|
Features | |
CSUF News | |
Alumni Notes | |
Alumni Spotlight | |
Events | |
Shop |
Fullerton has a landlocked campus; it can’t expand. But can it work better? Can the space be revamped and used more intensively? The panel members hope that it can.
“If you were to cut everything down on this campus and build it back, would you build it in the same way?” asked Dean Murray. “Obviously not. We lack all the space we’d like, all the green space we’d like. We have to take the territory we have and somehow mold it into the vision we want it to be.”
One possibility, Professor Sonenshein argued, is to rethink our definitions of educational time and space, offering more weekend classes and using places besides classrooms and labs. The library could be configured for learning centers, Vice President Palmer of Student Affairs suggested.
Many campus buildings are coming to the end of their usable lives, Vice President Smith pointed out, which may lead to opportunities for rethinking the campus plan. Buildings are needed that make the campus important to students, such as recreational facilities and child care centers, Palmer said. Also important are collaborative learning spaces where more than one discipline can be taught, where it’s open and friendly and a group experience, said President Gordon.
“We need to look at our mission,” Professor Guerin proposed as a first step. “If we see ourselves as creators of knowledge, then we need more laboratories and studios. If we see ourselves as collaborators with the community, then we need to soften the lines between the campus and the community. It is so difficult to bring a community member on campus now. They can’t find their way; they can’t park their car. That hinders our ability to engage in town-gown relationships. We need space to collaborate with students and colleagues. If that is part of who we are, we need to think of facilities to support that.”
Steve Murray: If you were to cut everything down on this campus and build it back, would you build it in the same way? Obviously not. We have a historic constraint. We have to take the territory we have and somehow mold it into the vision we want it to be. To educate people for the professional work force in many fields, they need to use the tools and techniques they have to draw on at work. [In science] we’re always trying to find spaces in which people can use labs and instruments. Future learning depends on that kind of capability.
Ephraim Smith: Many of our buildings are coming to the end of their useful lives.
Robert Palmer: We need buildings that make the university experience important: child care facilities, recreation centers. We could reconfigure library space and take advantage of the new technology by building learning centers.
President Milton A. Gordon: We need places for collaborative learning where more than one discipline can be taught, where it’s open and friendly and a group experience.
Raphael Sonenshein: What will be the experience of going to CSUF in 20 or 30 years? How will the buildings serve that experience? So many students are tired when they get here because they’re working a 20- or 30-hour-a-week job. How can we make the university more than just another element of their already-tough day?
Diana Guerin: We need to look at our mission. If we see ourselves as creators of knowledge, then we need more laboratories and studios. If we see ourselves as collaborators with the community, then we need to soften the lines between the campus and the community. It is so difficult to bring a community member on campus now. They can’t find their way; they can’t park their car. That hinders our ability to engage in town-gown relationships. We still need spaces to collaborate with students and colleagues. If we see that as part of who we are, we need to think of facilities to support that.
