CHAPTER 4: Organization and Resources

Physical and Environmental Resources

The campus often is cited as one of the most beautiful and architecturally cohesive university campuses in the country. Design awards have substantiated this view. In his book, The Campus as a Work of Art, Thomas A. Gaines named the Boulder campus the fourth most attractive campus in the United States. Clearly, the beauty of the campus and surrounding year-round amenities are major assets in attracting high-quality students, faculty, and staff to the campus.

The current look of the campus can be traced back to 1919, when architect Charles Z. Klauder completed a master plan for the architecture of the campus. Over the next 20 years, 15 buildings were designed by Klauder according to this plan. His design concepts have continued to guide building projects, overseen by a University Design Review Board whose membership includes professional architects and landscape architects.

CU-Boulder includes the Main Campus (academic and residential), the East Campus (research and service functions), Williams Village (residential), the Mountain Research Station, and a few scattered properties. Also, in 1996, the Board of Regents concluded the purchase of 308 acres of land, now called CU-Boulder South, in unincorporated Boulder County for long-term planning purposes.

The 650-acre Main Campus includes about 200 buildings and complexes featuring the Tuscan vernacular architectural style. The compact size of the Main Campus creates an attractive walking or biking environment with few through-streets bisecting the campus.

Facilities Master Plan

The continued development of CU-Boulder’s physical environment is guided by the long-range vision of the campus’s Facilities Master Plan. An essential tool for physical development, the plan establishes overall goals, objectives, and design principles that serve as a framework for future physical development. Furthermore, it provides long-range planning for architecture, land use, transportation, parking, and utilities. The Facilities Master Plan also fulfills a requirement by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) that all public institutions of higher education develop such a planning tool.

Campus master planning reflects a philosophy of widespread involvement in development of the plan. From within the campus, groups such as the Design Review Board, a Strategic Capital Assessment Group, and the Boulder Campus Planning Commission recommend and adopt policies on facilities. Community input is sought from the city of Boulder and other local agencies as well as numerous campus constituencies. Additional information is available at the planning web site address: www.colorado.edu/masterplan.

Architecture Undergrads Build Models of Ancient Village

Undergraduate architecture students at CU-Boulder have created computer-based models of village housing in Ceren, an archaeological site in El Salvador. Working with the campus's anthropology department, architecture students also created an extensive web site devoted to the Ceren site. The project has received widespread attention with students presenting their work and findings at international conferences.

Facilities Management

Implementation of the campus’s plans for physical development is led by the Department of Facilities Management. The department is responsible for such functions as: campus planning; design and construction; maintenance and operations; engineering and utilities; custodial, recycling, and solid waste; facilities administration and finance; human and organization support services; real estate; and research property services. The mission of facilities management is to provide a safe physical environment that promotes the advancement and transfer of knowledge.

As discussed in Chapter II, deferred/controlled maintenance continues to be a high priority of the campus. More than $36 million (including $26 million in state funding and $10 million in campus funding) has been allocated for critical enhancements of CU-Boulder’s infrastructure and facilities over the past 10 years. Nevertheless, the current backlog totals more than $100 million and will continue to require focused attention and investment.

Key Enhancements

Consistent with the Facilities Master Plan, CU-Boulder has added several new buildings and renovated numerous existing ones in recent years to help facilitate campus goals. Projects within the past 10 years have included the following:

• The Research Park, established in 1987, welcomed a series of new facilities, including the U S West Advanced Technologies building (1991), the LASP Space Technology Research Center (1992), the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (1994), and a research greenhouse for the environmental, population, and organismic biology department (1994).

• In 1990, a 12,000-square-foot addition for biochemistry was added to the Chemistry Building to house laboratories for Nobel laureate Thomas Cech and his team of researchers.

• In 1990, an expansion of the Student Recreation Center added 59,000 square feet to the heavily used facility.

• In 1991, CU-Boulder completed a five-year project to renovate 104 Main Campus classrooms. The campus spent $1.5 million to provide classrooms with media equipment, carpeting, lighting, and other amenities. The campus continued classroom renovation projects throughout the decade.

• The Dal Ward Athletic Center was completed in 1991, providing new space for use by the athletic department and student athletes.

