Hi Jodi, Can we add two paragraphs to the lecture announcement that describe it?

The University Campus: Preserving Legacy, Creating History
University campuses are unique settings, typically with large amounts of acreage owned by a single entity. The campus landscape is the foundation for the university community’s interactions, creativity, connections and communication – it is both legacy and endowment. The value of the campus landscape is multifold – its special visual appeal attracts and refreshes students, faculty and staff; as a learning laboratory it supports educational excellence and intellectual exploration; as a setting for events it is useful to alumni, guests and donors; and most broadly, it is an open space and habitat resource that benefits its community, both local and regional.

The pressure to facilitate thoughtful stewardship of the campus landscape has become increasingly challenging as colleges and universities are confronted with uncertainty regarding financial resources, environmental concerns have moved into mainstream awareness, deferred maintenance and aging facilities become more difficult to sustain, desires to more directly use the campus to enrich the educational experience increase, and enrollment continues to outpace available space. Embracing a shared vision for the unique and often misrepresented value the campus landscape lends to an institute – beyond fulfilling the human needs - requires a new methodology for planning that challenges the traditional approach in order to ensure design excellence in the development of new facilities that achieve multiple economic, social and ecological goals.
thanks,
Will