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After Bumps and Bribery Charges, Frank Gehry's Library Opens at Princeton
For its trouble, the university has gotten a structure that will probably inspire and delight those who work in it. (Photo by Brian Wilson, Princeton U.)
• News Analysis: The 'Green Era' Should Propagate Smarter Buildings
Academic Centers for Athletes Draw Donors
More than a dozen university athletics programs have added lavish new facilities in recent years, and academic-services budgets are soaring, a Chronicle survey finds.
Lessons From Katrina Improve Colleges' Evacuations for Hurricane Gustav
College officials across the Gulf Coast were cautiously relieved that the damage wasn't more severe.
Other News
As Credit Crisis Freezes Colleges, Worries Mount
Colleges have often considered themselves recession-proof. But this week’s events compounded an already-difficult year for many institutions.
Princeton’s Campus Plan Comes Into Full Bloom
The plan "treats the campus as a series of neighborhoods and encourages increasing density."
Loren Pope, Admissions Adviser and Author Known for 'Usonian' House, Dies
In 1939, when he was a $50-a-week newspaper copy editor, he commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a 1,200-square-foot house that is now a museum.
New campus buildings
Multimedia
A Green Building as a Billboard for Science
(A 2006 Chronicle video)
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About Buildings & Grounds
Buildings & Grounds is written by Scott Carlson (left) and Lawrence Biemiller (right). Scott Carlson writes about architecture, facilties, energy, and sustainability, among other topics. Lawrence Biemiller writes about architecture and facilities and contributes to Notes from Academe. What's happening on your campus? Let us know.
In 6 Years, Getty's Preservation-Grant Program Paid Off Handsomely
How many of you think the Getty Foundation should reconsider its decision to close down its extraordinary program of grants for preservation planning on college campuses? The program, called the Campus Heritage Initiative, ended last year after distributing $13.5-million to 86 colleges and universities — and after having an impact all out of proportion to the amount of money it spent.
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Today’s Wall Street Journal describes how successful the six-year cycle of planning grants has been. Among the projects mentioned are those at the Bronx Community College, which developed a plan to restore a magnificent library designed by Stanford White (right); at Florida Southern College, which is repairing buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright; and at the U.S. Naval Academy, which recently restored its chapel, by Ernest Flagg.
The article, by Catesby Leigh, notes that the Getty program “was not intended to be prescriptive” and that it was “formulated on the understanding that different campus constituencies have different takes on design issues.” What is most striking about the Getty grants, Mr. Leigh says, is the range of colleges, buildings, and architectural styles it has benefited.
What’s also striking about the program is how much bang it got for its buck. Last year, for instance, it spent a paltry $2-million. Grants were small — from $45,000 to $250,000. But besides helping institutions inventory their architectural treasures and establish plans for protecting them, the money — and the Getty name — helped raise awareness of colleges’ many architectural gems. Colleges, in turn, have leveraged that awareness to raise money for preservation projects.
What no one has ever explained, though, is why a program this successful shouldn’t be extended — at least for another six years, if not indefinitely. What do you think? (Chronicle photograph by Lawrence Biemiller)
Lawrence Biemiller | Thursday January 24, 2008 | Permalink | Contact usComments
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Lawrence, the WSJ article also noted, near the end, that “The Getty Foundation is funding a Society for College and University Planning [SCUP] effort to disseminate the lessons learned through the Campus Heritage Initiative.” SCUP is very pleased to be partnering with The Getty to ensure that the lessons learned from that wonderful initiative have the most effective, integrated impact possible on college and university planning.
— Terry Calhoun Jan 24, 04:12 PM #