• Two new autoparks were completed in 1991, adding more than 1,300 parking spaces as well as a new building for the Department of Public Safety.

• One of the oldest campus buildings, Hale Science, was completely renovated for use by the anthropology department in 1992.

• In 1992, the campus’s traditional heating plant was retrofitted as a co-generation plant, affording better management of campus utility costs.

• A new Mathematics Building and Engineering Library was completed in 1992, adding more than 60,000 square feet of space for housing the math department and expanding engineering library resources.

• In 1994, the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Building was constructed, adding 132,000 square feet of space, primarily for laboratories.

• In 1997, a $13.4 million Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory (ITLL) was completed in the engineering college, providing hands-on experience for engineering undergraduates and hundreds of K-12 students and teachers annually. The 34,400-square-foot addition is among the most advanced educational buildings in the world.

• Dedicated in 1997, the $14.5 million Benson Earth Sciences Building includes an 11,000-square-foot library, an auditorium, and state-of-the-art laboratory-classrooms.

• Also completed in 1997 was a 15,000-square-foot rehearsal addition to the Imig Music Building, which provides space for the full marching band, an expanded band library, orchestra library, Lyric Theatre set shop, musical instrument storage, and faculty studios. Cost was $5.3 million.

• The Hazel Gates Woodruff Women’s Studies Cottage, formerly Cottage No. 1, opened in September 1997, following a $1 million historic preservation renovation to add electrical, telecommunications, and other improvements.

• The Boulder campus acquired and renovated the former Delta Tau Delta fraternity house at 1505 University for the administrative offices of the Division of Continuing Education. Renovation of the 25,000-square-foot building was completed in 1998. Purchase and renovation costs totaled $3.8 million.

• During the last 10 years, about $11 million has been spent to make the campus facilities more accessible for persons with disabilities. More information on campus accessibility for persons with disbilities is available at http://decker.colorado.edu/webtemp/Planning/Accessibility.

• Remodeling of the Research Laboratory No. 3 (RL-3) was completed recently, freeing up more than 103,000 square feet of office and laboratory space for various research and administrative offices. The space was freed up when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) vacated the property for its new location in Boulder. Cost of remodeling the six-story building was about $5.6 million.

• Many smaller renovations have upgraded facilities for engineering, chemistry and biochemistry, psychology, music, and other units.

• A new $16 million Humanities Building was dedicated in November 1999, occupying the last reserved site on the Norlin Quadrangle. The 59,000-square-foot facility offers 16 "smart" classrooms and three "smart" lecture halls and serves as home to four humanities departments.

• Projects now in the design phase include a 52,000-square-foot addition to and 130,000-square-foot renovation of the University Memorial Center (student union), a 45,000-square-foot Discovery Learning Center as part of the Engineering Center, and expansion of housing in the Williams Village complex. The $24 million UMC addition will address serious space needs in one of the most heavily used buildings on campus. The $15 million Discovery Learning Center will house hands-on learning activities, applied technology, and industrial partnerships for the College of Engineering and Applied Science. The Williams Village expansion is intended to provide additional housing for faculty, staff, and upper-division students.

Campus Sets Standard for Recycling Programs

The campus's Recycling Program, administered within the Department of Facilities Management, has been recognized as one of the best in the nation. The program benefits from cooperative efforts by UCSU, the Department of Housing, Mailing Services, and Printing and Copying Services. In 1998, the program collected, processed, and marketed 1,187 tons of waste, a 175 percent increase since the first year of operations in 1991-92.

Infrastructure

The Boulder campus is supported by a number of functions that ensure efficient day-to-day operation of the institution. These functions are described in the unit self studies available in the Resource Room and on the web at University of Colorado Unit Self-Studies. For this report, discussion focuses on two such functions—utilities and transportation—that have experienced significant developments in the past 10 years.

1. Utilities. One of the most significant developments in campus infrastructure occurred in 1992, when CU-Boulder began operation of its own co-generation facility to produce electricity and steam. A 1984 study by the university indicated that co-generation would be beneficial if specific natural gas rates could be obtained. Although the gas market did not favor the project at that time, the market changed and offered new opportunities by 1987-88.

