In keeping with national trends and best practices, a review of the University’s space management policy and procedures was initiated by Chancellor Philip L. Dubois this past year. As a result, the University has developed Policy 601.4 “Space Assignment, Management and Alteration.”
This new policy builds from the many effective campus space management systems currently in place at UNC Charlotte and establishes a more integrated space management process for the University going forward.
University leaders note that as budgets tighten and resources become constrained, campus space has captured the attention of college administrators across the country. Frequently perceived as a free commodity by the campus community, campus space is actually an institutional asset that comes with a considerable price tag.
At the foundation of this new policy is a shared understanding that all UNC Charlotte space is an institutional asset that belongs to the University as a whole, and that “highest and best” space allocation decisions will be assessed in an integrated fashion and determined by institutional academic and strategic priorities. In this model, campus units will continue to be stewards of their currently assigned space.
All requests for new space and reallocation of existing space will be transacted by a campus-wide Space Management Advisory Committee. All vacated space, other than that created by routine faculty and staff turnover, will be reviewed by the Space Management Advisory Committee.
Chancellor Dubois has appointed Chip Yensan to chair the new Space Management Advisory Committee and oversee the implementation of key related campus space policy initiatives during the coming academic year.
As the senior space administrator directing this process, Yensan will continue to report to the chancellor and will work under the immediate direction of Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management Phil Jones and alongside facilities management staff and representatives from the campus community in what is designed to be a sustained, collaborative and unified approach to managing this essential campus asset.
Look for more information about the Space Management Advisory Committee and the integrated space management initiative throughout the academic year.