One hundred and one attendees assembled at the Houston Marriott Westchase on October 21 for the 2014 Recreation Facilities Institute. Over the next three days, they participated in 15 educational sessions, three roundtables, a welcome social, the Expo and Networking Social, and toured facilities at Houston Baptist University, Rice University, Texas Southern University, the University of Houston, and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Additionally, attendees could register for preconference tours of two facilities—Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M University—on October 20. This robust schedule offered something for everyone!
According to surveyed attendees, facility tours are the number one reason for registering for the Institute. David Flumbaum, Assistant Director/Project Manager at the University of Maryland’s Campus Recreation Services, explains that “the range of facilities, new and old, big and small, really makes you consider things from other perspectives and helps you envision what can be done at your facilities. The facilities tours are really the highlight of the Institute.”
This year’s tours included both rural and urban facilities, and schools as small as 2,300 students to as large as 58,000 students. Attendees also toured two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Texas Southern University, which is one of NIRSA’s founding schools!
Eric LaCharity, Interim Associate Director at Southern Connecticut State University, said the Institute “was an outstanding experience for me. I took more away from this experience than I have at any other conference. The tours were such a great resource for us, and the educational sessions targeted topics that were beneficial to the programming of our new facility.”
One central topic discussed in both the opening keynote speech, in a subsequent featured roundtable, and in further peer conversation was the “Built Communities” concept. Invited Speaker, Clint Menefee of SmithGroupJJR, walked attendees through the fundamental ideas around Built Communities and encouraged them to identify who precisely is part of their own campus communities. Clint led the “Built Communities Roundtable” the next day where attendees discussed what they were currently doing on their campuses to ensure community and where improvements could be made through future design renovations.
For many Institute attendees, the Built Communities concept was a new but relevant topic—and, fortunately, the conversation will continue at the 2015 NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Expo where SmithGroupJJR is sponsoring an educational session on Built Communities to be led by Clint!
The Recreation Facilities Committee tried a new approach to the Institute’s schedule this year, anchoring the tours on the first and last days of the Institute instead of the first two days. This schedule created a full day for educational sessions. The Expo and Networking Social was also hosted that second day and was seen as a very successful break—95% of surveyed attendees said they preferred having access to vendors during a networking lunch social opposed to a dinner social.
Twenty vendors turned out for the Expo and Networking Social, which was sponsored by Precor. Attendees were met with stimulating table top displays and a terrific Italian buffet lunch. Vendors and attendees were given two and a half hours to eat, talk, and network. NIRSA would like to give a big thank you to all our sponsors and vendors who help make this Institute a premier NIRSA event!
With a jam-packed schedule of tours, socials, and educational sessions, the 2014 Institute left members motivated and with plenty of new ideas to take back to their campuses—98% of surveyed attendees said they would return to the Institute. “The 2014 Recreation Facilities Institute was an exceptional conference that provided many opportunities for networking, professional development, education, and facility tours,” said Roberto Garza, Associate Director at Texas A&M International University. “
Next year, the Facilities Institute will reconnect with the Aquatics Institute and the Fitness & Wellness Institute to make up the 2015 NIRSA Triventure, which will be held in Indianapolis, IN from October 13–15. We hope to see you all in Indianapolis next year!
For more information about the 2014 NIRSA Recreational Facilities Institute, please contact Brittany Rejda, NIRSA Assistant Director for Professional Development.
