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Master plan will set stage for true One University

Posted on | August 12, 2009 | 9,109 views |

by Jeff McCallister

Ohio State looks much different today than it did 50 years ago, and will look much different 50 years from now than it does today.

After all, change is one of the constants of a university’s existence.

It’s with that in mind, then, that leaders here have begun a comprehensive master plan they’re calling One Ohio State Framework - a reference to President Gordon Gee’s call for “One University.”

“What this plan will allow us to do is to establish a long-range physical vision for the campus and provide a context for smarter decisions about how we spend, how we build and how we grow - both now and in the future,” said Jeff Kaplan, senior vice president for administration and planning and special assistant to the president.

Gee and the Board of Trustees have enlisted the interdisciplinary planning and design firm Sasaki Associates to help facilitate planning among every unit of the university and to coordinate the creation of the plan.

Representatives from colleges and departments across the university have been engaged to develop and review a number of options that could affect long-term planning decisions (anywhere from 20-50 years down the road).

Among the initial concepts being explored are the overall quality of existing academic space, stewardship and sustainability and opportunities along the Olentangy River corridor.

“We’re examining, for example, how better stewardship of our existing facilities might significantly eliminate the need for new space, except perhaps to replace certain buildings or in very unique situations,” Kaplan said.

Also included in the plan are areas such as athletics and recreation, residence life, the arts, the medical district and transportation.

“The emphasis of the entire process is all these pieces should be integrated in the spirit of One Ohio State,” Kaplan said. “We can’t look at changes in the medical district, for example, without looking at how changes there affect - and are affected by - everything else, from how traffic flows through campus to the quality of life for students in the residence halls and graduate housing.”

Kaplan also stressed that the planning work hasn’t been done in an OSU-centric vacuum.

University leaders and representatives from Sasaki, he said, have been meeting with city and other local leaders to gain a better understanding of the impact that OSU’s planning decisions could have on its neighbors as well.

“We hope that we can foster some collaborative initiatives that will build a stronger community,” Kaplan said. That collaboration, he said, also will help identify opportunities to work together on mutually beneficial projects such as infrastructure improvements.

In fact, the campus and surrounding communities will become more formally engaged in this planning process through a series of meetings and forums scheduled to begin in the fall. Faculty, students and staff as well as area neighborhood commissions will be invited to provide feedback.

And the sky’s the limit as far as ideas to be examined. Initial discussions have included discussion about changes to State Route 315 and Olentangy River Road, forming a cohesive student residential district including discussions on the fate of Lincoln and Morrill towers, and even changes to the campus that could come if and when the Fifth Avenue dam is removed from the Olentangy River.

Kaplan said the One Framework plan is unique in that it involves the entire campus and the surrounding community rather than individual parts such as athletics or the Medical Center or Student Life. “This kind of overall planning has never been attempted anywhere in the country, let alone at a place the size of Ohio State,” he said. “We feel like this will set the stage for our continued movement from excellence to eminence.”

The plan is expected to be complete and ready for approval by the board by late winter or early spring 2010.

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