Five U-M deans are seeking to create an inspiring 21st-century educational, interactive environment like “no other place on earth.”
That place could be North Campus, says David Munson, dean of the College of Engineering.
The WorkPlay competition aims to find the most captivating concept that will transform North Campus into a destination location. While Munson prefers not to limit entrants with a list of prerequisites or preconceptions, there is a tangible incentive: $20,000 in awards and a $500,000 budget to develop the project.
Deadline for submissions is Feb. 8.
The competition is cosponsored by Arts on Earth, a campus-wide initiative that produces events and aims to heighten public awareness of the inextricable connection among the arts and other academic disciplines.
Believing the appropriate balance between work and play is a valuable lifelong pursuit, Munson and four other deans are challenging teams of students, faculty and staff to come up with ideas to recast the physical setting, social atmosphere and cultural possibilities of North Campus.
“We’re interested in creating more of a community, where people are closer together,” Munson says. “Over time, we’d like the core parts of North Campus to develop more of an urban feel while we still preserve the woods.
In her Nov. 15 address to mark the fifth-year anniversary of her stewardship, President Mary Sue Coleman said “an essential component of a Michigan education is our approach to the arts.”
In addition to Munson, North Campus deans sponsoring WorkPlay include Douglas Kelbaugh, dean of the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Christopher Kendall, dean of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, Martha Pollack, dean of the School of Information, and Bryan Rogers, dean of the School of Art & Design.
Entries must consist of teams composed of students, faculty and/or staff. At least two students on each team must be pursuing degrees in a north campus unit. Each team must represent at least two or more disciplines.
Winners will be announced in March.
