The economic outlook may be sour for Wall Street's investment banks and for homeowners who took out mortgages they could not really afford, but campus planners and architects say that--so far, at least--colleges' construction plans are largely unaffected by the downturn. Some colleges, in fact, are trying to speed up projects to limit the damage…

Leaders at Indiana University of Pennsylvania had heard the horror stories: Students would be accepted here, visit the campus, take one look at the outdated dormitories, and decide to go someplace else. Something had to be done. So they made the bold move to replace all student housing, bed for bed--at a cost of $270-million. The public university…

The US Navy is encountering fierce resistance at home over its plans to develop a laboratory in Honolulu at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Proponents of the proposed facility assert it will bring millions of dollars to the campus, but critics question whether universities should engage in classified research and weapons development, and fear that…

The postmodernist architecture of new college buildings is adding interest to campuses all over California, with a few architects leading the trend. (MSE)

Many state legislatures are authorizing the largest bond issues for campus facilities in years, in part for deferred maintenance and repairs. The robust national economy appears to be the main force driving the spending trend. Ironically, some of the states best positioned to give colleges large construction windfalls are those limited…

Public colleges and universities are seeking the authority to issue millions of dollars' worth of bonds to pay for construction projects. These requests are emerging as one of the major higher-education issues in legislative sessions this year. (MLW)