3/25/13 - Letter from COO David F. Harnage

Dear Campus Community,

In November I notified you that Old Dominion University has begun updating the University Master Plan. Since then the architecture and design firm, Perkins + Will, with guidance from the steering committee, have lead efforts to collect relevant data and gather broad input from both internal and external stakeholders about campus needs for the next 20 years.

During November and December we collected and provided data to Perkins + Will that are pertinent to estimating space needs for the coming years such as enrollment, staffing, housing, parking and other needs. These types of data are important because they provide a quantitative understanding of space requirements.

During January and February Perkins + Will conducted numerous open sessions with on-campus groups of faculty, students, staff, and administrators including Deans and Department Chairs. Sessions were also held with representative groups such as the Faculty Senate and the Student Government Association, and input gathered from off-campus groups including the Highland Park Civic League, Lambert's Point Civic League, and Larchmont/Edgewater Civic League. If you attended one or more of these sessions, thank you for contributing. The comments from these sessions are important because they provide valuable insight into perceptions about qualitative aspects of the campus that are important to conserve and enhance that go beyond numbers.

Recently the steering committee, joined by its newest member, Paul Champagne, Chair of the Faculty Senate, met with the team from Perkins + Will to review the Old Dominion University campus based on analysis of the collected quantitative data and session comments. Data were also examined from several other technical reports dealing with topics such as facilities conditions, sea level rise planning, utilities infrastructure and transportation. The Campus Master Plan web site shows some of the sorts of materials that the steering committee reviewed. Some of the materials reviewed and added to the web site include:

• Maps and key issues associated with the ODU campus such as building age and condition, open space character and quality, and potential development zones.
• Summaries of comments provided by various on-campus groups concerning the ODU campus.
• A report summarizing possible effects of sea level rise on the campus.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us at masterplan@odu.edu.

In the coming months Perkins + Will plans to integrate the dominant themes identified and prioritized in the analyses and discussion into different alternatives that might be used to achieve different campus goals. They will formulate a draft plan for review and comment and we will schedule meetings to provide opportunities for the campus community to provide feedback an input on the possible alternatives.

Sincerely,
David F. Harnage
Chief Operating Officer