Our work to update Grinnell College’s 2000 campus plan is supported by a generous grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation. We are assisted in this work by the planning and architectural firm of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson Abbot.

We have already completed the first phase of this exercise, including a classroom utilization study and have had initial discussions with faculty members, students, and staff members about teaching and learning here at Grinnell. This year’s work will entail a continuation of those discussions about how we teach and learn, the kinds of strategies that help us reach our goals for teaching and learning in and outside of the classroom; discussion of key elements where there have been innovation and rapid change in pedagogy, use of technology, or the nature of assignments; and sharing information about best practices and facilities. As part of those activities, this fall a group of faculty members will tour some state of the art facilities related to quantitative and case study teaching and instruction in foreign languages. October 9–10 (Friday evening and Sat. morning through lunch) we will also host a keynote speaker and workshop focused on a few key questions that will shape the direction of the update. By the end of the year we hope to have completed the update and have designed one or two teaching spaces where we can experiment with furniture and technology.

Over the past summer (2009) the Registrar acted on the recommendations of the classroom utilization study, identifying 10 classrooms for an initial “right sizing,” developing a detailed catalogue of all teaching spaces to assist faculty members in identifying suitable rooms for their courses, and implementing a new scheduling program that will expedite the identification and assignment of classrooms.