The Clemson you attended is not the same today, whether you’ve been out three years or 30. And you wouldn’t want it to be. Like all outstanding universities, your alma mater is continually improving. As it prepares to grow in scope and reach, it also must prepare to keep up physically. That’s where the Campus Master Plan comes in.

If you’ve watched Clemson in the past decade, you’ve seen a variety of construction, while at the same time a continuity of style, a blending of past with present — in other words, growth by design.

So what is Clemson’s design for the next decade or two? Will Clemson need more housing for students? What about classrooms? What about research? What’s going on with all the road construction? And where in the heck will people park?

Answers to these questions and many more have gone into determining Clemson’s new Campus Master Plan. Our previous master plan was developed in 1994, and many of the projects identified then have been completed. In 2000, the University initiated a new comprehensive planning effort to address present needs and to focus on Clemson’s vision of becoming a top-20 public university.

The completed plan will guide the University’s physical development over the next 18 years and challenge Clemson to add 1.5 million square feet, double its current annual investment in facilities, and adopt design guidelines that will create a more sustainable, environmentally responsible and humane campus.

Its creation has involved input from all academic and administrative departments as well as students, faculty and staff. It includes an analysis of the central campus and surroundings as they now exist, an analysis of the University’s needs to achieve its academic goals and an assessment of individual buildings.

Guiding philosophy

Clemson’s plan is developed within a guiding philosophy that respects the University’s unique campus and sense of community.

It should promote social/intellectual interaction among students, faculty, staff and visitors. The Hendrix Center is a prime example.

It must respect the history, tradition and culture of campus. The recent renovation of Hardin Hall (pictured right) combined the latest teaching technology with historical preservation of the landmark.

It must also value sustainable design and account for growth. Renovation of the Fraternity Quad, currently in design, is an example. It will be certified as a leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) project, the new standard in green building design.

The plan assumes no change in overall enrollment, but does assume continued steady growth in research and a considerable increase in private fund-raising and legislative efforts related to facilities. Clemson’s new Public Service Activities biosystems research center, which offers office and laboratory space to prospective researchers, is an example.

Highlights

The University’s Campus Master Plan is more than 80 pages long with a wealth of drawings, explanations and other information.
Here are some highlights.

The plan allows for substantial increase in research space to close the sizable space gap between Clemson and the average top-20 research university.

Clemson has approximately 5 million square feet of nonresidential usable space for academics and associated activities. Among the institutions in the top 20 that we compare ourselves to, the University has roughly two-thirds the average amount of space.

The campus plan includes an advanced materials building south of Earle Hall and the Fluor Daniel Building. It will be the first of several that will define a new academic quad in the area.

The plan presents a vision for the former Johnstone site. It includes a new dining hall, enhanced student programming facilities, housing, an academic building and open green spaces that link with Cox Plaza and Bowman Field.

Master planners envision an academic village in the Douthit Hills area along the Highway 93 entrance to campus that will replace existing duplexes with a corridor of academic and research facilities and graduate student housing. The plan calls for a structure that will be a “one-stop shop” for student services, such as admissions, registration and financial aid, to be located near the Clemson House across from the President’s Park.

A “Center of Centers” behind Cooper Library will take advantage of a large underused open space. Placing centers and institutes together with a spectrum of activities — offices, research modules, seminar and classrooms — will create interaction and strengthen individual units. The Center of Centers is envisioned as the permanent home for the Academic Support Center and similar programs.

The plan calls for restructuring of the University’s Ravenel site, located across the lake and near the YMCA. It includes expansion of office and research space and other space for projects unsuitable for a campus location. Storage and warehouse facilities and other support facilities currently located in the center of campus and facilities that could be used for short-term, project-specific research will be located here.

A major goal throughout development of the Campus Master Plan has been to advance the concept of Clemson as a pedestrian campus. Although lack of parking is a common complaint at any university, Clemson’s rate of spaces per student — 83 places per 100 students — is significantly higher than its peers. For example the University of Georgia has 55 spaces per 100 students, while Virginia has 66, Tennessee has 45 and UNC-Chapel Hill has 52.

The campus plan, however, has a parking plan that includes the addition of parking decks as well as a more pedestrian-oriented central campus. Possible deck sites include areas near Douthit Hills, the Hendrix Student Center, the future academic quad area, the Brooks Center and Memorial Stadium.

You can find the full University Campus Master Plan with drawings, findings, surveys, implementation timetable and other details on the Web at www.clemson.edu/masterplan.