Gone are the days when green campus initiatives were a balm to the soul and a drain on the wallet. Today's environmental initiatives are all about saving lots of green--in every sense of the word. The environmental benefits of green campus projects--whether wind turbines or better insulation--are pretty clear. Unfortunately, in today's…

On many college campuses, the 21st century classroom is the exception rather than the norm. Here's what usually happens: A forward-thinking administrator pushes for a pilot program to redesign a handful of classrooms. The resulting learning spaces are cutting edge and successful--in high demand among faculty and students alike. And that's as far…

The "sage on a stage" is looking increasingly like a potted plant. While there will always be a role for a great teacher who can command a room, colleges and universities today are putting greater emphasis on student collaboration, small work groups, and interactive learning. Unfortunately, the classrooms of yesterday, with their focus on a single…

Journalism today--like almost every other profession--has been revolutionized by technology. And just as the workplace has changed, so too must the teaching spaces in which the next generation of professionals will be trained. When renovating their campuses to meet these 21st century needs, many administrators will be tempted simply to bulldoze…

Colleges and universities have been among the leaders nationwide in adopting green initiatives, partly due to their demographics, but also because they are facing their own budget pressures. Virtualization has become the poster child of many schools' efforts, because it provides significant bang for the buck. However, more and more higher…

If a school is seeking to incorporate more collaborative approaches to teaching and learning, the design of the learning environment--whether it's a classroom or a more informal space--can be a critical factor in making this transformative move. Technology, in particular, can play a pivotal role in enabling students to work effectively in teams…

The bricks-and-mortar infrastructure of community colleges has not nearly kept pace with increases in student enrollments. Not only are colleges bursting at the proverbial seams, but, according to the American Graduation Initiative, many two-year institutions "face large needs due to deferred maintenance or lack the modern facilities and…

As campus renovation projects go, the Ohio State University's plan to turn its main library into "a library for the 21st century" is ambitious. The author describes the decade-long, $109 million transformation of the William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library. The overhaul calls for a complete replacement of all mechanical and electrical…

State-of-the-art, energy-efficient facilities are now emerging on campuses across the US, and for a variety of reasons: One practical consideration is that such buildings bring down energy costs, which are now soaring. Facing rising expenditures and a tightening of potential revenue, universities are looking for ways to reduce operating costs, and…

Even if one does not believe--and it is getting increasingly difficult not to--that the "green revolution" on college campuses is akin to the great movements for social change that rocked universities in the 1960s and '70s, there is no denying that it has taken root in such a way that no campus administrator can afford to ignore it. And unlike the…