Riverside Campus Plan - Office of Facilities Coordination - Texas ...

INTRODUCTIONI. INTRODUCTION1Campus planning and strategic planning expressthe aspirations of the University in concreteterms. This campus plan is founded onthe mission statement, the established strategicplanning process, and the aspirations embodiedin the VISION 2020 and ACTION 2015 studies.TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY MISSIONSTATEMENTTexas A&M University is dedicated to the discovery,development, communication, and applicationof knowledge in a wide range of academic and professionalfields. Its mission of providing the highestquality undergraduate and graduate programs isinseparable from its mission of developing new understandingsthrough research and creativity. It preparesstudents to assume roles in leadership, responsibility,and service to society. Texas A&M assumesas its historic trust the maintenance of freedom ofinquiry and an intellectual environment nurturingthe human mind and spirit. It welcomes and seeksto serve persons of all racial, ethnic, and geographicgroups, women and men alike, as it addresses theneeds of an increasingly diverse population and aglobal economy. In the twenty-first century, TexasA&M University seeks to assume a place of preeminenceamong public universities while respectingits history and traditions.CAMPUS PLANNING AT TEXAS A&MUNIVERSITYAs the 2004 Campus Master Plan states, “campusplanning and strategic planning express the aspirationsof the University in concrete terms. Theyprovide a vision for the institution, although onerelates specifically to the quality of the built environment,and the other relates to the quality of theinstitution as a whole, both seek to establish goalsfor the University and to enhance the institution’sstature.”In his introduction to the plan, then-UniversityPresident Robert M. Gates noted, “A university’sexcellence is and always will be measured bythe quality of its programs, students and faculty.Its built environment – from buildings and otherstructures to the space that surrounds them - mustbe their equal. The quality of Texas A&M University’sfacilities must reflect the quality of thepeople and programs they house.”To advise the University President on proposedchanges to the campus, the Council on the BuiltEnvironment was established to oversee the wisedevelopment and use of facilities under the guardianshipof the University. The 2004 Campus MasterPlan, that covers the Main Campus in College2FIGURE 1Facing page: Cantonment Areaof Bryan Air Army Base, ca.1942.FIGURE 2Construction on water lines atthe base, ca. 1951.