VALUES
LEARNING Core to the function of a campus, the physical environment must support academic programs, instill the desire to be there and to learn, and provide the means to teach and learn in the most effective and contemporary ways. This includes removing distractions, allowing for spontaneous interaction, having safe and comfortable spaces to think and decompress – for students and faculty alike.
Figure 29. Academic Concept for the Physical Master Plan
Nearly every Dean saw a potential benefit of the idea of a studentfocused non-departmental building on campus, as well as an “Innovation Hub”, to support multi-disciplinary collaborations and innovation space for special projects, simulationimmersive experiences and makerspace that would be used by all colleges. This would enable students and faculty to drive their ideas further in a way that would be more space efficient for the entire university. It would be a “Buzz driver” and would support active learning – students working in small groups, projectbased learning, research-as-teaching and more work with business and industry partners. Currently on campus these types of spaces are for the most part makeshift and not conducive to driving exceptional scholarship. To support informal learning there is a desire for creating appealing in-between spaces: spaces at the threshold to classrooms in hallways and spaces immediately inside and outside building entrances to allow for students to hang out, wait for friends, wait for class to start, study or review, and interact with faculty and other students. Outmoded buildings have very different approaches to the teaching/learning experience based on what was in place 50 years ago..
Putting on display the values of the student body and of the faculty and staff is a priority. This includes celebrating the diversity of campus, sharing its commitment to sustainability and social equity, and having the campus reflect the value that is placed on the students by faculty and staff. Emphasis is now on active learning as the basis for every college’s approach and yet nearly every building is designed for the sage on the stage. Further, the role of informal learning is the new measure of accelerated student learning and that is hard to do when most buildings are designed with six-foot double loaded corridors and no front door.
74 | Chapter 2: What CSU Fullerton Needs
Academic Building
Students, faculty and staff share the values of sustainability and socio-economic equality and in reflecting those values on campus. Additionally, students identified interest in providing a focus on health
and wellness and on displaying and celebrating student work. Club spaces and learning spaces specifically for graduate students, group spaces, quiet spaces, studio space for theater majors, and space for commuters were all articulated as ways to make the campus more supportive of informal learning, to reflect students’ contributions to campus life, and to support a sense of belonging.
the value that the Cal State Fullerton wants to express for its students. Facilities offered on a campus must reflect a generation that grew up with technology. Students need more indoor and outdoor social and study spaces, equipped with appropriate furniture, power outlets, and Wi-Fi. “All you need is shade, power and data, … and coffee.”
The condition of existing 1960s-era and some other buildings cannot support today’s models for teaching and learning, and they do not reflect
Cal State Fullerton Physical Master Plan | 75
