KU News Release

KU to present Campus Heritage Plan at brown-bag luncheon

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas will present an overview of the recently completed Campus Heritage Plan to to the public at a brown-bag luncheon.

Highlights of the plan, which serves as a guide to the preservation and development of KU’s internationally recognized campus, will be presented from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. It is free and open to the public. Time will be available for the public to ask questions.

The plan, funded by a $130,000 grant from the Getty Foundation to KU Endowment, balances preservation with development. It notes the campus’s historic spaces, architecture and unique natural beauty and takes into account previous campus master plans. It also lays out a vision for the future as the university and its main campus continue to grow and evolve. The plan recently was selected to receive an American Society of Landscape Architects — Prairie Gateway Chapter Award. The award was presented in the planning and analysis category.

“Anyone who sets foot on campus knows that KU is a special place worthy of preservation,” said Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “The Campus Heritage Plan serves as a guide to ensure the future development of campus is consistent with its historic character.”

The overview will be presented by Peg Livingood, project manager with Design and Construction Management. The plan was a collaborative effort of KU faculty and staff, consultants, KU Endowment and KU Alumni Association officials, members of the Lawrence business community, neighborhood associations and historic preservation groups.

The campus is well-known as one of the most beautiful in the nation. In 1879, poet Walt Whitman summed up his reaction after a campus visit by describing Mount Oread as “real and ideal ... beautiful as dreams.”

Hemenway said the plan will help to ensure Whitman’s reaction and those of countless people with fond memories of the campus will remain well into the future.

“KU has seen many changes over the years but never lost its essential character,” he said. “With thoughtful consideration, and with the guidance of this plan, future generations will have the same opportunity we have had to enjoy the beauty of Mount Oread.”

The plan is available online at the Design and Construction Management Web site.

For a video about the Campus Heritage Plan, visit the YouTube Web site.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.