Visionary physical campus to support aggressive plans for growth

CLEVELAND (January 31, 2022) – Cleveland State University has kicked off the process to create a 10-year campus master plan to design and guide the development of its physical campus to support CSU 2.0 – the university’s aggressive, growth-oriented strategic plan.

“Our goal is to create a thriving campus that celebrates and capitalizes upon our location in the heart of Cleveland,” said CSU president Harlan Sands. “We have a tremendous opportunity to not only shape CSU’s future, but to create a campus that serves as a catalyst for growth for our city and our region. We are excited to get started and look forward to input from our campus community, strategic partners and other stakeholders.”

CSU has contracted with Sasaki, a global interdisciplinary architecture, planning, landscape and design firm with extensive experience in both urban and campus planning, to lead the process. The firm has worked with universities around the world including American University in Cairo, Arizona State University, Emory University, Purdue University, Loyola University and Case Western Reserve University locally. Sasaki provided an overview of the planning process at the CSU Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 27.

According to David Jewell, CSU senior vice president of business affairs and chief financial officer, the master planning process is all about aligning the physical campus with the university’s academic mission and strategic priorities.

“The master plan will lay out our vision for how the campus will look, feel and function over the next decade,” Jewell said. “Our CSU 2.0 goals for growing enrollment and faculty, enhancing the student residential experience, expanding research and supporting strategic partnerships, all require thoughtful investments to improve our physical facilities. This is the plan to accomplish that.”

The planning process, which got underway last November, will includes four phases:

• An analysis of existing conditions (November – December 2021)
• Development of initial concepts and scenarios (January – February 2022)
• Development of an advanced campus scenario (March – April 2022)
• Documenting and creating the plan and final report (April – July 2022).

The university anticipates completing the plan this summer.