How would faculty members on your campus feel about sharing office space?

A university architect came to lunch yesterday and said that professors' offices are a contentious issue at her institution right now. Faculty members are complaining that the state-mandated standard, 120 square feet, isn't big enough. Meanwhile there's a severe space crunch on the campus, she said, and classrooms are in use from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

That led me to wonder whether every faculty member really needs an office. No doubt some professors use their offices a lot, but others are probably behind their desks only a few hours a week, preferring to work at home when they can. On a big campus, if even a quarter of faculty members agreed to some sort of office-sharing arrangement, that could free up a lot of space—a building's worth, or maybe two.

The architect protested that offices are status symbols for faculty...

• Plans Unveiled for Edward Kennedy Institute at the U. of Massachusetts at Boston (Edward M. Kennedy Institute image)

• San Diego Community College District Continues Multiple Construction Projects

• U. of Georgia Will Take Over Navy Supply Corps School

• Poor Soil Delays Big Construction Project at U. of Arkansas Community College at Hope

• With Biden's Help, U. of South Carolina Dedicates $18-Million Hollings Library (U. of South Carolina photo)

• Does the Recession Threaten the Construction Plans of New York City's Colleges?

• U. of Maryland Negotiates With a New Partner to Develop East Campus

• Crowding Forces U. of Missouri to Offer Bonuses to Students Who Cancel Housing Contracts

• U. of Massachusetts Campuses Enjoy a Building Boom (Rendering of U. of Massachusetts at Worcester science center by Architectural Resources Cambridge)

• Oregon Health Sciences U. Plans 263,000-Square-Foot Life-Sciences Collaborative Complex

• New Illinois Law Requires Fire Sprinklers in Fraternity and Sorority Houses

• Syracuse U. Envisions New Building to Unify Law School

By the time David Alexander became one of my favorite college presidents, in the early 1990s, he was already Pomona College's president emeritus. He and his wife, Catharine, had bought themselves a place right by the campus, a lovely but largely overlooked cottage by the famous Arts and Crafts architects Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene.

I wangled an invitation for cocktails, partly because I wanted to see the house, which had become something of an obsession for the Alexanders, and partly because I remembered from a couple of previous meetings that Mr. Alexander was endlessly entertaining. He did not disappoint, happily showing off details of the 1903 house, gleefully telling story after story about Pomona and about higher education in general, and making me feel as though we had been the best of friends for decades.

Mr. Alexander, who died Monday at age 77, was president...

• Cronkite School Building at Arizona State U. Wins Design Award (Arizona State U. photo)

• Former Fraternity House Is Mansion Museum in Bozeman, Mont.

• U. of Iowa Is Better Prepared for Floods Now, Design Official Says

• Mississippi State U. Begins Demolishing Dorm That Housed 600

• College of Southern Maryland Opens 32,000-Square-Foot Wellness and Aquatics Center (College of Southern Maryland photo)

• Old Dominion U. Previews New $2.2-Million President's House

• Jackson Community College Completes $21.9-Million Renovation of Justin Whiting Hall

• Stanford U. Architects Seek Feedback on Campus Signage

A three-building mixed-use facility at Rutgers U. will have 1,500 beds. (Design Collective image)

Rutgers University plans to break ground this fall for a 1,500-bed, $140-million mixed-use development on its Livingston campus. The three-building, 648,000-square-foot project will feature apartment-style housing mixed with ground-floor retail.

Most of the units will have four single bedrooms, plus a living room and a kitchen. But about 200 beds will be in two-bedroom apartments intended for graduate students. The undergraduate facilities will have study lounges and classrooms as well.

Two of the buildings will have landscaped courtyards meant for both studying and socializing. The third will open onto a large retail plaza. Architects for the project are Fletcher Thompson, the architect of record, and the Design Collective, the design architect.

Darton College, Albany, Ga.

Building Type: Administrative

Construction Type: New

Cost: $5.9-million

Square Footage: 32,500

Architect: Flynn Finderup Architects

Contractor: Jones Construction

Opened: 2008

The college replaced its old administration building with a facility housing a one-stop student-services area, as well as top college administrators and support-staff members. Sited on one of several campus axes, the building features a three-story lobby atrium as well as sweeping canopies distinguishing its entrances. The first floor contains services most frequently accessed by visitors and students, while administrators occupy the second and third floors.

(Photos: Flynn Finderup Architects)

Does your institution have a new building or a recently completed renovation? Make sure it gets included in our campus-architecture database.

Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Ga.

Building Type: Other

Construction Type: New

Cost: $15.4-million

Square Footage: 50,883

Architect: Lyman Davidson Dooley Inc.; Flynn Finderup Architects

Contractor: Choate Construction Company

Opened: 2009

This new dining facility seats more than 1,200 and provides full-service breakfast, lunch, and dinner options in a marketplace setting that with nine freestanding venues—Apron Strings (comfort foods), Globetrotters (international and regional American foods), Dan's deli, Hwy. 41 Grille (1950s diner), Piatt (Italian), the Campus Green (salad bar), the Stone Mill Bakery, Wok Your Way (Asian), and the Grind Coffee Co. Between the venues are seating alternatives that include table seating, booths, banquettes, and counter seating. The dining room's curved outer walls admit daylight at every opportunity, while the interior walls offer views...