CONCEPT

Both continuity and change are hallmarks of Texas A&M University's past, and we have emphasized that they should also define our future. In Vision 2020: Creating a Culture of Excellence , the University's umbrella plan for top ten public university status, we recognize the changes we must make, but at the same time affirm that we will continue to preserve and nurture the institutional uniqueness that has served us well. As we progress toward our goals, the physical campus will play a significant role in our effectiveness. The changes we must make will necessarily affect the ways our campus is configured and how the members of our Aggie family interact. But, the evolving campus must provide for the preservation of our uniqueness.

Vision 2020 and the University's strategic plans support teaching of the highest quality, enhancement of core academic disciplinary areas, professional education of the first rank, enhanced information technologies, a vital campus community, distinctive service to the state and nation, and interdisciplinary research responding to complex scientific, technological and social problems. The physical environment needed to develop and enhance these activities is a combination of the existing campus and the changes to campus that will occur in the next 20 years. It is important that we not attempt to lay out a static master plan for 20 years of campus changes, but rather that we develop a campus master plan that parallels and supports the University's vision and its evolving and dynamic strategic plans.

The campus master plan must be one that affirms how we will work together to accomplish goals, that states how we will continuously assess progress and modify direction, that anticipates opportunity through philanthropy, that specifically supports the imperatives of Vision 2020, and that aligns with the strategic plans developed every four years.

The campus master plan should have two components. The first and most obvious is a document that conceptualizes a physical environment based on projected facility needs, transportation modes, interrelationships of constituents and other planning factors. The second and more important component is the design of a process , one that will establish a systemic mechanism for ensuring the continuous adaptation of a fluid and dynamic master plan. Just as Vision 2020 is a guideline for achieving top ten status, so the campus master plan provides a framework to support this vision. As the future brings unanticipated needs, interests and opportunities, the master plan process must enable us to respond effectively. It is important that the master plan not be a static picture of a future campus.

The new master plan should address how the physical environment must change to meet Vision 2020 needs, including probable new construction, the linkage of new construction with existing facilities, and optimal modifications of the current environment. It should also address the evolving manner in which scholarly communication will occur, as well as ways for students to be actively involved in the life of the university. Finally, it should address issues related to those academic and social principles that have made Texas A&M thrive and that will continue as the foundation of a community of learners and teachers dedicated to the discovery of knowledge and binding of it to the next generation.

The master plan will be accomplished with the guidance and assistance of an external consultant, one with experience in campus master planning. The consultant will be supported by the Campus Master Plan Steering Committee, currently working on creating the statement of work, RFP and related documents. Substantial involvement and input will be sought from campus constituents.

The master plan process will specify the ongoing mechanism to monitor and adapt the master plan, thus ensuring that it is the living document necessary to keep pace with the needs of the University.