   In 1989, a co-generation plan request for proposal was issued, leading to the negotiation of a construction contract and a long-term natural gas contract. To finance the facility, the university issued $41 million in Certificates of Participation, to be paid off over 15 years through utility cost savings and excess power sales to Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo). The co-generation plant, operated and maintained by facilities management staff, currently meets all the electrical requirements for the campus and exports a significant amount of electricity to PSCo.

2. Transportation. The Boulder campus provides a number of innovative transportation options for the campus community. In particular, the campus has implemented important initiatives aimed at reducing traffic congestion in and around the campus. The following examples illustrate these measures:

   • In 1991, the University of Colorado Student Union (UCSU), the Regional Transportation District (RTD), and the city of Boulder developed a program to provide unlimited local bus service for students. In subsequent years, this program expanded its service to include regional and express bus service, as well as bus service to Denver International Airport.

   • In response to customer demand, the HOP and SKIP shuttle programs were established in the fall of 1994 and 1997, respectively. These shuttles are smaller and quieter mini-buses that run in circuitous routes around campus and Boulder more frequently than RTD buses. The shuttles provide frequent and continual services from early in the morning until very late in the evening.

   • In 1997, the student bus pass program won the Environmental Protection Agency’s "Way to Go! Award" for its success in encouraging alternative transportation, benefiting the environment, and enhancing economic efficiency.

   • In January 1998, the Boulder campus implemented the Eco Pass program that provides faculty and staff the same unlimited ridership as students. In addition, the Guaranteed Ride Home program provides a free taxi ride home to faculty and staff who are eligible for Eco Pass privileges. There also is a carpool parking permit option designed to support CU faculty, staff, and students who choose to share their commute to campus.

   • The Bike N’ Ride program provides bike racks on the front of all Boulder local RTD buses.

Libraries Addressing Space Shortages

The University Libraries is working to address serious space shortages for collections and library users. In 1992, compact shelving was installed in the Norlin Library basement, adding space for an additional 40,000 volumes. In 1997, a 20,000-square-foot warehouse was leased 12 miles from campus, with shelving for about 325,000 volumes.

In February 2001, a state-of-the-art, high-density library storage facility will open at the Fitzsimons campus of the CU Health Sciences Center. CU-Boulder, CU-Denver, and the Health Sciences Center will share this 1.6-million volume facility. The expandable Fitzsimons facility will offer an ongoing storage solution for the University Libraries and perhaps other libraries within the state.

Health and Safety

The Boulder campus has established a number of programs and procedures designed to help ensure the safety and security of all members of the campus community. Representatives of the Division of Student Affairs, the Department of Public Safety, and UCSU collaborate on efforts to provide a safe working and learning environment that minimizes exposure to crime, safety hazards, and environmental risks.

The CU-Boulder Police Department works to provide protection of persons and property against criminal acts and conducts investigations when crimes are committed. The CUPD enforces state laws, municipal ordinances, and university rules and regulations. The department places a high priority on working with the victims’ assistance progam administered by the Division of Student Affairs.

The Department of Public Safety also includes the Environmental Health and Safety unit, which administers programs and policies on radiation safety, hazardous waste management and disposal, waste water monitoring, laboratory safety and industrial hygiene, fire protection, safety design and planning, facility safety, sanitation, general campus premises safety, and accident prevention.

In recent years, the Department of Public Safety has developed an incident command system that provides coordinated responses for major incidents or emergencies. Also, an emergency planning coordinator has been hired to facilitate campuswide preparedness. In recognition of these enhancements, the campus was recognized in USA Today for "setting the pace for safety." The public safety department also has been recognized in other publications for adapting the community policing model to the campus environment and for special event management. State and federal regulatory agencies refer to the CU-Boulder environmental compliance program as a model program for the state.

In 1998, a safety campaign called "Think, Plan, Be Safe" was initiated by the student government leadership, in cooperation with the CU police, student affairs, and Housing, as well as off-campus agencies. Among the programs strengthened through the campaign is NightRIDE NightWALK, which offers rides or walking escorts to and from campus upon request. Emergency telephones throughout the campus can connect callers immediately with the CU police. Safety whistles are provided to individuals and groups by UCSU, the housing department, and CU police. Self-defense classes are available at the Recreation Center. Lighting on campus and along the Boulder Creek path has been improved in an effort to increase safety. Additional information is available on the Campus Safety Update web site: www.colorado.edu/NewsEvents/safety.html.

