Key Idea 5: Prioritize safety, diversity, and accessibility on campus

Plan and design buildings, circulation, and open spaces that are safe, resilient, and accessible for a dynamic academic environment; encourage and celebrate the campus community’s cultural diversity.

UVM’s priorities are to enhance how welcoming the campus feels and how easy the campus is to navigate for people of all identities and abilities. The goal is to design the physical environment so that it can affirm and celebrate the university’s full diversity of cultures and abilities.

Applying Universal Design in Higher Education standards when enacting strategies can help to achieve the principles, objectives, and strategies of the Campus Plan.

The objectives for this key idea include continuing efforts to make public and active transportation easy to navigate and accessible and safe. Together with being able to get to all corners of campus, it is important to be able to provide a safe and accessible indoor environment to accommodate the diverse needs of all, including the establishment of spaces and places that have not traditionally been provided for on campus. These spaces include places for prayer, ablution, spaces for student identity groups, and welcoming spaces for custodial staff to take breaks and be able to network with others on campus.

Incorporating memorials and references to the institution’s history and social justice efforts as well as incorporating artistic and spiritual material from UVM’s broadest cultural representation can help build a sense of belonging. It is a goal to inspire reflection, restoration, and recreation.

OBJECTIVES STRATEGIES

Continue efforts to make transportation on and around campus safe and accessible.

• Transportation systems (including buses, bike shares, electric scooters, etc.) should be designed to help address the diverse needs of visitors to campus. • Keep paths and bike racks free of snow and ice. • Continue to work with student groups on strategies for safe late-night transport. • Continue to provide reliable bus service with an accurate tracking app. • Promote the use of the LiveSafe app’s many relevant features. • Apply flexible parking designations/delineations, such as mapping accessible parking and flexibility in accessible parking.

Use public landscapes and features to celebrate cultural diversity.

• Celebrate our diverse communities through the creation or dedication of visible features in the landscape: sculpture, plaques, and specific landscape features that can be appreciated by all. • Encourage interactive landscapes and features that are accessible to the entire UVM community.

Create accessible and inclusive indoor environments that people can utilize easily, safely, and with dignity.

• Where possible, create flexible indoor spaces with easily adjustable furnishings, lighting, and temperature; incorporate furniture that functions well for differing body types, sizes, and abilities. • Provide inclusive restrooms in all buildings: academic, administrative, and residential. • Review, prioritize, and complete all standing items from the 2017

Accessibility Report & Gender Inclusive Restroom Taskforce (GIRT).

Increase spaces for informal gatherings, meditative corners, prayer, and ablution stations. • Consider retrofitting spaces to improve accessibility and inclusivity.

UVM Existing DEI Initiatives

Inclusive Campus Indicators

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a broad, complex, and multifaceted topic with the goal of enabling individuals to bring their whole selves to campus. Some elements of existing practices related to DEI at UVM are highlighted below.

Gender inclusive and single occupancy restrooms will be included in any new building that is constructed or any major renovation on campus.

UVM’s Indigenous Peoples Working Group was formed in 2021. UVM’s general education requirements include a diversity class requirement.

In 2021 UVM hired a Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to lead strategic initiatives relating to DEI. UVM’s Career Center provides identity based resources for minority students.

4 identity centers on campus provide community for minority students.

The following themes should be considered when evaluating DEI practices on campus.

Supporting Identity Groups

In an effort to better support diverse identity groups, many institutions have started to introduce identity group spaces on campus. These spaces may take the form of a consolidated and intersectional multicultural centers, or individual identity group spaces. Consolidated, intersectional spaces provide a shared space for multiple identity groups to gather, hold events and meetings, and create a welcoming, empowering, and safe space to develop, embrace and celebrate diverse identities. The Trotter Multicultural Center at the University of Michigan is an example of a consolidated multicultural space that supports multiple identity groups.

In contrast to the consolidated multicultural center, other institutions are creating dedicated physical facilities to support individual identity groups. The University of Washington’s Intellectual House is a community group space that supports students, faculty, and staff that identify with the American Indian and Alaska Native communities. As recognition and acceptance grows, there is a trend toward placement of identity centers in more central locations thereby increasing visibility. At the same time, university students come from many different backgrounds and may want and need discretion and privacy when they first explore their still-forming identities. Also, consideration for security and safety needs may be elevated for the various identity centers. UVM will continue to work with identity centers to come up with the best solutions for their physical spaces and focus on helping to highlight and connect identity centers.

University of Washington Intellectual House is a longhouse style facility. It provides a multi-service learning and gathering space for American Indian and Alaska Native students, faculty, and staff, as well as others from various cultures and communities to come together in a welcoming environment to share knowledge.

UVM Existing Accessibility

Universal Design Principles

The graphic below outlines existing accessibility successes at UVM.

The icons below outline the principles of universal design. Universal design is a set of guidelines for accessibility that go a step further than what the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires. Ensuring that the campus environment is physically accessible to all is key to having a welcoming and inclusive campus community.

Student Accessibility Services works with 1500-2000 students each semester, or 15% of UVM students. Tutoring center is free and accessible for all undergrads.

The on campus bus service (CATS shuttle) has a fully ADA accessible bus fleet.

Living Well Space in the Davis Center provides wellness classes, workshops, service clinics, and educational sessions. Accessible connections throughout campus both indoors and outdoors.

Accessibility Integrated with Landscapes

The photos below provide examples for integrating accessible paths within landscapes. An integrated landscape is defined as a combination of accessible pathways, campus connections, and green spaces to create a thoughtfully woven and inclusive campus structure.

An example of integrating paths within a landscape at UVM leading up to Aiken; this type of design can be incorporated in other areas on campus.

Looking southeast to the George D. Aiken Center

Wayfinding and Signage

Having clear signage and wayfinding throughout campus makes the space easy to navigate, accessible for all, and aids in helping everyone to feel welcome on the campus. The examples of wayfinding shown below include a digital sign that can be changed to include updated information, upcoming events or announcements, and two examples of 3D campus maps. These 3D maps allow people to familiarize themselves with the campus before exploring the campus.

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FUNCTIONAL PLANNING FRAMEWORKS

The Functional Planning Frameworks organize the details and strategies of the plan within four specific frameworks. The Building and Land Use Framework provides recommendations related to the future uses of buildings and the land in and around campus. The Open Space and Landscape Framework provides existing conditions and future recommendations related to green spaces and landscape enhancements on campus. The Mobility Framework provides existing conditions and future recommendations related to all forms of mobility and parking on campus. And finally, the Utilities and Infrastructure framework provides recommendations related to energy, infrastructure, and stormwater management.