Campus Plan

Planning Process

The Thousand Oaks Campus Plan, developed in 2021-22, helps the University prioritize future construction, building renovations, and facility enhancements. It also recommends changes to outdoor spaces and places, the way-finding system, and campus entry points that improve the living and learning community. Consistent with the Strategic Plan, the Campus Plan is organized around three themes: Student Experience, Fulfilling Work Environment, and Distinctive Impact. These themes have and will continue to guide the Campus Plan Leadership Team as they move from the design to implementation phases of this process.

The overall process included four phases aimed at engaging a large segment of the university community:

  1. Inviting the Entire Community

    Nov. 2021 - May 2022
    This phase began in November 2021, during “Community Day,” an event open to all employees and attended by approximately 250 faculty and staff. Activities of the day were designed to engage participants in brainstorming, idea generation, and more. As expected, Community Day provided campus leaders with substantial input.Following a formal kick-off meeting with the project team in March, the “fact-finding” phase identified and examined the resources and opportunities currently available at Cal Lutheran. This exercise was aided by a Campus Perceptions Survey – completed by 449 students, 171 staff, members of the Campus Leadership Team (below). Credo noted that this was their best response rate ever. The Fact-Finding report concluded in May 2022, laying the foundation for the second phase.

  2. Soliciting User-Group Feedback

    June 2022 - July 2022

    To augment the feedback from the Campus Perception Survey, university leaders took an additional step by asking Credo consultants to conduct user-group interviews. From July 19-29 2022, community and campus members were invited to make recommendations regarding improvements and modifications associated with their specific work area. As part of these interactive sessions, participants were asked to talk about the spaces that currently exist and those they hope will exist in the future. As part of this phase, participants were asked to imagine how outdoor spaces and places might be configured to enhance academic and social activities.

  3. Developing 3D Models

    Aug. 2022 - Sept. 2022
    With myriad feedback and recommendations in hand, university leaders and Credo consultants met in early fall 2022. Together, they built and displayed 3D models of the emerging campus plan. Faculty, staff, students, and regents were invited to view these models. Viewers then discussed with university leaders what they liked and didn’t like about the proposed placement of new buildings, enhancements to outdoor space, and entrances and thoroughfare demarcations. The feedback generated helped President Varlotta and the Planning Team identify the options most attractive to faculty, staff, and students.

  4. Presenting Emerging Results

    Sept. 2022 - Oct. 2022

    President Varlotta and members of the Planning Team presented the findings of 3D modeling exercise to a broad range of campus constituents. These presentations ensured that members of the community were up to date on where the campus plan was headed. As part of these presentations, the President and the Planning Team shared which projects would be prioritized and how sequencing would occur. 

The Leadership Planning Team

  • Gerhard Apfelthaler
  • Kevin Baxter
  • Christine Cano
  • Alejandra Castillo
  • Stephanie Hessemer
  • Caitlin Hodges
  • Maria Kohnke
  • Andrea Layne
  • Michael Panesis
  • Bryan Rasmussen
  • Rachel Ronning Lindgren
  • Melinda Roper
  • Mara Saule
  • Amy Schwalbach
  • Jody Skenderian
  • Wes Sullivan
  • Ryan Van Ommeren
  • Lori Varlotta
  • Matthew Ward
  • Vanessa Webster Smith
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