Vanderbilt University is launching capital planning assessment studies for the institution's humanities and sciences programs, which will include the Basic Sciences division of the School of Medicine.
The assessment, which will help plan the school's future, will also evaluate the engineering research facilities and capabilities at the School of Engineering and the College of Arts and Science, according to a university press release.
“Both the humanities and the sciences at Vanderbilt transcend disciplinary as well as school and college boundaries,” Susan R. Wente, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said in a press release. “The Academic Strategic Plan has fostered and launched cross-disciplinary collaborations through funding dedicated to Trans-Institutional Programs. Now the time is ripe to holistically examine our physical spaces to ensure we are positioned to build on Vanderbilt’s strengths and to identify opportunities for strategic investments that will position us for future success."
“Like the strategic plan, FutureVU emphasizes our core values, and guides how we think about the design of our physical space to support our teaching, learning, research and innovation objectives,” Eric Kopstain, vice chancellor for administration, said in the release. “It will be exciting to see, explore and identify new opportunities in the humanities and the sciences that merge our academic and campus planning goals.”
According to the university, requests for proposals for the studies have been issued, with the project slated to begin in spring 2018.
“Our goal is for the consultants to deliver reports that will identify opportunities to modify, enhance, and/or add facilities to support our academic and research missions,” Wente said in the release.
