One of the University’s professed goals, starting this year, is to become a “pre-eminent residential university,” a goal that focuses on students’ lives on campus, according to the draft of the new academic plan. The Oregon 2020 plan could also be the first time Student Affairs solicits for private philanthropic money, said Robin Holmes, vice president for Student Affairs.
A residential university is one where students live and learn together, said Holmes. Holmes said the University is already residential, as evidenced by the residence halls, the student union and the student services available around campus. However, improvements should be made and facilities need to be added for the University to be nationally known as a pre-eminent residential university.
The ideal result of the plan, Holmes said, is for the University to be known for combining its teaching, research and cultural exchange into a community experience “in a unique way that is Oregon.”
Holmes and a committee of administrators and faculty have brainstormed what a campus totally geared toward the student experience would look like. They refer to the new plan as Oregon 2020. The name references the year the committee would like the project to be complete.
“At a residential school, students can stay on campus for recreation, socializing, volunteer opportunities and necessary services, as well as for their classes and studying,” Barbara Altmann, University French professor, said in an e-mail.
Barbara Jenkins, head of research and instruction for University libraries, said the plans to make the University more residential include the idea of creating “living rooms” around campus.
The living rooms would be common spaces, Jenkins and Holmes said, and would include everything students need, such as study space, technology and food.
Jenkins said the libraries around campus are already an example of the “living room” concept. The Knight Library is currently the best example, she said, but the smaller libraries could potentially provide the same setting.
The University would also be broken into “neighborhoods,” Jenkins said. A neighborhood would be a section of campus that would contain an intellectual center, student services, food and faculty areas. There would likely be three sections: West Campus, East Campus and Middle Campus, but that part of the plan is still very abstract, she said.
Under the current campus set-up, Jenkins said, everything is spread out. Neighborhoods would allow students and faculty to access anything they need without walking all over campus.
In addition to creating neighborhoods, Altmann listed other changes that need to be made. They are: provide more housing; update some of the existing housing; provide housing suitable for students regardless of their year; and make sure the necessary facilities other than housing are also provided, so students can find what they need on campus.
The goal to become a pre-eminent residential university is in the academic plan, Holmes said, and it would become a “post-campaign priority” after Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives ends this spring.
As a post-campaign priority, the Oregon 2020 plan would receive fundraising dollars, she said. Fundraising would go toward improving what is already on campus as well as adding new facilities, and that there is no definite plan for what the money would do.
Holmes emphasized the importance of student and faculty input in becoming a more residential campus. “Students could really lend their voice to this initiative,” she said.
Altmann wrote, “I believe that, in general, faculty think this is a great opportunity to improve the quality of the student experience at UO.”
Other goals in the new academic plan include to increase the enrollment to 23,500 students, increase the proportion of graduate students to 19 percent, increase the number of faculty, increase out-of-state enrollment to 45 percent and international student enrollment to 8 percent, increase classroom capacity and improve satellite campuses in Portland, Bend and other cities.
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Oregon 2020 plan aims to expand on-campus experience
Daily Emerald
January 19, 2009
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