Students, staff and alumni now have more of a say in the future of Auburn's campus.
Facilities Management has released a survey for the Auburn University community to help decide the priorities for the Comprehensive Campus Master Plan. The survey is available online at auburn.edu/administration/facilities until March 23.
"A master plan needs to tie to the University strategic plan," said Tom Tillman, director of planning and space management. "Every project that's constructed should have some justification and some relationship with the mission of the University. We were trying to discover where the interest is among students, faculty and staff and tried to make sure the interest of everyone was addressed. We're trying to involve more people than we did before."
The first master plan was adopted in 2002.
"It's a plan that actually manages physical change on the campus," Tillman said. "It serves as a framework for future campus development. The master plan that we have was approved by the Board of Trustees in 2002. They also mandated that it be upgraded at least once every five years. We had an update in 2007, and this is the second update."
Gail Riese, communication and marketing specialist for Facilities Management, said the survey will help determine the plan's final priority list.
"This input will be submitted to the president for presentation to the Board of Trustees for its consideration in establishing the final priorities for the master plan 2012 update," Riese said. "We want to invite feedback and participation throughout the master planning update process to ensure we hear all ideas."
The survey allows respondents to choose six items they believe are top priorities for implementation, including academic buildings in the core of campus, student housing, athletic and sporting events and campus transportation.
The board will then develop a draft with the top priorities to be used on the master plan.
Tillman said a master plan committee will be used to help determine the plan's goals.
"We will have a master planning consultant that works with us, and there will be a committee that is appointed," Tillman said. "It has a couple of dozen members that represent the main constituents on campus, such as SGA. The committee will serve as the contact point for the consultant.
"Over the next 10 or 12 months, the committee will meet to gain information first and then come back with some proposals."
Before the drafting of a master plan, Tillman said projects were planned individually.
"The one that was adopted in 2002 was the first one that I'm aware that the board has ever adopted," Tillman said. "The master plan tries to look forward and forecast all the growth we can anticipate. It looks at a whole agenda instead of just one project."
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