Adaptations in Higher Education
We believe that one of the best ways to learn is from experience — either our own or others. HDR is in a unique position in that we work with academic institutions around the globe who offer diverse perspectives on higher education. We embrace the opportunity to share what we have learned from our projects and more importantly what we learn from the practitioners and academics who collaborate with us. We want to highlight innovative teaching methods that they are using, but also make space for a broader dialogue about what works, and what doesn’t. What are some of the lessons learned and how can we improve on these ideas?
Adaptations is a series of interviews with educators and administrators representing diverse backgrounds and disciplines. These interviews examine how academic institutions are adapting to the ever changing higher education landscape and how the built environment helps or hinders them in that effort.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Building an Emerging Media Arts Program from the Ground-up
- Designing a "Mixed-Use" Home for an Emerging Media Arts Center
- Student Leadership and Campus Life for the Century Ahead
- Inside Today's Food Science and Nutrition Labs
- The Job Readiness Factor
- Community College Focus on In-Demand Allied Health Jobs
- Re-Imagining the Teaching Lab for Inquiry-Based Learning
- The Hybrid Course: Virtual Learning & the Physical Classroom
University of Nebraska—Lincoln
Building an Emerging Media Arts Program from the Ground-up
In this interview, we sit down with Megan Elliott, founding director of UNL's Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, and discuss the “origin story” of the new Center and how Megan worked with many stakeholders to assure that the program and the space worked together to achieve her vision.
Designing a "Mixed-Use" Home for an Emerging Media Arts Center
In the second part of our interview with Megan, we talk about the inspiration behind the design of the building and the vision of it being a different type of educational facility that’s connected to both the community and the larger UNL campus in meaningful ways.
Brescia University College
Student Leadership and Campus Life for the Century Ahead
In this interview, we sit down with Marianne Simm, Vice Principal of Students, at Brescia University College to discuss the changes she has seen on the Brescia University College campus and across the higher education landscape. Our interview captured Marianne’s perspective on what “leadership” means to Brescia, how academic institutions are adjusting to lifelong learning and new student pathways, and the inherent benefits and challenges of collaboration with the industry and other institutions.
Inside Today's Food Science and Nutrition Labs
In this interview, we talk with Dr. Colleen O’Connor, associate professor and undergraduate coordinator for nutrition and dietetics in the School of Food & Nutritional Sciences at Brescia University College in London, Ontario, to discuss her experience with food science education and research over the years. Our interview captured Dr. O’Connor’s perspective on key themes like the shift to active learning, the importance of industry engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration in today’s educational landscape, and the value of current trends such as “science on display” that are prominent in the new Academic Pavilion.
Houston Community College
The Job Readiness Factor
Part 1 of our interview with Houston Community College’s (HCC) Dr. Phillip Nicotera, President of the Coleman College for Health Sciences and Jeff Gricar, Dean of Health Sciences focuses the importance that post-secondary experiences play in helping prepare students for future jobs. The interview highlights some of the strategies that HCC is using to reach out to students, prepare them for the working world, and assure they have great educational experiences.
Community College Focus on In-Demand Allied Health Jobs
In Part 2 of our interview, Dr. Nicotera and Dean Gricar discuss how the allied health programs at HCC's Coleman College for Health Sciences are evolving to meet the demands of a changing healthcare system. They also highlight how community colleges in general play a significant role in job training for the United State's allied health workforce.
Bellevue University
Re-Imagining the Teaching Lab for Inquiry-Based Learning
In Part 1 of our interview with Professor John Kyndt from Bellevue University in Omaha, Nebraska, he discusses the process for designing a new type of teaching lab that meets the changing needs of undergraduate science curricula and of higher education as a whole. Dr. Kyndt emphasizes the emerging role of inquiry-based education, and how it informed a collaborative effort to create a “Science, Research and Demonstration” Lab in the Bellevue Lab renovations.
The Hybrid Course: Virtual Learning & the Physical Classroom
In Part 2 of our interview with Professor Kyndt, he discusses his experience with implementing a hybrid course — which incorporates elements of both the physical and virtual classroom in the same course.
