UNews - Chris Eagan

Past shaping the future

trevor.kenney — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:14:47 +0000

The coulees offered extraordinary opportunities: dramatic heights and depths unusual in the Prairies, and the possibility of outlook, proximity to the river and a microclimate milder than the windswept flatlands.

Standing there on the far edge of the coulee I saw etched against the sky the light tracery of an old iron railway bridge, 300 feet in the air, spanning a mile across the river.

I came to the conclusion that though any building upon the exposed flatland should be interred in earth berms so that they would become part of the land, the academic building could span the coulees and, like the old bridge in its rigid flatness, reveal the rich contours of even the most level prairie.

It seemed to me that the top storey of the university should lie below the tableland in an uncompromising straight line spanning the haunches of
the prairie.
...
Dr. Arthur Erickson (LLD '81)

The Architecture of Arthur Erickson
With text by the architect

When renowned Canadian architect, the late Dr. Arthur Erickson (LLD '81), first came to Lethbridge to design ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall and formulate the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Development Plan, he was in awe of the coulee landscape, inspired by the High Level Bridge and concluded the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ should be part of the land.

"Architecture, as I see it, is the art of composing spaces in response to existing environmental and urbanistic conditions to answer a client's needs," Erickson once said. "In this way the building becomes the resolution between its inner being and the outer conditions imposed upon it. It is never solitary but is part of its setting and thus must blend in a timeless way with its surroundings, yet show its own fresh presence."

The construction of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall began with a simple sod turning ceremony.

The vision as outlined in the 1969 Erickson-Massey Development Plan saw academic space integrated with residences "so that learning becomes part of living." The 1969 planning objectives also included attractive pedestrian walkways that linked to green spaces; closely knit, clear organization of campus buildings that took advantage of unique views of the river valley; and building sites chosen to ensure reverence, preservation and protection of the coulee landscape.

Construction of the original ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall was a monumental task.

Over the years, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ campus has expanded and evolved with recommendations initially set out in the Campus Development Plan Review (1993), the Master Plan Report (2000) and the Core Campus Expansion Plan (2001) – the latter of which is the springboard for the new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Campus Master Plan (UCMP), which was ratified by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Board of Governors in December 2012.

Spencer Court, architect and associate director of Campus Planning and Architecture at the U of L, has been leading the current UCMP renewal. He says the new plan takes previous planning history into consideration and maintains key planning initiatives while advancing the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's current strategic goals.

"Key elements from past plans have been retained, but the earliest plan had the most fundamentally correct principles or truths that continue to provide value and timeless importance today," he says.

Those principles of strengthening the existing site and building features, creating a compact campus, integrating campus with nature, and using an appropriate brand of architecture to produce a unique campus identity and experience are instilled in the 2012 plan.

Prepared in a collaborative effort with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ by Moriyama & Teshima Architects and Planners, Gibbs Gage Architects and Educational Consulting Services, the UCMP sets out a series of recommendations aimed at guiding larger-scale planning decisions for the main campus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ over the next 25 years.

According to the UCMP, these guidelines "accentuate the existing campus design – organizing systems to allow the unique beauty, original order, coherence and distinctive setting of the campus to re-emerge." The UCMP suggests "a highly interconnected system of buildings and pedestrian networks to create an intimate and harmonized learning environment, integrating both academic and residential programs."

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall as we see it today, nestled in the coulees and taking advantage of the natural landscape.

What makes the UCMP unique is the way it frames and defines the academic core with a celebrated gateway accessing the heart of campus, while promoting pedestrian-friendliness and retaining the physical geography that informs future buildings and outdoor spaces.

"Campuses are like people in that they mature and become complete over time," says Court. "As key participants at a critical point in the development of our campus, we are privileged to produce a planning vision at a time when many are likely to witness the campus evolve into a more complete place."

The UCMP points to three key directives that align with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's 2009-2013 Strategic Plan and 2011-2015 Capital Plan. The first is to physically support the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's mandate to be a comprehensive and academic research institution and to provide opportunities for a community of learners – students, faculty, researchers and staff – to interact in purposeful spaces. Second is to reinforce the quality of built and natural environments at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ with an emphasis on improving campus life and the everyday student experience. Third, the plan will provide guidance in planning and management of assets while being stewards of the land.

These directives will aid in creating the physical "Destination U" that is currently being defined at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. U of L President Dr. Mike Mahon agrees.

He says this UCMP is vital for establishing this legacy.

