LONG BEFORE ANY GROUND was broken on $60 million in renovation and new construction projects at Trine University (Ind.) some three years ago, officials at the school were building something far more important: relationships.
Senior Vice President Michael Bock kept in touch frequently with Angola’s city planner, Julie Cole, by e-mail and via meetings and the occasional business lunch. The university also provided space for quarterly business workshops held by Cole’s office.
When Trine rolled out plans to add a new university center, a center for technology and online resources, and new athletic facilities, officials in the city of 7,800 were both well aware and supportive of the plans. They had even created a “university zone” that gave the school more flexibility than typical municipal ordinances. “[Trine University] is a vital part of our community,” says Cole. “Anything we can do to help them—to allow them to succeed—we’re willing to do.” According to Bock, the city council, board of zoning appeals, board of works, and the mayor are involved in building approvals.
Earning critical city support for a campus expansion plan starts with cultivating good relationships with key officials. But it doesn’t end there. The effort also involves building a strong case for the plan while being willing to make compromises that don’t undermine institutional needs.
Here are a few steps involved in making sure local officials help pave the way (sometimes literally) for an expansion plan.
Lay the Groundwork
Building support for a plan often begins well before a single blueprint is created, says John Bryant, director of facilities, planning, and management at Mount Holyoke College (Mass.). Officials at his institution, which recently added athletics facilities and a new residence hall, have always given plenty of advance notice about building projects to officials in South Hadley, a town of about 17,300 that’s run by a representative town meeting form of government with 120 elected members, an appointed town administrator, and a five-member selectboard.
The advance notice is more than just a courtesy—it’s a vital part of the planning process. “We tell [city officials] about a year in advance that we’re thinking about an idea or project,” Bryant says. He says it gives them a chance to voice concerns or issues with the project, which can prevent headaches later on. “The further into design you are, the more [those unaddressed concerns] become disruptive. It’s best for everybody to have all their cards on the table early.”
Early meetings are less about persuading the city to see the institution’s point of view than about creating an open discussion, according to Nels Hall, principal at Yost Grube Hall Architecture, whose clients have included Portland Community College’s Cascade campus and Portland State University. Getting input from community groups, city planning groups, and other constituencies can help you create a plan that will sail through required reviews. “Things go wrong when there hasn’t been initial dialogue,” Hall says. “Your plan shouldn’t be a show-and-tell, where you’re just telling people what you want, because that puts [city officials] in a defensive position.” A college is more likely to build trust if its leaders are “in a dialogue mode, not a selling mode,” he adds.
Advance preparation can also help head off criticism before it starts. At Mount Holyoke, school officials developed a parking management plan for their athletics facilities to allay fears that neighbors had about the possibility of crowded streets on game days.
Undermining Influences Sometimes one or two community members will try to derail a campus expansion project. University officials say they've dealt with these strong personalities by: - Being transparent. When one resident took it upon herself to disparage Baldwin-Wallace College's (Ohio) expansion plan by e-mailing notes to the local media, college officials responded by sharing as much as they could about the plan in order to show how her sniping was inaccurate-at best. "We tried to be as open and candid as possible," says Assistant Vice President George T. Richard. "We had to be aware of what that one person was doing, but we also had to keep our eye on the prize and work with the people who could make our final goal become a reality." -Agreeing to disagree. "The important points are communicating how you make your decisions, building broad support, and operating within the guidelines of local authorities," says Patrick Cavanaugh, a business officer at the University of the Pacific (Calif.). Don't get too caught up in war with a vocal minority. "There are always some people you'll never be able to satisfy," he admits. -Not holding grudges. Resolving a contentious issue is never easy, but stay professional-you may be dealing with the same people again in just a few years. "We had people who were suing the college 40 years ago, and they're still [living] here," says Richard. "In their minds, it happened yesterday. But they've also come to understand that we're not going to jerk them around. If you're dealing from a position of respect, you can keep processes moving forward."
And at Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio), school officials knew that some in the city of Berea, which has about 18,970 residents,were wary of the impact of the school’s expansion plans. To help ease concerns, college officials made significant efforts to preserve historic houses, use environmentally friendly construction processes, and create a smooth transition for a church congregation that would be displaced during the process. “We’re not an island,” says Assistant Vice President George T. Richard. “There were many different interests, but we’re all in this together.”