Since the last NCA evaluation visit, the Boulder campus has experienced a significant drop in the incidence of crime. According to the Uniform Crime Report, there were 868 Part I crimes reported in 1989; in 1998, there were 654—a decrease of 25 percent.

Academic Resources and Information Technology

CU-Boulder faculty, staff, and students utilize a broad array of resources available for use by the campus community. Perhaps most heavily used are the resources of the University Libraries, which was the topic of a campus "Special Emphasis" report in the 1989 NCA accreditation Self-Study. Also, in recent years, focused planning and investments have been directed toward the rapidly growing information technology resources of the campus.

1. University Libraries. The University Libraries, consisting of a main library (Norlin Library) and five external branches, has assembled the largest library collection in the Rocky Mountain region, exceeding 12 million items. Its mission is to support the university community's discovery, communication, and use of knowledge by providing materials, information, and services that support research and instruction. The libraries' electronic information system, Chinook, provides electronic access to more than five million items in other Colorado libraries as well as to the bibliographic records of libraries and systems nationwide.

   The University Libraries' primary external assessment is through the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Membership in ARL is limited to those libraries meeting the highest standards in collection size, operating expenditures, and staffing levels. Of 110 ARL members, the University Libraries has an overall ranking of 56th.

   Although not a direct indicator of quality, collection use does indicate levels of availability of resources and accessibility of collections. Between 1990 and 1997, the libraries have seen a 57 percent increase in circulation and a 39 percent increase in closed reserve transactions. University Libraries ranks ninth out of the 29 public American Association of Universities' (AAU) libraries in total circulation per full-time student.

   The amount of resources available per student is another important indicator of quality. Among its peer libraries in the AAU, University Libraries ranks 23rd in collection size. Since 1990, it has added 459,414 items to the collections, representing a 20 percent increase in total volumes held. Of the 29 public AAU libraries, Boulder ranks seventh in total materials expenditures per student and fourth in total materials expenditures per faculty member. This represents a dramatic improvement from 1990, when Boulder ranked 14th in terms of expenditures per student.

   In addition to high collection usage and support for collections, the University Libraries' technical services operations are recognized nationally. The Cataloging Department has become a member of three elite programs: the Name Authority Cooperative Project (NACO), the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC), and the Subject Authority Cooperative Project (SACO). The libraries also have been designated an Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Enhance institution, authorizing the librarians to revise any cataloging records in the national online database without review.

   In 1995 the Chinook online system was implemented, representing the libraries' most far-reaching accomplishment in the decade. Major benefits of the new system, utilizing Innovative Interfaces, Inc. software, include a web-based catalog, fully integrated public and technical service modules, the ability to track materials from purchase to shelf, and the ability to integrate with other databases, both within and outside the campus. Chinook plays a vital role in the campus strategic plan initiative regarding technology and the impetus toward a total learning environment. Moreover, the University Libraries was one of the first libraries to place its online catalog, Chinook, on the World Wide Web.

2. Information Technology. Consistent with the systemwide Total Learning Environment initiative, the Boulder campus has made information and communication technology goals a high priority. As discussed in Chapter VI, these goals are being addressed through two strategies:

   • Overall planning and implementation of an Information Technology Strategic Plan that addresses the breadth of infrastructure, support, and programmatic issues concerned with information technology on the campus.

   • The Alliance for Technology, Learning, and Society (ATLAS), a major academic initiative, aimed at developing and sustaining excellence in teaching, research, and outreach related to information and communication technology.

   The IT strategic plan was introduced to the campus in fall 1998 and received wide support. Many of the IT plan’s action items have been implemented, including the following:

   • In fall 1999, the Boulder campus launched a computer loan program that provided free computers for about 160 economically disadvantaged freshmen to use throughout their undergraduate studies at CU-Boulder.