"As individuals who have various roles on campus, we are at one point in time, but universities live for a long, long time. It's critical that we look to the future from a planning perspective, and plan for years ahead that we can't even imagine. It is vitally important that our buildings and grounds deliver on the notion of the Destination ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says Mahon. "The U of L is very fortunate to have had the kind of vision that Erickson had around building into the coulees and really connecting the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ with the topography and with nature."

The UCMP aims to create a unique identity to differentiate the U of L from other universities and to offer a distinctive and memorable experience for its students. To do that, the plan outlines specific design work including a refocused ceremonial entrance along Aperture Drive, and framing a new "Coulee Quadrangle" north of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library, bordered by ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall and future buildings to form a campus heart. The UCMP also establishes a network of interconnected buildings that engage the coulees using a unique brand of landform architecture that fully integrates with the landscape. In addition, the construction of the "Prairie Quadrangle" adjacent to Markin Hall will serve to improve connectivity from the academic core to Exploration Place.

The updated Campus Master Plan will further the vision first established in 1969.

One of the biggest values of the new UCMP is creating a compact campus that fosters a better sense of community. Although the UCMP organizes the physical campus, it is the arrangement of those spaces and places that not only leads to a sense of community but also supports academic programming and student life.

Establishing Aperture Drive as the ceremonial entrance to the U of L is just the beginning. The gateway will be framed with a building element linking the Library to the Students' Union Building, as well as a signature building travelling southward that responds to the coulee setting and the Oldman River vista. This building will act as a bridge directly linking the residence precinct to the rest of campus.

Retaining the land in its natural state is also part of the UCMP proposal, and so, the natural coulee space south of the library will be left in its pristine state to preserve the natural view. It's the shared experience of the beautiful scenery of the unique prairie and coulee landscape that brings the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community together and that's an important consistency of the UCMP, says Court.

"We are located in a world-class, unique setting that our forebears committed to being, literally, in this place. That is the driving force in how we go forward," he says. "It is the threshold experience between plateau and river valley we want to be, and since we are here, we should capitalize on that because in the physical sense it's one of our most significant differentiators."

While the prairie land surrounding the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is vast, a key UCMP goal is to create a campus with synergy, ease of access and more importantly, logical pedestrian circulation.

"There's a point where everyone who arrives here by transit, bicycle or automobile becomes a pedestrian, and in the master plan the campus nucleus is predominantly pedestrian-based," says Court. "The master plan has tried to focus on creating a compact, pedestrian-oriented, connected campus that responds to external factors such as weather or the opportunity for memorable views and seriously considers how people move through it."

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Campus Master Plan is just that – a plan. At this point, campus planners have not initiated detailed design studies, but most of the features will likely be developed over time. The recommendations in the UCMP, however, are critical for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to reach its strategic goals, says Chris Eagan, director of Facilities.

"The UCMP follows the institution's strategic planning. It allows the creation of a common vision of what space, building and landscape places look like to fulfill our strategic goals," he says. "The UCMP is a broad vision that will be accomplished incrementally through individual capital projects. These projects have urgent and important needs that must be subservient to the institutional requirements outlined in the master plan. It will give the structure and guidance of university planners to all those who design and implement the plan for years to come."

After the UCMP is formally ratified in December 2012, a public open house celebrating the new plan and its document release will be held early in the new year.

According to Court, the new UCMP offers many advantages as the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ looks to the future.

"Overall, it's addressing original concepts that the institution has already put substantial resources and value into," he says. "Those early ideas are treasured fidelities – concepts we shouldn't turn our backs on. If we've learned anything, we've learned that they are important and they still apply going forward."

...

For more information on the UCMP, please visit: www.ulethbridge.ca/masterplan

This story first appeared in the Fall 2012 issue of SAM. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Spoulos keeps finding his way back to the U of L

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:30:08 +0000

If it wasn't inevitable that Doug Spoulos (BMgt '87) would eventually return to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, at the very least it wasn't surprising.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's associate vice-president (finance) has a deeply rooted history with the U of L, so it seemed only right that circumstance aligned to bring him into the fold once again in spring 2011. He graduated from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 1987, previously worked for the U of L, met his wife on campus and has a stepson who chose to come to the U of L from their home in Calgary.

So when it was time to get away from the busy Calgary lifestyle and apply the experience he'd gained in private sector positions, the U of L was there once again.

"We were looking to Lethbridge and this was the perfect job," says Spoulos. "It was a good experience for us in Calgary. I had the chance to work in a couple different industries and when I left I was the vice-president of finance, so I was getting the experience I wanted. But our kids were at an age where we wanted something a little slower and a little more relaxed – this opportunity was too good to pass up."

