Subject: [Staff-l] Update on Campus Planning
From: Presidents Office <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2014 16:53:37 -0800
List-Id: All-Staff mailing list <staff-l.lists.cca.edu>

Dear CCA Community,

During the past two decades CCA has grown in size and reputation, bringing
us to an exciting point in the college’s history, This is a time of
enormous opportunity for us, but also a time when CCA, and the entire
higher educational sector, will encounter new challenges. Because we want
to define and lead next-generation art and design education, we have come
together to envision the future of the college through a long-range
planning effort.

We are now halfway through the process and I’d like to update you on what’s
happened thus far. As you may recall, we have been working with the firm
Gensler to look at both the organizational aspects and physical assets of
the college with the goal of creating a roadmap for CCA’s future.

 *Investigation*

The first step was to thoroughly analyze the physical properties of both
campuses, looking at the types of spaces and how and when they are being
used. We engaged the local firm MKThink to assist Gensler with analytics.
Space typologies include open making, specialized making, teaching,
community, circulation, faculty and administration, housing, and support.
Several key questions were addressed:

   - How much and what kinds of space does CCA have, and how effective are
   they?
   - When are CCA’s instructional spaces being used, and when are they
   empty?
   - How efficiently are CCA’s instructional spaces occupied?

*Community Engagement*

Input from the CCA community is vital to the success of this project, and
CCA faculty have been leading the way. To date, more than 500
people—faculty, students, staff, trustees, and alumni—have been involved in
the process by attending meetings/ workshops and participating in surveys.

*Initial Synthesis*

The Gensler team led CCA community members through an exercise called
R.E.I.D. We were asked what we would retain, enhance, introduce, and
discard from our existing two campuses. The second part of the exercise was
imagining a third campus, as if we were going to build the college from
scratch.

The purpose of these exercises was to allow participants to let go of
preconceived notions and open up to the many possibilities for CCA’s
future. Fortunately, as creative people, we are particularly good at this.
The results were interesting, and some unifying ideas emerged:

   - *Retain:* CCA culture
   - *Enhance:* Teaching and learning environments
   - *Introduce:* Community
   - *Discard:* Differentiation and non-functional

Some common threads from the community engagement:

   - The desire for more *integration *
   - The notion of a campus that embodies *learning by doing*
   - *Place as a creative platform *for new ventures and making

*Contextual Issues*

Higher education is rapidly evolving, and the future will be user-centric
with many possible pathways for teaching and learning. What will future CCA
students need and how will the college respond? We are taking a look the
Bay Area now and what is projected for the future. Housing, transportation,
real estate, economics, and the job market are just some of the issues that
will impact us all.

*Next Steps*

With all this research, analysis, and community input, the Gensler team
will now work with CCA staff and faculty to create scenarios for how the
college might develop spaces for learning and living. The options will take
into consideration enrollment, housing, financing, construction costs,
timelines, and many other issues.  We will keep you informed as the project
continues. Be sure to check the campus planning blog
<https://sites.google.com/a/cca.edu/campus/> regularly.

Ultimately, the goal of this long-range planning effort is to create the
best possible learning experience for our students while maintaining a
strong, sustainable, and resilient institution. In doing so, CCA will take
its rightful place as a national and international leader in arts
education.

Sincerely,

Stephen Beal

-- 
Stephen Beal
President
California College of the Arts
5212 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94618
and
1111-Eighth Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Email: [email-masked]
Telephone: 510-594-3630
Fax: 510-594-3797
_______________________________________________
Staff-l mailing list
[email-masked]
http://lists.cca.edu/mailman/listinfo/staff-l