What began as a push to increase the number and diversity of students studying STEM has evolved into a full-scale effort to improve teaching and learning at The University of Arizona. In 2013, the college was selected as one of eight initial project sites for The STEM Undergraduate Initiative, a project of the Association of […]

To celebrate its bicentennial in 2018, Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, built a 76,000-square-foot arena that meets the needs of its Division I hockey program while also serving the entire campus community. CHALLENGE: The university formed a committee of 10 department heads whose students would use the facility. This group met monthly throughout the 14-month […]

Sheila Gestring, chief financial officer and vice president of the University of South Dakota, took the helm as its 18th president in late June. Gestring faces numerous challenges, such as finding ways to increase access for high-performing students who cannot afford tuition and easing budget constraints at the university’s law school. Gestring started at the […]

Creating a welcoming environment, especially in the form of admissions offices, is increasingly crucial to a university’s bottom line as schools are more dependent on tuition and fees as a revenue stream. Thus, new emphasis has emerged on the role of admissions offices. Research indicates that the campus visit is the student’s most trusted source […]

The January 2018 issue of UB featured its annual list of challenges for higher education, and No. 4 was both clear and encompassing: data analytics is everyone’s job. In the survey of administrators, all groups selected “greater emphasis on leveraging data to identify and solve problems” as the top way their roles are evolving in […]

Where do campuses fall short on groundskeeping and landscaping, and what misconceptions do administrators outside of facilities departments have about groundskeeping? “An important piece in efficient management of groundskeeping and landscaping is getting the correct tools, equipment, parts and services in a timely manner and, ideally, staying within budget. Through cooperative purchasing programs, colleges and […]

Admissions at the University of Mississippi recently began incorporating language about landscaping services’ many accomplishments in mailers to prospective students. For example, they now mention various awards that the department has earned over the years, such as most beautiful campus by USA Today. Others include “You had me at Hotty Toddy,” an Ole Miss expression […]

The growth of a 194-acre tropical rainforest sometimes forces the 48-member University of Hawai’i at Mānoa’s grounds crew to cut down branches and vines overrunning the institution’s Harold L. Lyon Arboretum, just 5 miles away. “Everything grows faster here and does so 365 days a year,” says Roxanne Adams, the university’s director of buildings and […]