Doug Spoulos is instrumental in bringing people to the table to discuss priorities in the new budget process.

A chartered accountant by trade, Spoulos had worked the last several years acquiring the broad business experience he'd need for his new role at the
U of L.

"In my last position, I had the chance to work beyond the accounting side of things and look at the business aspect as well, how businesses run and how they operate. That's the more interesting part, because you can sit there and just work on the numbers or you can take those numbers and figure out how to apply them and determine what the business should be doing."

His first order of business at the U of L was to play a key role on the President's Task Force on Budget Process, the mandate of which was to review the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's budget process and make recommendations to the executive team supporting both short and long term planning.

Consisting of President Mike Mahon, executive director representatives Carrie Takeyasu and Chris Eagan, dean representatives Chris Hosgood and Rob Wood, Spoulos and the group sought input from throughout the U of L community on the budget process.

"The number one thing that came out of those meetings was a consensus that people wanted to tie budget priorities to the Strategic Plan," says Spoulos. "They wanted to see a rationale as to why money was going where it was going."

Another emergent theme came from the existing budget committee, its members expressing that the three-year sitting term was not long enough to gain a full understanding of the process to make their contributions effective.

"The basic conclusion we came to was that we already have a group of people who have a good understanding of the budget process," says Spoulos. "Those on the committee should be the people who are responsible for the budgets in their units, the deans and executive directors."

In not wanting to exclude the rest of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community from the process, the task force recommended that business units and faculty members have input through priority presentations, within their units and faculty councils, that speak to their specific areas.

"It's a build-from-the-ground-up approach when it comes to setting priorities," says Spoulos. "Priority presentations are not about dollars, they're about what priorities you've established in your area. We look at them, the themes, and prioritize them in relation to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Strategic Plan and decide whether they should be funded. These presentations are open to the entire ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community. It gives everybody the opportunity to see what is being funded and why. You might not agree with every decision but at least the process is transparent and you can see the rationale behind the decision."

A third key theme of discovery centred on the timing of the budget process. Having always worked on a September to March cycle, Faculties indicated that to hire the most desirable candidates, they needed to start looking for people in November and December, far before they had any idea of what budget dollars were available to them. The cycle has now been adjusted to work from April to October.

"This first year will be a pretty difficult transition year because by the time this recommendation was made, we'd already put ourselves a month behind in the new system," says Spoulos.

As a result, the priority presentation process has been pushed back from June 25 to September.

"At the end of the day, our goal is to make the entire budget process transparent and accessible, so that everybody understands what goes into the creation of the budget," says Spoulos. "We want to make it equitable, so that not only do people have input into the process, but the right people have input."

GET THE FACTS

· The final report from the President's Task Force on Budget Process can be viewed at www.uleth.ca/president

· Spoulos met his wife, Bev, when they both worked at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ previously. She just started a new position at the U of L as an administrative assistant in the Department of Native American Studies

· Spoulos and his wife have three children, two daughters aged 12 and 13, and a son who is entering his second year of psychology at the U of L

· Prior to his first term at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Spoulos worked at KPMG as a chartered accountant, auditor and manager

This story first appeared in the June 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the entire issue in flipbook format, follow this link.

Details for Destination Project emerge

trevor.kenney — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:42:44 +0000

The vision for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's future science complex is beginning to come to life.

Now dubbed the Destination Project, further details of the new science facility along with renovations to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall and subsequent campus infrastructure expansion, have been outlined in a new Key Parameters document available at http://www.uleth.ca/facilities/science-complex

The document outlines the programs and services that will be housed in the new building including education, research, administrative and technical support. It also sketches an estimate of the project's size and capital budget.

"This document serves several important purposes," said Chris Eagan, executive director of Facilities. "Not only will it clarify the direction of the Destination Project, but it will also ensure that stakeholders and community members gain an understanding the project before we move into feasibility and pre-design work."

The proposed state-of-the-art science building will utilize the most recent technology enhancing teaching, learning and researching opportunities for future faculty and students.

In addition, the project will provide opportunities to support a more diverse range of research activities in a more team oriented and collaborative setting.

The Destination Project will also augment the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's recruitment and retention activities.

Total preliminary construction cost is estimated at just over $262 million.

A Key Parameters document outlining the objectives of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall renewal will be developed at a later stage.

Shaping the future

trevor.kenney — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:36:04 +0000

Town Hall meeting to discuss development of complex Jan. 18

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge campus has undergone significant change over recent years with the addition of a number of prominent buildings – but the biggest project is yet to come.

