Sessions

Higher education faces a highly competitive recruitment and retention environment as Generation Alpha approaches college age. This session equips campus and facility planners with strategies to meet their baseline infrastructure expectations for neurodiverse-friendly spaces, mental wellness support, and integrated technology. Amy Holzle demonstrates how inclusive design accommodates diverse learning styles while sensory-conscious environments provide the emotional safety Gen Alpha demands. She reveals why virtual reality, gamified platforms, and intuitive wayfinding are requirements — not enhancements — for tech-native students. Through multiple case studies, she explores flexible furniture, adaptable spaces, and cultural responsiveness strategies that support autonomy and belonging. She lays out a roadmap for campus environments that attract, retain, and support Generation Alpha's success.

Higher education institutions are sitting on millions of dollars in underutilized space—this presentation reveals methods to find it and monetize it. Tyler Patrick walks through campus utilization study methodologies that quantify current space performance and identify optimization opportunities. Using a University of Arizona case study, he delivers actionable strategies for aligning deferred maintenance investments with programmatic needs to create dual-purpose capital projects that maximize ROI. He shares policy frameworks that reduce space demand through efficiency standards and cross-departmental sharing models. He outlines phased implementation roadmaps that unlock renovation potential without new construction, addressing enrollment pressures and budget constraints while generating capacity for revenue-driving programs and strategic initiatives.

This session demonstrates how colleges and universities can reimagine their facilities as drivers of enrollment, recruitment, and engagement by embedding storytelling strategies powered by technology. Grace Johnson of Advent, a Nashville-based experience design firm, presents case studies from Stanford, Oregon, the University of Wyoming, and others to demonstrate how immersive displays and technology-driven design amplify heritage stories while transforming underutilized spaces into high-impact, cost-effective environments. Through interactive exercises tailored for facility leaders, attendees will explore how to layer digital tools into amenity spaces, renew outdated areas, and create flexible environments that connect with students, donors, and partners alike. The session equips facilities professionals with future-ready strategies to elevate the student experience, strengthen enrollment, expand donor engagement, and future-proof their campus stories in every square foot.

Higher education campus and facility planners face unprecedented budget pressures amid fluctuating tariffs and evolving Federal Reserve policies. This presentation delivers an indispensable two-year market outlook for construction costs, equipping owners with reliable cost escalation predictions. Vermeulens' analysts deliver insights into key economic drivers such as construction volumes, labor productivity, and major commodities impacting costs. They provide a construction labor weather map to forecast regional cost fluctuations and offer effective tools for risk mitigation and contingency planning. By understanding these micro and macroeconomic factors, campus planners can strategically manage their project budgets and control costs in a dynamic economic environment.

This session examines planning, space policies, and facility framework changes to support a hybrid workforce and changing programs, with solutions to obstacles experienced along the way. Presenters detail the 55,000+ square foot renovation of a University of Michigan Medical School science building that reimagined faculty, staff, and learner workspaces with adaptable layouts, integrated computational labs, interactive collaboration zones, and inclusive amenities. They chart a strategic shift to support new work models, design features that foster productivity both onsite and remotely, and improvements to life safety, accessibility, and wayfinding. Attendees will gain insights into the planning and facilities policy changes that enabled seamless collaboration and promoted carbon neutrality throughout this innovative workplace transformation.