To Build, or Not to Build (a blog by Michael Haggans)

by Dean Rodeheaver

I first met Michael Haggans while planning and designing a new academic building at my former campus. I remember one complaint from a faculty member that our planned offices were too small for all the “stuff” he had to have. Michael’s response, “Well, maybe you need to take some of that stuff home,” didn’t ingratiate him with my faculty but it did make a point about institutional priorities and space that I’ve never forgotten. The blog linked here is a great illustration of why at Credo we challenge the often hasty decisions colleges and universities make about whether to build, what to build, and how to do it. We try to understand institutional priorities in the context of what works for student success, for enrollment success, for telling the institution’s story, and so on.  We truly appreciate the challenge Michael outlines—“To justify the expense of a campus, it must be exploited to improve the value of the outcome, not simply to increase the price of admission.” Read Michael's blog here: http://campusmatters.net/to-build-or-not-to-build/