A proposed 300,000 square foot complex that will transform the Faculty of Arts & Science in particular and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ as a whole is just now in the planning stages and one of the U of L's newest employees, Chris Eagan, is at the forefront.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's new executive director of Facilities looks at the $255 million project as an opportunity for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to take a major step forward, one that will further define the U of L as a leading comprehensive research institution.

Chris Eagan, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's new executive director of Facilities, will play a key role in the development of a complex that could cost more than $255 million and add 300,000 square feet of building space to campus.

"We're at that natural point where the space that was built in 1969 is ready for renovation," says Eagan. "We've changed as a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the things we're doing now, the old space doesn't fit us well. It is now constraining us fairly significantly and most seriously in the science labs, where safety is a major factor."

Eagan comes to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ from Lethbridge College, where he spent the last three years. Prior to that, the Nova Scotia-born but Saskatchewan-raised engineer worked six years as the director of planning, design, and construction for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Regina.

He sees many similarities between the U of R and the U of L and brings to Lethbridge experience with the construction of Regina's Research and Innovation Centre (RIC).

"I built one of these facilities at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Regina that's very comparable in terms of scope to what we're planning," he says. "So, to some degree I've taken this journey before but it's always a learning experience. It's a great feeling to have an opportunity to be generally familiar with the process."

To put the U of L project into context, 300,000 square feet is equivalent to adding two-thirds the size of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall to campus. And that's just the start.

"The new construction is just one part of the project," says Eagan. "Part two, or the second domino, is the renovation of the vacated space in UHall and the repopulation of that space. The third domino is the infrastructure required, such as roads, heating plant and all that's needed to keep the campus functioning."

Eagan loves the complexity of a major development and revels in the responsibility his team has in setting the direction of a project.

"Winston Churchill used to say that for a short time we shape buildings and for a long time, they shape us," says Eagan.

"Everybody has lived in a home or office environment that doesn't really work for them. Bad environments make people work harder, not smarter."

A typical project of this magnitude, Eagan says, lasts 15 years. To get to this point there's been a lot of essential work already done, laying the foundation for where the project is at today, in its first phase of planning. This initiation phase is largely strategic planning work defining what the project needs to do for the institution.

"It's not super prescriptive at this point and is designed to make sure the project works in terms of schedule, budget and scope," says Eagan, who expects to move onto phase two, predesign feasibility and planning, by February.

The final piece of the puzzle is implementation, design, tender and construction.

"We want to make sure that in the first two phases that our needs are well understood, well discussed and well defined because the consultants do an excellent job of translating our needs into the physical spaces and organizing those spaces, that's what architects do well," he says. "They love it when we show up with binders of needs and know what we want, because then they don't have to guess."

He stresses that the consultation phase will be comprehensive, all in an attempt to construct a complex that will satisfy the needs of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for years to come.

"Whatever we don't do we own and fight with for the next 40 years, so that drives us to get it right," he says.

GET THE FACTS

· In September 2011, the Alberta government pledged $2.3 million in planning funds for a new complex on the U of L campus

· A Town Hall meeting to discuss the progress to date on the initiation phase of the new complex will be held Wednesday, Jan. 18 from 2 to 4 p.m. in C674

· A best-case scenario timeline for the project includes starting construction in March 2013 and moving people into the new space by spring 2016

· Eagan, who holds a bachelor of engineering (civil) degree from Dalhousie ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, is married and a father of four children

This story first appeared in the January edition of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ welcomes senior managers

trevor.kenney — Fri, 13 May 2011 15:53:53 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is pleased to welcome Elaine Carlson and Chris Eagan to the U of L family as they assume roles on campus left by longtime senior managers Don MacDonald and Doug Parker.

Carlson joins the senior administration team as the associate vice-president, Human Resources, following MacDonald, who is retiring after 13 years of service to the U of L. Carlson was most recently the manager of Employee Relations & HR Consulting and acting director, Support Staff Human Resources at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

She led a team of human resource consultants who managed investigations, layoffs, performance management issues and discrimination & harassment complaints, lead bargaining for support staff, and developed HR procedures and processes, among other duties.

Eagan is the new executive director of Facilities, following Doug Parker, who is retiring after almost 30 years of service to the U of L.

Eagan was most recently the director of Facilities Management at Lethbridge College, and in that role was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the facilities, utilities, grounds and other components of the College's campus infrastructure, worked with cross-campus teams to implement several capital planning projects, as well as the development of a campus master plan, among other duties.

UNews - Chris Eagan

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