The University of Kansas Campus Master Plan
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Founders of the University of Kansas looked at a treeless
outcropping that early Lawrence settlers called Hogback Ridge
and instead chose a loftier name - Mount Oread.
In September 1866, KU's first students entered
North College, a 10-room building near where Corbin
and GSP Residence Halls now stand.
By the turn of the 20th century, the university recognized
the need for a detailed plan to define KU
as a university setting.
In KU's first Master Plan in 1904, architects George Kessler
and Henry Wright determined that KU's rocky ridge would never
support the grassy, tree-lined quad
typical at eastern institutions.
Instead, their vision imagined limestone buildings lining
a boulevard and preserved park-like landscapes
like Potter Lake and then-fledgling Marvin Grove.
The result - an academic community built
around Jayhawk Boulevard.
In 1928, a second plan laid in place what is now
KU's historic core - much of which is listed
on the National Register of Historic Places.
This plan guided KU's growth for 50 years.
Now, 150 years after KU was founded, the center of the
Lawrence campus has shifted south and west of Mount Oread.
Our roots have grown deep, our aspirations have soared,
and KU has created a Campus Master Plan that looks
toward a bright future and preserves KU's history
and culture.
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The foundation of our fifth Master Plan is Bold Aspirations,
our strategic plan.
The Master Plan promotes multidisciplinary collaboration
and engaged innovative scholarship.
It is built on 11 Principles that embody
KU's historic excellence and our aspirations.
A once-divided campus is knit into a cohesive one
with three districts: North, Central, and West.
The plan also provides a framework for the Edwards Campus.
We connected Bold Aspirations to the physical campus
through a year-long creation process where meetings,
focus groups, and interviews allowed us to analyze
the goals and challenges facing KU.
Our 11 principles were grouped into design drivers
to guide development.
We created a living plan that can be adjusted as needed,
rather than completely rebuilt.
Development falls into three main concepts:
Student Success & Campus Life, Academic Communities,
and Sustainable Land Use & Growth Patterns.
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To Educate Leaders, we must provide a comprehensive education
and create an atmosphere of engagement.
So housing will be collaborative,
academic learning communities.
The plan respects KU's historic core
while building an inclusive, accessible,
and safe campus that enriches the student experience.
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To Make Discoveries that Change the World, we will build
Innovation Way, the major physical component of
the Master plan, and the proposed Research Partnership Zone
to connect the natural, physical, and life sciences
with space for multidisciplinary collaboration.
Signature landscaping around Stouffer Green
will unite the three districts.
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To sustain KU's resources we must strategically place
programs, develop new areas,
and strengthen campus connections.
The accessible, shared-use path "Jayhawk Trail"
connects campus from across 19th and Iowa
to Corbin/GSP.
The plan preserves historic districts
and water conservation plans,
creates more efficient transit opportunities,
and develops living laboratories.
The 2014-2024 Campus Master Plan,
our fifth and most comprehensive plan,
balances the physical campus and our aspirational goals,
creating a harmonious sustainable campus environment
where our faculty, staff, and students
can fulfill the mission of Bold Aspirations.
We will educate leaders, build healthy communities,
and make discoveries that change the world.
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