• Overview
• Projects Underway
  • Capital Projects Process
  • Classroom Scheduling and Utilization
  • Facilities Maintenance and Upkeep
  • Food Service Planning
  • Research Space Management
• Guidelines
  • Capital Project Guidelines
  • Office Space Guidelines
  • Target Goals for Classroom Utilization
• Resources and Tools
  • Utilization reporting and information
  • Building and space information
  • Utilities information
  • Additional resources
• News and Events
• Contact

announcement of the space utilization initiative

September 8, 2006

Dear Colleagues,

University of Michigan is poised to launch an ambitious, multiyear initiative to better understand and, ultimately, to better use space and facilities on the Ann Arbor campus. This phased process will be inclusive and interactive as close cooperation with individual departments, schools and colleges is essential to develop the most effective long-term plan. Healthy growth and continued excellence in academics and research remain the priorities that will guide us.

As you are aware, trends in higher education point strongly toward increased interdisciplinary research and teaching. As more collaboration takes place in research and teaching, and as we continue to use new technology to augment the learning process in ways never before possible, we need to re-examine how our facilities, and the ways we use those facilities, serve our core missions. New technologies – from building management to information processing and communication – bring new opportunities. And familiar challenges, such as rapidly rising energy costs, contribute to the motivation to act now. The time is right for a more sophisticated, campus-wide approach to making the best use of our physical resources in support of our teaching and research.

Your help and the help of others in your unit will be essential as we engage the University community in a careful study of the current situation and the crafting of a deliberate plan. Input from individual units will be critical to the success of this initiative.

Our first step is to hire a project manager. After the project manager comes on board, the details of the initiative will be more fully developed as we look comprehensively at issues related to facilities usage. According to our current plans, the initiative will be organized into eight subprojects:

1. Information Delivery
2. Instructional Space
3. Energy Usage
4. Capital Projects Guidelines
5. Budgetary Incentives
6. Shared Technology
7. Facilities Maintenance and Upkeep
8. Communication

In the coming weeks and months, you will hear more about the various subprojects. As the initiative develops, we will look to you for your support and participation in the process. In the meantime, if you have questions or suggestions, please feel free to be in touch.

Best regards,

Philip J. Hanlon
Associate Provost for Academic and Budgetary Affairs