As storage technology evolves rapidly and is paralleled by what is proving to be an insatiable demand for stored information, institutions must tread very carefully. Short-term decisions will inevitably have a compounding effect. Planning and policies are
The technology for effectively cleaning carpets and rugs has been in place, or so it might be assumed, for many decades. However, in 2000, the Dalton, GA-based Carpet and Rug Institute, Inc., responding to customer complaints, made some startling discover
- By Thomas G. Dolan
- 03/01/09
I may be a little biased when it comes to supporting music and the arts, but with good reason. I spent my happiest (and most productive) days in college as a part of a performing group, the I-Uppers. Our director, Leonard DeFabo (head of IUP's psycho
From time to time, campus officials have been attacked in their offices, on campus grounds, or in campus parking areas. Some of these attacks relate to angry students, employees who have been terminated or suspended, attacks by animal rights extremists, o
Video analytics systems make security officers proactive. The technology sees potential safety or security problems as they take shape and alerts a security officer who evaluates the situation and decides to intervene or not. It transforms video surveilla
- By Michael Fickes
- 03/01/09
It's a story as old as new furniture itself
what to do with the old stuff. Throwing away perfectly good furnishings doesn't make sense, so the shabbies get handed down and down and down until they end up in the maintenance department. Ther
Schools are no longer equipped with the old gun where you pull the lever and hear bells ringing all over. Instead, today's schools are outfitted with technology-rich public address systems, intercom systems, and clocks that keep lines of communicatio
As our culture embraces the concept of reuse or recycling in its many forms, it is only appropriate to focus on how some school districts have tapped the creativity of board members, architects, and/or planners to restore, renovate, or rebuild some their
- By Edwin R. Schmidt, Matthe A. Heckendorn, Timothy R. Eddy, Kevin Havens
- 03/01/09
It would appear that specifying flooring for an athletic facility would be a snap: hardwood floor for the gymnasium, resilient for the entryway and hallways, rubber for the exercise rooms. Well, appearances can be deceiving. The truth is, there are a lot
After adding everything from selecting suppliers to automating the process and recovering costs on the invoice side, integrated e-procurement efforts find savings of anywhere between five to 20 cents of every dollar. It adds up to significant dollars on t
- By Julie Sturgeon
- 03/01/09
Our current economic climate has affected numerous areas in higher education, including libraries. Private donors may be giving less to institutions, and often states have less money to offer to institutions. College and university libraries may find some
- By Christine Beitenhaus
- 03/01/09
It's time we take an honest look at the factors that got us to this point. But in the meantime, we need to stop pointing fingers and start taking action. I had high hopes for the economic stimulus package, but as of this writing I'm not all that
The paradoxical problem of communicating in gymnasiums is that when the message is loud enough to be heard, it's often too loud to be understood. The right design, with appropriate balances of reflective and absorbent materials, could eliminate acoustic p
- By Thomas G. Dolan
- 02/01/09
Areas experiencing declining enrollments are presented with both opportunities and challenges. Declining enrollments permit districts to implement desired program changes that were formerly not possible. Conversely, districts are faced with making the mos
- By Edward M. McMilin
- 02/01/09
Today, campus quads are definitely spatial beings a "room" that the institutions have deemed important because they face the buildings into that space to form a unity, a statement that shouts, "We are a society of scholars." But
- By Julie Sturgeon
- 02/01/09
Part of a school's appeal is based on its reputation for providing a safe, secure, and convenient environment for its staff and students. An administrator's attention to fire and life safety systems should enhance the school's status withou
School districts are facing a series of unpleasant and difficult fiscal choices in this current recessionary environment. Given the recent steep spikes in gas and food prices, now is the time for some creative thinking as to how best to manage the preciou
- By Laurence Peters
- 02/01/09
The acoustics of performing arts venues, as perceived by audiences and critics, is a confluence of the "natural" (i.e., non-amplified) acoustics of the spaces and the sound systems serving the spaces (to the extent that such systems are employed
- By Charles R. Bonner
- 02/01/09
What can schools implement now to already existing facilities that will lower their energy costs and move them toward being green? While few schools in the United States are officially labeled "green" construction, there are many s
Just as colleges and universities are adopting Internet-based technologies for learning so, too, are campus mailrooms responding to changing marketplace conditions by adopting Web-based mailroom processing tools. Here are the stories of two universities&#
Architects, campus facilities practitioners, and campus safety professionals have a new tool to assist them in designing superior campus facilities. 21st Century Security and CPTED Designing for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Crime Preventi