The University of Nebraska-Lincoln cannot continue planning as usual, according to UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman.
At Thursday's University of Nebraska Board of Regents meeting, Perlman called for a change in campus planning as the university prepares to increase its student body, faculty and research funding by 2017.
"(Change) is pretty hard to avoid at this point," Perlman said.
Most of the 2006-2015 UNL Master Plan projects are completed or close to completion. Perlman told the board that the university plans to bring in a private planning consultant to develop a new master plan in the next two years. So far, the university has completed or pending completion for 21 City Campus projects and 12 on East Campus.
A growth to 30,000 students, increase of faculty by 160 and pursuit of $300 million in research funding will likely mean additional housing on East Campus, larger buildings and an increase in scale and campus density.
"Ten years just seems like too long a time with our campuses going through these changes," said NU President J.B. Milliken.
For that reason, Milliken said the university chancellors will now provide master plan "snapshots" at the midpoint in their campus' 10-year plan to assess the university's progress.
The notion that East Campus housing should be relegated to agriculture students has to change, Perlman said. As the student population grows, the chancellor said a new master plan will have to include additional residence halls, open to all students.
In addition to logistical changes on East Campus, such as increasing transportation availability, Perlman said the private consultant also will review the possibility of retail growth across Holdrege Street. Increased retail development could lure more students to East Campus, which Perlman said was important to potential housing expansion.
"You can build housing, but you've got to get students to want to live there," he said.
Another possible change to the City Campus layout might be the development of the green space north of Kaufmann Residence Hall, which Perlman said officials have looked at as a possible site of a new business college.
The university of the future could feature taller buildings and fewer open spaces, he said, as the campuses' space supply shrinks.
Perlman said future building construction could stress taller buildings, making the three-story buildings obsolete.
Despite taller buildings and a denser campus, the university will not morph into a concrete jungle, he said. The university will do its best to maintain green space and aesthetics in the master plan updating process, he said.
University officials will launch a request for consultant bids in the spring, Perlman said. He estimated the consulting cost at around $100,000, but the final cost will depend upon which firm receives the contract.
Increasing UNL's size and scope will require input from students and faculty in the process. Staying ahead of the expanding university will not be easy, Perlman said.
"We have a lot on our plate … it will be complicated and not a simple matter to get there," he said.
At the meeting, the board approved the elimination of the industrial and management systems engineering department in the UNL College of Engineering.
The department was among the budget cuts announced last spring. The cut does not affect the 30-40 students currently enrolled in the major, who will be allowed to finish their degrees, Perlman said.
The university did not terminate any faculty in the cut, and many moved to the college's mechanical engineering department, the chancellor said. Those professors will continue to teach some of their specialty areas, he said.
rileyjohnson@dailynebraskan.com
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