Vision quest

In Sharon Barrios’ vision for the future of Chico State, the interim dean of Graduate Studies sees a classroom within a community garden, connected to a kitchen for students.

For Cecilia Lapolli, a study abroad adviser, the university would offer formal cultural awareness training for faculty and staff, so they can fully embrace international students.

Student Samuel Akinwande, director of university affairs for the Associated Students, wants to see the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center expand, with safe spaces for students of color throughout campus.

Chico State’s future has been weighing on the minds of the campus community since spring, when the university began the 18-month process to update its master plan. On Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 25), a few dozen students, staff and community members continued the momentum during a brainstorming session at Colusa Hall. They scribbled and posted their ideas on message boards: a faculty/staff dining commons, a dedicated bicycle pathway through campus, an instructional swimming pool, more native trees and plants, on-site composting.

It was one of several open house sessions held that day to gather input. It included a short presentation and an introduction from university President Gayle Hutchinson, then participants were free to roam the room to share and discuss ideas.

Chico State’s master plan hasn’t been modified since June 2005. When updated, it’ll provide a long-term view of the university’s goals for its physical design and growth over the next decade. A key part of the process will be understanding the projected population growth of the university looking forward. Today, Chico State serves 17,500 students, 2,000 of whom live in campus-run housing.

Notably, the university—landlocked near downtown Chico—appears to be running out of physical wiggle room. Most recently, the school tore down nine homes in the College Park neighborhood alongside Nettleton Stadium. (See “Put up a parking lot,” Newslines, Nov. 23, 2017.) This project was part of the old master plan, which aimed to make room for an additional dormitory and parking lot.

But that isn’t necessarily what will happen with the space, Mike Guzzi, director of Facilities Management and Services at Chico State, told the CN&R. A housing market study will determine the university’s options.

Kinesiology professor Rebecca Lytle, who attended the open house, said the university can get creative when it comes to growth. “There could be lots of opportunities for far greater community-campus connections,” she said, with learning taking place out in the community, such as when student teachers and nurses work at schools and hospitals, respectively.

She and others on Tuesday expressed interest in creating hubs on campus for various related fields, such as Lytle’s idea for a space that would accommodate the Accessibility Resource Center, Autism Clinic, and Communication Sciences and Disorders programming.

The campus’ strategic plan, which outlines the university’s priorities when it comes to its vision and mission, is also being updated this year. Open house sessions are scheduled next week (see infobox), but Guzzi said there will be more opportunities for public input as the process moves forward, with consultant SmithGroup presenting concrete ideas this winter.

Hutchinson told attendees on Tuesday that the plans inform one another, and encouraged people to think outside the box.

“Oftentimes when humans are trying to be creative … we are limited by our physical world and we are limited by what we know. So all I ask in this exercise is you really be open-minded and ask that question, ‘What if?’”

Ultimately, Guzzi would like the university to develop a sustainable plan, so it can actually maintain whatever is built and work toward its environmental goals, such as carbon neutrality. Currently, there is a backlog of $290 million in deferred maintenance for existing facilities.

The worst thing would be for the community to invest time and intellectual capital into a master plan for it to end up sitting on a shelf, he added. The last update had great ideas, but was lacking in specificity, he said.

“I want an actionable plan. It can’t be some pie-in-the-sky dreamscape,” Guzzi said. “I want somebody in 10 years to say, ‘Wow, Chico State did it right.’”