Lured by the recognition that comes with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, many schools and universities have become aware of that certification process. But for years, the involvement was limited to a few trendsetters; according to the Green Building Council's database, only about…

This fall, the Los Angeles Unified School District sold about $2 billion in bonds to finance more projects in its massive school construction program. But the cost of repaying that debt won't be as burdensome as it could have been. Los Angeles took advantage of two federal programs available to school systems through the American Reinvestment and…

This article talks about how the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) embraced a precedent-setting green policy that would forever change its approach to education. The "greenprint" for how environmental design and construction could be done mandates that all new buildings funded with at least half of the funds from its $2.2…

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of Pennsylvania had heard the horror stories: Students would be accepted here, visit the campus, take one look at the outdated dormitories, and decide to go someplace else.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…

On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the economic stimulus plan. Congress and the Obama Administration acted in the wake of an economic crisis spurred by a deepening recession. Among its aims in passing the ARRA, Congress moved to help states and local jurisdictions reduce…

The first two decades of the 20th century breathed a spirit of progressivism into American life. This freshened sense of possibility extended few social and political benefits to Southern African Americans and their impoverished schools. Several Northern influential philanthropists and their foundations initiated and funded multi-year programs in…

This research was motivated by our desire for our students to achieve a deeper appreciation for the social justice aspect of our field, adult education, and also to engage them with the community. We sought to accomplish these ends as students at two different state universities volunteered to build a home with Habitat for Humanity. Data was…

As Congress began debate last week over the size and scope of more than $120 billion in proposed emergency education aid, state leaders were anxiously awaiting the details so they could make specific plans to spend the economic-stimulus money. Governors, state legislators, and state schools chiefs have yet to learn what rules Congress will attach…

After trustees and administrators have obtained reasonable knowledge of the various kinds of building design, they should choose a project architect according to 6 criteria--(1) experience, in terms of previous work evaluation, (2) flexibility in ideas and operation, (3) engineering competence in terms of mechanical and structural systems, (4)…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show a practical case of dialogic web-based learning that has provided a set of questions analysing two complex technological projects in "southern" countries with effects on multicultural equity. Design/methodology/approach: Structured online review processes in multicultural and systems science…

In a competitive bid situation, the general contractor's first priority is controlling construction costs. The actions the general contractor take focus on adequate control, effective communication, efficient use of resources, and prevention of delays. (MLF)