All part of the plan

Vancouver Island UniverrsityWith a new mission and a higher profile, Vancouver Island University is in the midst of its first major campus master planning initiative in decades, and Keith Regan reports that sustainability is included in every facet of that plan. In the spring of 2008, the British Columbia provincial government introduced legislation that will change the institution long known as Malaspina University College into a fully chartered university known as Vancouver Island University.  The raised profile means the university is attracting more students from within Canada and beyond, with some 10,000 Canadian students and 1,000 international students. It also means a renewed focus on the future of the institutionÔÇÖs campuses and facilities. VIU, founded in 1969 as Malaspina College, operates from three campuses and a center, with the main campus based in Nanaimo, where the university sits on 92 acres and has about 800,000 square feet of facilities space under roof, according to Ric Kelm, director of facilities services and campus development at the university. Many of those buildings date from the early 1970s and were built without much consideration to long-range planning, he notes. The recent change only accelerated the need for a better planning approach, says Kelm. ÔÇ£Everyone knows what a university is, so our profile has gone much higher not only here in Canada but around the world,ÔÇØ he adds. Already the university has students from 50 countries attending its programs, which run the gamut from the arts and philosophy to more practical programs and trade certificate programs. The schoolÔÇÖs approach to growth has changed dramatically along with its new designation, with the university now following a planning process that integrates academic, budgeting, human resources and facilities planning. The Nanaimo campus master plan, due to be completed by the end of the year, will look at everything from green and open spaces to the need to consolidate and replace aging facilities, Kelm says. ÔÇ£We have a number of buildings that are nearing the end of their lifecycle and donÔÇÖt meet current codes or educational standards. One part of what weÔÇÖre doing is looking closely at those buildings and seeing how we can consolidate and make the campus denser and more efficient.ÔÇØSustainability is being built into the plan at every step, says Kelm. ÔÇ£Sustainability is one of the foundations at VIU and will be a foundation of the master plan going forward,ÔÇØ he adds. The main campus already has a sustainability committee in place, which is currently looking at the possibility of hiring a sustainability coordinator for the university. The campus also underwent an extensive energy auditing and upgrading process in the late 1990s, with updated lighting and HVAC controls put in place. A second, more intensive energy audit is now under way that is expected to yield a host of recommendations for further reducing energy consumption. The green approach extends well beyond the facilities realm to include programs such as a food services composting agreement that diverts food waste from landfills. All new buildings constructed at the university will seek Gold certification from the LEED program. ÔÇ£Sustainability is in everything we do, from the academic programs to the day-to-day operations and procurement policies,ÔÇØ Kelm notes. The decision to seek Gold status for all new buildings reflects not only a deep belief in sustainability on campusÔÇöKelm says the UniversityÔÇÖs president and CEO, Dr. Ralph Nilson, and the board of governors are fully behind the efforts to reduce energy consumption and lighten the schoolÔÇÖs footprint. New building projects that will meet the LEED standards for Gold level rating include a new International Center for Sturgeon Studies, an aboriginal nation gathering place currently in the design phases and a possible research facility the university is hoping to win approval to build in the near future. Those projects will have green standards built in from the contractor selection process on through construction, when building materials will be recycled and reused instead of sent to landfills. The first phase of the master planning process took place early in 2008, with extensive outreach to campus constituents and the schoolÔÇÖs neighbors in Nanaimo. The University is working with consultants such as Resource Planning Group, Toronto-based duToit and architecture firm Hughes Condon Marler of Vancouver. Consultants have also been brought on board with specific expertise in transportation, landscape design and civil engineering. A project steering committee on which KelmÔÇöwho has been with the university for about seven and a half yearsÔÇösits and which brings together various parts of the administration is overseeing the work and managed the extensive outreach to the community and business leaders that was undertaken during the information-gathering phase. The plan will look at everything from facilities needs to parking and traffic issues, from open and green spaces to the question of how the campus can raise the funds to match provincial financing for any new work with capital fundraising programs and an overall growth in the schoolÔÇÖs endowment. Once a draft of the plan is completed, the public will again be invited to provide feedback. KelmÔÇÖs hope is that the plan will set a course of green growth for the university. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve got a great team assembled, and because there hasnÔÇÖt been a plan in a long time, there is a lot of excitement about the possibilities,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£ThereÔÇÖs a strong sense of cooperation around bringing the future vision into focus at what we think is a critical time in the schoolÔÇÖs history.ÔÇØ┬á