Indiana University takes great pride in providing beautiful yet functional campus spaces to help students, faculty, and staff do their best work.
The IU Bloomington and IU Indianapolis Space Planning Committees have been established by President Pamela Whitten to create a clear mechanism for the discussion and review of the physical space needs of faculty and staff. The committees are comprised of campus leaders whose diverse perspectives will ensure requests by academic and administrative units for additional and modified campus space are evaluated in the context of continued efficient, effective, and resourceful utilization of our campus spaces.
Beginning with these space committees for the IU Bloomington and IU Indianapolis campuses, this initiative establishes a clear and transparent process for space requests for the future needs of the university. At this time, requests related to space needs at other IU campuses should be directed to the Offices of the Chancellor for those respective campuses.
The committees’ main function is to evaluate space requests generated by executive leaders in academic and administrative units and provide recommendations to the university president for final approval. Deans, vice presidents, chancellors/vice chancellors, provosts/vice provosts, and executive directors (or their chosen delegates) are examples of those who may submit requests to the committees for consideration. The space committee evaluation process is intended to review requests that have already completed a unit’s internal vetting prior to submission, and should be taken as a serious statement of need for future successful work pursuits of the requestor and their unit.
Request Form
Only unit executive leaders may utilize theSpace Request Formto submit information to the appropriate campus space committee for consideration. The form requires IU CAS authentication by a unit’s executive leader or delegate for access. (Executive leaders may contact Karen Buckrop in the Office of Space Planning & Utilization to assign one delegate.) All efforts to complete all sections of the form should be made to assist in an appropriate review by the space committee.
Requestors should review the Frequently Asked Questions prior to submitting a Space Request Form.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Space Request Form provides a standard form to document statements of space need submitted by the executive leader of a campus unit for space committee review.
Academic, administrative, auxiliary, and other units of the university all have dynamic needs for space. All requests for changes – including a unit seeking to repurpose existing space already in use by the unit for a different type of need, or a unit seeking to acquire additional space for growth – must be documented in a Space Request Form.
The Space Request process is intended to vet significant space re-allocations or new space needs. Modifications to existing spaces that are simple and don’t involve a change of purpose or assignment can proceed directly to the Capital Projects RFS process. (The RFS requires a funding account number.)
Space Request Forms that are ultimately approved by the president will likely have component needs requiring physical modifications that would become one or more RFS requests. Those RFS requests with funding account numbers will still need to be submitted by the unit after the space request has been approved by the president.
Deans, vice presidents, chancellors/vice chancellors, provosts/vice provosts, and executive directors (or their chosen delegates) are examples of those who may submit requests to the committees for consideration. (Executive leaders may contact Karen Buckrop in the Office of Space Planning & Utilization to assign one delegate.)
Discussions with the executive leader of your unit are required prior to submitting a form. The form can only be submitted by the executive leader or delegate, thus ensuring that proper internal vetting has been conducted within the unit prior to making a request. Often, units can find creative and efficient solutions for space needs without needing to make a formal space request. The committees encourage such rigorous and creative internal discussions prior to completing a Space Request Form.
Once submitted, the Space Request Form is routed to staff in the Office of University Space Planning and Inventory. The request is reviewed for overall completion and necessary detail. A staff member will likely contact the requestor to gather any additional details that might be helpful in assisting the space committee in their review.
Clarified and investigated Space Request Forms will be added to a regular meeting agenda for the space committee for each campus, depending on the request’s origination campus. The committee will then discuss the request, debate alternatives, possibly direct staff to gather additional information, and ultimately make a recommendation of support, modification, or denial to the university president.
Each committee’s goal is to meet monthly (or more frequently as needed), with a recommendation to the president anticipated within 30 days of submission to the relevant campus space committee.
An email will be sent to the requestor at each stage of the process to provide status updates.
Please contact spaceinf@iu.edu and a member of the Office of Space Planning & Inventory will promptly respond.
