On Wednesday, nearly 200 members of the public, along with staff and faculty of George Mason University participated in a day of brainstorming workshops that identified possible future changes in Mason’s Arlington Campus.
On Thursday, dozens of the most viable of those ideas were presented to about 80 stakeholders who heard presentations by university administrators and consultants.
“This is a very broad roadmap for the campus for the next 25 to 30 years,” said John Knickmeyer of HDR, Inc., the Arlington-based higher education consultancy that analyzed the input. “These are very broad timelines, but there are some things that can be accomplished now.”
He added that administrators originally expected fewer than 100 members of the public and staff to attend.
“We were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who participated,” he said.
Thomas Calhoun, vice president of facilities at Mason, pointed out that the ideas presented on Thursday are likely to be modified as costs are taken into consideration and university leaders weigh in.
Inspiration for forward-thinking ideas was provided on Wednesday by Steve Case, chairman and CEO of the investment firm Revolution LLC and a founder of America Online. Case, Calhoun said, “challenged us to not be complacent and not rest on our laurels.”
There were six categories of input: visibility and branding; academic priorities; new faculty needs; access, transportation and parking; fiscal constraints and funding/partnership models; and community engagement.
Among the highlights for near-term include a plan for coordinated and comprehensive signage; better promotion of activities open to the public, including the Encore Learning program; new technology and dedicated space for distance learning; and improved safety for crosswalks and bike lanes.
Longer-term highlights include redevelopment of the Founders Hall plaza as a community hub; replacing the outmoded “Original Building” (the former Kann’s department store) with a mixed-use structure up to seven stories tall; increased transportation options among campuses; housing partnerships with other higher education institutions; and developing public-private partnerships to fund future facilities.
See more details on the website.