High-Profile Focus: Institutions & Schools featuring SCUP
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Focused on the University Endowment?
You May Be Overlooking Your Largest Investment
by Sean Sweeney Every so often we are stunned by the sheer size of a university’s endowment. Harvard University’s endowment in January 2017 was $37.6 billion. This is greater than the annual GDP of 101 countries. The top 10 higher education endowments have a combined value of over $185 billion. While endowments are often considered a university’s greatest asset, it is the physical plant — the land, buildings, and equipment — that is typically the highest valued assets of the institution. These spaces allow administration, faculty, researchers, students, and alumni to study, innovate, collaborate, and participate in university life. Why is it that institutions often put more emphasis on choosing leaders for myCADD-High-Profile-Ad.pdf 1 5/19/16 their endowment rather than for their
facilities? The simplest reason may be that performance of the endowment is an easy metric to track. A “good” leader would provide a high return on investment, whereas a “poor” leader would have returns below other institutions. The performance of the endowment becomes the standard to which the individual is judged.
Another reason may be that administrators do not understand the requisite skills that facility leaders must possess to achieve success. Misconceptions held by some schools regarding physical versus investment assets cause them to value the investment professional more than the facility 1:37 PM
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North Atlantic Region
March 2017
Seeing Far Beyond 2D ways for our teams to visualize, share ideas, and manage change. These virtual environments not only give our clients the ability to see their project, but helps to mitigate risk prior to construction — highlighting potential changes to help the by Amr Raafat The days of blueprints are long gone — here’s why: In construction, it can be difficult — and sometimes impossible — to envision precisely what the end of a project will look like. Giving a client the ability to “walk” jobsites before construction starts sounds remarkable — but that’s exactly what we’re doing, and it doesn’t stop there. Shawmut’s Virtual Studio helps to provide the most effective and efficient methods to visualize projects and, more importantly, deliver the best client service experience the industry has to offer. Our Virtual Studio uses Oculus Rift and Microsoft HoloLens to provide high-definition renderings, known as “photomontages”; in fact, it’s the same technology found in state-of-the-art gaming systems that make it possible to completely immerse yourself in a mixed-reality experience — creating new
Shawmut’s Amr Raafat gives Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s President, Laurie Leshin, a demonstration of Shawmut’s VR capabilities at the topping-off ceremony for the school’s new Foisie Innovation Studio.
client save both time and money. Taking the right approach from the beginning of a project is key to meeting clients’ expectations. We understand that not all clients are familiar with complex plans, drawings, or schedules — and that’s continued to page 46
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