A Learning Place: Ten Years in the Life of a New Kind of Campus Center

Fuente: ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Misencik, Karen E., O'Connor, John S., Young, James
Format: Recurso educativo Open Access
Language:en
Published: 2005
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author Misencik, Karen E.
O'Connor, John S.
Young, James
author_facet Misencik, Karen E.
O'Connor, John S.
Young, James
Misencik, Karen E.
O'Connor, John S.
Young, James
collection Education Resources Information Center
contents A Learning Place: Ten Years in the Life of a New Kind of Campus Center Misencik, Karen E. O'Connor, John S. Young, James Higher Education Building Design Informal Education Interaction Student Unions Educational Facilities Design Academic Libraries Faculty Personnel Integration Colleges School Desegregation When George Mason University's Johnson Center opened a decade ago, it was on the leading edge of architectural design and innovative thinking about spaces for learning. Over time, the building has retained many of its revolutionary aspects even as it has accepted encroachments of conventionality. With its four floors and central atrium, twenty-two study-meeting lounges, undergraduate library, selective campus programs and services, and a shopping mall-like atmosphere, the Johnson Center (JC) provides George Mason University (GMU) with a recognizable campus center. Opening at a key time in Mason's history, the Johnson Center became a model of how integrated learning takes place through a network of meaningful interactions and associations in one physical space. This article describes three ways in which the Johnson Center has fulfilled its multifaceted mission: transforming the university's identity, integrating academic life and student life, and fostering informal learning. The authors also address some problems and offer thoughts for the future. In conducting research for this article, the authors spoke with several members of the GMU community. These conversations provided a wide range of opinions and examples that support the notion that the Johnson Center is thriving and evolving as it moves into its second decade. (Contains 6 notes.)
format Recurso educativo Open Access
id eric_EJ791295
institution ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
language en
publishDate 2005
record_format eric
spellingShingle A Learning Place: Ten Years in the Life of a New Kind of Campus Center
Misencik, Karen E.
O'Connor, John S.
Young, James
Higher Education
Building Design
Informal Education
Interaction
Student Unions
Educational Facilities Design
Academic Libraries
Faculty
Personnel Integration
Colleges
School Desegregation
A Learning Place: Ten Years in the Life of a New Kind of Campus Center Misencik, Karen E. O'Connor, John S. Young, James Higher Education Building Design Informal Education Interaction Student Unions Educational Facilities Design Academic Libraries Faculty Personnel Integration Colleges School Desegregation When George Mason University's Johnson Center opened a decade ago, it was on the leading edge of architectural design and innovative thinking about spaces for learning. Over time, the building has retained many of its revolutionary aspects even as it has accepted encroachments of conventionality. With its four floors and central atrium, twenty-two study-meeting lounges, undergraduate library, selective campus programs and services, and a shopping mall-like atmosphere, the Johnson Center (JC) provides George Mason University (GMU) with a recognizable campus center. Opening at a key time in Mason's history, the Johnson Center became a model of how integrated learning takes place through a network of meaningful interactions and associations in one physical space. This article describes three ways in which the Johnson Center has fulfilled its multifaceted mission: transforming the university's identity, integrating academic life and student life, and fostering informal learning. The authors also address some problems and offer thoughts for the future. In conducting research for this article, the authors spoke with several members of the GMU community. These conversations provided a wide range of opinions and examples that support the notion that the Johnson Center is thriving and evolving as it moves into its second decade. (Contains 6 notes.)
title A Learning Place: Ten Years in the Life of a New Kind of Campus Center
topic Higher Education
Building Design
Informal Education
Interaction
Student Unions
Educational Facilities Design
Academic Libraries
Faculty
Personnel Integration
Colleges
School Desegregation
url https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ791295