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Rise in Tornadoes, Floods Poses Risk to Colleges
What if the sort of extreme weather that has left the University of Iowa inundated in floodwaters is not a freak event? What if it is a sign of things to come? (Photograph by AP Images)
Art & Architecture Renovations Near Completion at Yale U.
Paul Rudolph's 1963 Brutalist icon is getting a makeover, plus an addition by Charles Gwathmey.
Guest Blogger: Anne Stephenson
Even the greenest construction project increases a college’s carbon footprint.
Other News
Land-Rich Universities Weigh New Options for Real-Estate Development
Universities are taking advantage of new ways to develop their holdings through corporate partnerships, a new report says.
U. of Iowa Begins Mucking Out and Assessing the Damage
The university's insurer spent the weekend starting to assess the damage to the auditorium and 19 other flooded buildings.
U. of Iowa Flooding Takes Costly Toll in Research and Equipment
Parking lots are under water, some roads leading to the campus are closed, and the campus utility infrastructure is damaged.
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.
Shop Talk, Eh?: Buildings and Grounds in Canada
‘Second-class citizens’: The neighbors to the to the north certainly have a different perspective on the role of the private sector in university life. The Eyeopener says that Ryerson University is considering a partnership with private developers to build student housing — certainly nothing new to American institutions, and not the sort of thing that usually gets American students riled. But Canadian students are angry about these potential partnerships and are protesting. “I can’t believe that Ryerson is trying to brand this as a vision of the future when all it’s trying to do is off-load responsibility to the private sector,” said Dave Molenhuis, Ontario national executive representative of the Canadian Federation of Students. “Students are going to become second-class citizens in this case.” Ryerson officials say they are desperate for student housing, but that the university cannot afford to build it on its own.
The ‘blight’: Ryerson University might be an “enormous asset” to Toronto, but it also “has always been a blight on the urban landscape,” though it needn’t be, writes Christopher Hume in The Toronto Star. Ryerson has recently purchased more land in its neighborhood, and Mr. Hume calls on the city to close off some roads to allow Ryerson to accommodate pedestrians and to help define the boundaries of the campus. “Closing these roads to regular traffic would finally allow Ryerson to develop the campus it has never had,” Mr. Hume says.
Raising Windsor: The Windsor Star reports that the University of Windsor is considering relocating the university’s law school, its school of social work, and its music and arts programs to downtown Windsor.(Geographically challenged Americans: That’s right across the water from Detroit.) The university had recently considered building a new $110-million engineering building downtown, but decided instead to put the building on the campus. The university is also building a medical school. Such projects, the Star noted, would help Windsor, which is economically depressed.
A boost from Ontario: Ontario colleges and universities are getting $200-million for maintenance, energy-efficiency, and security upgrades from the province government, according to The Globe and Mail. The University of Toronto got the largest share of the money, $25.6-million. Officials hinted that more could be on the way.—Scott Carlson
Scott Carlson | Thursday January 31, 2008 | Permalink | Contact us
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