FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
August 31, 2006
University Sprawl
My college, Columbia University, is planning a takeover in West Harlem. Within 25 years, University officials say, Columbia will expand with a new, $7 billion, 17-acre, Renzo Piano-designed satellite campus in "Manhattanville."
The expansion is rife with ethical questions; long ago Columbia decided not to use the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards put forth by the U.S. Green Building Council, and more recently, it has been exploring the possibility of using eminent domain to push out stubborn neighbors.
But perhaps what’s most interesting here is one of the main arguments made for expansion by University President Lee C. Bollinger, famous for the affirmative action Supreme Court case that bears his name and the running shorts he wears around campus.
In order for Columbia to remain a top-tier university, the school needs space, Bollinger says. The best students, the best teachers, (and presumably a whole lot of patent money) are more likely to come if they can kick their feet up. Currently, Columbia is feeling the same space crunch that all New York City tenants do: it averages 194 square feet per student. (Princeton offers 561 square feet, Harvard has 368 and the University of Pennsylvania 440.)
No one (including Bollinger) knows for sure whether more square footage will allow Columbia to be uttered in the same breath as Harvard or Princeton. Would giving scientists more room help them discover more cures? Or would more room just let Columbia lure marquee academic names? Would my GPA skyrocket if I could finally find an empty study cube in the library? Does a true leader prove his skill by recognizing the need to expand his organization or by succeeding within the parameters he is dealt?
Posted by Josie Swindler at August 31, 2006 5:49 PM | Category: organizational development |
4 Comments
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This is so true: The best students, the best teachers, are more likely to come if they can kick their feet up!
- Steven Burda -
e-mail: steven.burda.mba @gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/burda
I don't think it's a question of either/ or; it has to be a balance. Yes, amenities like space to "kick up their feet" may draw some elite researchers and students but what about those who treasure the Columbia atmosphere: the small campus in a big city feeling? Additional questions are raised by this issue as well-- is it more important for a university to expand to meet its own needs or for a community to thrive based on the diversity of its neighbors? How about history, architecture and culture? Do we destroy these to further one organization or do we try to find a way to serve both the community at large and one of its biggest members?
call in Slick Willie to negotiate the deal so he ca smooth the neighborhood buffers and negotiate a bond deal for development. hence --everybody wins.
Offer him a new girl friend as an inducement which should quell the neighborhood objections to the encroachmoun'
Induce neighborhood enrollment via supermarket receipt discounts and you're off and running.
How's that for a marketing plan?
I have an MBA from the Columbia Business School (1984), and I am active in the alumni organizations, also interviewing prospective students.
I think Columbia University is a vital and productive organization that deserves to grow. I don't remember the campus being too crowded, but I know that they want to establish new research facilities. They've already done many construction projects to grow vertically in the space they have.
It's too bad they rejected LEEDS building standards, as it shows lack of respect for the needs of the next generation. I suspect they felt they would be too confining, not allowing them to get the 'most for their money.' That's very short-sighted.
What's disturbing about Bollinger is an apparent drive to enlarge his span of control. The Manhattanville neighborhood could use some investment, and I know they plan to have local committees and take community input. But the overall feeling exuded by the Columbia government is 'manifest destiny.'
I wonder what would happen if Columbia let all the local real estate owners compete to sell their property to Columbia? Wouldn't it be exciting to see what Columbia could do with that? Unfortunately, it doesn't allow for a 'grand vision' and I expect the current administration would not be interested.