campus planning team spent two days hosting open house events on-campus for 3-hours each at Kahlert Village, Library Plaza, U Hospital and the EHSEB Atrium. Six hundred students, staff, faculty and Swoop participated, providing great feedback on the input to-date.
April, 2024
Guiding Principles: We hit two major milestones this month. Based on University values, strategic goals, and community aspirations, we have drafted seven Guiding Principles that will guide the recommendations and the priorities of the Physical Development Plan. The big ideas and recommendations must align with these Principles – think of them as a litmus test.
Big Ideas: The wealth of input received from the campus community and University subject matter experts, layered with our comprehensive assessment of the physical campus has resulted in a set of “Big Ideas.” These are not set in stone as we await feedback all of you. Please take a look at the Big Ideas and share your reactions/comments at the Participate page.
May, 2024
Stage 2 Outreach: Your input remains important to this process. We’ve spent the last few weeks updating the website for this next stage of outreach. Letters have been sent out to campus neighbors inviting them to provide their feedback through the website as well. Please provide your comments and ideas on the draft concepts that are emerging.
Space Needs Projections: Our focus this month is to determine the on-campus space needed to support programs and activities for the next ten years. These needs will reflect projected growth in the campus population, as well as strategic programmatic targets, and evolving trends in higher education. We are in the midst of reviewing several space needs scenarios with University leadership to determine the scenario most appropriate for the UPDP planning purposes.
Re-engaging with University Subject Matter Experts: The planning process is inclusive and iterative. This month, we are circling back with experts across the University – including student life, academic affairs, hospital and clinics, commuter services, recreation and athletics, and campus infrastructure – to get their feedback on the Big Ideas and space projections.
