Marion Campus Planning

Near-term opportunities exist to elevate the campus identity and brand with enhanced gateways, signage and wayfinding throughout campus. The entry to campus on University Drive is an opportunity to create a more monumental entrance, perhaps with brick seat walls or permanent signage. Adding multi-use paths, campus standard light poles and banners will also enhance the impression of arrival. “Highway to Hallway” signage would ensure that visitors are able to seamlessly arrive on campus, exit their vehicles, and find their on-campus destination with ease.

Open space improvements at multiple scales will increase pedestrian connectivity, activate the campus, provide social spaces and engage the setting of campus. The campus has several existing plazas – outside Maynard Hall, Morrill Hall, and the Alber Student Center – that could be activated with refreshed paving and planting materials, lighting and furnishings. New outdoor furniture and hammock posts would create an inviting space that encouraged campus users to linger. Rehabilitation along the pond’s edge in the center of campus may create more opportunities for all to engage with this unique feature.

Over time, building renovations and modest additions will provide modern spaces that promote student success and enhance the student experience. Learning spaces on campus could be renovated and refreshed to better match twenty-first century pedagogy. Collaborative, informal spaces throughout academic buildings and the library would extend learning opportunities for students beyond classroom walls. The Marion campus would like to add student housing in the future, which would require additional student-centered spaces to support on-campus residence halls. While Alber Student Center is undergoing phased renovations, expansion would be necessary in the future if student housing is created.