   • Also, in summer 1998, Chancellor Richard L. Byyny announced that all faculty members would receive new computers in a continuing three-year cycle. New computers, including both PCs and Macintoshes, are equipped with preloaded software.

   • Also, during 1998-99, the Department of Housing and Information Technology Services teamed up to install 100-megabyte Ethernet connections to every undergraduate residence hall room, for a total of more than 6,000 connections. Students in the residence halls now have direct Internet access at speeds among the highest in the nation.

   • During 1999, ITS and the campus’s schools and colleges initiated a Distributed Academic Computing Support program. Nine new full- and half-time positions, located in the schools and colleges, provide faculty with discipline-oriented assistance in instructional and research uses of computing.

   • Off-campus modem access has been dramatically expanded with the addition of 940 56KB modems in January 1999, funded by a student-supported increase in the computing fee. This now provides the campus with the industry target ratio of one modem for every 20 users.

   • The Faculty Teaching Excellence Program (FTEP) has initiated an annual Summer Institute for Technology, Scholarship, and New Media Pedagogy, and has established faculty technology liaisons in most academic departments.

   • In 1998, an Assistive Technology Laboratory was built in Willard Hall to provide enhanced technology access for students with visual and hearing impairment. Similar technology is being added to other computer labs across the campus.

   In 1998, new ongoing resources devoted to IT programs included enhancements of $1.5 million per year from the student computing fee, $500,000 per year each in campus funds for the faculty computer program and the distributed academic support program, and $250,000 per year in campus and system support for the ATLAS initiative.

   Classrooms continue to be transformed with the integration of technology into the learning environment. During the past 10 years, the campus has renovated or built more than 34 centrally scheduled "smart" classrooms, ranging in size from 25 seats to more than 400. These classrooms all contain an Ethernet connection to the Internet and data projectors for displaying computer output in addition to the standard complement of overhead and slide projectors, VHS videotape player, and TV monitors also available in another 50 classrooms. Two other classrooms, each with about 65 seats, have been remodeled to include an Ethernet connection and power at each student seat.

   In spring 2000, with the opening of the new Humanities Building, another 19 smart classrooms have been added to the campus’s inventory. Two of these rooms, each seating about 25 students, are equipped with a computer workstation at every student seat. Since 1989, the campus has established more than 50 student computing labs. Total public computing facilities now total 62, including more than 1,300 PC, Mac, and UNIX workstations.

   With the ATLAS initiative, CU-Boulder is making a major campuswide commitment to: develop curriculum that prepares students for the information age; improve teaching; widen access to the university; examine the integration of technology into education; conduct research on the impacts of technology on society; and interact with K-12 education on technology issues.

   A number of information technology action items have been implemented, including:

   • Fourteen course-level projects are under way, making innovative uses of technology in English, Spanish, dance, fine arts, history, journalism, business, math, speech, biology, and engineering.

   • Two "showcase" projects are introducing web-based modules in introductory courses in six foreign languages and creating an Internet-based geographic information system for widespread instructional use.

   • Four unit-level projects that integrate the use of technology broadly across departmental curricula are under way in East Asian languages and civilizations, astrophysics and planetary sciences, geography, and linguistics.

   • A research group on the effectiveness of the use of technology in education is working closely with several of the projects cited above and is beginning to work with K-12 systems.

   • An undergraduate certificate program in Technology, Arts and Media, open to students in any discipline, was begun in spring 1999 with four pilot courses including two multidisciplinary projects classes. Three additional pilot courses were introduced in fall 1999 and the full certificate program will be launched in spring 2000.

   Since its inception in 1997, ATLAS has been successful in obtaining external support and actively pursues additional funding opportunities. Funding includes $1 million from Omnicom to establish a laboratory for new media strategy and design in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication that will offer curriculum and conduct research specializing in digital advertising and marketing. Also, the program has received $200,000 from the Pew Program in Course Redesign for using technology to increase quality and decrease costs in teaching large introductory astronomy courses.

   The ATLAS initiative is becoming recognized as a leader in the higher education community for its comprehensive approach to ensuring that all students are prepared to be productive, successful citizens and workers in the information age. Additional information is available at www.colorado.edu/ATLAS.