Marquette took the next step toward planning its guide for campus expansion in the next couple of decades, announcing the members of the steering committee for its master plan.

University President Michael Lovell announced the master plan in his presidential address last week as a way to establish a long-term vision and decision-making guide for the future.

“This is a rare and exciting opportunity and it is our goal to develop a bold plan that will chart the course for our future,” said Lora Strigens, who will lead the committee. “While the master plan will look at our university in a way that has not been done before, it will also take into account the recommendations from other recent studies, such as those on enrollment, student housing, recreation, athletics and the current campus climate survey.”

Strigens, associate vice president for finance and university architect, said the master plan will outline where the university’s strengths and weaknesses are. The announcement of the committee is the first step in the creation of the university-wide plan.

In the coming months, the committee will begin its discovery phase. In this phase, the committee will form seven working groups on the following: facility assessment and space analysis, academic plan integration, student life, site and campus development, infrastructure, transportation and parking, and outreach and engagement.

The committee will convene for the first time in mid-April, when it meets with a consultant team from CannonDesign, a New York-based firm that has worked with a number  of universities across the country, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“CannonDesign is providing leadership to a team of consultants that has great expertise in master planning, with institutions both in our region and across the country,” Strigens said.

More about CannonDesign’s role in the process will be outlined at the campus-wide master plan launch event, which will be announced in the near future, Strigens said.

The steering committee is made up of 13 individuals from a variety of different departments, including:

• Mel Austin, senior associate vice president for finance
• Mike Broeker, deputy athletic director
• Bill Cullinan, dean, College of Health Sciences
• Jeff Janz, assistant vice president for student affairs
• Joe Kearney, dean, Marquette Law School
• Kathy Lang, chief information officer
• Aliya Manjee, undergraduate student
• Aaron Tyler McCoy, graduate student
• Tim Melchert, associate professor of counselor education and chair of University Academic Senate
• Gary Meyer, vice provost for undergraduate programs
• Tom Pionek, assistant vice president for marketing
• The Rev. Nicolas Santos, associate professor of marketing
• Michael VanDerhoef, vice president for university advancement.

Two additional members, a director of facilities and campus services and a director of planning and project delivery will be added to the committee soon, Strigens said.

“We are thrilled to have diverse representation from across our campus community in the master plan effort,” she said. “Each individual on the steering committee plays an important role in developing a collective vision that will consider what is best for Marquette University as an institution as we move forward into the future.”